City Council - Regular Meeting

Lee Summit has lots of local destinations, but where do you start? Green Street, a vibrant community space in the heart of downtown, is where Lee Summit comes together. Its three dynamic areas have something for everyone. Green Street Market is a modern event venue and home to the downtown Lee's Summit Farmers Market. Green Street Lawn is a covered performance space hosting live music, family activities, and more. Green Street Grove is a mixture of gathering spaces, an immersive playground, and bold architectural features. And all three areas host community events year-round. So the next time you set out to enjoy the city you love, remember, meet at Green Street.

Hello Lee's Summit, I'm Jordan. Here's your flash briefing for the week of September 8th. City Council will meet for a regular session tonight at 6 in Council Chambers and City Hall. Meetings are open to the public or watch live on the City's YouTube channel. If you can't watch, catch the recorded meeting on demand on the YouTube channel or by subscribing to the Council Debrief Newsletter, which breaks down three to four key agenda items. Subscribe at cityofls.net. The city is hosting an open house Thursday, September 10th from 5 to 7 p.m. to discuss proposed design and infrastructure improvements along Prior Road from Hook Road to Missouri 150 Highway. The open house will take place at Summit Lakes Middle School. City staff and project engineers from Affinis will be available to answer questions and project exhibits will be available for review. Public comments will be accepted at the meeting and online September 10th through 24th and will be included in the project record. Thursday, September 10th will also host a Meet the Contractor session at City Hall in the Struther Conference Room from 4.30 to 6.30 p.m. Learn more about the Northeast Douglas Street's improvements from 2nd Street to Chipman Road, with construction expected to begin in mid-September. And here is a smart watering tip from our water utilities department. Avoid watering your lawn or garden during the hottest parts of the day. When temperatures are highest, water evaporates before it can soak into the soil, making your watering less effective and requiring you to water more often. Watering in the early morning or evening is more efficient, helping you save money while reducing strain on the city's water infrastructure. Thanks for listening and have a great week.

The city of Lee's Summit has hundreds of traffic lights across its more than 1,000 lane miles, all managed by the city's public works traffic technicians. The work happens inside those metal boxes on the side of each intersection. Inside, technicians program a device called the controller. The controller communicates directly with each signal head via underground wires, telling each light when to turn on and off based on a programmed cycle. City traffic engineers design this cycle to allow traffic to flow as efficiently as possible for that particular intersection. In order to best match current traffic patterns, they install something called a detection system. Detection systems have taken many forms over the years, from sensors in the pavement to radar boxes. But in Lee's Summit, they primarily consist of cameras, which workers mount above the traffic signals. These cameras don't record video or your speed. Instead, they monitor the spaces at the front of the intersection and identify when a vehicle is present in a specific spot. Once a vehicle is identified, the detection system sends a message to the controller, which then adapts its standard cycle to best serve the cars that are present. The pedestrian button works in a similar way. When the button is pressed, the controller receives a signal requesting that it allow that section of the pedestrian walkway to go, which it then inserts into the signal pattern. Technicians also install something called a conflict monitor. The conflict monitor is a device in which they program all the potential patterns of lights that would lead to a collision. If the other systems mistakenly trigger those patterns, the conflict monitor sends the intersection into flash. causing all lights to flash red and directing drivers to treat it like an all-way stop. City traffic technicians implement and maintain these systems so effectively, we rarely consider them. But every time we safely pass through a signal-controlled intersection, it's all thanks to their work. So the next time you're waiting at a red light, remember the delicate coordination of super smart systems that move you through that space safely and efficiently every day.

welcome to the leaf summit sign department we are going to walk you through our process from start to finish we make signs as needed here it's not like we just go out into the field and place the speed limit sign here no parking here our traffic engineers they go through and they'll do field studies they'll send us down an engineering work order for us to go out place new signs or remove signs as needed coming from the material our blanks come in and they're just aluminum blanks and we can put our white our red, our fluorescent yellow, green, whatever. And basically what it looks like is just that there. Throw it up into the roller. And once we got it covered, take it to our work table here and Tim will cut the corners, cut all the access off to where it's lined up right. As far as the plotter and the software that we use, there's a street name sign there and he's gonna go ahead and print that out on the plotter so you can see the plotter and how it operates and runs. There's standards for the height, even just on letters on the signboard. Basically what we have on the computer there is it's pretty much set up to those. And it goes through, it's got a very small but sharp needle that goes through and cuts everything out letter by letter. Once that's done cutting, our next stage would be bringing it over here. Currently picking out the sign letters right now. We call it weeding or picking or however you wanna call it. Next, putting it on the transfer tape. Then after it's taped, we bring it over to the roller. That's where we apply it to the actual sign blank. And we'll roll it through one time just to get the air bubbles out. And the last stage is basically just Taking the transfer tape off the front of it. And there's the finished product of the street name sign. We'll take you out to the field and show you our process that we go through. We're going to go out and follow our sign guys and get something installed for you. This is where we check our underground utilities. Tim, you got AT&T?

AT&T is back here. Ever-G, Google.

We should be good to go. We normally put all of our stuff together out in the field. Then once the base is installed, we'll go ahead and put the post in there. Perfect. And that's how we do it. Simple. Quick.

Lee's Summit has two dog parks, Happy Tails and Dogwood Park. Dogwood Park is more on the north side of town. It's off of Victoria Drive, right off of Douglas. And Happy Tails is down south, right off of Ranson Road, near where the water tower is. Dogwood Park up north has a walking trail, a puppy splash pad, and an activity area for dogs so that you can work out your dog and work on different techniques and tricks and a lot of open space too so you can just run around and play with your dog. Happy Tails down south has a walking trail, a lot of trees, and also has a puppy activity area but doesn't have a splash pad. So if you don't want your dog to get wet, I would recommend going to Happy Tails. Both parks have a paved walking trail that goes all around the outskirts of the park so that the owners can walk around while their puppies play. It's important to also note that we do not discriminate against any type of breed. However, no aggressive dogs are allowed in the dog park and all participants in the dog park must have a City of Lee's Summit animal license and be up to date on their shots. I would also note that there is a separate area in each park for large dogs and for small dogs. And the definition of a small dog is posted on the gate. So outside of our dog parks, the rest of our parks require your dog to be on a leash at all times. There's a city ordinance requiring that. So our dog parks are the only place that you can allow your dog to run around loose outside of your own yard. We provide the opportunity for people to play with their dogs off their leashes and have a chance for the dogs to socialize so they can run around free off the leash inside of a contained space. They're open year-round from 5 a.m. until sunset, no later than 9 p.m., and they're open all weather. So you can come play in the snow, you can come play in the rain, but just be sure to have fun. To find more information about our dog parks, please visit lsparks.net or find us on social media.

Keeping 500 miles of public sewer lines flowing keeps utility costs low and our environment healthy. The Lee's Summit Water Utilities Operations Team does this every day. Sewer lines can be blocked with everything from roots to flushable wipes to food grease. When a potential blockage is identified, teams use detailed mapping to locate access points. My camera's at 18038. A camera truck parks at one end of the sewer line and a jet truck at the other. The camera truck carries a rover-type camera, which the team lowers into the manhole. The operator then drives the camera into the pipe, where it views and records from its adjustable lens. Here, it can identify the cause and precise location of the blockage. The jet truck will then use high-pressure water to remove the blockage. Starting at the opposite end of the line, the operator inserts the jet head into the manhole. Pressurized water shoots out of the head, clearing out debris and propelling it forward. The camera observes this process, and the two operators communicate via walkie-talkie to coordinate movement.

Hold it right there. Go ahead and fire it up, half pressure. I'm in front of you.

Once the jet head has passed the blockage, the operator reels it back in. The camera can then inspect the pipe to see if the blockage is cleared.

Yeah, go ahead and pull out. We're done.

With the job complete, the camera is removed, cleaned, and returned to the truck, and the crew moves on to the next job. In addition to addressing identified problems, the team will systematically check every line in the city in a five-year period, keeping costs low and our community healthy, today and for years to come.

Thank you. do do Thank you. you

Will you please stand for the invocation and remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance?

Heavenly Father, tonight we pause to remember and honor the lives lost on September 11th and the heroes who ran towards danger to protect and save others. May we never forget their courage, their sacrifice, and their families who continue to carry their loss. As we gather tonight to serve our community, please guide our hearts and our decisions. Give us wisdom, patience, and courage to do what is right, not for ourselves, but for the people that we have been entrusted to serve. May you watch over our first responders, our military, our community, and our nation.

Amen.

Good evening. I'd like to call the City Council regular session number 13 to order, please. Can I please have roll call?

Council Member Funk? Present. Council Member Pryor? Here. Council Member Adkins? Here. Council Member Carlisle? Present. Council Member Cravens? Here. Council Member Frazier?

Present.

Mayor Prochambe Shields? Here. Mayor Lopez?

