Unbeknownst to me that it would happen, another member of the community addressed the council this past Monday regarding Stephanie Meyer's misrepresentation of why Menard's did not build in Shawnee. Instead Menard's went to KCK.
I was already looking into this because at the recent mayoral candidate's forum Stephanie Meyer stated that Menard's didn't build here because a city engineer couldn't go out to the site when they wanted him. Sounds to me like a slap in the face to staff. Ironically she jumps on anybody who says anything that could be construed as a negative about staff. Do I see a little two faced action on her part?
Anyway, at one of the "Third Thursdays With the Mayor" former City Manager Gonzales had stated when asked that Menard's was not building in Shawnee because utilities were not available at the location.
An inquiry to the current city manager did produce the following:
I am in a little bit of a difficult spot to speculate on the
conversation between Carol and Menard's representatives as well as a
conversation Stephanie may have had with Menard's representatives.
However, the information that was shared at Third Thursday's is what I am aware
of in regards to the Kansas City, Kansas location being more "shovel-ready"
in regards to a quicker project. I believe sewer access was a concern-
So, KCK had land that was more shovel ready. Hmmmm, yet it is my understanding that Meyer still is telling folks the "engineer" story. Stephanie Meyer, a natural born liar, IMHO.
Stay tuned for more on her phoniness.
Side bar question: City Managers are not supposed to get involved in the political process. But, why hasn't the current city manager defended his staff against Ms. Meyer's comment.
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Monday, July 22, 2019
The Irrelevant Arrogant One
I have received various text messages from individuals on the west side of town.
Apparently his royal arrogance (Jeff Vaught) is causing quite a stir on
Next Door. He even went so far as to single out other folks' association
with me. Gotta love it.
OK, I can’t post on the west side Next Door but I can supply info below for anyone who chooses to use it
Let’s look at his royal arrogance (Jeff Vaught). The first thing we
will mention is that he is NOT a fan of transparency in government. That
can be verified from when the council, with his prodding changed the method of
delivering council minutes from full to summary. Only problem with that
is that the former city manager chose to ignore the written directive of the
council and gave the city action minutes. Those are even more
abbreviated. Long story short, the council voted to bring back full
minutes, with no help from Mr. I Know Everything.
He constantly belittled other council members and members of the public. One of his favorite comments is “I don’t remember seeing you at any council meetings”. That is how he attempts to shut down critics. What a jacka$$ Very few folks go to these meetings (personally I wish more did). But, they can listen to the audio and read the minutes
What was the final result of the mayoral primary/
Michelle Distler 28.08%
Dan Pflumm
30.40%John Segale 18.32%
Jeff Vaught 23.19%
More telling is how did the mayoral primary vote go in Ward 3? The ward he represented on the council.
Michelle Distler 26.29%
Dan Pflumm 24.80%
John Segale 16.65%
Jeff Vaught 32.26%
Translation……….67.74% (2/3) of the Ward 3 voters said they wanted anybody but Jeff Vaught as their mayor. Apparently they learned their lesson from having him represent them on the council.
But, Vaught still thought he was relevant. Not realizing that after winning his first term and then one reelection to the council , that the voters in Ward 3 were getting tired of his bombastic bullying buffoonery which combined to create a highly arrogant atmosphere about him. And it created a toxic atmosphere on the council.
So, in 2017 there was a three way primary for council in
Ward 3.
What happened?
Justin Adrian 38.94%
Dave Myres 39.82%Jeff Vaught 21.24%
So now the voters of Ward 3 (78.76%, roughly 8 out of 10) made it real clear that they did not want an arrogant buffoon to represent them on the council.
And yet, he still thinks that what he says about city
elections has relevancy. It does not. Witness his strong comments
of being in favor of the proposed Shawnee Community Center. His
bullying approach and inability to read the electorate was almost
laughable. And, like Hillary Clinton, he apparently cannot accept
defeat. He has come up with more excuses as to why the measure was
defeated. Instead of looking to see what was wrong with the plan he’d
rather blame the folks who put out the effort to get the truth about the project
in front of the voters. Such arrogance.
