Quarterly Q & A With the Mayor

The Third Thursdays With the Mayor have been very successful.

Mayor Distler is now adding an additional opportunity for the citizens of Shawnee to meet face to face with the mayor and to exchange comments and ideas.

The first Quarterly Q & A with the Mayor is scheduled for Thursday, 3/31.

Here is the info as sent out by the city:

Join Mayor Michelle Distler this Thursday for the inaugural edition of Quarterly Q&A.

This event, which is free for all Shawnee residents to attend, is intended to get citizens engaged with their city government and learn more about what is going on in the community.

 Mayor Distler will provide a brief city update and then open it up to questions and comments from the audience.

Quarterly Q&A will be held on Thursday, March 31 from 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. at Pizza West (5436 Roberts Street)

 

Mayor Distler is the first Shawnee mayor to set up so many venues where the citizens can interact with her about matters of concern to them.

Tax Lid Negative Impacts for Shawnee

It is estimated by using the last budget cycle that if the tax lid were in place then it would have resulted in between $400K-$800K of lost revenue. We have not had a mill levy increase in 10 years because we were able to capture property value growth, even during the recession. The needs in the community continue to grow as the city grows and we currently struggle to meet all of those needs in our existing budget. Additionally, by not allowing us to capture the growth once an incentivized project comes onto the tax rolls would kill us as it would be impossible to support the growth if we can’t capture the growth. Example, we like to have X # of police per capita. We build more commercial and homes out west but then are not allowed to capture the growth to grow our police,fire, and public works accordingly. If they want mill levy increases  to go to the ballot, fine, but don’t take  our valuation growth away from us.

 

Here are a few of them:

 

·         Our fire response times in Western Shawnee continue to grow (some areas are 10-12 minute response time).We NEED two new fire stations as is with national standards per capita and geographical size. At minimum, we will need to construct a new fire station in the northwest portion of the City soon.

 

·         Our residents continue to respond on the citizen satisfaction survey that they want better codes enforcement, particularly for rental properties. At this point, we have a predominantly complaint driven system. To be proactive on enforcement, we will likely need to hire additional staff.

 

·         We continue to struggle with funding the growing need for stormwater infrastructure maintenance in our community. While we have a Stormwater Utility Fee, it is also supplemented with $750,000 of General Fund Revenue. In the past few weeks we have had a storm water pipe on Holliday drive fail costing us a million dollars and one on 73rnd and Quivira costing us $250,000. These repairs have eaten up our entire budget for storm water leaving no additional funds for proactive maintenance to prevent these emergency failure repairs.

 

·         Our Police Department is looking to implement body cameras. As you know this is a best practice in the profession and something community members and even legislators are wanting cities to move towards. There are significant costs to implementing their use. This cost comes from not only on the cameras themselves, but the retention and review of data.

 

Finally, there is something to be said about the uneven playing field everyone will find themselves in when the cap goes into place. For example the current mill levy in Shawnee is 24.536 and each mill is worth about $768K. The mill levy in Lenexa is 31.807 and each mill is worth $975K. As you can see the revenue difference is quite significant. This is not to say one community has too high of a mill levy, but it just demonstrates the disparity of revenue communities will be locked into.

 

They don’t like the Feds telling them what to do but they want to tell the cities what to do who provide the most impactful daily services to the residents. Their budget is an absolute mess and we are a nationwide laughing stock on Seth Meyers and other shows. The city has a very conservative and responsible budget and bond rating, they do  not., They are so far in  debt they will never see daylight. are they wanting to put us in the same mess they are in? Not only do none of them understand local government, none of them bothered to respond to, or reach out to the local governments they claim to represent to understand the impact. Instead, they don’t allow for input and pass bull s**t under cloak and dagger in the middle of the night.

 

The ONLY reason they did it was because they raised the largest sales tax in history and had to save political face by putting a lid on us!! That way they can say yeah we raised your sales tax BUT we stopped your property tax. It was a complete political and self serving move. NOT what's BEST for the communities they represent!

