Councilman Mike Kemmling Issues Survey

Give Your Opinion On Shawnee!

As a member of the City Council for the last eight years, I can testify to the fact our City Council has been closely divided. We have had important debates on a number of topics, including property taxes, sales taxes, apartments, corporative incentives, and community projects such as Nieman Now.

In my view, the City Council has not spent enough time listening directly to the people, and that is my intent with this survey. In the questions below, I cover several major ongoing topics before the council, while also providing a spot for general feedback and input on issues you think we should address. I look forward to reading your answers!

Sincerely,

Mike Kemmling

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* 1. Contact Information. Please let Mike know how to contact you!

Name

Address

City/Town

State/Province

ZIP/Postal Code

Email Address

Phone Number

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* 2. Downtown Shawnee - Some in city leadership would like to narrow Johnson Drive in Downtown Shawnee from four lanes to three, with parking along the side and a turn lane in the middle. Given the chaos that was the Nieman Now project, some have raised concerns we are headed down a similar road, spending taxpayer dollars on something that is unnecessary. What is your view on the current configuration of Johnson Drive in downtown Shawnee?

No Changes – it is fine as is.

I am okay with investigating the idea, including a temporary reconfiguration to study the issue.

I am in favor of the proposal and believe it is worth the time and investment.

Comments?

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* 3. Direct Assistance to Businesses -- Several times in the past few years, the City Council has voted to use the economic development fund to write checks to private businesses, with a focus on Downtown Shawnee. However, the City Council has rejected helping businesses whose sales were hurt by the Nieman Now project. Alternatively, the city could use the same money to help our aging infrastructure, instead. What is your view on the appropriate use of these funds?

A - I only support providing funding to private businesses to boost development in Downtown Shawnee.

B - I only support helping businesses who sales were impacted by city construction projects, such as Nieman Now.

C - I support BOTH option A and B.

D. I do not support writing checks to private businesses and would prefer to use the funds to help infrastructure

Comments?

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* 4. Incentives for Developers / Corporate Welfare. Shawnee has been aggressive in providing tax incentives to developers, such as TIFs, CIDs, abatements, and the like. Some of these incentives are used to simply upgrade the façade of existing shopping centers, some are used to build entirely new shopping centers, and some have been used to build apartments. These packages are often quite generous and can last for 20 years and can result in siphoning sales tax revenue and providing it to the developer. They are often granted based upon promises from developers that are later amended, such as what has happened at Westbrooke Village. What is your stance on corporate incentives?

I am completely opposed to any use of corporative incentives.

I am generally opposed to the use of corporate incentives but am open to their occasional use to meet a specific need in rare circumstances.

I am generally in favor of the use of corporate incentives, but do believe they have been overused and need to be scaled back.

I support the city’s current practice of aggressively using corporate incentives.

Comments?

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* 5. Apartments/Multifamily Housing. In the past few years, large apartment complexes have popped all over Johnson County and Shawnee is no exception. Some of these have been financed by corporate incentives. Many of these projects are controversial and have been subject to protest petition. What is your stance on apartments and multi-family housing in general?

I oppose more multi-family housing in Shawnee and believe we have enough already.

I oppose large apartment complexes but am open to townhomes that are in line with the character of the surrounding neighborhoods.

I am open to some new apartment complexes as well as townhomes but also believe the city must be prudent in which projects it approves.

I support more multi-family housing, including large-scale apartment complexes.

Comments?

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* 6. Nieman Now. Did you support spending $37 million in taxpayer money on the Nieman Now project?

Yes

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* 7. City Manager Pay Raise. Last year, the City Council voted 5-4 to give the City Manager a 25% pay raise, during a time in which tens of thousands of Kansans were unemployed due to the pandemic. Do you support this?

Yes

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* 8. Property Taxes. The Shawnee City Council recently voted for a small reduction in the city property tax mill levy. Would you support more aggressive reductions in property taxes?

Yes

Councilman Mike Kemmling Issues Survey

Give Your Opinion On Shawnee!

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* 1. Contact Information. Please let Mike know how to contact you!

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* 6. Nieman Now. Did you support spending $37 million in taxpayer money on the Nieman Now project?

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* 7. City Manager Pay Raise. Last year, the City Council voted 5-4 to give the City Manager a 25% pay raise, during a time in which tens of thousands of Kansans were unemployed due to the pandemic. Do you support this?

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* 8. Property Taxes. The Shawnee City Council recently voted for a small reduction in the city property tax mill levy. Would you support more aggressive reductions in property taxes?

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* 9. Please let Mike know any other comments you have about the City of Shawnee