Again, he hasn’t learned that his commentary is irrelevant. Or maybe it is reverse relevant? Maybe it makes folks go the opposite way of his stand on an item? Hmmmm, remember, he supports Stephanie Meyer for mayor and Nick Reed for Ward 3 council rep.
Thursday, July 18, 2019
Has Stephanie Meyer Gone Totally Bonkers?
IMHO, the answer to that question is yes. Big time. The current council president and mayoral candidate posted this on her FB page at https://www.facebook.com/stephaniemeyerforshawnee/
This is what she posted:
As policy makers, it is our job to be sure that our actions and decisions follow legal precedent, statute, and authority. Often times, in local government, that means waiting on clarification from a higher jurisdiction. What cannot be lost in that process, however, is the more important question of “Is this the right thing to do?”
Many months in the making, I’m happy to announce that at our August 13 Council Committee meeting, we will take up the discussion of a non-discrimination ordinance. We cannot continue to wait for others to act.
In my experience, the residents of Shawnee are warm, welcoming, and compassionate people, and we should want that spirit to echo through all that we do. I hope you’ll participate in this important conversation.
This push for cities in Kansas to adopt non-discriminatory ordinances is absolutely ridiculous. How many of them are still being challenged in the courts?
Laws against discrimination belong at the state and/or federal level. For various reasons. A hodgepodge of these ordinances means that folks traveling from city to city would need a book of ordinances for all cities. But, even more important are cities really the best entities to judge and evaluate what some may or may not perceive as discrimination? Do cities have the resources? Do cities have the funding?
This is a "feel good" act looking for a problem.
Now, let's take a look at state law. K.S.A 44-1009 has a pretty good handle on this subject, and if it needs amending, expanding or anything along those lines then encourage the state legislature to make those changes. Keep it uniform across the whole State of Kansas. Keep it uniform so that violations of the statute can be handled in a judicious manner. Not in a helter skelter willy nilly fashion. Keep in mind that this item is being championed by the same cheerleader who wanted to saddle Shawnee residents with an enormous tax burden to finance a community center.
The council committee will be discussing this item at its meeting on Tuesday Aug 13, 2019 at 7PM at Shawnee City Hall, 11110 Johnson Drive. Let her and any other members of the council that support this know that this is an item best left to the State of Kansas.
This is what she posted:
As policy makers, it is our job to be sure that our actions and decisions follow legal precedent, statute, and authority. Often times, in local government, that means waiting on clarification from a higher jurisdiction. What cannot be lost in that process, however, is the more important question of “Is this the right thing to do?”
Many months in the making, I’m happy to announce that at our August 13 Council Committee meeting, we will take up the discussion of a non-discrimination ordinance. We cannot continue to wait for others to act.
In my experience, the residents of Shawnee are warm, welcoming, and compassionate people, and we should want that spirit to echo through all that we do. I hope you’ll participate in this important conversation.
This push for cities in Kansas to adopt non-discriminatory ordinances is absolutely ridiculous. How many of them are still being challenged in the courts?
Laws against discrimination belong at the state and/or federal level. For various reasons. A hodgepodge of these ordinances means that folks traveling from city to city would need a book of ordinances for all cities. But, even more important are cities really the best entities to judge and evaluate what some may or may not perceive as discrimination? Do cities have the resources? Do cities have the funding?
This is a "feel good" act looking for a problem.
Now, let's take a look at state law. K.S.A 44-1009 has a pretty good handle on this subject, and if it needs amending, expanding or anything along those lines then encourage the state legislature to make those changes. Keep it uniform across the whole State of Kansas. Keep it uniform so that violations of the statute can be handled in a judicious manner. Not in a helter skelter willy nilly fashion. Keep in mind that this item is being championed by the same cheerleader who wanted to saddle Shawnee residents with an enormous tax burden to finance a community center.