 

Add to that, State Sen Mary Pilcher-Cook voted against the emergency personnel exemption to the tax lid and State Rep Brett Hildebrand voted against the mutual aid bill.

 

What is going on?

 

 

 

 

 

Shawnee Needs to Get Paid Back

This past Monday I spoke at the council meeting regarding claw backs.  Claw backs are the monies that municipal governments can get back from various tax incentives.

I am looking for these under two specific situations.  First, when a developer sells a property, makes a profit, the city should be able to get back its investment, like other investors in the project.  The other situation is when a developer fails to meet the terms of the incentive package.

Now, before I proceed further, let's clarify two things.  I am in favor of developers being able to make a profit on their investments.   I just feel that the city (our taxpayers) are entitled to their fair share.  Next, there is a place for incentives to get certain projects going.

What got me really going (and upset) was the sale of 10 Quivira Plaza.  The developer made such a high profit that even the Executive Director of our Economic Development Commission indicated that it made the property one of the highest valued ones of its kind in JoCo.  A portion of the redevelopment was covered by a CID sales tax.  This is a sales tax increase, levied for a specific amount and time to assist the developer in their project.  What happened?  The developer made their money, which they are entitled to.  But, unlike any of their other investors the City of Shawnee did not get a return on its investment.  In reality, according to information received from the City Manager the increased sales tax amount will be around for another 6-7 years.  It will end earlier than planned as the max amount appears to be on track to be attained earlier than the original period allotted.  So, the developer made their money, but our citizens are still paying a higher sales tax at that shopping center.  And many customers that shop there are some of our older, retired, on a fixed income residents.

After I spoke, Councilmember Pflumm did request that the city manager have staff look into how we can go about recouping these funds on future projects.

I think we need to look at recouping funds from the profits of these projects being sold.  Then we can work on getting back our money from projects that don't comply with the terms of the incentive packages.

And, if anybody says that an incentive is not an investment, they need to grab a Merriam-Webster's dictionary.

Which Way Will Vaught Swing?

Councilmember Jeff Vaught never ceases to amaze me.  One thing though, he keeps my research skills up.

A few weeks ago there was an item before the council.  I'll keep it simple. There was an item in the International Building and Residential codes concerning fences around swimming pools and the use of some new high tech pool covers.  These high tech covers (which run in the thousands) are mechanical and supposedly can support substantial weight.  The international codes basically said if a homeowner had one of these high tech covers that fencing was not required.  Some members of the council still wanted fencing.  Vaught, in his infinite wisdom said that since hundreds of experts had worked on these codes that we should go with their decision.

Now, let's back track to December of 2012.  There were some (5) items up for review that appeared in these international codes.  One pertained to protection from roof ice dams (ice barrier) and the other protection of wood I-joist floors (fire protection).  Now our fearless expert of all things construction thought we didn't need those.  Part of the argument was based on what it would add to the cost of constructing a new home.  But wait a minute, hundreds of experts worked on these but I guess in this case he knew better than them.

It's really nice how the arrogant one can pick and choose when he wants to use the combined knowledge of these hundreds of experts.  Guess which way he swings on these issues depends on who he wants to endear himself to.  How do we spell opportunist?


DTJVSD

Part 2 - City of Shawnee Sued - Vantage Saga Continues

In yesterday's post I discussed the recent filing of a lawsuit by QRIVIT LLC against the City of Shawnee.  If you haven't read that post yet, you might want to scroll down and read it.

Let's look at what the possible outcomes of the lawsuit could be.  Now, keep in mind, these are my personal, non-legal opinions. 

City wins the lawsuit:  OK, this ends the situation.  Primary item to consider would be what has been the cost to defend and win the suit.  Legal fees can be high.  Primary items would be number of hours put into the case, whether or not court appearances were necessary.  Research time to find out how previous cases with similar situations were handled.

