Municipal News & Jobs

Merriam may be the first city in Kansas to change its trash collection services under the Organized Collection Service Act. Assistant City Administrator Caitlin Gard told the Merriam City Council last week that it is the first city that is using the process outlined in the Organized Collection Service Act to potentially contract with one waste hauler for residential services. The act outlines standards for service transitions in solid waste and recyclable collections in a city, according to a 2011 summary of the legislation. This includes transitions from multiple solid waste haulers to a single solid waste hauler, which Merriam is currently exploring. Others in Johnson County, like the city of Prairie Village, have had single waste haulers for decades. Gard said the city of Lawrence used the Organized Collection Act to contract with a single recycling hauler, not a waste hauler. Gard said the details about a single waste hauler in Merriam are unclear, but those details will be developed as the city follows the Organized Collection Service Act steps. This is a lengthy process with several off-ramps along the way, Gard said. In October, the city council is slated to consider a resolution to craft a plan for a single waste hauler.
Source: Johnson County Post

Developers have rolled out a $55 million plan to rehab a historic pocket of homes in De Soto with the aim of turning the area into a site for affordable housing near the new Panasonic EV battery plant. Gardner-based Wheatland Investment Group made its first public presentation of the plan at the De Soto City Council meeting on Aug. 15. The proposal includes an application to create a Kansas Reinvestment Housing Incentive District at the site of the Clearview Village complex at 36000 W. 103rd St. Clearview Village, also commonly referred to as Clearview City, is located across the street from the $4 billion, 4.7-million-square-foot future Panasonic plant, which sits on a small portion of the one-time Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant. Clearview Village currently houses about 600 residents, roughly 9% of De Soto’s population. The proposed housing district, sometimes called an RHID, would allow the city to reimburse the developers with revenue generated by property taxes in the new development that could then be used to pay for some eligible improvements, including replacing water lines, repairing sewers and resurfacing streets in the area. Speaking to the city council earlier this month, David Rhodes, co-founder of Wheatland Investments Group, explained their estimated $55 million plan to rehab the village, including renovating its 242 existing structures and adding 99 new units. Other changes include: Installing new fire hydrants, Repairing and/or replacing storm and sanitary sewers, Replacing water lines,
Adding a water connection point on Sunflower Road, and Resurfacing and repairing streets. The group would work on the changes to the pipes and sewers first before working on the buildings, Rhodes said. Though they’re maintaining the 85-year-old pipes, sewer and water lines, Rhodes said approval of the housing incentive district would help pay for expenses to improve them. “We feel like we need to improve the infrastructure under the ground before we do all this improvement above ground,” he said.
Source: Johnson County Post

In Olathe, philosophical discussions about the city’s use of economic development tools have continued as some city councilmembers express discomfort in giving incentives to projects that don’t offer high wages or have fallen short in their eyes in other ways. Last week, the Olathe City Council voted 5-2 to approve a resolution of intent to issue $23 million in industrial revenue bonds on a project in the Lone Elm Commerce Center. The resolution also outlines a proposed 10-year partial property tax abatement. Councilmembers Matt Schoonover and Dean Vakas cast the no votes, echoing past conversations on the matter. During the discussion last Tuesday, city staff once again pointed out that the application for the bonds is in line with the city’s existing standards. Those standards include a minimum private investment threshold of $10 million, as well as cost-benefit ratio requirements largely focused on how much property tax a development will ultimately generate. Still, Councilmember Schoonover questioned whether the proposed average starting wages of $38,000 per year for jobs at the Lone Elm project would be something people could live on in Olathe. He also questioned whether that projected average wage was even accurate. He raised concerns that some jobs at the facility could pay much lower than that as well. “Are these companies bringing jobs to the city that, quite frankly, will actually be a benefit to the city?” Schoonover said, noting that he’s been “struggling” with the issue. He also wondered what factors contributed to the cost-benefit ratio the city uses in determining if a project is worthy of incentives. John Page, Olathe’s financial strategy manager, said the chief consideration city staff uses in that calculation is property taxes. Currently, Olathe collects $55 in property taxes from the property where the speculative industrial building is being proposed. After the abatement rolls off, the city could collect around $76,000 a year in property tax revenues.
Source: Johnson County Post