Here. All right, now we need to approve the agenda as presented. We have a motion by Mayor for Tim Shields and a second by Council Member Craven. Any discussion? If not, please cast your vote. All votes are in. Motion passes 8-0. That takes us to the approval of the consent agenda. We have a motion made by Mayor for Tim Shields and a second by Council Member Fasier. Any discussion? If not, please cast your vote. All votes are in. Consent agenda is approved, 8-0. Thank you. All right. Takes us to Council Roundtable. Anyone? No one?

Happy Labor Day. All right.

Guess it was a long weekend. Council Member Carlisle.

Thank you, Mayor. I have, so that everybody is aware, the prior road improvements meeting for the second phase, hooked to 150, is this Thursday, September 10th, from 5 to 7 at Summit Lakes Middle School, for all those who might be interested. There's also a meeting or a meet the contractor for the Douglas Street improvements on Thursday here at City Hall from 430 to 630 in the Strother Conference Room. And next Tuesday, September 15th, we will have a finance and budget meeting at 430 here in Chambers and a rules meeting on Thursday. Thank you.

Thank you. You're going to be busy. Thank you. All right. See no others. Just a quick note. I know that we have some chairs here in the front closest to the dais for the candidates that will be interviewed tonight. I know there's five of you. I don't know if everyone's here. We have an extra chair down here. If you are here, please come down and sit with the rest of the candidates. So appreciate that. All right, so we're going to proceed with the agenda for now. It takes us to proclamations. We have a couple of them, so I'll meet you down there.

The first proclamation will be for the co-responders and crisis responders.

Get it ready.

This proclamation recognizes the growing impact of mental health and substance use challenges in Lee Summit, including homelessness, incarceration, and frequent emergency room visits that strain individuals, families, and community resources and affirms that early intervention and connection to behavioral health services reduce those impacts while improving outcomes and public safety. It highlights The Lee's Summit Police Department's partnership with Rediscover through co-responder and mobile crisis responder initiatives that integrate trained mental health professionals alongside officers and deploy mobile teams to provide immediate on-scene support, ensuring timely appropriate care that reduces unnecessary arrest, avoidable hospitalizations, and repeat 911 calls while connecting individuals to counseling, medication, management, housing supports, and recovery services, and it commends the compassion, professionalism, and dedication of those teams in challenging and unpredictable situations as exemplifying the city and exemplifies the city's commitment to effective, humane, and community-focused public safety.

Thank you. Now, therefore, I, J. Bethel Lopez, by virtue of the authority vested in me as mayor of the city of Lee Summit, Missouri, do hereby proclaim the week of September 13th through the 19th, 2026, as National Co-Responder and Crisis Responder Week and urge all citizens to recognize and honor the contributions of these dedicated professionals whose work makes our community safer, healthier, and stronger. We are so lucky to have this program in our community. So, Chief, do you want to kick it off?

Thank you, Mayor. It's great to see everybody here to support our co-responders. Thank you very much for showing up. You can see the number of police officers in the room who have showed up because we value this program so much. What they bring to our citizens who are in need in a crisis is just hard to really measure. So we are very proud to work with them and look forward to a long future together. So I'll let them introduce themselves. We'll start with Officer Iceberg here.

Officer Mike Iceberg, I'm the CIT coordinator for the City of Luce Summit.

I am Kate Pavlicka. I'm the team lead for our mobile crisis response.

I'm Jennifer Jackson. I'm one of the co-responders. I am Maggie Randall. I'm clearly a co-responder.

Thank you all for being here. I think as a community, like I said, we're so lucky to have this kind of a program and the cooperation that takes place. And thank you guys for doing what you do. It's so important for all of us in our community. So how about a photo and how about a round of applause?

OUR SECOND PROCLAMATION WILL BE FOR JOB ONE WEEK, FOR ANYONE HERE TO RECEIVE THIS. This proclamation recognizes October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month to honor the contributions of people with disabilities to America's workplace and economy, celebrates over 55 years of championing job choice through person-centered employment, training, and retention in facility-based and community-based settings as one of Missouri's largest and most diverse businesses of its kind, notes its benefits to neurodiverse residents of Lee's Summit, encourages communities during October to ensure full access to employment and community involvement for people with disabilities and announces job one week on October 1st through 7th with community outreach events to increase understanding of job one and its mission.

Thank you. Now, therefore, I, J. Bethel Lopez, by virtue of the authority vested in me as mayor for the city of Lee Summit, Missouri, do hereby proclaim October 1st through the 7th of 2026 as Job One Week in recognition of employment needs for individuals in our community with disabilities and to support outreach events that increases the community's knowledge and understanding of Job One and its mission. Thank you all for being here. And before we applause, who are you? Introduce yourselves.

I'm Allie Kistner, board chair.

And I'm Aaron Martin. I'm the president and CEO of Job One.

Another super important initiative in our community. No one is left behind, right? We think of everyone, and what you all do is also extra very special. So thank you for doing what you do. And how about an applause? All right. We'll proceed with the agenda. That takes us to public comments. A few people that want to speak tonight. And so we'll get started quickly. And I've just put these in alphabetical order. So we'll start with Dana Alteri.

I'm Dana Altieri. My address is 10 Northeast Tudor in Lee Summit. I want to let the citizens know what has happened behind the scenes since Judge Lopez and I were here. We were here on August 18th, and this council voted 5-2 in favor of directing the city attorney to draft an ordinance increasing the compensation of the judges. This increase in compensation would allow us to double our dockets, triple the amount of time we're at the courthouse, and begin addressing additional needs of the court. While it's a considerable leap, it has been made abundantly clear to the city that it's failed its citizens by not keeping the judiciary up with the growth of the city, considering our judiciary is operating with the same time and resources that we did 41 years ago when the population was 33,000. The city previously hired an auditing firm from California that conducted an $80,000 audit of the court. The audit confirmed exactly what we had been saying for two years for free. The city also hired an attorney on the issue, and she was paid $8,600 for the same opinion that we had previously given to you for free. After leaving here last time with the vote, we thought the balls of progress were moving and soon thereafter we learned that council member Shields, one of the two dissenting votes, decided to spend thousands of dollars more of taxpayer money on another attorney. This began that night within an hour of the meeting ending and that is beyond disturbing to me. I was told this new legal opinion would be discussed in closed session tonight. Naturally, I have no idea what this opinion is and I'm not allowed to be there, but please keep in mind this attorney was hired with an agenda by a council member who lost a vote. Now, I don't run council meetings, but I think this needs to be investigated because I cannot imagine how Council Member Shields, regardless of her position as mayor pro tem or not, can spend taxpayer money because she lost a vote. I have not seen one citizen oppose the needs of the judiciary or support thousands more being spent. Judge Lopez and I reached out to the attorney and offered to visit with her, but she felt she didn't need to talk to us. Judge Helm, who's been a judge for 34 years and is currently a judge in five jurisdictions, wrote the council and he said, in part, it is my understanding that only two of you on the council are holding this up. You know who you are and I will not name you, but you should be embarrassed and ashamed of your detrimental conduct towards the court. You have a fiduciary duty to the citizens of Lee's Summit to act in a prudent manner for the best interest of Lee's Summit. Instead, you let your petty differences and personal feelings interfere with what is best for the citizens of Lee's Summit. You should be fiscally responsible with taxpayer money and not pay for another unnecessary legal opinion when the law is perfectly clear that it is legal to increase the compensation for the judges when their duties are expanded. He goes on to say, this is totally absurd and a waste of the taxpayers' money. Instead of wasting additional money for more opinions, the council should just increase the compensation for the judges so that they may add additional dockets. I don't want to loop the entire council into what occurred after the last meeting and additional money being spent because there are some real advocates and some real good people on this council but we need to get this ball of progress moving forward and we also in an effort to alleviate our probation department are now having to shop out about $3,000 a month in supervision fees to a third party because we do not have the capacity to supervise our own people. Thank you.

Michael Boswick.

Can I get this turn going?