City loses the lawsuit:  Whoops.............now this could be problematical.   First, the city would have the fees it cost to defend the suit.  The city might have to cover the plaintiff's legal fees.  What would be the amount of the financial reimbursements/penalties the city would be required to make to the plaintiff.  Would the project (Vantage) be court ordered to be permitted to be built?  If so, which version?  The one from the most recent council meeting (which was a little smaller, and the green areas were a little larger, and the buildings were set back a little more)  or would it be the original plan?

This will get interesting to say the least.

City of Shawnee Sued - The Vantage Saga Continues

In case you haven't heard, the City of Shawnee is being sued by QRIVIT, LLC as a result of the failed Vantage at Shawnee project.  Shawnee Dispatch article here  The case number is 16CV01076 and is filed in Johnson County.

Let me see if I can explain exactly what has transpired.  QRIVIT, LLC is the owner of the property where the developers wanted to build Vantage at Shawnee.  I believe they had what was called a conditional sale pending.  The developers would buy the property on the condition that the city approved the rezoning and accordingly the project.

The Planning Commission approved the rezoning and the project. Various property owners in the immediate area of the project were not in favor of it.  There is a provision in K.S.A. 12-757 for individuals to sign a protest petition against a project.  Basically, if individuals who own 25% or more of the property, within a 200' buffer of the project location (excluding city ROW) then there is a modified procedure for the City Council to give final approval.  The Council would have to approve the project by a super majority (7 of 9) in order for it to proceed.  As such, the required council threshold was not met and the project died.  Apparently, the plaintiff in the lawsuit is claiming losses as a result of the council turning the project down.  Some on the council voted the project down because they didn't think it was a good fit for the area, and others supported the petitioners. 

Now let's look at some interesting numbers.  There are 1,016,419 sq. ft. of land within the 200' buffer area surrounding the project.  There were 22 individuals who signed the protest petitions which accounted for 276,032 sq. ft. or 27.15% of the protest area.  That met the statutory requirements.  Now what about the 72.85% of the land or approximately 740,000 sq. ft.  Large portions of the land are owned by the city, a major utility, a church and a major retailer.  Also, portions of 28 other residential properties are included.  Now, that could include more than 28 individuals since many properties probably have multiple owners.

Now the city will have to expend funds to defend the lawsuit.  What happens if the city loses the suit?  How much in damages would it be required to pay?  Keep in mind the "city" is us, because the city's money comes from the taxpayers, all of us.  Depending on the costs, it is possible that funds might have to be diverted or reallocated from other projects and/or services.

Now, the 22 folks who signed the protest petitions had every legal right to do so.  The state law is clear on that.  But what has now happened is that the actions of those 22 folks have now possibly placed a financial burden on the rest of the city.  So I have a few questions for those 22 folks:

1.  Would you be willing to pay into a fund to reimburse your neighbors and the rest of the city for the costs associated with defending the lawsuit?

2.  If the city loses the lawsuit would you be willing to pay into a fund to reimburse your neighbors and the rest of the city for the costs associated with any loss awarded by the court?

3.  Would those individuals who as attorneys spoke against the project be willing to donate  (pro bono) their services to help the city defend against the lawsuit?

This just started, so it will be awhile before the judicial outcome is finalized.  It is going to get interesting.  Now I'm going to play devil's advocate here.  There may be some individuals that might be upset about the possibility of the city (us) having to spend substantial sums of money because of this.  Before those individuals get upset, remember, there may come a day when you might want to sign a protest petition against a proposed building project in your neighborhood. Now that could be a wild possibility............

Vantage Apartment Project Causes Dissension - Part III

Here is some interesting information for folks to consider.

Remember that because of the protest petitions it would have taken a super majority of the council to approve the project, which never happened.

