In August, we asked our readers about the issues you wanted to hear the candidates running for Shawnee City Council address. Based on your feedback, we developed a five-item questionnaire touching on the most important issues to patrons of the district.
Each day this week, we will publish the candidates’ responses to one of five questions. Today, we are publishing candidates’ responses to the following question:
Climate change continues to be top of mind for many Shawnee Mission Post readers. What steps can Shawnee take to prepare neighborhoods for increased flooding, along with extreme heat and drought events? What steps would you like to see the city take to build climate resilience?
Below are the answers the Post received from the candidates on this issue:
Ward 4
Jacklynn Walters
I have had the pleasure of knocking on over 2,000 doors in our great city and have yet to have this be a topic brought up.
The climate is always changing, and I would challenge the notion that a city government has any ability to impact that. While we all care about our environment and should all be good stewards of it, we should also be very cautious of agendas that lead to extreme outcomes.
Kevin Makalous
We can work hard to preserve trees, being intentional with protecting and adding green space, leaning into the proposed comprehensive plan in expanding walkability and bike-ability. When it comes to the city’s physical plant and fleet, we can work hard to find ways to reduce inefficiencies in our energy use, and utilize alternative energy sources, solar and wind, when feasible; and electrifying our city vehicle fleet as that technology continues to become more widely available.
I would be a strong supporter of doing our part to be “at the table” in the dialogue, as well as a leader, in implementing metro-wide, and regional climate action plans as they are developed and evolve in the future. This is going to take all of us, not just in Shawnee, but in Kansas, Missouri, and all across the U.S. to help change the future health of our planet.
Ward 1
Sophia Theodore
We can address these issues in two ways: First, we need to continue to make sure that our
infrastructure is ready for extreme weather events by maintaining, repairing and improving
our storm water systems. We should also be investigating now what measures additional
measure we can take now to be prepared for extreme weather in the years to come rather
than wait and see what happens.
Second, we should educate and encourage our community to take steps to reduce climate change now. There are many things that each of us could do to help make an impact that would have minimal impact on our daily lives and I am confident that our community would be willing to contribute. Creating a task force to look into these issues would be a good start.
Tony Gillette
The premise of this question asks what the City Council can do change the climate. The answer is nothing. The climate is changing and will always be changing. The real question is what infrastructure improvements we can add to better accommodate the stormwater requirements across our city. I am in favor of increasing our investments in the Parks & Pipes program currently underway.
The city is actively reviewing, and prioritizing, the pipes, and sewers initiatives with camera inspections. This 20-year, $200-million project is in process, and needs our continued support. Shawnee has several miles of aging pipes that require increased funding for replacements and repairs that are underserved across the city. By taking a hard look at budget cost savings initiatives across the board, we can find additional resources to better fund our pipes projects faster.
Ward 2
Eric Persson
Resiliency is one of the top priorities that I have been discussing. We do need to improve our infrastructure in many parts of Shawnee. In some of the oldest neighborhoods we have open ditches that are meant to handle storm drainage and many people that I have spoken with have told me that just in recent years, with more and more intense storms, the water is overflowing the ditches and making its way into their homes.
When I reached out to the city I was told that there are only 11 such streets that have been identified for upgrades and that doesn’t come close to helping the number of neighborhoods I’ve seen with this issue. As a community we also need to do our part to help lessen our impact on the environment. We need to make our neighborhoods more walkable and bikeable, we need better access to public transportation, we need to preserve green spaces, look at the use of green streets and look at ways to reward residents for using greener sources of energy such as solar. Building a resilient community will have a long term positive economic impact as well as improve the quality of life for residents.
Mike Kemmling (incumbent)
I have fought for fully funding our storm water drainage programs, including leveraging matching county funds.
We have reduced the amount of land in Shawnee that is in the flood plain which has increased our national rating.
Ward 3
Angela Stiens
I have walked thousands of doors and I have never heard anyone bring up climate change.
Certainly, we should always be ready for major weather events, and I think the city does a good job in this area. But, the idea a city can impact climate “resilience” is a misnomer.
Lisa Larson-Bunnell (incumbent)
The city’s role in climate change is very relevant. In the short term, we need to continue our path of infrastructure development to help protect our residents from the worst effects of climate change.
We have the opportunity to pass local ordinances that allow our residents to use solar panels or rain barrels, for example. We can provide direct assistance to homeowners who make improvements to make their homes more energy efficient. We can pass codes that require builders to create energy efficient housing. We can require electric car chargers to be constructed in all city parking lots.
These are just some of the things local governments should be considering as it relates to climate change, but there are many others. I am a proud member of Climate Action KC. Together with the Mid-America Regional council, CAKC worked to develop a Regional Climate Action plan. I would like the plan to be presented at a future Council Committee meeting for consideration of adoption.
On Friday, we will publish the candidates’ responses to the following question:
What’s the top thing you’d like to be able to say about the city of Shawnee four years from today that you can’t say now? Why?
