Prairie Village residents show mixed reactions toward city hall rebuild

Yahoo

2 days ago

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.
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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.
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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.
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