Thank you. My name is Michael Bostock, and I'd like to thank you. I think you're all good people. Ms. Altier and I agree on a lot of things. One nation trusts lawyers, ever. But I think it's important to understand what the law is saying, and that was a big division in what we've made in public comments. in that I have very clearly said that you should understand the law. And the issue that is there is that when the charter was created, there was a decision to not have full-time judges. And I do think that there's reason to change that, and I do think there's reason to consider when you should change that and how you should change that. The danger is in navigating the specifics of that law and the specifics area of that. One of the things that I wanted to show is the Missouri Highway Patrol special order that actually hides attorneys and protects them. from facing any kind of investigation and I asked specifically what the nature of that was and you can see they've retracted a large portion of it and I would recommend anybody to go and actually request this case and public records and find out why you're not allowed to investigate attorneys because that was the specific records request and this was the specific policy I was given and can see that there are redactions and those redactions cover the work schedule, they cover the special assignments, and most importantly and relevant to today's conversation, the use of funds. Because it's important to understand that money is connected to the larger issue. I had a case before this group, before the courts in Lee's Summit about just having wood in my yard. I thought it was ridiculous and I thought it was completely unnecessary but it was a source of levity between me and my friends because what I originally did was to build fences with my son after he was financially exploited by attorneys and one of the groups that was actually involved with that is Rediscover. So it's really interesting to see the pride and helpfulness of this when what we're missing is some of the specifics and details. Now I only have three minutes so I really can't get into the weeds of it. I really enjoy that. I think that's where engineering comes into play. One of the things that the council can do is they can discuss specifically what the courts have the ability to direct the back pressure so that there's not as much pressure on them. I'm an engineer, so I love talking about those fields. And I think it's important to recognize that In the city, there's a lot of things they could be doing so that we're not dealing with probation. People are on probation sometimes for insurance violations. And looking at what that actually means, you don't necessarily need to supervise that. Some of those cases can be dismissed once good behavior's been shown. There's ways of managing that. Not all those cases should be dismissed. Some of them do need probation. And navigating the economy of how that works is the role of the judges. City needs to change it so that the judge has a full-time position and that in the charter specifically requires the people to change the charter.

Thank you. Daniel Harden.

Daniel Harden. I had a few different issues I was going to bring up. Um, just last week I was speaking on some data about flock. I didn't have that data with me. Uh, just a short brief, uh, submission here. I did bring that data with me today. Uh, they said that they keep the logs in house. That is the police department of Lee summit. Um, My printer, unfortunately, it ran out of ink when I was trying to print off the 1,700 different locations that they do share the data with. As you can see, this is just one page of the 20 that I tried to print off. But like I said, I didn't run out of ink. I ran out of paper, unfortunately. But this is just one page of the 1,700 different keys that they share with different locations. It doesn't matter if you keep the data in-house, whenever you give out 1700 different keys and it's stored on the internet, I mean, Nefarious things are going to happen with other agencies. It's just bound to happen. And another thing that I was going to point out on their hot lists, right here it says traffic, even though that they said that they don't use it for traffic enforcement right there on the hot lists. Here's a list of the hot lists. I know it doesn't have any headers or anything like that. that was the file name was the header that was sent to me. But right there it does say traffic. And also, I had the Excel spreadsheet sorted out to where this shows all traffic infractions, all submitted through July, that it was submitted, just to kind of show all of that. And then that also shows the modifiers that they will look up kind of along the side. I don't know if there were too many modifiers on that or not. There's more right there, like SUV. That's a pretty simple modifier. I mean, it doesn't say SUV white like I had brought up on the last one. I mean, that's even more broad. So there's even more just showing traffic. I'm glad to see that there's all six candidates here for the District 3 instead of just the three that some of our council members wanted to see. I'm glad that we get to see all six speak tonight. That's pretty much what I was going to bring up. All right. Thank you very much. Thank you.

Trace Kitzman.

Just perfect.

Alrighty, my name's Trace Kitzman. I am a Lee's Summit resident, and I know, we'll get to the suit in just a second. But first, I wanted to show this off. This, I built it in my garage, $30 and a Saturday evening. And it's mine, I own it. The city has spent $909,000 on 55 or more of them, and page 54 of the contract says the hardware stays exclusive property of Flock themselves. The title never passes to Lee Summit. Five years, nearly a million dollars later, at the end of that contract, the city owns none of it. And I'd also like the record to reflect. I'm available for a competitive bid on this. The suit, it's so you'll look at me for the three minutes I have. The cameras have been looking at you for two years, and nobody has had to dress up for that. That's the joke. That's also the point. Last week I stood here and told you I'd filed nine records requests in one month and never gotten one specific date the law requires. This week I got one. A real calendar date on a real request. I'm not going to pretend I didn't screenshot it. That's a good response and I'll say so myself. But I wanted you to notice what actually produced it. The law didn't. The law already said three business days. It said that nine times in a row and nothing happened. What changed that was this room full on a Tuesday night and a video that's now been watched over 150,000 times across the metro. That's my whole argument. The oversight everyone assumes exists doesn't respond to law. It responds to being watched. And 100,000 people cannot sit in these chairs every week. I won't repeat last week, here's what's new. The council approved cameras for Lee Summit. What the city actually joined is a network of 1,779 different organizations. 1,555 of them are configured to search Lee Summit's data. Not our officers, other agencies. Departments in other states none of us have ever set foot in. Railroad police, regional fusion centers. I can't find any record that that list ever came before this body. So my question is simple, who approved it? Here's the ask. I want to be specific because the easy move is to cancel Flock and buy the same thing from somebody else. End the contract, take the cameras down, and do not replace them. That means no Motorola, no Axon, no ReCore, no Genetec, no successor vendor, no pilot, no donated cameras, no automated system that scans plates or vehicles and puts them into a nationwide searchable database. If it does what this does, the answer should be the same regardless of whose name is on it. I'm taking this one home because it belongs to me. You can't say that about a single one of the other 55 in this city. Thank you.

Hello, my name is Hannah Woodling. This is Wyatt. Tonight I'm here to ask you to end the use of flock cameras. I understand why these cameras are appealing. They can help locate stolen vehicles and identify suspects, although they did not do that for last week's crime. But those benefits do not justify building a system that routinely records movements of thousands of ordinary citizens who are suspected of absolutely nothing. And this isn't simply a few cameras being used locally. Lees Summit participates in Flock Network involving more than 1,700 outside organizations. We need to recognize what we're building, an infrastructure capable of surveillance on a scale that would have been practically impossible a generation ago. We often hear, if you're not breaking the law, you have nothing to hide. But that argument completely misses the point. Privacy isn't about hiding criminal activity. I close my blinds. I put a password on my phone. I don't publish everywhere I go, not because I'm committing crimes, but because my private life belongs to me. Imagine a police officer following you around every day documenting when you leave home, where you go, when you return. Most people would find that unacceptable. Putting cameras and computer in an officer's place does not change the principle, and I want to appeal directly to fellow citizens. Do not normalize this simply because you are not personally worried about how it's being used today. Government powers and technologies rarely remain confined to which they were introduced. A surveillance system justified today for stolen cars could potentially be used tomorrow to enforce entirely different laws or government orders. Once this infrastructure exists, using it for new purpose requires little more than a change in policy. You may trust the people controlling that system today. I sure don't. It's a private company with no oversight. Civil liberties aren't designed around trusting today's government. Today's government will not always use their powers wisely. They're designed to protect us from what any future government could do with that power. Whether the issue is someday enforcing a lockdown, tracking attendance at a protest, identifying visitors to a particular location, or enforcing some law none of us has even contemplated yet, the principle is the same. We should not build machinery for mass surveillance and simply hope that government doesn't abuse it. The Fourth Amendment exists because the government's power is supposed to have limits. Law enforcement should investigate people when there's a legitimate reason to investigate them. The question isn't whether flock cameras can help solve crimes. They probably can. The question is whether we are willing to normalize government tracking of innocent citizens in exchange for that benefit, and I am not. I hope that my fellow citizens won't be either. I ask council to defend the privacy and liberty of the people that you represent and Lee Summit's participation in the flock surveillance network and any other network just like it, and remove these cameras from our streets. Thank you.

Teresa Vollenweider.

Teresa Vollenweider, 5201 Northeast Maybrook Road. I'm going to go through the things that I gave to you last week a little bit. Notice under illegal lots, the first thing. Created informally or meets and bounds divided without going through the city's required platting or subdivision review process. And then the third one. Ineligible for official city building permits and may face restrictions on property transfers or sales. Here's the one for 5621 Northeast Maybrook Road. Notice it is a plat. There is a plat. There is a parcel number. Robert Allen is the construction company, but that's not who built that house. That house was built back in... 2003, 2004, yet this is being used for a build in 2019. Somebody goes in and changes the 5621 to 5261. But the parcel number is still wrong, the plat is still wrong, the zoning district is still wrong, and Robert Allen still is not the person that built that house. Imagine if builders went to that house and wondered, where are we supposed to put the new house? There's something already here on this lot. Well, we finally got to a building permit for 5261. But there's no plot. So how did we get a building permit? Well, here's the plot plan, I guess, that was used. We got half a seal on there. Can you tell what the date is? In the seal? Signed and sealed, that thing is. Funny, you compare that to other documents of Matthew Schlish's, and that's not how it's signed and sealed. That thing is a funky size. It's cut off. And what's this other writing in here? Can somebody else just take a signed and sealed document and put a star on it and say, property ends here? Is that what you all are allowing? Is there any oversight going on?

Thank you. Mayor Patem Shields.

Thank you, Mayor.

I almost never respond to folks making public comments. I believe that it's everybody's First Amendment right to stand up and make comments in our meetings, and I respect them, and I try to listen. But I have to say that having two sitting municipal judges, Judge Altieri of Lee Summit and Judge Helm of Independence, telling the city council that we should not hire an attorney as we consider the request for an increase in compensation.

