Update on Westbrooke Village

OK, here's the latest on the status of Westbrooke Village Shopping Center http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2016/12/21/mission-peak-capital-johnson-county-shopping.html

Apparently it did not sell at auction the other day.  I'll take a guess and say that the owner wasn't seeing the price they wanted so they may have been the ones to "buy it".

Anyway, Mission Peak Capital is headquartered in KCMO and does business nationwide.  Here is a link to their web site http://www.missionpeakcapital.com/

We Don't Want To Spend $1.5 Million

Happy that Westbrooke Village Shopping Center sold two days ago at auction.  Will be interesting to see who actually is buying it and what their plans are.

One of our illustrious (sarcastic) council members had a whopper of a suggestion a few weeks ago.  Apparently a developer wanted to build apartments on the location, but only if the city kicked in $1.5 million dollars cash (not including the possibility of other incentives).  Yepper, $1.5 million, and if the city (read that as us, the taxpayers) didn't do it we were showing that we were anti development and future growth.

Fortunately cooler heads prevailed and that idea never went anywhere.  We won't mention the council person by name.................not yet anyway  :-)

Westbrooke Village Sold at Auction

Yesterday the Westbrooke Village Shopping Center located at 75th and Quivira was sold at auction for $4,625,000.   According to city officials the appraised value of the property is $5,700,000 so it would appear that the buyer got a good deal. 

At this time it is not known who the successful bidder was but closing is supposed to take place in 30 days.

Now the big question is what will the new owners do with this shopping center?  Over the years various individuals have had a variety of suggestions, yours truly included.  Will they keep it as a shopping center?  Will they knock it down and create apartments?  Hotels?  Redesign and build a whole new shopping center?  I am sure we will find out in due time.

Anyway, my suggestions from December 2014 can be found by clicking here.  Pay particular attention to my 2nd suggestion.  Is that a good idea?  Is it viable?  Does it appeal to the new owners?

Anyway, here is hoping that whatever the new owners decide to do works out for them AND the citizens of Shawnee.  We could use a win-win situation.

Commercial Development WITHOUT Government Incentives

Wow, did ya hear it on the TV this morning?  The modified plans for the redevelopment of the Metcalf South Shopping Center are going to the Overland Park City Council for approval. 

Here's the kicker.  The cost of this redevelopment is going to be approximately $80 million dollars and the developer is doing it all with private funds.  No incentives from the City of Overland Park.

We have a council member who would probably say that because OP is not offering any incentives they are not business friendly.  LOL

Let's keep this in mind when developers come to Shawnee wanting government (read that as citizen paid for) incentives. 

Interesting, eh?

Mayor's Christmas Tree Fund Update 11/22/16

Here are the figures as of today:

Last year, the Mayor's Christmas Tree Fund raised $17,263.
So far this year, the fund has raised $13,937.54.

Let's all work together to exceed last year's figure.
The funds go to two worthy causes.

More information on how you can contribute from $5 (for an ornament) up to $2,500 (for a holiday package) is available by going to the web site here

Popular Vote vs Electoral College - A Different Perspective

There is a bunch of whining going on about how Clinton got the popular vote, and folks being upset that Trump got the electoral college vote.  And then there is a movement that folks want electors to change their votes.  Wild.

Let's look at this:

Clinton popular vote 61,047,207
Trump popular vote 60,375,961

Now, let's look at the California popular vote

Clinton  5,589,936
Trump   3,021,095

Subtracting California you get

Clinton   55,457,271
Trump    57,354,866

A little different, eh?

The electoral college was put in place so as to prevent large states (or centralized populations)  from controlling a national election.  But of course, the California liberals would like to control everything.

If you look at the map, Trump was way ahead in the number of states (and counties).  Pushing to have the electors counteract that is a bunch of nonsense.

Personal Safety Seminar - Nov 30, 2016

The following item was posted on social media by the city's communications manager, Julie Breithaupt:

The Shawnee Police Department will be presenting a Personal Safety seminar on Wednesday, November 30th at 7:00 PM at the Shawnee Civic Centre.  Learn how to better protect yourself, become more aware of your surroundings and stop a criminal from ruining your holiday season.  Don't miss out on this important seminar as we give you the tools to staying safe. Bring a friend, neighbor or loved one.  There is no charge to attend and no registration is required. For more information, contact Officer Roman Madrigal at rmadrigal@cityofshawnee.org or (913) 742-6859.

