Another Reminder

Monday................8/8/11.......7:30PM.................City Hall

On the agenda:  The proposed Community Improvement District for 10 Quivira Plaza

Be there.................voice your opinion.............

Tell your friends, family about this important meeting.  It could set a precedent.  Is it a precedent that you want?  Let's hear you.

Be There, Monday August 8, 2011

Reminder................

Public hearing for the proposed Community Improvement District at 10 Quivira Plaza will be Monday, August 8, 2011 at 7:30 PM in the city council chambers, Johnson Drive and Nieman Rd.

This is an important issue for many reasons, including the possibility of a 1/2% sales tax increase for the shops in the district.  Keeping in mind that the largest generator of revenue in the shopping center is a grocery store.

Be there at the hearing with your opinions............the good, the bad and the ugly.............but be there.

Community Improvement District - 10 Quivira Plaza

Well, this is coming up again.  The public hearing is scheduled for Monday, August 8th at the City Council meeting at 7:30PM.

If approved, this would also include a 1/2% sales tax just on the shops in that center.  The basics are that  $4.2 million is needed for the revitalization of the shopping center.  The ownership is putting up $2.8 million and the balance ($1.4 million) would come from the extra sales tax.

This is another one of those items that needs citizen input................pros and cons.

One thing that I find intriguing is that just like last time, the item did not come before a committee but directly to the full council.

No Mill Levy Increase

Whooopeeee.  Some folks are making noise about how the city budget did not include a mill levy increase.

Of course not.  We have our 5% franchise fee.  Wheeeeeeee.  OK, let's use the KISS theory.  Your utility bills have a franchise fee on them.  The fee is 5% of the utility bill.  Basically that goes back to the utility because that is what the city is charging them and state law allows the utilities to pass that on.  That is why, when it came up in the summer of 2009 many folks (including me) spoke out against it.  See what happens, is that everytine the utility rates go up, that 5% goes up.  Every time you use more gas and/or electricity your bill goes up (think super hot summer or super cold winter...look at next month's bill for the effect of the July heat), and your 5% franchise fee amount goes up.

Way back when..............I said that eventually folks might forget it was the city that levied this and would start holding it against the utilities. 

So, there are folks who can pat themselves on the back and make themselves look and sound good for not raising the mill levy............but just look at that franchise fee.  Up, up and away....... in our rising utility costs, translated to franchise fee, translated to.............tax.

Where Did $79 Million Go?

Unless you were at the Shawnee City Council meeting Monday night you probably cannot answer that question.

The point I'm trying to make is that unless Shawnee citizens get involved they have no idea how the council is spending their money. 

Monday was a perfect example of what I have been saying for a long time.  During the business from the floor portion (after the budget hearing), a member of the community got up to say how unhappy he and other folks in his subdivision were with some recent street repairs.  Personally, I do not know if his complaints was valid or not.  What I do know is that he, like just about everybody else, never showed up at various council meetings when it was discussed how certain street repairs had to be modified.  They were never there when it was discussed how certain repairs, for budgetary reasons, had to be cut back.  And, he and others were not there to discuss, at the budget hearing, the various points of how to use the Deffenbaugh impact fees (infrastructure, eco development or a combination).

And are he and his neighbors among the high percentage of Shawnee residents who vote in Presidential elections, but sit home for City Council elections.  Don't believe me?  Here are the numbers, for Shawnee:

2008 Presidential election  40,791  registered voters   32,177 actually voted

2010 City Council election   39,862 registered voters  3,890 actually voted

That means that 78.9% of Shawnee citizens voted for President, but only 9.8% voted in the last city election.

The elected body that controls local taxes, provides emergency services, maintains streets and parks, plows snow,  etc only less than 1 out of 10 residents get involved to the point of voting.  How many show up at council and/or council committee meetings?  Usually the number can be counted on the fingers of one hand, if that many.

Disgusting.

Tonight's the Night

Apologies to Rod Stewart....................but.............tonight's the night.

Yepper, the Shawnee budget hearing is tonight.

Will you be there to see how the city uses your money?
Will you be there to tell them what you agree with?
Will you be there to tell them what you disagree with?