A Shawnee woman suing her neighbors for injuries sustained after she says their dogs attacked her is now hoping for broader changes at the city level. In early August, Elena Asher filed a civil lawsuit in Johnson County District Court against her neighbors after their two dogs — a bull mastiff and a pitbull mix — allegedly attacked her while she was jogging near her house in the Crimson Ridge subdivision in March. Asher was taken to Overland Park Regional Medical Center, where she was treated and told she would have permanent scarring on her arm and leg. She still has tingling and numbness in her left arm, her civil complaint says. Since then, she has spoken openly about her injuries during public comment portions of two Shawnee City Council meetings, asking city councilmembers to change municipal ordinances to address animals that attack people. So far, she says, they are not listening. “It’s just been a struggle to get any real action with it,” she said. “Because in Shawnee — and I didn’t know anything about our dog laws either — but come to find out, if you have an animal that attacks and tries to hurt someone else, there are no laws that require even an impound process.” While Asher spoke about her attack to city council and her councilmembers, she feels she’s gained no momentum with a push for broader changes in city code. The city says it was “saddened” by the attack but feels no ordinances could have prevented it, Doug Donahoo, Shawnee’s communication director, said in an email. “We have been in contact with Ms. Asher and have carefully considered her suggestions,” he stated. “While we appreciate her input, we believe that changes such as restrictions on specific dog breeds and rescue animals would not have prevented this incident.” The city does have codes to address dangerous animals, including Chapter 6.14 of the city’s Code of Ordinances, which addresses the ownership of dangerous animals, including how they are kept and confined. “We understand and have listened to her concerns,” he stated. “While no set of regulations can guarantee complete safety, the city maintains robust codes to ensure the well-being of both residents and pets.” When it comes to bigger dogs, like a bull mastiff or pit bull, in the past decade, the city loosened its control on dog ownership. In April 2016, the Shawnee City Council repealed its breed-specific ordinance that prohibited residents from owning pit bulls in the city, one of a number of Johnson County cities that have rolled back rules against pit bulls in recent years. It was a move that at the time was celebrated by local animal organizations like KC Pet Project. “Our priority remains the safety of our community,” he stated. “A dramatic increase in animal control regulations would have a detrimental impact on the vast majority of responsible animal owners in the community.”
Source: Johnson County Post

The current debate raging over a proposed county homeless shelter at a repurposed Lenexa hotel has echoes of a legal battle the city had over a previous homeless shelter. On Monday night, a Lenexa Planning Commission meeting centered around a Special Use Permit to turn the site of a La Quinta Inn and former Denny’s into a county homeless shelter featured frequent references to a previous controversy over Project 1020, the only other homeless shelter in the city serving single adults. “I love our city and county, but I think we’ve turned a blind eye to our homeless for way too long,” Greg Hack, a Lenexa resident and board member of Shawnee Mission Unitarian Universalist Church, which houses Project 1020, said during the meeting. “I’m sure you all remember it required a lawsuit by one small, brave church to get the city to even allow Project 1020 (to happen).” The federal lawsuit, filed by the church in 2019 against the city, kept Project 1020 in operation and ultimately led to the city instituting new zoning rules for homeless shelters. The shelter still operates out of the church on Pflumm Road in Old Town Lenexa during the winter months. Monday’s much-watched meeting about the new shelter resulted in the commission unanimously voting 9-0 to recommend the denial of the special use permit. That recommendation was based on several reasons articulated by city staff, including worries that the shelter did not fit the character of the surrounding area, would negatively impact nearby residences and businesses and potentially be a drain on city resources.
Source: Johnson County Post