Can I stop you for a second? Mr. Head, do I need to recuse myself?

I would just suggest you not make any statements and I don't think you have to get up and walk away.

Okay.

So as I was saying, I have tried to work with the council and with the judges as we work through this conversation. Obviously Mayor Lopez is recused on this matter. And so as Mayor Pro Tem, I've had to step into that role to guide this conversation. When a request was made to bring forth an ordinance with a midterm compensation increase, I did work with our city staff to hire an attorney because I believe that it is very important that the city council have the information that they need. to make a good decision. Especially given that we have three members on this dais who were not on the council when this issue first arose and did not have an opportunity to discuss these questions with outside council, I believe it is very important that they have the opportunity to speak with an attorney before they make a decision. That attorney does not set our policy, but they do Every member on this dais deserves the opportunity to ask questions and make an informed decision. And so when two sitting judges tell me that it is irresponsible to hire an attorney to help us follow the law, I don't understand that. Following the law, you're judges. You should understand how important that is. And as has been pointed out, the people on this dais, none of us are attorneys. And I believe that I need and that we need a qualified attorney to help advise us, given the fact that our charter and our state constitution both prohibit a midterm pay increase. There may be exceptions to that, but I need an attorney on hand to help me understand those exceptions and help answer questions. And every person on this dais deserves that opportunity as well. And so while I respect your First Amendment right to advocate for your position, I am just deeply disturbed that that advocacy would include telling the city council that we should not have an attorney to advise us and help us follow the law. And that's all I have to say. Thank you.

All right. We'll move on with the agenda. And we will go to item number 6A. We have a presentation from our LS Goal 26 agenda. It's going to be a recap from Ms. Donna Lake, our assistant city manager.

Why is it not showing, though? Sorry. All right. Good evening, mayor and council, Donna Lake, assistant city manager. And I have the, um, the utmost, um, um, I, uh, ability to introduce, um, John Ellis, who will be speaking about Ellis goal 26 and give you the recap, uh, from our football Fridays that we hosted over the summer. If you remember, We had a small event across the North American continent called World Cup. And so they came, they played, they left. But we were able to, within our own community, host Five Football Fridays and really concentrate on making an excellent and fun and family-friendly atmosphere for our residents and visitors here in Lee Summit. So without further ado, I will introduce John Ellis.

Hi everybody. I've got Laura Maxwell, my co-chair up here too. There were a team of us that helped out with a lot of that and I know that many of you were very engaged and involved with everything as well. So I want to really just take a little bit of time to summarize some of the information that we've collected over the series of events and I'll go back and talk a little bit about the history and I'll let Laura chime in as she would like on here as well. So really we started out back in June of 25 on all this on some of the prep but there was a group of people there were a group of people that Started a bunch of the initial conversations on this and a lot of it was initially led by the chamber Actually in an effort of really collecting Members from the community to help out with whatever was going to happen during the World Cup which is at that time nobody really knew and so We just knew that we were better off having a plan as opposed to going into it blind and not really keeping in touch with what was going on. So we were part of the committee that helped out, stayed in touch with what was going on, KC-26, and really helped out with what was going on and how it affected us. It started out a lot bigger, but it really tuned down to, we need to focus on what we want to do locally and make what we can do a great community activity for our citizens and the people who can come and visit Lee Summit. And I think that's what we did, and we did it really well. And so what started out on draw day, which was kind of an experiment, on how we could do this and the city was really generous in letting us use Green Street Marketplace to host the initial event. Sporting Lee Summit was a sponsor of that and they helped us pay for a lot of the activities that happened that night. It's a nice cold day, first part of December, and we set the tone. We had a band and we had all kinds of different activities going on out there, but then we realized we needed to follow through and do something a little bit more for when the World Cup was in. So during those different events, there were six events total if you include the draw day event. And during the other rest of the spring, we figured out let's focus on five football Fridays. AND WE ENDED UP WITH HUNDREDS OF VOLUNTEERS THAT HELPED OUT REGULARLY THROUGHOUT ALL OF THAT TIME FRAME ON IT. WE HAD AN AVERAGE OF PROBABLY 50 TO 75 VOLUNTEERS THAT WOULD ATTEND THE PLANNING MEETINGS, AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT, FOR EACH OF THOSE NIGHTS, WE HAD PROBABLY ANOTHER 50 TO 75 VOLUNTEERS THAT HELPED OUT FOR EACH OF THOSE EVENTS AS WELL. AND SO ON TOP OF IT, AND I'LL GO A LITTLE BIT DEEPER DIVE INTO THIS, BUT WE HAD about 1,000, on average about 1,000 attendees a week that were able to come to each of the Fridays. And so I think what really kind of helped out with this is everybody was intrigued to see how Green Street could be utilized, and that was really cool. So you can see some of the fun things that we had going on here. We had numerous, and we literally, every week, we changed the theme. So we had lots of different... uh, team members that got creative about the different things that we could do. We probably have a whole page of different activities that were going on. I did really appreciate this, uh, um, the bull riding picture though. That was, that was, uh, that one that would look like fun. So, uh, and, and I couldn't, um, you know, we couldn't have done this without a lot of help of everybody getting on board of being able to figure out how we could do it as efficiently as possible. And so we felt like we really were able to break it down and make the most out of every week and make every dollar count. Bottom line is Green Street really became the center of the celebration, and it became a great opportunity for us to be pulling people down and really showcasing what could be done there. We know we had the kickoff last August of that Green Street Market and the whole plaza down there. We felt like by utilizing this type of an event, to show the creativity of different things that could go in there, it ended up being a great way to showcase that whole area. A few of the other things that we had happen, and I'm going to do a little shout out to Lee Summit Parks and Rec. They were tremendous in our help with this. Joe Snook and Jody Jordan were very actively involved with the committee and helped us identify activities that really helped us save on costs with it. And I did not know what gaga ball was, if I'm saying it right. Had no idea what that was. But found out, and that was a hit. And that's that black box up on the upper left. The kids were playing all night on that. And the bubble guy, believe it or not, he's the least Summit resident. So I talked to him one night out there, and he was having, I guess I'll say, good, clean fun on it. But he was a blast. He and his dad operate that company, and they were so much fun to watch and watch the kids' reactions and the great space there. A few other partners that we had here, Crossroads Sound was wonderful to work with. They helped us out on every one of these events and they brought a different theme to each one of the events. The Kansas City Comets were very engaged and involved and not only brought out little games and prizes, but they had people that were there every single week on it and they made it different and they made it fun. Again, We couldn't have done it without the volunteers. We did have also some art supplies that we were able to do, and we had high school students from National Honor Society that came in and helped out with a few of those things, the mascots, and again, just some of the other volunteers that were helping out with that. So on average, about 100 people were on our list that really helped us volunteered during that time frame, but they were there repeatedly over and over and over. And so we got to know each other really pretty well throughout that whole series of events. And each of the different weeks, we really focused on some of the other groups with the different themes. This one actually highlights some of the stuff that we had, our country western theme on it that Nina Skaggs really helped out with on getting all of these photos. I've got to credit her on all of that. For each of the Fridays, we really ended up with about 1,000 on average. And I'm just gonna say, the last two weeks, we knew we were going into those two weeks with a little bit of a battle. Because one was on the 3rd of July, and it was limited game watching on it. We really matched these up to be, we had them set up so that there were games playing on the big screens and all of that. So they were really watch parties and a lot of other stuff going on too, both inside and outside. So the fourth week, you can see our attendance was down on the 3rd of July. And the very last week, we didn't have a game. And so we ended up running a movie, Cars, I believe, which was a Route 66 theme. And without Dave Eames and Rick Smetana's creativity on that, that group really came together and made that a really wonderful event. They had a car show there. They had all kinds of stuff. And when the movie was over, It looked like it was just jam-packed because everybody went outside and just hung out there all night that night. It was really so much fun. Again, some of the other volunteer shots, we did get to see the food trucks. I'm going to point out that we ended up having, on average, probably about 10 different partnerships with different people there, businesses that were there. We tried to promote people coming downtown. and being a part of the community to kick it off and move on from there and utilize the businesses downtown. So that was our whole focus was just what can we do in order to promote what's going on downtown. So I just really want to say we were able to stay within the budget that we ended up, were given on this between what Explorer Lease Summit had for us initially, what Sporting Lease Summit did, had with us initially and then the dollars that you shared with us to be able to use out of the Bed and Industry Fund, I believe. And so we felt like with those dollars, we were able to showcase not only Lee's Summit and its visibility during that time frame, that month, six weeks time frame on there, but we were able to show a very clear plan on how Lee's Summit can pull people together and how we can use our volunteer resources and be as efficient as possible to make everybody feel welcome. And it felt good to be a part of that. And I missed Parks and Rec. I just want to shout out to them again. They were a big part of that whole thing. And so thank you again to city council for helping to put all this together. I got to say also, there were numerous city staff people that were very, very engaged with all of this. I know between Donna and Corey Day, I know Mark was involved with a lot of this and Ryan was involved. It was great to see everybody working together in order to make that all really be something that we could be working on together. Again, the leadership team, we just had a reception a little bit ago, and a lot of the leadership team was there. Wanted to really give them a big thank you. I know anybody was over at the reception. Not everybody came over, but come on and stand up if you would. It really helped us show that we have an amazing hometown, got amazing people, and we can do a lot when we come together. It just takes great communication. It takes people being bought in to try and to help and be engaged and involved. And that's when we can really make differences. I just want to say thank you again, one more time. Here are a lot of the people that were on the leadership team. I probably missed a couple because our list was moving a little bit as we went through it all. And I'd like to give Laura a little bit of a chance to say something to wrap up.