Are  you interested in seeing and hearing how tens of millions of your dollars are being spent?

Coming to a City Hall Near You

Monday, 7/25/11 coming to the Shawnee City Hall will be the public hearing for the 2012 budget.

Come see how the city spends your money.
Come speak on the items you agree with.
Come speak on the items you disagree with.
Come take part in the governmental process that has the most effect on your daily lives.

Budget Public Hearing - Mon 7/25/11

This coming Monday the Shawnee City Council will hold a public hearing on the amended 2011 budget and on the 2012 budget.  The council meeting starts at 7:30PM.

As stated on numerous occasions it is amazing how little interest Shawnee citizens take in local government.  Yet it is local government that has the most effect on our daily lives.

There are numerous items in the proposed 2012 budget that folks need to look at, among them:

Economic development vs street maintenance
A proposed volunteer program with a proposed paid coordinator
City contributions to various organizations

It would be nice for folks to turn out, listen, and even comment.  And, see and hear how your elected representatives vote on these issues.

Upcoming Public Hearings

Public Hearings at the City Council are very important events. They are one of the major ways that citizens can voice their approval or disapproval regarding items that the council will be voting on.

Unfortunately, most folks in Shawnee do not get involved at these hearings. They just wait until after the fact to ask "How did that happen?" or "Why didn't that happen?"

OK...here are the two that are coming up:

Budget Hearing: This will be on Monday, 7/25/11, at 7:30PM. Both the amended 2011 budget and the proposed 2012 budget will be voted on by the council. Get involved with how your money is being spent.

Community Improvement District: This will be on Monday, 8/8/11, at 7:30PM. The ownership of the 10 Quivira Plaza Shopping Center (Quivira Rd and Shawnee Mission Parkway) have applied for the property to be designated a CID. This would involve the ownership investing funds for upgrades and the levying of an additional 1/2 cent sales tax for part of the upgrades, applicable only to the shops in that center.

What happens at these hearings will have a definite impact on Shawnee and its citizens. People need to get involved.

As we get closer to these hearings I will be posting some opinions regarding certain items.

Gotta Love Vegas

Well, ya gotta love it.

On 5/22/11 (see below) I commented on the Global Retail Real Estate Convention. It was indicated that four people were going to represent the city: the executive director of the SEDC, the city's development director, the city manager and one city council person.

It was mentioned that in my opinion we only needed to send the first two individuals and the other two could have stayed home.

So let's see what the impact was for sending City Manager Gonzales and Council Member Kuhn.

Gonzales expense report: $1,816.34
Kuhn expense report: $1,637.64

Total $3,453.98

And since they both went, why couldn't they "double up" in their hotel room? Most private businesses are requiring that now.

And last, but not least. Apparently Dawn Kuhn uses the travel to Vegas (just like last year) to extend her stay (this year an extra 4 days) past the convention's end. Apparently vacation time is needed. Granted, this is at no additional cost to the city, but because it is tied into the convention she doesn't have the associated transportation costs. I'm curious. She did this last year also...............now I wonder..............has she done this before then also? Maybe we need to look and see how many times she was the "chosen" one to go to Vegas.

Whose Money Is It?

OK............we'll keep this one simple.

At last night's council meeting the use of the "Impact Fee" that Deffenbaugh will be paying was discussed.

When it was brought up that council needed to be dilligent in how this "taxpayer money" was used, Jeff Vaught went on a Dawn Kuhn style diatribe.

The problem here is that Vaught kept saying that the money was not the taxpayer's but was an impact fee.

OK, we already know that Vaught had a problem with a 4th grade vocabulary word, and for a self professed commercial real estate expert had no knowledge of the International Building Code. (working in a field does not necessarily make one an expert) Now let's add to that the fact that he apparently does not understand what funds are "taxpayer funds".

Try this Jeff: The city receives funds.............regardless of the source, these monies become "taxpayer funds" because the monies are "owned" by the city, and the city is "owned" by its citizens (where local taxpayer and citizen in this case can be synonomous). Other than grants from other entities which are provided for specific purposes (and relieve the city of using some of its monies for these purposes) these are "taxpayer monies". Ergo, it is the council's responsibility to ensure that these monies are diligently used.


