Prairie Village residents will be able to vote on the longtime community center idea.
City staff and councilmembers have publicly stated for months that Prairie Village residents can expect a ballot measure asking whether residents want a city-owned community center to replace the deteriorating Paul Henson YMCA.
Now, councilmembers Lori Sharp and Inga Selders have teamed up on a resolution the says the city intends to take the community center idea to a public vote. The pair cast the measure as an effort to “heal” Prairie Village following a contentious election last fall.
The Prairie Village City Council on Tuesday voted 6-5 to approve the resolution, which says if the community center idea — which is currently being tweaked in a public input process — moves forward, then the city will ask voters to approve it and its funding at the ballot box.
No member of the governing body on Tuesday expressed opposition to the idea of community center vote in principal, but councilmembers debated the language of the proposed resolution.
Those who voted against the motion said they either disagreed with editing the resolution on the fly or found no reason for the resolution at all when the city’s intent to take the idea to a public vote has been previously discussed and agreed upon.
The city relaunched the community center conversation in 2022
Councilmembers Selders and Sharp, who worked on the resolution alongside city staff and new City Attorney Alex Aggen, said the resolution intends to formally communicate the city council’s plan to let the public vote on a city-owned community center.
The idea of a city-owned community center located next door to a brand new Corinth Library branch has floated around for years. The city restarted that conversation in 2022, and re-surveyed residents last year to gauge public support for the idea.
The survey’s results showed that most residents still said they would use a city-owned community center that replaces the Y, but that proportion had decreased when compared with results from a 2019 survey.
On Tuesday, Selders motioned to approve a version of the resolution Aggen wrote that was included in the Feb. 20 agenda packet.
The edited version received pushback from some councilmembers who said it locks in a public vote even if the city council itself — after the design process is finished — is against moving forward with a community center.
Selders and Sharp agreed that the intent of the resolution was to hold a public vote only if the city council decides to move forward with a city-owned community center after the design process is completed.
The city has talked about bringing it to a public vote before
For nearly a year now, city staff and the council have discussed the idea of taking a more concrete community center idea — including a final design and funding proposal — to voters.
City Administrator Wes Jordan in April 2023 told the city council that the community center idea could be put on a ballot if the governing body was interested in that option.
Three months later, Councilmember Dave Robinson said that a vote related to agreements with the YMCA and Johnson County Library was the next step toward getting actual design concepts in front of the governing body and residents before a public vote happens.
Last November, Jordan told the city council that the design phase is scheduled to wrap up in time for a potential November 2024 ballot measure to take the community center idea to a public vote.
City documents state that, per feedback the city received at the first public input meeting last month, Prairie Village residents and other members of the public are eager to vote on the community center idea.
Councilmembers narrowly approved the resolution
During the discussion Tuesday, Sharp said the city saw a “challenging political season,” alluding to the housing controversy that the 2023 city council race hinged upon.
Selders and Sharp were largely on opposite ends of the fight, making their collaboration on the community center resolution notable.
Sharp said she and Selders worked together on the resolution “for healing and the good of the city.”
Selders, who motioned to approve an edited version of the resolution, said that the community wants clear and transparent goal posts for a new community center.
Councilmember Terrence Gallagher noted that he has previously expressed support for taking the community center idea to a public vote. Still, he said he was worried that the edited version Selders motioned to approve Tuesday would mean a vote would occur even if the city council ultimately decided it is uninterested in moving forward with a community center.
Councilmember Ron Nelson added that current and previous city councils have already made it clear that the community center idea will be taken to a public vote. Nelson said whether someone believes previous statements by councilmembers is “their problem.”
After pushback on the language in the edited version, Councilmember Lauren Wolf said it might be worth sending the resolution back to City Attorney Aggen and city staff to clean up. Other councilmembers supported this idea.
Selders recited changes in the edited resolution to reflect more intent and less obligation with fewer uses of the words “will” and “shall” in the edited version.
The resolution ultimately passed in a 6-5 vote.
Councilmembers Dave Robinson, Tyler Agniel, Cole Robinson, Terry O’Toole, Selders and Sharp voted in favor.
Councilmembers Greg Shelton, Nelson, Graves, Gallagher and Wolf voted against the motion.
Councilmember Nick Reddell was absent.
A full version of the resolution that the city council approved, following a recital from Aggen, can be found below.
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Open in new tab Next steps:
- The city, Johnson County Library and the YMCA are scheduled to host a second public input meeting on April 4 at the Meadowbrook Park Clubhouse, 9101 Nall Ave.
- The April 4 meeting is related to site options for where the potential co-located community center and library might go.
Go deeper: Watch the entire conversation online here, starting at 56:58. A reading of the resolution by the city attorney starts at 1:42:29.