Mayor's Christmas Tree Fund 2016

The drive is on now for the Mayor's Christmas Tree Fund.  This fund is used to support local charitable organizations.

More information on how you can contribute from $5 (for an ornament) up to $2,500 (for a holiday package) is available by going to the web site here

Just think, big donations are great but if 10,000 folks contributed $5 for an ornament, the fund would raise $50,000. 

The Mayor’s Christmas Tree Fund will benefit two great organizations this year. The Shawnee Lions Club plans to use the money to buy a vision screener that will be used in local schools to check hundreds of kids for possible eye conditions. Rebuilding Together Shawnee will use its share to help even more local residents who need repairs on their homes.

Vote Tomorrow Tuesday Nov 8, 2016

I sure hope that the citizens of Shawnee break their apathetic trend and vote tomorrow.

Historically, the folks here in Shawnee show a very poor turn out for city elections, a little better when it's a governor's race, and somewhat better when it is a presidential race.

Here are the figures for the last 2 presidential races:

2012   72.54%      42344 Registered   30718 voted  (approx. 12000 did not vote)
2008   79.10%      40791 Registered   32266 voted  (approx. 8500 did not vote)

That's a lot of folks not exercising their rights. 
There are still countries in the world where folks don't have that right.

Please, vote tomorrow (unless of course you already used early voting.............we don't want to be like Chicago )

Two Fallen Police Officers in Iowa

Less than 24 hours ago two police officers were brutally ambushed and killed in the Des Moines area.
A suspect has been taken into custody.

May they rest in peace.  Our condolences to their families. 

These maddening attacks against those who have taken an oath to protect us have to stop.

Eric Jenkins vs Cindy Neighbor

In the 18th State Rep district the choice is clear........Eric Jenkins.

Cindy Neighbor apparently thinks she is running against Sam Brownback and not Eric Jenkins, who is an extremely open minded individual. 

Neighbor, on the other hand is probably a very confused individual, as she is a perennial office seeker.  She runs as a democrat, she runs as a republican, sometimes she wins, often times she loses (like she did two years ago running for the same District 18 spot).  She runs for this office, that office, any office she can.  Heck, she'd probably run for dog catcher if it was on the ballot.

Now, taking a page from her playbook, can the citizens of District 18 afford a Democrat in office?  Are the citizens of District 18 ready to give back all of the hard earned 2d Amendment friendly laws that we have gotten here in Kansas?  The Democratic party has vowed restrictions.  Remember how the Democratic party shoved Obamacare down our throats?  We see what that is doing to the nation.  What will happen to your healthcare if Democrats like Cindy Neighbor wind up in the state house?  What will happen to healthcare here in Kansas?

I could go on, and on, and on.  but I won't.

Suffice it to say that the citizens of District 18 will suffer if Cindy Neighbor is elected.

Eric Jenkins is the logical choice in that district.

Huma Abedin - Liar or Dummy?

The national scene is just too much not to make a comment.

Huma Abedin, Hillary Clinton's numero uno flunky has got to be kidding.  The FBI has recently reopened its look see at HRC's email situation.  Primarily because of Abedin emails found on her husband's laptop. 

Now Abedin is saying she doesn't know how those emails wound up on her husband's computer.
Is she stupid, or does she think everybody else is?  Must be the latter as she has been taking lessons from HRC for about 20 years.

OK, Huma, let's see if we can help you figure out how those emails got on that computer.
Here are some possibilities:

1.  Vladimir Putin put them there.
2.  Wikileaks put them there
3.  The Republican National Committee paid a bunch of folks to break into your husband's residence with all those emails on DVDs and uploaded them to the computer.
4.  The magical email fairy made them appear on the computer.
5.  You used your husband's computer and did it yourself.  Duhhhhhh.......................

If you haven't voted yet, don't forget to do so, and just for the heck of it, become a deplorable and vote for Trump.

Part 2 - Winter is Coming - Will Your Car Get Stolen?

Did you read the post below?  If not, ya might wanna give it a try.

Now here is part 2.  I've been in touch with the Shawnee PD and there are some interesting numbers to think about.

1.  Approximately 1 in 4 stolen autos during the winter months are ones which were left running. 
2.  Of the stolen vehicles left running, 55% are stolen from single family residences, 38% from apartment complex parking lots and 7% from convenience store parking lots.

I don't know about you folks, but since we are short of personnel at the PD and blackout minutes are still high, I, as a taxpayer would prefer to see our PD not have to deal with unnecessary crimes caused by citizen irresponsibility.  C'mon, it affects all of us, one way or another.