DTJVSD

Short Letter to the Star

Had a short one in the KC Star on Sunday, 6/26......and it's on line
here

Or, if you'd rather read it now:

Gel fuels create hazard

I have one question in reference to the June 16 front-page article, “Gel fuels raising concerns on safety,” about the dangers of the sticky flammable materials used in some firepots, tiki torches and other outdoor fire products:

Has anybody ever heard of napalm and how it functions?

Ray Erlichman
Shawnee

Thoughts About the 2012 Budget

At last night's Public Works and Safety Committee meeting more items regarding the upcoming budget were reviewed.

One item of interest was Jeff Vaught's comments about not giving Wonderscope Children's Museum $10,000. Gee Jeff, are you finally listening to me?

Last year, and for a couple of years prior to that I have spoken out at council (it's on the record) that we should eliminate the city's contribution to that organization. There were times when I even produced copies of Wonderscope's IRS Form 990. As a tax exempt organization their IRS filings are available for public scrutiny. One year, they gave a former executive director a 15% salary increase, while we were freezing employee salaries. Hopefully the item can be struck from the 2012 budget.

Interesting side note is that Dawn Kuhn was silent on this last night when in the past she has jumped to the defense of Wonderscope. Wonder why? Does her silence mean that she does not support giving them the money?

Let's move on to the topic of economic development.

SEDC executive director Andrew Nave gave a presentation. I'm not going to go through it item by item but suffice it to say it is my opinion that some things were lacking.

There was talk about attracting various businesses, but, that we did not necessarily have the buildings of sufficient size for them. The city manager mentioned that some companies were expressing an interest in the riverfront project/area.

At no time do I remember hearing any mention of a strong emphasis to attract destination type businesses/developments that could feed off of KCK's Village West along the I-435 corridor. Duhhhhhhhhhhhh.........................

When the presentation brought up info about new businesses and their potential payrolls, Council Rep Neal Sawyer asked a very important question: How much of those projected payrolls would stay in Shawnee? Very valid.

Side note: A few years back I proposed that any incentives given to businesses should have a tie in to the payrolls remaining in Shawnee. Think about that. How beneficial is a business that employs let's say 25 people, with a yearly payroll of $1,000,000 if let's say $800,000 of that belongs to folks who live (buy/rent) and shop in other cities. Will some of that be spent here? Yepper. Would more of it stay here if these businesses brought folks to Shawnee from other cities? Yepper.

Family Squabble?? Part 2

Well, I finally listened to the audio version of the 6/7/11 Finance and Administration Committee meeting (see the earlier post below).

I'll keep it simple. Based on what I heard, Council Rep Dawn Kuhn was way out of line in her rant against Council Rep Neil Sawyer.

The post below links to an item in the Shawnee Dispatch in which it is noted that Council Rep Vaught even saw nothing wrong with Mr. Sawyer's question, indicating that if council didn't question items that we might as well have eight rubber stamps up there.

Mr Sawyer did not berate or beat up on staff as Motormouth Kuhn suggested. If anybody was insolent or antagonistic or rude it was Kuhn in her comments directed to Mr Sawyer.

"Family" Squabble??

Was there a "family" squabble during last Tuesday's Finance and Administration Committee meeting?

I left early...........missed it....but heard about it at http://www.shawneedispatch.com/weblogs/between-shawnee-lines/2011/jun/08/r-e-s-p-e-c-t/

Will be listening to the audio version of the situation before voicing my opinion.

Educated Idiots

Who am I referring to? The majority of the registered voters in Shawnee. Ooooops, you're not supposed to insult folks. Too bad. Read on and you'll see why.

Back in April I thanked the mayor for his comments in the city's newsletter http://shawneeray.blogspot.com/2011/04/thank-you-mr-mayor.html

I also jokingly told him in the parking lot one night that I was thinking of suing him for plagiarism. The mayor basically brought out how important it is for the people of Shawnee to get involved with what happens in the city, especially with city government. Again, this is something I've been preaching about for quite some time.

It seems that when a "big" election rolls around (presidential especially, then gubernatorial) the folks in Shawnee show up to the polls in droves. Sometimes in a presidential election maybe as many as 80% of the registered voters.