Now let's talk about those protest petitions.  It is not the number of people who signed, it is the  amount of land that they own that is important for a protest petition.  To be valid the protest petition has to be signed by owners that have 20% of the land that is within a 200 foot buffer of the proposed area to be rezoned, excepting rights of way, public streets and roadways.

The area within the 200 foot of the buffer zone is 1,016,419 square feet and the petitions with signatures encompassed 276,032 square feet or 27.15% of the protest area.

Now, here is how the ownership breaks down:

22 individuals signed the petitions that met the requirements

17 of those people are registered to vote at the addresses on the petitions.....the other 5 may either not be registered or they may be registered at another location and possibly rent out those properties

9 of those folks voted in the last city election (April 2015)

4 of those folks voted in the mayoral primary election (March 2015)

Those are the numbers.  Interpret them as you wish.

An interesting side note is something that happened last Monday night at the council committee meeting.   There was an item on the agenda concerning fencing around swimming pools and a new style of pool covers.  Anyway, safety of young children was an important part of the discussion.  Guess what?  I didn't see one person from the Vantage protest group at that meeting.  Actually, how many council meetings do they attend?   Anyway, it was an apartment resident who presented the info to the committee about the high number of unattended children's deaths at swimming pools.  The info is available from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control).  I guess those folks don't really care about the safety of young children?

Vantage Apartment Project Causes Dissension Part II

Got to thinking this morning about my post from last night.

Was curious about something?  It's about those homeowners who have stereotyped apartment residents as not having a stake in Shawnee.

Do they consider city staff that live in apartments as not having a stake in Shawnee?  You know, cops, firefighters, EMS who might someday have to save their lives, and/or protect their property.  Or what about public works folks that keep the roads functional, plow them during snow storms, maintain the sewer system?  Let's not forget parks employees who go out to make sure that these folks have well maintained and equipped parks for their kids and grandkids to play in.  The list goes on.

Then again these folks are really a class act.  Like the individual who mouthed obscenities at members of the governing body at the last meeting, or threatened them with physical violence.  Or who shouted down folks who spoke who disagreed with them.

Vantage Apartment Project Causes Dissension

Tomorrow night the Shawnee City Council will again consider the rezoning request for this proposed project.

I’d like to address the attitude of many of those homeowners in the area who have been objecting to the construction of the project.  First, they do have every right to object.  This is America.

What bothers me is what appears to be the negative stereotyping of apartment residents by these protesters.  They seem to feel that apartment residents do not have a stake in Shawnee (a philosophy once endorsed by Councilmember Jeff Vaught. Has he now changed his mind on that?). 

Apartment residents have just about as much of a stake in Shawnee as individuals who reside in private homes.

Let’s look at a few things:

1.  Apartment residents comprise approximately 25% of the city’s population

2.  Apartment residents pay property taxes.  They are included in their rent (no landlord is going to be so magnanimous as to waive them)
3.  Apartment residents pay city franchise fees on utilities (and taxes)
4.  Apartment residents pay city sales taxes on their purchases in the city.
5.  Apartment residents pay personal property taxes when they buy vehicles, a portion of which comes back to the city
6.  Apartment residents pay fuel taxes when they “gas up” a portion of which comes back to the city.

Some other bits and pieces.  The State Representative for the 17^th District, the area where Vantage would go is an apartment resident.  Does he not have a stake in Shawnee?  I’ve been writing this blog for a long time.  Do I not have a stake in Shawnee?

I have attended more city council and committee meetings than six members of the governing body,  The only three who have attended more are Mayor Distler and Councilmembers Pflumm and Sandifer.  I’ve been going to these things for about ten years now.  Have these homeowner protesters ever attended any other  council and/or committee meetings?  There are lots of subjects that are important to Shawnee, not just this rezoning request.  How about the budget sessions for one?  Where are or have they been?  What about civic involvement?  Let’s try the Citizen’s Police Academy and/or the Community Emergency Response Team.  How many of these protester folks have attended these?  If they had, then they might be volunteering to assist our PD at various events, or learn how to help folks in case of an emergency and/or disaster. Nahhh, it’ll probably be some apartment resident who bails their butts out of an emergency.

