On the Issues
As a resident of Lenexa for nearly 20 years, I do my best to stay informed of action taken by the city government. While I believe everyone should do their best to stay informed, no one can be as informed as our elected officials, which is why it is important to elect qualified and responsible representatives in the first place. Since we as residents rely on our city councilmembers to represent us, I thought one way to give you an idea of how I would represent you if elected is to provide my thoughts on some of the current and recent issues to come before the city council. While it is difficult for me to say exactly how I would approach any situation, hopefully this will give you an idea of my perspective as you consider how to vote.
Property Taxes
Property taxes, or taxes in general, are a concern of many residents of Lenexa. It is important to balance the services provided by the city with the cost and therefore taxes required to support those services. Taxes impact all residents of Lenexa, but all residents also benefit from the services provided by the city. I want to make sure Lenexa remains a great place to live, work, and raise a family, but also that it remains affordable. That is why it is important that we have elected officials that are very thoughtful when considering decisions before city council. Whether it is approval of a developer incentive package or approving the city budget, all of those decisions impact the tax rate in Lenexa.
TIF Incentive Packages
Tax Increment Financing (TIF) has become a fairly common tool that metro cities, including Lenexa, use to attract private investment. I believe that every projects is unique and I also believe that there are projects where the city utilizing TIF funding to encourage redevelopment makes perfect sense. One specific example I can think of as a former resident of ward 4 is the TIF district at I-35 and 95th street. That district was used to incentivize redevelopment of an old hotel site and construction of two new hotels (Holiday Inn and Candlewood Suites). I think that redevelopment was very successful. However, I do think that the city leverages TIF funding and incentive packages too frequently at the benefit of developers. These incentives have their place, but as your city councilperson, I would make sure that we are using TIF funding strategically and only when necessary, preserving tax revenue that could be better used in my opinion than reducing risk for developers.
County Homeless Shelter
Last year the city council denied a county request for a special use permit to change the La Quinta Inn located at I-35 and 95th street into a county homeless shelter. In general, I support trying to solve the problem of homelessness, or at least support those individuals that find themselves homeless in our county or city. Unfortunately, the county was attempting to utilize federal funds that had to be allocated by the end of the year which put the decision on a compressed timeline which required decisions to be made quickly and without the appropriate amount of analysis and consideration. There were many valid concerns raised about the proposal for the homeless shelter, including potential increased crime and demand for city police services. Other cities in the county had approved annual funding to support the cost of the shelter, but not all cities done so. In general, I would have been a supporter of the homeless shelter, but given the short timeline and outstanding questions, I feel like I also would have voted against it, although I think it would have been a difficult decision. Without knowing all the details, I think there were too many outstanding questions for the city council members to be comfortable approving the request.
Ad Astra Park Pool
The decision on what to do with the Ad Astra Park Pool was made over the past five years and plans are now in place to build a new pool to replace the previously demolished pool that was at that location. While Ad Astra Park is in ward 3, it is right on the edge of ward 1 so directly impacts some of the residents I would be representing. Per my understanding, originally city staff made a recommendation to close the pool permanently based on various issues including cost concerns. Local residents expressed concern with this plan, so the city hired a consulting firm to conduct an analysis and they also recommended permanently closing the pool. However, given local residents concern the city council voted unanimously to reject that recommendation and keep the pool open. The city is now in the process of committing $10M to rebuild the pool. I believe that this is an example of hyper-local politics. Closing any pool would definitely have a direct and negative impact on the residents living closest to that pool. However, both the city staff and consultant teams conducted what I assume is an independent analysis and came to the same conclusion, that it would be best to close the pool. I feel like this is an example of the city council making the decision best for their political careers instead of what was best for Lenexa as a whole. Based on my knowledge of the situation, I believe I would have voted to follow the recommendation made to close the pool. However, I also would have been open to alternatives to try to address local residents concerns but also the long term financial efficiency of the pool.
Lone Elm Interchange
This is a recent issue that was discussed before the city council, although I don’t believe there is currently any request or pending action for the city council. The interchange is already part of the Lenexa comprehensive plan, but I believe KDOT will be coordinating with city officials as the plan for K-10 is finalized and before any project actually starts. This is another example of a hyper-local issue, where the addition of an interchange would have direct and negative impacts on individuals that live in that area. I don’t think there is any doubt of that. But I also believe that the long-term benefit of adding an interchange likely outweighs the negative impact. However, that being said, the concerns of the local residents are real and the city should listen and be willing to identify solutions to those plans, but I believe the city has expressed a willingness to do that.
Are there other issues that you would like to understand my perspective on? Feel free to contact me and ask!