But what happens in the local elections (mayor, city council)? We are lucky to see 10% of the registered voters show up.

Well folks let me explain something to the feeble minded: It is the council that is responsible for street repairs, sales taxes, mill levies, snow removal, police protection, fire protection, emergency services, maintenance of parks, swimming pools ad infinitum. Neither the occupant of the White House or the Governor's mansion has as much of an effect on your daily lives. Yet what do the feeble minded (educated idiots) of Shawnee do? They sit home and don't show up to vote.

The worst part of it is that here in Johnson County we have an elections department that goes out of its way to provide easy access to voting. There is the basic in person at the polls on election day. Then there is advance voting at the election office and various remote locations. There is also advanced mail voting (and you don't have to be stuck at home ill to take advantage of that).

So now why do I refer to (and insult) the folks in Shawnee? That's easy. Shawnee has a very high percentage of college educated folks living in the city. But they allow less than 10% of the registered voters to control what happens in the city. Actually less than 5%.............because if less than 10% show up in a ward, then approximately 1/2 of that amount will determine the winner.............and if it's a close race, maybe in reality only 50 people or so will determine the winner. That is disgusting.

Next April four council positions and the mayor's position will be up for election. There are two council members, who, if they choose to run again, need to be unseated. More on this later.

So, unless the educated idiots get off their collective posteriors and vote they should be prepared to accept whatever happens in the city.

More Watching

This past weekend was apparently a real hot one up at the Kansas Speedway with the race.

No long drawn out comments today.........................did we get any bleed off from the massive crowds?

Rumor has it that the two Shawnee motels were booked (217 rooms I believe) and that the restaurants at Midland Dr and I-435 did a nice business.

But, that's chicken feed compared to what we could have if we had destination development along that I-435 corridor. Even that 3d motel that was approved years ago would be nice.

Alas, as the Speedway, Village West etc have been growing for 10 years our I-435 corridor has remained void of any major attractions.

Viva Las Vegas

It’s that time of the year again. The Global Retail Real Estate Convention is being held by the International Council of Shopping Centers in little old Las Vegas.

So, who is going to represent Shawnee? Well, we can start with Andrew Nave, Executive Director of the Shawnee Economic Development Council. Then there is Doug Wesselschmidt, Development Director for the City of Shawnee. Now in my opinion, that’s where we need to stop.

But nope, two more individuals are going: City Manager Carol Gonzales and Ward III Councilmember Dawn Kuhn. Last year three local businessmen also went to represent their own interests. Not sure if any are going this year.

Will this trip prove beneficial for Shawnee? Who knows? It is my understanding that as a result of last year’s trip we got the new Burger King coming to town. Maybe this time we will get a Hardee’s.

Question: When will we, after all these years, get something to draw some bleed off from the Village West complex?

Oh, is Dawn Kuhn planning on staying a couple of extra days after the convention in Vegas like she did last year? Must be nice.

All We Cand Do is Watch Part II

Well if you scroll down a little you will see the original post on this topic.

Now we know that the Willi Nelson FarmAid 2011 concert is coming to town. And guess where this one is going to be? At the new soccer stadium in Village West? (Side note: Soccer games are starting soon)

Will Shawnee get any bleed off from that? Do we have anything to attract those folks down the I-435 corridor?

Those guided tours of the largest landfill in the midwest are getting to sound pretty good.

Refunds & Credits

As previously noted on this blog, funds were advanced for both airfare and meeting registration fees for Councilmember Vaught for a NLC convention which he subsequently did not attend.

Inquiries to the city manager have resulted in the following information being received:

The airfare is available for Mr. Vaught to use within a year. NLC has refunded the registration, all but a $70 change fee.

So the city got back a majority of the money for the NLC registration fee. Good.

What about the airfare?

IMHO, here are the options:

1. Use the airfare in the future, which would also mean spending additional funds for registration, hotel, meals etc.

2. Same as one above, but make sure we keep the number of participants to no more than 2 and that Mr. Vaught is one of the two.

3. Suffer the loss of the airfare without paying for any additional travel related expenses.

I still think these meetings can be beneficial. Just don't feel that we need to send a whole bunch of folks. Would recommend number 2 above.