Now let’s get to one of what I call a major indicator of involvement and stake holding in the city.  Voting.  How often do these protestors vote in local (city elections)?  I’m not talking about voting for president or governor.  I’m talking about voting for city council and mayor.  Shawnee, in the last election had less than 15% of its citizens vote for mayor/council.  Which category do most of these protestors belong in?  The 15% who voted for somebody for city government, or the 85% who sat on their asses at home.   Guess what?  The information is available.  Not who they voted for but whether or not they voted.  All one has to do is get a copy of the protest positions (public record, available by KORA) and match that up with the voter lists which show historical voting (also available by KORA).  Could prove to be interesting to see how these “civic minded” individuals participate in the process.  We know they hardly ever, if at all, other than this subject, get involved at city hall.

So, now it’s my turn to stereotype.  These protestors, when stereotyping apartment residents are, IMHO, arrogant, self absorbed hypocrites. For the record, I personally preferred the original project for that area, “Cobblestone”.  Now, I’d like to see this project go in just so they have the opportunity to learn to live “with their neighbors”.

DTJVSD

Interesting Council Committee Meeting Tomorrow Tue 1/5/16

First let me wish everyone a Happy New Year.  Really enjoyed my holidays with the kids and grandkids.  I will say this, Sault Ste. Marie, MI was above average in temperature and had minimal snowfall.  Not good as their tourist industry depends on it.

Anyway, tomorrow will be an interesting council committee meeting.  Councilmember Eric Jenkins (Ward II) had made some suggestions regarding the method to present the budget to the council and accordingly the public.  The suggestions were geared to make it more understandable to all.  The city's Finance Director, Maureen Rogers will show what the new presentation will look like.  Budget presentations can be hard to understand and dull.  Hopefully a presentation that is easier to understand will get more individuals involved in the process.

Also, as a result of a suggestion last year, there will be a discussion about setting aside unused project monies for matching funds.  Some projects come in at amounts lower than projected.  These surpluses could be used towards matching funds for other projects where there is funding from county, state or federal agencies that require matching funds.  Now, the term "matching funds" can be misleading, as usually the match is not dollar for dollar.  Example: There could be a project that costs $600,000. The state may pay $500,000 for it and require the city to pay $100,000 to get the state's money.  The percentages vary, but usually the city's share is quite small compared to the amount by the other entity. 

Click here for information from the agenda packet.

Wishes of the Season

Want to wish all those who read this blog the best of the season.  A Merry Christmas and a Happy Healthy New Year.

It doesn't look like we will get one this year, but we can always dream

Shawnee Leads The Way at Police Academy Graduation

Last night the 116th Class of the Johnson County Regional Police Academy graduated and its members are now certified law enforcement officers in the State of Kansas.

What was really nice was that Shawnee really led the way, starting with our police department's honor guard presenting the Colors.  And Captain Ben Mendoza's daughter, Alyssa was the vocalist who performed the National Anthem.

Then our own Captain Mitch Brim was the keynote speaker.  Very inspirational.

And on top of that Officer Derek Miller, one of four Shawnee graduates of the academy last night, was chosen by his peers to be the class spokesperson.

The new officers will now undergo department specific training and then field training with veteran officers (FTOs).

Let's wish the new "rookies" the best in their careers.

Apartment Saga Brings Out the Worst in Some

The Vantage at Shawnee Apartments are still in limbo.  I have a few things I'd like to say about this past Monday's council meeting and it has nothing to do with whether or not the project is good for Shawnee.

It has to do with some of the side events that took place.  Any long term reader of this blog knows how I feel about citizen participation/input at these meetings.  It was my suggestion that got PS-7 modified to allow additional public input.  I feel that I had something to do with the city going back to full minutes of council meetings rather than the abbreviated ones we had for a short period.

