September 9, 2020 City Commission Meeting

Announcements

• 📅 Diaper Awareness Week: Mayor Ed Bolt issued a proclamation declaring September 21st through 27th, 2020, as Diaper Awareness Week in Shawnee. The proclamation highlighted the issue of diaper need and recognized the Legacy Parenting Center for its work in distributing diapers and supporting families. Legacy Parenting Center, a local non-profit, has seen a 61% increase in families needing diaper assistance during the pandemic.
• 📅 Voter Registration Event: A voter registration event is scheduled for Thursday from 3 PM to 7 PM. Citizens are encouraged to register to vote, and organizers will ensure proper social distancing.

Public Comments

• Affordable Housing & City Lots: Mike Little, a lifelong Shawnee citizen and former city commissioner, spoke about the need for affordable housing. He highlighted challenges in acquiring county-declared surplus lots due to high city judgments (up to $15,000-$20,000) on properties. He expressed strong support for the city streamlining the process of making lots available to individuals and builders for affordable housing development.
• Airbnb Concerns on Twin Lakes: Kenny Sparks and Jay Murphy, residents with leased properties on Twin Lakes, raised concerns regarding the operation of Airbnbs in their area. They questioned whether proper procedures, such as conditional use permits and notification to neighbors within 300 feet, were followed. Mr. Murphy specifically noted his lease prohibits subletting and that his neighbor began operating an Airbnb without, to his knowledge, applying for a permit.
• Blue Zone City Status: A citizen inquired about Shawnee's status as a "Blue Zone certified city." Commissioners later confirmed that Shawnee is indeed a certified Blue Zone city, having successfully completed the certification process.

Key Decisions & Votes

• Consent Agenda: The routine administrative items on the consent agenda were approved with a vote of 4 in favor and 2 abstentions.
• Whitaker Street Rehabilitation Engineering Contract: The Council approved a contract with Holloway, Updike and Bellen Inc. for engineering services related to the rehabilitation of Whitaker Street in front of Horseman School and Draper Street down to Highland. This project will address water line replacement, new curb installation, handicap ramps, and drainage issues. (Vote: 6-0)
• Surplus Property Declaration & Sale: A resolution was approved to declare the real property at 229 North Kickapoo Avenue (formerly Templeton Appliance Repair) as surplus. This authorizes staff to solicit sealed bids for the sale of the property and set a minimum bid. The property was acquired as part of the Kickapoo Street job. (Vote: 6-0)
• Deferred Rezoning Applications: Four public hearing items concerning rezoning ordinances were deferred to future meetings.
  • 1018 West Benedict Street (P13-20): Rezoning from C1 to C3. Deferred due to a software issue with agenda posting. (Vote: 6-0)
  • 815 North Harrison Avenue (P14-20): Rezoning from C1 to C3 with a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for a cellular communications tower. Deferred due to a software issue with agenda posting. (Vote: 6-0)
  • 620 West MacArthur Street (P15-20): Rezoning from C3 to C3 with a CUP for an outdoor gathering space (food trucks, alcohol sales, pop-up shops). Deferred due to a software issue with agenda posting. (Vote: 6-0)
  • 2124 West Benedict Street (P16-20): Rezoning from A1 to C3 for indoor medical marijuana cultivation. The applicant withdrew the application, but the item was still deferred due to the same software issue. (Vote: 6-0)
• Airport Authority Consent Agenda: The Airport Authority's consent agenda was approved. (Vote: 6-0)
• Shawnee Municipal Authority Minutes: The minutes for the Shawnee Municipal Authority were approved. (Vote: 6-0)

General Updates

• Animal of the Week: Luna, a 10-12 year old dog, was presented as the animal of the week. She is described as sweet with humans but prefers to be by herself, making her a good candidate for a farm home.
• Traffic Light Issue: A commissioner noted that a traffic light at Kickapoo (in front of Lock) remains down, requesting attention to the issue previously discussed with OG&E.

Agenda Summary Table