John, I think you've captured it fantastically. And the only echoing sentiments I'd like to make are with regard to, I can't underscore enough the commitment of collaboration. and cohesion that I think our city experienced through these five football Fridays. Our very first brainstorming meeting was, I believe in August of 2024. So when you think about the bandwidth and capacity of a community to engage, to form, to storm, to norm, to bring together, to execute, and then enjoy that celebration tonight, I think it's really reflective of something special that our community has to offer. And as John also mentioned, We couldn't have done it without the funds that were dedicated by city council and the city. And so we're grateful for that. I think that the ROI on that in terms of our perception amongst our community constituents is tremendous. We had folks come up to us and say, we ought to do this every Friday in the summer. And we're like, yeah, you should. But seriously, it was just phenomenal and such a great feeling of camaraderie. And I think it would be hard to put a price tag or a value on that. I believe that you should have at your place on the dais, everyone should have a scarf. That's a small token of our gratitude and appreciation for you. believing in us. And the only other thing I would say I think is that as we looked at being good stewards of that initial capital outlay on your part, we did try to find vendors who were local to take that and support our businesses. Our co-chairs for each week, each week was led by a small team. and they really fleshed out their events and activities. And so it was just a really awesome way to see that come to life. We encouraged them to utilize vendors that were local, and they did just as evidenced by the bubble sky. So thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thank you, guys. So John, Laura, let's give them another round of applause. John and Laura, I'll let my colleagues speak, but before I do that, I definitely want to, the Toll leadership team, all of you, you know who you are. There's a bunch of you here, and a lot of you are not in this room tonight. Just thank you. And You two are rock stars. And thank you for taking this leadership role as co-chairs and starting really with a lot of questions and not knowing exactly where we were headed. I think Lee's Summit was showcased and we showed up. And I said that recently in the State of the City address, how people in this city are You know, we have challenges. There's things we can talk about all night about challenging things. But this, what you all did, what this committee accomplished, is exactly the character and the spirit that Lee's Summit has that a lot of other communities do not have. And you all don't do it for the titles. You don't do it for the recognition. You definitely don't do it for the pay. So... just there's there's not enough words to really express that and Again, that's what makes this community special in Green Street itself we found a lot of found out a lot of things about Green Street and You're right though. It's hard to measure ROI monetary, you know financially monetary wise and we definitely saw the return with the smiling faces of the kids and the families that came, the visitors that came. And there were definitely tax dollars spent within downtown. I know that for a fact. I personally witnessed that and personally helped chip in some of the restaurants. So just this is something we should be very proud of and all of you that were involved Just thank you again and be proud of that and it's a great start to Green Street and the future that's ahead of us So yeah, thank you.

I think I want to say one thing he thank you for recognizing Laura and I but we were just part of that leadership team and I want to I got to give kudos to Jackie McCormick and you she's who's here up there and Without her, we actually talked her to getting in on the committee with it.

She turned us down the first time.

Yeah, we kept asking. But she's involved in so many other things with the community. Matt Baird, amazing help right here. Corey Day, couldn't have done it without him. Donnie. Or her.

I'm thinking Matt.

I'm thinking Matt. I'm thinking Donnie. So, yes. Corey Day, I'm so appreciative of you. And then we had Donna helping out there as well. And then, finally, Donnie was really involved from downtown Main Street as well. I know.

And I don't mean to slight anyone. Thank you all. And, again, those of you that are not in the room, thank you very much. And you're right. Well said. We do have some people that want to make some acknowledgments. Mayor Pro Tem Shields.

Thank you. I think you covered it really well, actually. But I just wanted to also say thank you. I was involved a little bit in those organizing groups. I know Councilmember Adkins was, too, before she was elected.

I was at the first couple meetings, for the record.

Sorry. I don't want to say anything, either. You had a lot of support on this dais, but you guys just executed phenomenally. Those events, they were so much fun. I took my son to them, obviously. I think you had a couple pictures of us in there. But it was so wonderful seeing Green Street activated like this, all the different activities and all the different locations. It really shows us what this space is capable of. So I really appreciate you guys, all the work that went into that. And I hope that we see more events similar to this family-friendly in the future. It was an absolute pleasure. And yeah, thank you guys.

Thank you. Council Member Funk.

Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, guys. I mean, John, you're the citizen of the year. I know. That's pretty amazing. You said that. I got to stand this close. I know, that close, it's tough.

Council Member Funk, you can't say that without saying the latest citizen of the year, standing right next to him, Laura Maxwell. How about Laura Maxwell, citizen of the year this year? Yes.

Yes. Yes.

How about John Ellis, former citizen of the year?

That's all right.

And there's a few others on that committee that I know are also former citizens of the year.

Thank you guys very much. I mean, I know we touched a lot of people here in Lee Summit, but I have friends that came from other parts of the area and even on the other side of the state line where they believe in that fictitious bird over there. But they really enjoyed it, and they thought it was really cool and said, man, I wish we had something like this in our community. So good job, guys. Thank you.

Is that it? It's a great momentum. Thank you guys very much. Appreciate it. Thanks for being here tonight, all of you. All right, we're going to proceed with regular business stuff. It takes us to proposed ordinances, first reading. Mayor Patem Shields.

Thank you, Mayor. I move for a second reading of Bill No. 26-156, an ordinance bringing an intergovernmental agreement with Jackson County, Missouri, for the acceptance of a $150,000 appropriation to be utilized for the purchase of playground equipment for the all-inclusive playground expansion at the Joseph A. Dyke Playground at Legacy Park.

Thank you. We have a motion to adopt Bill No. 26-156 by Mayor President Shields and a second by Council Member Funk. Any discussion? If not, please cast your vote. All votes are in. Motion passes 8-0. Thank you. Takes us on to the item number 8, proposed ordinance's second reading. Mayor Pertem.

Thank you. I move for adoption of bill number 25-239, ordinance approving redevelopment project number 1 for the East Village Tax Increment Financing Plan and activating the collection of tax increment financing revenues therein.

We have a motion to adopt bill number 25-239 by Mayor Pertem Shields and a second by Councilmember Pryor. Any discussion? If not, please cast your vote. All votes are in. Motion passes 8-0. Thank you. Yes. At this point in the agenda, we will take a quick 10-minute recess. So, thank you.

Ever wondered how the city budget works? The total 2026 budget is over $380 million, which includes funding for daily operations, capital improvements, debt service, internal service, and enterprise operations. For example, the General Fund is the foundation for the city's day-to-day services and investments like road maintenance, public safety, and fire protection. The General Fund is supported by property taxes, sales taxes generated by local businesses, franchise taxes, and other sources like licenses, permits, and fees. For every dollar citizens pay in property tax, the city receives 18 cents. This means the city receives $845 a year in property taxes for a median single family house. These taxes provide public safety, park maintenance, infrastructure, and the best services to keep Lee's Summit going and improving. One of the community's top priorities is infrastructure investment, which is reflected in the capital improvement plan. $113 million of the 2026 budget is invested into the capital improvement plan. The 2026 capital improvement budget includes investments like the 291 and 50 highway interchange, 3rd Street, Ward and Purcells intersection, and Prior Road. The budget process includes guidance from the City Council, citizen input, and critical success factors from the City's IGNITE strategic plan. To learn more about the City's budget, visit cityofls.net backslash budget.