I just feel that some, not all, but some of the folks that were against the project acted like a bunch of immature hood rats.  Tough analysis.  But, IMHO, true.  When they got up to speak they spoke.  When folks got up to speak in favor of the project they were met with heckling and other negative displays.  One immature idiot was seen to be mouthing obscenities at the mayor.  Threats of physical violence were voiced against proponents of the project, and against the mayor. 

Now there is a rumor going around that some of these folks want to show up at tomorrow's Third Thursday With the Mayor just to be disruptive.  Total lack of class.  They have spoken at a planning commission meeting, at a city council meeting, and when it comes back to the council am sure they will be there then.  The third Thursdays are not necessarily designed for that.  If they do show up, and are disruptive, they will be doing a disservice to their fellow citizens who are there for its intended purpose.

So some of these self righteous folks who have on occasion belittled the types of individuals who live in apartments are actually showing that they are pretty low life themselves.  Decent people can live in private residences and apartments.  The same goes for low life's.

One additional comment about Monday's meeting.  The hired gun (attorney) for the developer came across as an arrogant twit. During his monotonous ramblings it appeared that on at least four occasions he was getting ready to conclude his commentary.  Wow, was I fooled.  He was worse than the Energizer bunny. He reminded me of an old sales philosophy which I have never liked, "If ya can't dazzle 'em with brilliance, baffle 'em with BS." Even if the developer's VP was not a polished speaker he might have come across as more human than the hired gun.

'Nuff said, for now.

The Dispatch take on the meeting.

Elect or Appoint Council Replacements?

At the upcoming Council Committee meeting (Tuesday 12/8/15) one of the topics up for discussion is whether to appoint or have an election when a council seat becomes vacant.

This discussion is prompted by various factors.  First Charter Ordinance 40 is going to have to be changed to comply with the new Kansas law regarding when local elections will be held.  Since 2012 we have had three council vacancies.  Two because of resignations and one because of a council member being elected as mayor. 

The appointment of Alan Willoughby (former mayor Jeff Meyers' uncle by marriage) to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of David Morris resulted in an investigation by JoCo DA Howe regarding possible violations of KOMA (Kansas Open Meetings Act).  In a blistering rebuke at the time, DA Howe found that there was an apparent violation of the spirit of the law.  With the two appointments that were subsequent to that one various members of the public and even some council members questioned the fairness of the appointment system currently being used. 

Some have now called for an election process to fill vacancies.  No decisions will be made Tuesday but input will be taken for consideration for when the charter ordinance has to be changed.

Personally I favor the election process.  In the recent citizen satisfaction survey this item was one of the questions, and a majority favored keeping the current appointment process.  I will attempt on Tuesday night to show, how, in my opinion, the question was asked in such a manner as to manipulate the answer.

Being Politically Correct Can be a Bunch of Garbage

Very seldom do I write anything on this blog that does not have anything to do with Shawnee, but today will be one of those times.

With some of the recent events that have been happening it is time to speak out.  There are folks who don't like the term Islamic terrorist.  Well, let's see, what would you call someone who is of that religion who uses terror to try and subvert others to their way of thinking?  Another no no is illegal aliens or illegal immigrants.  Golly gee, there are legal ways to enter the United States.  If ya don't do it legally then you have to be illegal.  Simple, isn't it?

Maybe the PC police would like us to change other terms:

1.  Illegal parking becomes improperly positioned motor vehicle
2.  Murderer becomes a life termination expeditor
3.  Wife/husband batterer becomes a spousal attitude adjustment specialist
4.  Thief becomes a wealth distribution specialist (synonymous also with Democratic presidents/presidential candidates)
5.  Drug dealer becomes amateur pharmaceutical distributor
6.  Drunk becomes limited alcohol tolerance
7.  Drunk driver becomes limited alcohol tolerance vehicle operator
8.  Arsonist becomes an uncontrolled pyrotechnic display artist

We Are Behind in Donations for the Mayor's Christmas Tree Fund

We are running behind last year's donations:

As of today there is $11,484.99 collected.  Last year a total of  $21,683.58 was collected.  This is a very worthy cause and it is sincerely hoped that Shawnee will respond.

