Latest news with #PrairieVillage
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kansas Supreme Court denial lets Prairie Village vote to abandon form of government
The Kansas Supreme Court declined to hear a case about controversial petitions requesting to change the form of government in Prairie Village. The petitions sparked in 2023 after the city attempted to amend zoning laws to allow for more affordable housing. The situation transformed into a heated housing debate that bled into the 2023 city elections. During this time, the group of residents, known as PV United, formed and led the charge for three petitions — which asked to limit rezoning, abandon its current mayor-council form of government, and adopt a new form of government. Rex Sharp — an attorney with Sharp Law and husband to council member Lori Sharp — filed the case on behalf of PV United in August 2023. Sharp wasn't immediately available for comment and Prairie Village officials said that the city will issue a statement regarding the case on Monday. The Kansas Supreme Court's decision to deny hearing the case upholds the Kansas Court of Appeals March 2025 decision, which largely agreed with the Johnson County District Court ruling that two petitions — rezoning limitations and to adopt a new city government — cannot go before voters. Adopting a new form of government, which was denied in the Kansas Court of Appeals ruling, would've halved the council positions from 12 to 6 and establish a mayor-council-city manager form of government that would limit the mayor's powers. Abandoning the current form of government can appear on the ballot, but the vote would not establish a replacement. Kansas law requires a city to continue operating its form of government until it's changed. No language regarding this petition has been added to the Johnson County Elections Office informational page for the November general election as of June 27. The Supreme Court decision closes one case as another popped up in the northeast Johnson County city. Prairie Village resident Marc Vianello filed a lawsuit in Johnson County District Court earlier this week, claiming that the City Council's recent approval of a $30 million municipal complex project violates state law that requires cities to bring bond issues to a public vote. The project proposes to use general obligation bonds to build a new City Hall building to house city staff and renovate the current municipal building to house the police department and municipal court. While Prairie Village still has to issue the general obligation bonds, a local law, Charter Ordinance 28, allows them to take action and exempts the city from a state law called the Home Rule Amendment — which requires cities to hold an election for bonds over $100,000 in any one year. Vianello's lawsuit challenges that local ordinance, claiming that it violates the Kansas Constitution and statutory requirements for a bond election. The lawsuit also claims that the city's previous reliance on the ordinance for other projects — including for a $3.2 million street light purchase in 2016 — was illegal. 'Mr. Vianello, like the vast majority of Prairie Village taxpayers, wants the City to follow the law and hold an election before issuing $30 million in general obligation bond debt that will cost the taxpayers for the next 30 years for this City Council's pet project,' Fritz Edmunds, Vianello's attorney, said in an emailed statement. Prairie Village officials said in an emailed statement that it's reviewing the petition with its legal counsel and 'will defend the pending lawsuit accordingly.' This story will be updated as more information is released.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Prairie Village residents show mixed reactions toward city hall rebuild
PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Kan. — The City of Prairie Village wants to rebuild a new city hall on a former church site. They also want renovate and expand the police department and municipal court at the current building, with a total price around $30 million. Shawnee police in touch with Abarca; missing persons case still active Part of the project includes building the new Build to LEED standards, a framework that's used to build and operate in a sustainable manner, according to Prairie Village's website. Here is the following breakdown of the costs: Land purchase – $4.5 million Police department/municipal court renovations – $7.5 million City hall construction – $18 million The project requires $27 million to be borrowed over 30 years. It will be paid through existing taxes and other existing revenue sources. There are no proposed increases to tax rates, so there will not be a public vote. During the more than an hour long public comment portion of the meeting, some residents were in favor of the new Build and LEED certification. They called it a sustainable investment that will benefit future generations. People who opposed said they're concerned over increased property values, and most of all, it's too expensive of a project for them not to have the ability to vote. One council member responded to some comments. 'Let the residents vote. You have the power, make it happen, what are you afraid of… losing? I know this is probably falling on deaf ears, but just maybe you will decide to do the right thing,' one resident said during the meeting. 'I'm pleased the council is taking a long view with this. We've all benefited from the long line of city leaders and council members who did just that. The LEED Platinum certification would be in the long term best interest of Prairie Village citizens,' another resident said during the meeting. 'If there's uncontrolled spending, then I would like you to quit cherry picking numbers that fit that narrative and tell me where it is,' said Councilman Dave Robinson. Man charged in shooting of Lee's Summit police officer City councilmembers passed a motion to commit to 'Gold' LEED standards for the new city hall but revisit some on the platinum items to add in the future. The design is locked in now. The city council will still need to vote to issue the bonds. That's scheduled for the next council meeting on June 16. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Washington Post
27-05-2025
- General
- Washington Post
Kansas community holds private memorial for Israeli Embassy staffer killed in DC ambush
Family and friends of Sarah Milgrim, one of two Israeli Embassy staffers fatally shot last week in an apparently politically motivated ambush in Washington, D.C., gathered for her funeral Tuesday in the Kansas community where she grew up. Milgrim, a 26-year-old from the Kansas City suburb of Prairie Village, Kansas, was leaving a reception for young diplomats at the Capital Jewish Museum alongside 30-year-old Yaron Lischinsky on May 21 when they were shot to death. A suspect , 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez, was arrested and shouted 'Free Palestine' as he was led away. Charging documents said he later told police, 'I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza.'