When the person called on the phone, she said that there was a dinosaur walking down her road. Of course, we had to go out and check that out. We get out there, and it was a big African tortoise, probably 60 pounds, walking down the road. When they walk, they really stand up tall, so I could see why she thought it was a dinosaur. I'm Rodney Wagner, I'm the manager of Lee's Summit Animal Control. So as you can see, we've got all sorts of animals here. We've got some guinea pigs off to the side. All the windows up here are animals that are adoptable right now. Every one of these dogs is ready to go and ready for adoption. And the same thing with our cats over here. A lot of cool cats in here now, so. This is our three-acre lot we have out back, and this is where we do all the walking of dogs, exercise. We also have a side yard off to the side over there, so we can let them run loose. They can run together, and then we have what's called play groups. Kind of like having a bunch of kids. Here's our vet room. We have a vet that comes out twice a week. This is our sally port where we bring the animals into. This is one of our animal control trucks. and we can hold up to six animals. We have a lift on the other side to put big animals in. We actually have temperature gauges in here and in the truck to tell us how hot it is. Once it gets to a certain temperature, we bring all the animals back here immediately, so. This actually has traps in it, but. We do a lot of wildlife trapping. I mean, a lot, so. Bats, pot-bellied pigs, horses, cows, emus, a lot of reptiles. We had a citizen one time that had over 200 reptiles in his basement. Caimans and alligators in here that are four or five feet long, you can't keep those. And people do, and they're surprised when they can't keep them. I'm like, really? You're surprised you can't have an alligator now? Our main goal here is public safety and also the safety of the animals. And we have very dedicated people back there, and they definitely stay here for the love of the animals, which also includes getting them adopted out. We'll have about 4,000 impounded animals a year. Probably about close to 2,000 are dogs and cats. The cats and dogs, when they get impounded here, they go on a five-day hold. And then after the five days, if the owner doesn't show up, then we can put them up for adoption. Adopt an animal here is actually really simple. You just come in, look for whatever animal you're looking for, find the right pig. You have to go to the adoption room up there and see if you get along with them. You spend as much time as you want to in there. From that point on, it's just a matter of making sure they're spayed or neutered and all their vaccinations up to par and they're good to go. We have a very high adoption rate because we try everything in our power to get animals adopted out. We have Heart of America, a humane society that we do a lot of adoptions through. And then we also have other groups. We have some people that literally will just look all over the country for somewhere for a dog to go. And we sent dogs up into South Dakota, North Dakota, Washington State. So it's actually, it's a huge united effort to get all these animals home.

Tarzan's got lots of energy. Hazel's got a weird meow. She wants nothing to do with the other cats. She'll kind of get her grumpy face going.

And the good thing about the people here is that they get all their friends to get animals too. All of us have probably the limit of all the animals that we can have at home. You know, they are huge animal lovers. If it was up to the people here, we'd have 15 cats running around in here. We had a citizen one time out there, and he was bathing his two nine-foot-long boa constrictors in the front yard. Apparently, that was garnering some attention, and so we went out there and had to talk to him about that. Do I do this job? Oh, dude, I love this job. I grew up on a farm, and taking care of that many animals, you can't help but like animals. This is just like fancy farming. You know, you're just bringing animals in here, taking care of them and and find them homes. And yeah, absolutely. Animal lover.

Traditionally, we think as police officers, those responding to law enforcement needs within the community. But honestly, we are there to serve our citizens, and our citizens do go into crisis. They do have mental health crises, and we're being called to those scenes on a regular basis. In order to help serve those citizens better, we did initiate the Crisis Intervention Team Program. These are officers that are specially trained to de-escalate crisis situations. Recently, we've brought co-responders onto the scene, licensed, qualified mental health professionals, housed within our police department. and they respond with those officers directly to those scenes where a crisis is occurring so they can interact with that citizen and get them the help they need right there on that scene.

The co-responders are either a bachelor or master level in a behavioral health related field. They wear plain clothes. They don't carry weapons or anything like that.

I have a police radio that I listen to all day. Listen for, you know, those key words. Mental health, behavioral health, crisis.

There's a lot of officers that just call for me. I have my own radio number.

I also have the ability to self-dispatch to them and say, 982 is en route. Officers en route. 914. 914.

So typically I arrive after they've made it safe. I'll make contact and get kind of the rundown. And then I just kind of jump right in.

Like, hey, you know, my name's Allison. I'm a mental health professional. I'm here to help you. I'm not here to take you to jail or arrest you. Sometimes

All a person needs is a voice, someone neutral, someone outside that can listen. I do a lot of safety planning, including family, their support network. Who's close to you? If they're home alone, who can come over and hang out with you today? Can we lock away your sharps? Can we put up your meds? Do you need meds? Can we get you over to the urgent care to get you assessed for your medications? Some of them also are like, oh, I'm so glad you came. This made me feel so much better.

Our main goal as co-responders is to, one, get people connected to the services that they need and also divert from emergency rooms and jails.

And they almost get a different view of the police responding. That lets me know you care and the officers care. Please come up, please.

How can we help you?

In 2020, we had 722 mental health related calls for service. 2022, by that time, 1,479. These mental health related calls for service are increasing. How we're responding to that is increasing the number of crisis intervention team officers we have available, as well as the number of co-responders we have available to respond on these calls.

So what I think is important for the community to know about the co-responder program is that we're here, we exist. All you have to do when you call 9-1-1 is ask for us. You know, say, hey, I want a co-responder to respond to this crisis and we'll go. I was really struggling about eight years ago. My personal journey with mental health and I met some amazing social workers and amazing programs that have helped me get to where I am today. I really couldn't see myself doing anything else. We want to help and that's what we love to do.

So I had a client, we got a call, she had some suicidal ideations and she really felt that she had nobody. And you know, in getting to know her story and getting to know who comes around and sees you, well then we found a support person and they responded immediately and we made a plan. I called back and checked on her in an hour and then I checked on her in two hours. We were able to get her into the additional services to where she talks to someone every week or more. I just took a person that really just thought they had nobody and nobody would show up for them and show them you do. And you'll be amazed who is in your corner if you just simply say, I need a little help.

You can make the difference in somebody else's life.

If you're trying to get into the fire and you need that service, Lee's Summit is probably the top name. On a daily basis, we are tasked with an incredible task. So we're trying to keep it a relaxed environment.

As a new person, you are constantly on edge, learning.

Morning will look typical. Coming in, getting a report from the shift that's going off, get our truck checks done. Our citizens trust us and believe in us by providing amenities like our gear, our stations. They build it to accommodate getting to a call, but also having a home. State-of-the-art weight equipment. Individual bunk rooms. Downtime errors.

Breakfast and dinners together.

Cook together. Get to know one another. Train together. Like a brother knows a brother and a sister knows a brother. Banter back and forth. But when the tones go off, they go to work. We're here for 48 hours.

Let's go ahead and proceed with the agenda and the next item. We, after a little bit of anticipation, it's time to go ahead and address our District 3 vacancy, Council District 3 vacancy. So I think we have people hanging out with us tonight. Are you sure you want to do this? That's a joke. That's a joke. So I'll have Mr. Dunning go ahead and kick us off.

Thank you, Mayor. Mark Dunning, City Manager. I will try to, well, I will. outline the process just so that we're all on the same page, the candidates and the public understand the process. So the mayor is the moderator of this. It's a council decision. Staff will assist as needed. Each candidate's going to have two minutes to provide an opening statement, and our clerk will be very busy with the timer over there, making sure that all... keeping that clock going for each one of the candidates. After the the round of opening statements then the mayor will He solicited the questions from you all and residents had an opportunity to submit questions for consideration as well. So the mayor will ask each candidate a set of six questions. The candidates will alternate who goes first. So each candidate will be up first for one of those questions and each one will have opportunities as we go through the cycle. they will have one minute to respond to the questions. Then after the set of questions, each candidate will have two minutes to provide a closing statement as well. Then after that process has concluded, Mayor, you may want to take a recess and see if there are members of the public here in attendance that would like to speak generally, not specific to one candidate or the other, Generally, there's an opportunity for them to speak for a period of five minutes. And so if we have numerous folks wishing to speak, we'd need to figure out how many there might be and divvy up that time appropriately. Likewise, if we do have members of the public here that would like to speak on behalf of a candidate, that would give those folks the ability to organize and understand how many folks may want to speak in favor of a candidate. And they can get organized so that we're keeping that succinct and within a five-minute period, too, as outlined in the process. Then after that, it's in the council's hands to have deliberation and dialogue. It says up to 30 minutes for that discussion. Then, if you'd like, you could take a recess. I know the last time we did this, I think, Council Member Cravens, you were part of the process, and actually Council Member Funk, too, I think. At that point in time, I recall Mayor Barrett at the time, he didn't take another recess. They just went right into the voting process. So that's at your discretion, the recess for council deliberation. Now with respect to the voting process, this is one that I know folks had some questions about. Sorry, that's not wanting to stay up there. Nominations are made. There's no need for seconds, right? Just nominations are provided. Eventually nominations closed. And then what will occur is the clerk will call in a random order on each of you to provide the name in which you wish to cast your vote, okay? Whoever has the majority votes wins. It needs to be a majority of the council to appoint this candidate, okay? Mayor included, you get to vote. Now, if we end up in a tie, the process is we continue to Well, you can see here, I think it's after... I need to find it. If no candidate receives a majority after the third round of voting, the nominations will be declared null, and then you start the process again. So that's the overview of the process. I will let the candidates and the public know, too, the questions, as Mayor Lopez asked the questions. We've got a PowerPoint, so those can be up here on the screen and also on the screen here, too, so you can refer to that question as you're responding to the questions. Candidates are welcome to use the microphone here. It might feel a little awkward standing behind the podium. I don't know, Mayor, if you have a preference. We also have another mic available too, so.

