Shawnee Mission Post – Community news and events for northeast Johnson County

Johnson County should put off reopening non-essential businesses for a week to protect the county from a possible wave of new infections caused by people traveling from other metro counties with continuing outbreaks, county health officer Joseph LeMaster, MD, MPH, said today. LeMaster told county commissioners Wednesday that although the county has shown a downward trend in cases and hospitals are not overwhelmed, the commission should consider delaying a phased reopening until May 11. That would bring it closer to the May 15 date Kansas City, Mo., has planned. (Read more: Shawnee Mission Post)

The Merriam Visitors Bureau list of online activities and tours includes a livestream of penguins from the Kansas City Zoo. Photo courtesy of Kansas City Zoo. Physical travel may be off limits during the coronavirus stay-at-home orders, but that doesn’t mean a trip to a United States National Park is out of the question. The Merriam Visitors Bureau over the last few weeks has been compiling virtual tours for residents to view from the comfort of their own homes. Executive Director Karen Crane said although there are many negative impacts stemming from the global pandemic, there are also “glimmers of hope” [...]

Local government has been shoved and shoved hard by the coronavirus outbreak. And yes, things are bad. But in one way, the pandemic is having a positive effect. It has pushed councils, boards and committees hard into the technology of the 21st Century. Elected officials, usually constrained by five-year plans, the bidding process and endless committee meetings, have been thrown headfirst into the world of virtual meeting apps. Suddenly, there’s not enough time for preliminary discussions and staff investigations. Officials are forced to just try them out. And — temporarily at least — government has become a bit easier to access [...]

The Johnson County Department of Health and Environment on Tuesday launched a population health survey on COVID-19 symptoms, part of an effort to gain a better understanding of how widespread infection rates here might be. The voluntary survey, which is available here, will be open through Friday, April 10 at 10 a.m. Participants will be “asked to do this same survey several more times in the next few weeks in order to compare results,” according to JCDHE. The survey asks residents to share information about: Whether they are experiencing possible symptoms of coronavirus infection Their age, sex, ethnicity and zip code [...]

The 10-person limit on gathering sizes will still apply to religious services, Johnson County officials said Friday night after receiving clarification from the governor’s office. The statewide stay-at-home ordered issued by Gov. Laura Kelly March 28 led to some confusion here in Johnson County about whether churches and other religious institutions were still subject to the gathering size limit of 10 people instituted as part of the CORE 4 partners’ stay-at-home order, which was announced a week prior. The metro-area order did not provide a blanket exemption for religious institutions. However, Kelly’s order made gun shops and churches exempt from the [...]

The Mission city council during a special called meeting on Wednesday evening unanimously approved employee compensation and benefit amendments to the city’s state of emergency and disaster proclamation, which was originally issued on March 13 and first amended on March 18. The amendments ensure full-time and part-time city workers are compensated for hours worked or hours scheduled, and employees that must physically show up to work will accrue extra vacation time. These plans differ from the neighboring community of Overland Park, which ordered that 200 part-time employees be furloughed. (Read more: Shawnee Mission Post )

The Overland Park city administration’s move to suspend the planned increase in police salaries that was scheduled to go into effect this week has drawn a response from the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 21, which is made up of Overland Park officers. In a letter to city officials, Lodge 21 President Mike Mosher said the group believes the move to suspend the raise was premature, and that the city’s financial position should allow it to be enacted as planned. “Although we understand the speed that this COVID-19 pandemic came upon all of us, we also understand that our great city [...]

As the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic continues, Johnson County Commissioners have begun to cast a wary eye toward what may be in store for the next year’s budget. The county budget, which surpassed $1 billion two years ago, has been bobbing along in recent years, buoyed by steady increases in property values and low unemployment. But the rosy outlook has fallen into question the past year as officials have grappled with a possible major loss of commercial property value due to challenges to the way it was appraised, nicknamed the “dark store theory.” Last year they also puzzled over [...]

An unusual plan to test a random sample of Johnson County residents for COVID-19 will have a delayed launch, since one of the testing labs the county had planned to use had to drop out. But county commissioners said Monday they will continue to look for other vendors so the testing can begin within the next month. If and when it does get up and running, the testing plan may be unique in the metro area. The county would use the donated services of ETC Institute, an Olathe-based marketing research firm, to come up with random sample of test subjects based [...]

As grocery stores remain open as essential services during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment has shared advice with stores on physical distancing best practices. In a document provided to the Shawnee Mission Post last week, the county department of health and environment recommended several guidelines that would space customers apart while shopping and going through checkout lines. Some of the department’s recommendations include creating physical barriers between employees and customers, spacing apart customers when entering the store and, ultimately, providing structure and direction for everyone in the store during this unprecedented time. (Read more: Shawnee [...]