Let's use some common sense, please. 

Winter is Coming - Will Your Car Get Stolen?

Hmmmm, what does winter have to do with stolen vehicles?  That's easy.  People have a tendency to start their vehicles and leave them running unattended.  Golly gee willikers, that is an open invitation to have the vehicle stolen.  And yes, even if you lock the car because you have a spare set of keys, a thief can see the keys in the ignition, bust out a back window (doesn't want glass on the seat) unlock the door and take off.

Location doesn't matter.  Cars left running and unattended have been stolen from private driveways, parking lots of apartment complexes, shopping centers and from right in front of a convenience store.

As a matter of fact it is against the law to leave a car running with the key in it and unattended.  The only exception being those vehicles with remote starting devices (no keys in the ignition and steering wheel and shift lever are locked up).  Need proof of this.............. please click here

Eric Jenkins - State Rep - District 18

Those Shawnee residents who live in Ward 2 are familiar with their quality city council rep, Eric Jenkins.

Eric is now running for state rep out of District 18.  A highly qualified individual, Eric's public service crosses various aspects of life.  He is a retired colonel in the US Army, served many years as a senior manager with FEMA, has served on the Shawnee planning commission and now the city council.  I could go on and on with his qualifications, but suffice it to say he is substantially more qualified than his opponent.

His web site is at http://www.ericjenkinsforkansas.com/

On November 8th, voting for Eric is a vote for yourself.

Qrivit vs City of Shawnee as of 10/21/16

OK, here is the latest.  As of today the total amount spent by city to defend this lawsuit is $17,917.50

No comment from me.  Just the info for folks to think about.

Setting the Record Straight - Sister Cities

Some ill informed individuals have been posting items on social media about the city spending money to send some folks on a trip to our sister cities in Europe.

OK, let's set the record straight.  No city (i.e. taxpayer) funds are used for these trips.  The Sister Cities Committee uses donations as a partial payment for these trips.  Participants representing the city have to pay the difference out of their own pockets.  Spouses have to pay 100% of their expenses.

I'm A Bully --- And Fathers Are A Protected Class

Had an interesting thing happen to me last Sunday.

While standing in the parking lot of a grocery store a woman came up to me and accused me of being a bully because I have attacked Councilmember Jeff Vaught.  She asked why and I replied that as long as I disagreed with things he has said or done, that I would voice my opinions.  He is an elected official and his actions are subject to public scrutiny.  She seemed to think that he was in a protected class as she repeated that I should remember "he is a father". Well so am I.  She was informed that as long as he continued to say and/or do things that I disagreed with, I would continue to voice my opinion.  Her response...."...that is what I thought you would say because that is the type of person you are."

I believe this lady probably needs a remedial lesson in civics 101.  No elected official is exempt from criticism based on their parental status.  But maybe she doesn't read newspapers, watch TV news and/or documentaries, or see political commercials.

Many consider what I do a service, since many Shawnee residents don't attend council or council committee meetings.  As a matter of fact I wonder,  has this lady ever attended a council meeting?  Or maybe multiple meetings?  If she did, she would have seen Vaught on many occasions belittle members of the public and even his fellow council members.  And as for bullying, well, he has a history of attempting to bully (not just convince) members of the council to agree with his viewpoint.
He casts aspersions starting with his signature statement of how he can't understand how folks can't agree with him.

Oh well, such is life.

Two Upcoming Events

Here are two upcoming events that you might want to consider:

Quarterly Q&A With the Mayor: This takes place this evening, 10/29/16 from 7 to 8PM at
Sombrero's Mexican Cantina, located at 22702 Midland Drive.

Meet Your Shawnee Police Officers:  There's another big community outreach event being planned for Sunday, Oct. 2nd at Hy-Vee, 63rd and Pflumm, from 1200-1600 hours. It will be similar to the great National Night Out event that was held on August 2nd.  There will be police vehicles/equipment and Hy-Vee is providing a complementary cookout lunch for the event.

Congratulations to Steve McCorkill

Many of you may remember Steve McCorkill's many years of service to the City of Shawnee, and retiring as a sergeant in our PD.  And for those of us who attended the Citizen Police Academy (2012-2014), the great job he did there.

Well, Steve has decided that he has many years left to help and guide up and coming new officers.  He recently accepted a position with the Kansas Law Enforcement Academy as an instructor.

Check out his staff page by clicking here

Congrats Steve and the best to you in the new position.