Yes, I think we talked about that, Mr. Dunning. So you have this mic here. If you guys are comfortable coming to this mic, if you need the podium for any kind of notes, you're welcome to use the podium as kind of to hold your notes. But we'd prefer for you all to be kind of open and exposed so that we can all see you openly. So either at this mic or just to the side of the podium, if that makes sense. So, yeah, that's it.

Okay, and then I'll wrap up. You know, once the candidate's voted on, we would work with that candidate to, we'll say, administratively swear in that candidate so that they've officially been seated as a council member and then plan to ceremoniously do the swearing at the September 22nd city council meeting.

Great. Thank you, Mr. Dunn. I appreciate that. Any questions from council? If not, we'll go ahead and proceed with the process. And thank you all for being here. Appreciate that. And I think you heard the instructions. We're going to have some of these instructions up on the screen so you all can kind of know what's going on. Our clerk will be timing each one of you. So just don't worry about the time. We'll keep track of the time. and do what you're here to do. So we'll kick it off. The list itself, we had six initially just for transparency and to communicate openly. We had six that had applied as of the last council meeting, and one person resigned or opted not to come tonight and not be considered. So we're down to five. So there's five of you that we'll be interviewing this evening. And the list itself was done in alphabetical order by last name. So that's how we're going to proceed with this interview process. With that being said, we'll go ahead and start with Miss Dana Arth.

Good evening.

You can pull it off if you want, Dana. It's easier for you.

Maybe.

More natural, comfortable.

Oops.

Good evening, Mayor and City Council members. My name is Dana Arth. I've lived in Lee Summit for over 30 years, and this is the place I have raised four children, owned a business, and served the community. Tonight, I would like to talk to you about my service to the city of Lee Summit. In 2017, Mayor Rhodes appointed me to the Planning Commission. For nine years, I've played an important role in the development process through this appointment. In 2021, the Ignite Comprehensive Plan was adopted. City Council and Planning Commission worked together in several joint meetings during the process. Planning Commission and City Council have worked together with staff to update design standards in our UDO. Just last month, we discussed the launch of a housing task force. As a member of CEDC, I learned how the heavy lifting for council members is done in committee. As chair of the Planning Commission, I learned that it isn't always easy to run a meeting. As the member of the Charter Commission, I have seen how Our charter is the foundation of city government. This past spring, I ran for city council. I met and heard from people throughout all of District 3, and this increased my desire to serve them. City council is a serious time commitment. Being new on council is like drinking from a fire hose. Also, this appointment is only good until next April. So that means running for office again in a few short months and then again a little more than a year from now as the term expires in 2028. Although my feet are barely thawed from the bitter cold morning of election day, I remain undaunted. My experience has prepared me well and I am ready to hit the ground running to represent the people of District 3. Thank you.

Thank you. Next we have Mr. Garrett Denzer.

Thank you for having me out tonight. I'm Garrett Denzer, and I'm applying for that open council seat, obviously. I'm pleased to be here, and I'm anxious to share my vision with yourselves and the citizens of Lee Summit. You know, I want to help this city continue to be a place where people want to live, work, and play. Lee Summit is the first city that I have lived in that actually has a mostly efficient, functioning government that works for its citizens. And I would like to keep it that way. I mean, when animal control can be available at 9 o'clock and thereby 11 on a Sunday night to pick up a bat that's rabid and send it out for testing, when I was in Kansas City, that didn't happen. I would have been laughed if I called them if they would pick up the phone. And I may not even be here today. Because, yes, I was one of Lee Summit's rabid cases in 24. Yeah. So how do we keep doing that? How do we improve that? Well, we need to continue to invest in the right people with quality leadership and let them do their job. We accomplish this using a disciplined, problem-solving, long-term approach based on our Ignite strategic plan. And we continue to continue to evolve that as it changes over the future, because it's an evolving plan. and must continue to be so. But we can never lose track of where the city has come from, and that's the reason we continue to attract new residents. I believe the exponential growth of Lee's Summit is because it was a safe and affordable place to invest in outside of the chaos that Kansas City was becoming and still is. Homegrown businesses and industry developed, friendly, low-crime environment with the city government supported their growth. It's my belief that the city's long-term viability is dependent on a strong fiscal policy that continues to invest in the future based on its past. I, like many residents, have been very concerned when we saw stories on the budget issues in the past few months, and I just think we need to keep our budget in order and continue to address immediate city needs with public safety and balancing our future growth. I look forward to the opportunity, and thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Christopher Frederick.

All right. Good evening.

Grab the mic, Mr. Frederick, and stay to the side. What? You can keep your document on the podium. Are you guys okay? It's up to you guys. You guys okay? That's fine.

Am I okay here? That's fine. Okay. All right. Good evening, Mayor and members of the City Council. My name is Chris Frederick. And I appreciate the opportunity to be considered for this appointment. Lee Summit is my home. I graduated from Lee Summit High School in 1991 and earned my finance degree from the University of Central Missouri and chose to build my life and career here. Professionally, I'm a successful insurance agency focusing on serving seniors. leading a team of six agents across two locations. Every day, I help individuals and families make important financial and healthcare decisions, which requires trust, accountability, and a commitment to finding practical solutions. I applaud the Mayor and City Council for establishing the Housing Task Force to address workforce and housing challenges facing our community. It is clear that Lee Summit is experiencing the challenge that often accompanied growth. And I would welcome the opportunity to help navigate these issues while our city continues to move forward. For Lee Summit to continue to thrive, we must balance smart growth with strategies that attract and retain young families while also serving our growing senior population. With my background in finance, business ownership, and deep roots in this community, I can bring value to these conversations that will shape our city's future. My commitment to education is another reason I deeply care about the future of Lee's Summit. My wife, Lori, actually back here, she is an educator, and together we have raised three daughters that are here as well, and one of them is also following in her mother's footsteps in education. While the city does not directly govern our schools, strong schools remain one of the primary reasons families choose to live and invest in our community. Continuing a strong partnership between the city and the school district is essential to maintaining the quality of life that makes Lee Summit such a desirable place to live. Thank you for your time.

Thank you. Mr. Schiller. J.D.

Hi. Mayor, members of city council, fellow residents. My name is J.D. Schiller, and I'm seeking the opportunity to serve District 3 in the community I've called home for my entire life. My connection to Lee Summit did not begin with this vacancy. It began when I was born here, 42 years ago. I grew up in Oak Tree Farms, swam in the pool there, and swam in our original municipal pool. My family later moved to the Longview area where I attended Pleasant Lee Elementary and Junior High, named after Dr. Pleasant Lee, whose legacy is woven into the history of our city. I went on to graduate from the community's original high school, and during those years, I held my first job at Johnny Ray's, a longtime Lee Summit staple. After high school, Went off to University of Missouri, and when I returned, I began building a career in real estate. And for more than 21 years here, a little over two decades, I've worked with local homeowners, businesses, investors, and developers. My experience has given me a front row view of Lee Summit's tremendous growth and has taught me that growth brings opportunity, but it also requires thoughtful planning, strong infrastructure, and a commitment to protecting the neighborhoods and the quality of life that make this community special. I was educated here. I first went to work here. I built my business here and ultimately I built my life here. My more recent civic involvement in advocating for public safety taught me something else. Sometimes citizenship requires more than observing, it requires stepping forward. After the events of this past summer, I spoke publicly, asked questions, sought records, met with officials, and remained persistent in advocating for safer community events while supporting the preservation of the event itself. Harry S. Truman once said, America was not built on fear, America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand. I do believe in that determination. I am a doer, and I'm also a lifelong learner. I never expected to be standing here and seeking public office, but many residents did push me to do that, and so here I am, and my vision will be for Lee Summit to be viewed as a city on a hill, growing ambitiously but wisely, protecting neighborhoods, strengthening public safety, welcoming opportunity, investing in infrastructure, and listening to assistance. Thank you guys very much. Appreciate it.

Thank you. Appreciate it. And last but not least, Ms. Andrea Young.

