Vaught Does It Again - Belittles A Fellow Councilmember

Interesting item at last night's council meeting.

It started with a proposal to purchase a new striping machine for the public works department.  f\For the record, IMHO, they do need a new one.  The current item has some severe problems.

Anyway, Councilmember Kemmling had some questions about the item.  As a councilmember, he or any councilmember has a right to question expenditures. 

What happened next though was another example of Vaught's arrogant attitude that he and he alone knows what is right.  He just could not understand how another councilmember could vote without question on spending over $300K for new police vehicles but questioned the PW item.  What he said and how he said it can be accessed by listening to the audio of the meeting.

My only regret?  The misguided woman who accosted me in the Hy-Vee parking lot a few months ago wan't at the meeting to hear Vaught's bullying, belittling comments towards a fellow councilmember.  Remember that?  If not, click here to read it.





DTJVSD

Mayor Asks for Citizen Input

At yesterday's State of the City luncheon Mayor Michelle Distler asked citizens to provide input for the current satisfaction survey.

Some residents of the city will be receiving a copy of the survey in the mail.  If you do it has been requested that you complete it and return it. 

Those who have not received a copy in the mail may still complete the survey by clicking here.
This is one way for the citizens of Shawnee to let their feelings be known about various items concerning the city. 

Information about the city's on line service request was also mentioned.  This can also be done with an app on a person's phone.  Additional info about this can be found by clicking here.

The mayor highlighted various projects that have contributed to positive growth in Shawnee and went through a list of accomplishments by various city departments.

One area that is of importance to me (and many others) is public safety.  As a result of receiving two grants the city will be able to hire five additional police officers and supply the PD with body cameras for all members of the department.  Two positive items which were firmed up when the city council approved certain matching funds.

A new fire station (designated 74) has been authorized for the west side of Shawnee.  A specific location has not as yet been determined.  One thing that will happen once it is built is that response times to neighborhoods on the west side will be reduced for both fire fighting and medical emergencies.  This is positive for both life saving and property damage control.

Three Legislators Ignored Query, Two Replied

Recently I sent an email to the five individuals who represent parts of Shawnee in the state legislature concerning campus carry. I published that letter on my blog and it can be viewed by clicking here.

Three of the five individuals failed to respond. These were State Reps Tom Cox, Cindy Neighbor and Linda Gallagher (who happens to be my rep). I guess they feel that inquiries from the public should be ignored.

Two of the individuals did respond, State Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook and State Rep. Shelee Brim. My promise was to post any replies I received and they are below. For the record, I concur with Pilcher-Cook's comments. On the other hand Brim said absolutely nothing. She wants to hear from her constituents? That's a bunch of nonsense. She has an obligation to inform her constituents what her stand is on any given issue and then let them come back and either voice agreement or disagreement. A wimpy answer from her.  Learn to take a stand.

Here they are

PILCHER-COOK:
Dear Ray,

Thank you for taking the time to write regarding your opposition to weakening our 2nd Amendment protections as it pertains to college campuses. 　I agree with your stance and appreciate your diligence in standing up for this important constitutional right.

The public has the right to protect themselves, and that includes on the grounds of public universities. 　Many of our citizens spend a good part of their day working and attending classes and activities on college campuses.　 Threats to personal safety don’t disappear once you step on campus; nor should rights to protect oneself diminish as a result.

Denying anyone their constitutional right to self-protection empowers criminals and leaves individuals vulnerable to criminal attack.

It's also important to remember that criminals are not, by definition, law abiding citizens and a gun-free zone is not going to deter them - in fact, quite the opposite. 　This is why we must prevent any erosion in public safety, and that includes the right of law abiding citizens to protect themselves on college campuses.

Thank you again for your note, and I trust you will be following this debate throughout the session.

Sincerely,
Mary Pilcher-Cook
BRIM:
Dear Ray,

Thank you for your input. I appreciate hearing from constituents regarding issues of concern. I will read all correspondence from District 39 constituents and take the information provided into consideration when making decisions.

Sincerely,

Shelee Brim   

How The Votes Went Down

In my post of 1/24/17 I stated that the election for council president showed just how contentious things can be at city council meetings.

Let's look at exactly how the votes went down.

For Council President:

Neighbor was nominated, there was no second, no vote
Kemmling was nominated and seconded, not enough yes votes
Meyer was nominated and seconded, not enough yes votes
Kenig, was nominated and seconded and elected

For Vice-Chairman of the Council Committee:

Sandifer was nominated, there was no second, no vote
Jenkins was nominated and seconded, not enough yes votes
Vaught was nominated and seconded and elected

New Council President Elected

Last night the city council elected Brandon Kenig (Ward IV) as the council president.

The election went through various nominations and votes as the personality clashes, evident at many council and committee meetings were obvious.

The council president has two functions:  first to chair council committee meetings and second to assume the mayor's role in the mayor's absence (presiding over a council meeting, standing in at a civic event, etc.).  That also includes becoming mayor should something unfortunate happen to the mayor.

I have some concerns about this choice.  Mr. Kenig appears to be an intelligent young man, but IMHO may lack the experience, at this time, for this position.  He has not even been on the council two years, having been appointed to fill the unexpired council term of Mayor Distler.  As such, he has not even been elected to the council.  An additional concern would be his demeanor.  He is likable but appears to be soft spoken.  Will he be able to wield the gavel when certain council members step out of line?  Will he be able to control certain council members when they attack their peers or members of the public?  Basically, will he be able to keep council committee discussions on track?  Time will tell.