Associated Press
27-05-2025
- General
- Associated Press
Kansas community holds private memorial for Israeli Embassy staffer killed in DC ambush
Family and friends of Sarah Milgrim, one of two Israeli Embassy staffers fatally shot last week in an apparently politically motivated ambush in Washington, D.C., gathered for her funeral Tuesday in the Kansas community where she grew up. Milgrim, a 26-year-old from the Kansas City suburb of Prairie Village, Kansas, was leaving a reception for young diplomats at the Capital Jewish Museum alongside 30-year-old Yaron Lischinsky on May 21 when they were shot to death. A suspect, 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez, was arrested and shouted 'Free Palestine' as he was led away. Charging documents said he later told police, 'I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza.' Lischinsky had bought an engagement ring before the shooting and was planning to propose to Milgrim in the coming days, those who knew the couple have said. Instead of an upcoming wedding, those close to Milgrim prepared to eulogize her at a private service Tuesday at Congregation Beth Torah in Overland Park, Kansas, the temple she attended through high school with her family. Milgrim earned a bachelor's degree in environmental studies from the University of Kansas in 2021. She was remembered as a warm, uplifting presence at Shabbat dinners and holiday gatherings at the Chabad Center for Jewish Life on campus. 'She believed in connections, in building community and bringing people together,' Rabbi Zalman Tiechtel said in the days after her death. He also recalled that she 'was filled with so much love.' After graduating, Milgrim worked at at a Tel Aviv-based organization centered on technology training and conflict dialogue for young Palestinians and Israelis, according to her LinkedIn profile. She had been trained in religious engagement and peacebuilding by the United States Institute of Peace, an organization that promotes conflict resolution and was created by the U.S. Congress. After earning a master's degree in international affairs from American University in 2023, she went to work at the Israeli Embassy, where her job involved organizing events and missions to Israel. A vigil held in her hometown last week drew a standing-room only crowd, including her college roommate, Amanda Birger. Birger described Milgrim as an animal lover and a passionate advocate for the environment. 'She was very tactful about how she used her voice, which sometimes came off as cautious,' Birger said. 'But when it looked like she wasn't speaking up, it's because she was trying to keep the peace.' Milgrim would have been teenager when her Kansas community was rocked by another deadly antisemitic attack in 2014. Frazier Glenn Miller Jr., an avowed anti-Semite and white supremacist, fatally shot three people at two Jewish sites in Overland Park in April of that year. At his trial, Miller openly stated that he targeted Jews for death — though none of his victims were Jewish. Miller was convicted in August 2015 and later sentenced to death. Sheila Katz, CEO of the National Council of Jewish Women, lauded Milgrim as a point person for her organization with women's groups, LGBTQ communities and multi-faith groups. 'She accomplished so much in her short life, and she deserves to be remembered for all the things she brought to this world,' she said. Before her work at the embassy, Milgrim was studying whether friendships between Arabs and Israelis could promote peace, Katz said. 'We knew something like this could happen,' she said. 'I just don't think we thought it would happen to her.'