The council committee will be discussing this item at its meeting on Tuesday Aug 13, 2019 at 7PM at Shawnee City Hall, 11110 Johnson Drive. Let her and any other members of the council that support this know that this is an item best left to the State of Kansas.
Friday, July 12, 2019
Stephanie Meyer and the Gang of Six Have No Confidence in Shawnee Citizens
Wow, that is a heck of a headline, isn't it?
So, are you asking why I say that? Actually, it is pretty easy to explain. First let's define the "Gang of Six". That includes Meyer, and Councilmembers Zimmerman, Neighbor, Larson-Bunnell, Sandifer and Constance.
Now for what happened. It is a matter of record. At the last Council Committee meeting members Jenkins and Kemmling brought forth some proposals regarding the budget process. One of these was to establish a citizen task force to review the budgets going forward and if needed recommend adjustments by looking for ways to possibly reduce or move allocations. The task force would consist of 2 members appointed by each councilmember and two from the council itself.
The "Gang of Six" did everything they could to shoot down that idea, and unfortunately they succeeded. Among the reasons given were the high quality of our staff and the fact that we use priority based budgeting.
We probably do have a very high quality staff. But, they are human. And sometimes humans can make mistakes, errors, or not see certain things etc. etc. etc. They are not perfect. A task force as proposed by Jenkins and Kemmling would utilize the other advantage we have here in Shawnee. To wit, a very diverse, intelligent community with folks from all career backgrounds. The task force would not be decision making but advising. Folks outside of the budget process might just see some things that could prove to be beneficial. So, what is the gang of six afraid of?
We have boards and commissions made up of citizens already. And some of them are in a position where they virtually do make the decision (Board of Zoning Appeals, Planning Commission).
So again, why would the "Gang of Six" be against utilizing the wealth of experience and knowledge that our residents could bring to the table? I have my opinions, you can formulate your own
So, are you asking why I say that? Actually, it is pretty easy to explain. First let's define the "Gang of Six". That includes Meyer, and Councilmembers Zimmerman, Neighbor, Larson-Bunnell, Sandifer and Constance.
Now for what happened. It is a matter of record. At the last Council Committee meeting members Jenkins and Kemmling brought forth some proposals regarding the budget process. One of these was to establish a citizen task force to review the budgets going forward and if needed recommend adjustments by looking for ways to possibly reduce or move allocations. The task force would consist of 2 members appointed by each councilmember and two from the council itself.
The "Gang of Six" did everything they could to shoot down that idea, and unfortunately they succeeded. Among the reasons given were the high quality of our staff and the fact that we use priority based budgeting.
We probably do have a very high quality staff. But, they are human. And sometimes humans can make mistakes, errors, or not see certain things etc. etc. etc. They are not perfect. A task force as proposed by Jenkins and Kemmling would utilize the other advantage we have here in Shawnee. To wit, a very diverse, intelligent community with folks from all career backgrounds. The task force would not be decision making but advising. Folks outside of the budget process might just see some things that could prove to be beneficial. So, what is the gang of six afraid of?
We have boards and commissions made up of citizens already. And some of them are in a position where they virtually do make the decision (Board of Zoning Appeals, Planning Commission).
So again, why would the "Gang of Six" be against utilizing the wealth of experience and knowledge that our residents could bring to the table? I have my opinions, you can formulate your own
Thursday, July 04, 2019
Happy Birthday USA
Happy birthday to the USA.
A special note to those who are objecting to President Trump's inclusion of the military in a special July 4th celebration, get over it! It was the military that secured our independence, and it has been the military that has insured that independence, and it is the military that will continue to make sure that we remain a free and independent nation by protecting all of us from aggressive enemies.
To include a military display in the 4th of July celebration is right, justified, and fitting. God bless the USA.
A special note to those who are objecting to President Trump's inclusion of the military in a special July 4th celebration, get over it! It was the military that secured our independence, and it has been the military that has insured that independence, and it is the military that will continue to make sure that we remain a free and independent nation by protecting all of us from aggressive enemies.
To include a military display in the 4th of July celebration is right, justified, and fitting. God bless the USA.
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