After eight months of renewed talks and work sessions, the Leawood City Council appears no closer to choosing a comprehensive master plan for the original City Hall and Fire Station buildings at 96th Street and Lee Boulevard.
Rather than choosing one of the four options presented by BBN Architects, the city council on Monday night left all the possibilities on the table for a July 8 open house, where residents may be able to choose their preferences a la carte.
But some northern Leawood residents who came to the regular meeting Monday night had a definite preference — preserve both the original fire station and the original city hall, and make the area into the type of walkable, family-friendly community gathering place they say has been lacking north of the Interstate 435 loop.
Eleven residents spoke in favor of the idea, including Jaclyn Penn, who with her husband proposes to buy the small former city hall and turn it into a coffee and ice cream shop. As of Wednesday morning, 680 people had signed a petition in favor of preserving both buildings. No one spoke in opposition.
“Neighbors and taxpayers have made themselves clear. They want these buildings saved and used,” Penn said.
Preserve or tear down old city hall and fire station?
The question of what to do with the buildings has been a topic among Leawood leaders off and on for the past 16 years. The city council revived it last fall and has been brainstorming with staff and various city committees.
Both were built in the 1950s and both have been unused except for storage in recent years. The City Hall, which was small even in its day, has substantial challenges, including mold, asbestos, lead paint, water damage and a lack of handicap accessibility because of its basement.
A community garden also sits on the property, which is next door to a new fire station.
Councilmembers have considered many options over the past few months, and arrived at the idea of creating some type of park or gathering space, with or without the community garden or old city hall. But some have balked at the cost of basic city hall improvements, which could run as high as $630,000 according to the architect’s estimate.
So four plans were drawn up. In one, the city hall building was removed and in another, it was removed and replaced by a monument. In one other plan, the city hall building remained but the fire station was removed.
All of the plans had a playground, parking and a community garden, plus a demonstration garden to be created in partnership with Johnson County Master Gardeners.
Rough cost estimates ranged from around $2 million for the most expensive plan to about $1.5 million for the least expensive.
The people who came to speak, however, were strongly in favor of keeping both old buildings and converting the former city hall into a coffee shop. The coffee shop idea had been proposed at earlier meetings, but did not get much traction with councilmembers for various reasons.
Several residents who spoke during the public comments mentioned that they had small children and hoped to make north Leawood a more walkable place.
Kylee Markey said her family moved from Brookside in 2020. “My husband and I had always wanted to live in a community where our kids could ride their bikes to their friends’ houses or eat dinner on the driveway with our neighbors,” she said.
But “right now our neighborhood like many others in the suburbs is just not very walkable,” she said. “We find ourselves having to get into the car for just about everything.”
She and Chad Morley said the neighborhood needs a gathering space. “This isn’t just about bricks and mortar, it’s about belonging,” Markey said.
Morley said he’d like to see the coffee shop and community space where kids and adults could spend time, rather than turning them into a “view-only monument.”
“My wish is for everybody to experience that small joy of drinking a coffee while watching your kids play on a playground a few feet away,” Morley said.
The coffee shop idea is gaining some traction
Marc Larson said he perceived a gap in spending between the “haves and have nots” of Leawood north and south of Interstate 435. North Leawood is becoming a young neighborhood and is growing, he said, adding a coffee shop would serve a need for community space as well as preserve the city’s history.
JoLynn Hobbs, president of the Leawood Homes Association, said she hoped the city council would take its time and carefully consider the residents’ opinions.
Old Leawood currently has one small, well used park, she said. “We have one opportunity to honor this location,” she said, of the historical structures. “Once they’re gone, they’re gone forever.”
Ultimately, the city council had no consensus
City councilmembers, however, did not line up behind any of the proposals. Councilmember Debra Filla argued strongly for the community and demonstration gardens, citing examples of how they brought people together.
Councilmember Lisa Harrison was skeptical of the demonstration garden. “I’m a little bit frustrated that the demonstration garden was, if I recall, casually mentioned by one member of the governing body during our work session, yet it worked its way into all four of the plans. I don’t understand what would be demonstrated here.”
Councilmember Julie Cain, who is on the park advisory committee, presented slides of other small parks, including Thompson Park in Overland Park.
“At the bare minimum we promise you a beautiful park like the rest of the beautiful parks we have,” she said. “What we can’t necessarily promise is that we can save both old buildings, nor should we perhaps on this teeny tiny site.”
Cain added that, in her view, the demonstration and community gardens “would just eat up too much precious space.” She proposed to eliminate the gardens as well as a proposed splash feature for children to make way for more green space.
Councilmember Alan Sunkel said, “I’m a little surprised that the park board doesn’t consider gardens to be green space.” He also said he’d be open to saving the firehouse for meeting space and giving the coffee shop idea a chance. “I’m excited we’re actually talking about something here,” he said.
Cain, too, said she would be happy to move toward a decision. “I’m ready. Let’s make a decision and let’s finally go,” she said.
Next steps:
The city will have an open house from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. July 8 in the Oak Room at Leawood City Hall to hear more of residents’ views.
Mayor Marc Elkins said he is hoping for approval of a plan by the end of this year.
Keep reading: Leawood mulls 5 ideas for what to do with former city hall grounds