Time is rapidly coming to the end of when donations can be made for this year's Mayor's Christmas Tree Fund.  December 5th is the date that the funds will be given to this year's selected charity, Shawnee Community Services  This is a local community food pantry.

More information about the fund can be found here

What is nice is that donations can start at just $5 by clicking here and can go up to $2,500 by clicking here.

The people of Shawnee have always shown a willingness to help others in the community.  Please do so this time.

Examples of Stupidity

On 11/6/15 I posted "Stupidity Costs All of Us" (scroll down), concerning how we are all affected by what some folks do (or don't do) that causes vehicles to be stolen, or other crimes to be committed.

Going through the various cases posted on line here in Shawnee I could post dozens of examples of stupidity.  But, I have chosen just to post two of them (underlining mine).

CN1505215 11/16/2015 06:11 AM 24100 Block W 67 TERR AUTO THEFT Victim's unlocked vehicle was stolen from the driveway with keys taken from another unlocked vehicle in the driveway

CN1504892 10/27/2015 10:26 AM 13600 Block W 49 TERR RESIDENTIAL BURGLARY Open garage door entered, unsecured vehicles entered and items stolen from vehicle

Folks, ya gotta start using some common sense.  I personally have little or no sympathy for these "victims".  As previously posted, on top of all the problems, financial losses, potential insurance rate increases, etc., we are creating cases for our PD that are unnecessary and it could better use its resources for other crimes.

Tomorrow 11/19/15 - Third Thursday With the Mayor

Great way to get info and also to get involved and ask questions about YOUR city


From the city's web site:

The next Third Thursday will take place on November 19 at 9:00am at the Shawnee Civic Centre (13817 Johnson Drive). All residents of Shawnee are welcomed to attend

Kansas Bill of Rights - Sections 3, 2 & 20

At various times, when addressing the Shawnee city council I have had to remind some of their members of Section 3 of the Kansas Bill of Rights.  This has usually come up when some members who profess to support open government, actually try to suppress it (i.e. restrict input by citizens, not wanting full minutes of meetings etc.)

For those not familiar with Section 3, it is quoted below (highlights and underlining mine): 

§ 3. Right of peaceable assembly; petition. The people have the right to assemble, in a peaceable manner, to consult for their common good, to instruct their representatives, and to petition the government, or any department thereof, for the redress of grievances.

Now I think it is time to remind certain members of the council about Section 2 of the Bill of Rights of the Kansas State Constitution.  Mainly because some on the council seem to think that they "are above the citizens" of the city and this might entitle them to certain privileges.

§ 2. Political power; privileges. All political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and are instituted for their equal protection and benefit. No special privileges or immunities shall ever be granted by the legislature, which may not be altered, revoked or repealed by the same body; and this power shall be exercised by no other tribunal or agency.

This is not to say that the council has attempted to grant any special privileges to themselves or any members, it is just to say that some members seem to think that they have special privileges.

There are 20 sections to the State's Bill of Rights.............I just love Section 20

§ 20. Powers retained by people. This enumeration of rights shall not be construed to impair or deny others retained by the people; and all powers not herein delegated remain with the people.

The Mayor's Christmas Tree Fund 2015

Time is rapidly coming to the end of when donations can be made for this year's Mayor's Christmas Tree Fund.  December 5th is the date that the funds will be given to this year's selected charity, Shawnee Community Services  This is a local community food pantry.

More information about the fund can be found here

What is nice is that donations can start at just $5 by clicking here and can go up to $2,500 by clicking here.

The people of Shawnee have always shown a willingness to help others in the community.  Please do so this time.