Jeff Vaught (Ward III) was elected council committee vice-chair.  This position requires him to fill in at council committee meetings in the absence of the council president.  The vice-chair is not in the line of succession should something unfortunate happen to the mayor and the council president.

Beautiful Sounds

Ah yes, these were beautiful sounds to hear:

1.  Donald J Trump taking the oath of office as President of the United States

2.  Ruffles and Flourishes followed by Hail to the Chief

3.  A 21-gun salute by the 3rd Infantry "Old Guard"

Email to Legislators, Re: Campus Carry

The following email was sent this morning to State Sen Mary Pilcher-Cook and State Reps Linda Gallagher, Tom Cox, Shelee Brim and Cindy Neighbor.

Good morning,

This email is being sent to those members of the Kansas legislature that represent the City of Shawnee.  So that there is no misunderstanding a copy of this email will be posted at http://www.shawneeray.blogspot.com  Any replies (which are both welcome and encouraged) will also be posted there.

It is my understanding that some members of the legislature are trying to change Kansas statutes so as to eliminate the upcoming deadline of 7/1/17 that would allow for campus carry.  They want a permanent ban on campus carry.

It is my opinion that any action to change the current deadline would be wrong.  Continuing a ban on campus carry would not create safe areas.  Just look at the number of high volume shootings and where they occurred.  They take place in gun free zones, including that movie theater in Colorado. Why?  It is really very simple.  Gun free zones leave the innocent with no protection.  Let’s use some common sense and logic here and NOT emotions.  An individual who is desirous of committing a heinous crime is not going to let a sign on a door to a building stop them.  Knowing that some of their potential victims might be armed could be a deterrent.

The current statute calls for those institutions that want to continue with bans on bringing firearms into building must provide armed security along with detection devices.  An 8-1/2 x 11 sign would mean something to law abiding citizens but NOT to criminals.

Feel good laws do not stop criminals.  A reminder:  after the horrendous situation at Sandy Hook the State of Connecticut passed a bunch of gun control legislation.  When asked which of the new laws would have stopped the perpetrator, Adam Lanza, the answer was none of them.

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Thank you

Ray

Policy Change Allows for Better Input by Citizens at Council Meetings

At last week's city council meeting the council approved a policy change to PS-7 submitted by Councilmember Eric Jenkins.

Briefly stated this change will allow for citizens interested in commenting on a project or any item to form a group and have one spokesperson (which could be an outside expert) speak on behalf of the group.  The individual would have 30 minutes with the possibility of two 15 minute extensions.

In the past when there was an item which resulted in many citizens wanting to speak there was a lack of a fluidity to their comments.  This was because each person was allocated five minutes.  As a result, many people repeated each other's comments.

With this change, well thought out commentary can be presented.  This procedure will apply to any Witem where a group wants to be represented.  Whether they be for or against a project, or any item.

This is a definite additional step in assuring citizen involvement and open government in Shawnee.

The changes are listed in the agenda with supporting documentation for the 1/9/17 meeting which can be viewed by clicking here

The city's web site of policy statements will be updated in the near future and then it can be viewed by going here

Kudos to Councilmember Jenkins for submitting this and to the council for approving it.

She's A Pistol Will be Missed

I was in Sault Ste-Marie, Michigan for the recent holidays when word was received that Becky Bieker was closing down her store.

It was in Gardner, Kansas at the Tumbleweed Café when I first met Becky & Jon.  Was having lunch with a friend and as we were leaving I noticed this SUV in the parking lot all painted up with "She's A Pistol" and a logo, etc.  Seeing that it was after the normal lunch and they were the only other folks in the place I figured the vehicle was theirs.  So, went up and asked them, and they said yes.  Found out that they were looking to open a store front operation in either Lenexa or Shawnee.  Gave them some names of folks that might be able to help them.  None of those worked out but the good news was that they were able to make other contacts that could help.

What has happened to them has been written and covered by many folks so I will not go into the story itself.

What I'd like to do is comment about the four individuals who attempted to rob the store, killed her husband and ultimately caused her to suffer severe financial losses to the extent that she has had to close her business.

These four malcontents represent the worst of our society.  Instead of getting jobs and attempting to be productive members of the human race these animals chose to destroy and bring grief to five families.  First, to Becky and her family.  They took away her husband and best friend and caused a hard working business person to suffer the loss of her business.  A business that she and Jon spent years to develop.  A business that became an integral part of our community and which was respected by that community.

The other four families that they destroyed were theirs.  Their families will have to live with the knowledge of what they did.  Also, especially since these are young people, their families will never be able to see them bring joy and love into the world by having children of their own, and also by being productive members of society.

If justice prevails they will spend the rest of their natural lives incarcerated and unable to bring grief to anybody else.  And when they get there, these punk ass SOBs who thought they were tough will find out that they are not the toughest folks on the block.  They will meet individuals much tougher than they are.  And when they get there many of those that they meet will look at them as...... "fresh meat".

Qrivit vs City of Shawnee as of 12/31/16

OK, here is the latest.  As of today the total amount spent by city to defend this lawsuit is $32,534.35.

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

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.