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

Four Overland Park playgrounds will get new equipment and/or resurfacing this year. The city council recently approved bids for upgrades at four parks that would replace the surfacing and current playground equipment. The new play gyms will replace equipment that is almost 20 years old, said Scott Shierk, manager of parks and forestry for the city’s park service. (Read more: Shawnee Mission Post – Community news and events for northeast Johnson County)

Prairie Village’s city council will consider a series of steps to identify and eliminate potential discrimination against women after the governing body on Monday approved a measure directing city staff to draw up a resolution supporting the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Gail James, a retired University of Kansas professor, approached the city earlier this year about the idea of Prairie Village adopting a resolution aimed at having the city implement the principles of CEDAW at the local level. The city of Kansas City, Mo, adopted a resolution in support of CEDAW a few years [...]

Roeland Park is considering a partnership with Bishop Miege Schools that would place a uniformed, on-duty Roeland Park police officer at schools on a full-time basis. Councilmembers Monday unanimously showed their support for the concept of placing a School Resource Officer at the schools. City staff will craft a tentative contract and bring the item back to the council at a future meeting for further discussion. Bishop Miege High School and St. Agnes Catholic School recently approached Roeland Park mayor Mike Kelly to gauge interest in the safety coordination effort. (Read more: Shawnee Mission Post – Community news and events for [...]

Prairie Village Mayor Laura Wassmer and councilmembers Serena Schermoly and Tucker Poling were guests on KCUR’s Up To Date on Wednesday to discuss the challenges of preserving the city’s original neighborhood aesthetics with the demand for newer, larger homes. [Prairie Village Home Teardowns Rankle Residents — KCUR] (Read more: Shawnee Mission Post – Community news and events for northeast Johnson County)

Overland Park among top 20 destination cities in the country for Millennials. A new analysis of census data by the website SmartAsset suggests Overland Park is faring well in attracting new Millennial-aged residents. The city was 14th among the 217 cities considered in the rankings of places where Millennials are moving. (Read more: Shawnee Mission Post – Community news and events for northeast Johnson County)

The Shawnee City Council has unanimously approved the city’s 2019-2024 Capital Improvement Plan, including the addition of improvements to sidewalks along 71st Street from Clare Road to Hedge Lane Terrace. The CIP is a project-funding forecast, and all projected costs are subject to change and must be individually approved by the council, Caitlin Gard, Shawnee’s strategic initiatives manager, said after the council’s May 29 meeting. The 71st Street sidewalk program was added to the CIP presented at the meeting, and the council authorized a $300,000 annual expenditure for it from 2020 through 2024. The project would add sidewalks and regrade the [...]