I'm Andrea Young. I'm asking for your support for the third district appointment because I care a lot about the community that my family has chosen to call home. And I believe that my background and experience would bring valuable perspective to this council. I'm a practicing attorney with a background in urban planning. I started my career working for a public entity. So professionally, I've had the opportunity to see local government from both sides of the table. I spend a lot of my time at the intersection of private business and local government working through issues involving economic development, infrastructure, housing, financing, and my favorite, public-private partnerships. But I think what matters more than that is what the work has taught me. I've learned how to work with people who come to the table with very different interests. I've learned to ask hard questions, to separate what I know from what I assume, and to work towards a solution when there isn't an obvious answer. and I've learned that good decisions aren't always the ones that make everyone happy, but people deserve to know that they are heard and understand how you got there. Lee's Summit's growth reflects a lot of things that this community has done right, but it also creates challenges making sure our infrastructure and city services keep pace, being thoughtful with how and where we grow, and making responsible decisions about limited public resources. Those issues aren't always easy answers, and I don't think that the public should expect their elected officials to have predetermined answers for every issue, but they should expect that council will listen, do the homework, ask good questions, exercise good judgment, and be willing to make difficult decisions when necessary. And that's the approach that I would bring to council. I'd be honored to have that opportunity and look forward to our conversation today.

Great, thank you. Okay, thank you all very much. We'll proceed with the questions. And the questions will also be shown on the screen. So in case, I'll read it, but in case you maybe forget part of it, then you can reference the screen and kind of keep you on track. So we'll start with the first question. And we'll go ahead and maintain the same order that we started with. There are six questions, so we'll have to just kind of loop around and make sure It's an even kind of... So the first question will be Ms. Arth. Second question will be Mr. Denzer. Third, so on, so forth. The sixth question, we'll figure that out when we get there. So, Ms. Arth, you mind coming up? First question is, the East Summit operates under a council manager form of government. How do you understand the respective roles of an individual council member the council as a body, and the city manager and his staff.

I'm getting that confused with charter commission when I'm thinking about a city manager, a strong city manager city, but I will answer this question. The individual council member And the council as a body, well the individual council member will obviously have his or her own opinions and insight into different issues. The council as a body, when the individuals come together, the council of the body has to work with one another to figure out how to go forward. Sometimes consensus isn't always possible, but it does help to work through the issues. City manager and staff, city manager reports to the city council, the staff reports to the city manager. So interaction between city council and city manager are very important in this process as well.

Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Denzer, same question.

Yeah, so it's basically like a board of directors, a corporate board of directors. And maybe that's because I spent my whole life working in corporate America. But the city council itself is a board that provides the direction and works with or hires a city manager, obviously. But city manager is the professional management of the city with the staff. They go through the board, bring items to the board. The board sets direction, asks questions. set standards, and obviously is the responsible party for making sure things get done.

Great. Thank you. Mr. Frederick, same question.

Yeah, there's a clear separation between the roles as far as administrative and creating policy. The council members, of course, have to learn and listen from their constituents and then basically take that back to the city council. But it's certainly the responsibility of the city manager and the staff to take care of the day-to-day operations for the city.

But most importantly it's just you have to listen to your constituents and bring back that information to the council Thank you Mr.. Schiller I Understand the council member is more of a representative and the fiduciary responsibility towards the general public and that can be said as basically they are the body or the representatives of the entire citizen state and So, and since then, they do carry that responsibility and role. They do need to listen to them as much as possible and review whatever laws and evidence they come across, make independent decisions and discuss them respectfully for the most part. Then the city manager, of course, reports back. He has a different type of role where he will be following through with different items of agenda that is also kind of listening to the city as well, but does report to the council member, staff, and the body overall of itself.

Thank you. Ms. Young.

The sixth way you're going to hear this, but as far as I understand, the state of Missouri has only a handful of this type of government structure with the charter, which basically operates as kind of a constitution. So just going in order, council member represents their constituents and brings policy issues to the council, if there are any. Council votes as a body to inform policy. Then the city manager takes that policy and administers it with their staff. So again, there's a separation between policy and administration. Um, and then all of that underneath the, um, uh, not the constitution, which is what I would like to say, but the city charter. So, um, again, the fifth way you heard that this evening.

Great. Thank you. Okay. We'll keep going. Second question, Mr. Denzer, you'll kick it off. I'll read it. I know you can read it up on the screen. What principles should guide the city council in deciding whether an economic development incentive is appropriate and what should the city expect in return for the use of those public resources?

I think one of the major principles is, um, is this, uh, is the city gonna basically make money on this? I mean the incentive needs to be an investment in the city's future. Would this development happen without the incentive? Because if we're incentivizing developers for no reason, because they might go down the street, they want to be in Lee's Summit anyway, but hey, I can get this incentive, that's not really going to work for us. The city should expect those developers to engage their citizens and take into account the needs of the city and provide some of the city services back to, in place of the city sometimes, and that sort of thing. The main, like I said, I just want to make sure that in my case, I want to make sure that the city is getting banged for its buck. If we're just shifting businesses from one location in the city to another because of a tax incentive, that's not good for anyone except the developer. I want to make sure we're bringing new businesses in.

Great. Thank you. Mr. Frederick, same question.

Yeah, if we want to develop and grow and compete competitive with other cities, we certainly have to do incentives, but we have to do it in a very smart fashion. You know, there has to be reasonable expectations when we're giving up our tax dollars. You know, what are we getting in return? Are we going to have jobs, any tax revenues that were going to be created, but we have to hold any companies that want to do business here and help hold them accountable.

Thank you. Mr. Schiller, same question.

So the principles that should guide the city council should always be what is the greater good for the public and the general long-term benefits that would come from it. I would say that you would look at every situation with a thorough examination of the developers, the background experience, and the finances that would be involved in that situation. Then, of course, review and guide through what would be the win-win overall. Does it benefit the public? Can the developer complete the project running through the but-for test? Will he be able to do that without the incentive? Because if he can, I believe we've given plenty of incentives to the developers over the years where some of our services are now in a little bit of a conjunction that beginning to take some weight back from the growth and we're starting to see some of the issues that are arising with the growth. Our city is going from the sixth largest city to possibly the fourth largest city in the state and that's quite a jump so we need to make sure that everything is in the right.

Great, thank you. Ms. Young?

I think I would just start by saying there's basically three guiding principles. The need, obviously, which is assessed with every project, and then the fiscal impact, and then what we get from the project. Again, there's development incentives for apartments, but there's also development incentives to encourage job development. retention or expansion and attraction. So again, it is a really important tool for the city. We do have guides as far as the comprehensive plan and yeah, just understanding like which job markets we are targeting and also which housing developments we want to encourage and where. So I think what we could work more towards on the council side and towards educating the public is the accountability, like what we actually get when we're giving out the incentives and doing a better job of tracking that and measuring it.

Great. Thank you. Ms. Arth.

I had the advantage of taking some notes this time. One of the questions would be, when we look at the comprehensive plan, does this incentive help us get the desired development we want, and what is the return on investment? We also have to look at the demands for public resources and make sure that the projected revenue with the incentives covers that.

Great. Thank you all very much. We'll move on to the third question. And this one will start off with Mr. Frederick. I'll read it, but you can read it on the screen as well, as I've done for each one. Housing and growth. The LEED Summit continues to grow while facing concerns about housing affordability, housing types, density, infrastructure, and neighborhood compatibility. How should the council balance those sometimes competing considerations?

Housing is not really just a glee summit problem, but it's a national problem. I know that's certainly a big issue for all the people that live here in this city. I've had the fortunate ability to live here, but my concerns are, will my daughters be able to live here? And will any future grandchildren, will they be able to live here? So I think that we certainly have concerns as far as, you know, having available housing. And the one thing I know is I was here a few weeks ago and I saw the meeting where there's, we've dramatically lost the people from the ages of 25 to 40. And, I mean, we have to really face that challenge. I mean, but also face the fact that we have a growing senior population as well. Okay?

Thank you. Mr. Schiller?

So we've been in a housing shortage since, probably since the recession, give or take, because of the development costs and then rising costs of everything else, the macroeconomic conditions, and everybody basically wanting more money for labor. So overall, we need to, what we're missing, we have a lot of single family homes in Lee Summit, but we are missing the middle, and that would be townhomes and different style homes that would fit into that category. I know that we recently, I think, were reviewing accessory dwelling units, and that is a great idea. That gives homeowners that currently have the availability to rent out rooms. I know that we've also gone over the short-term rental situations, but maybe that could be reviewed as well and be expanded because that does open up more housing opportunities for short-term people, maybe people that are working in the interim and coming and going for like a year or something but that could be an open opportunity. There's lots of ideas on this. This would be more than a one-minute subject to discuss, but as you would understand, that's a pretty in-depth discussion, so thank you.

Great, thank you. Ms. Young?

I guess if I had to boil this down to one sentence, it would be the right housing in the right location. And we do have the comprehensive plan that can act as a guide. But again, each individual project deserves a project level analysis to see if it works. Um, and that's where you can rely a lot on the constituents and the people in the neighborhood because they know things that might not show up on a staff report or in a comprehensive plan. But again, just going back to the comprehensive plan and making sure that it's the right housing in the right location and that we have the infrastructure in place to support it.

Great. Thank you. Ms. Arth.

Housing has been an issue, and it, of course, is a national issue as well, but we have, I know that a housing task force is in the middle of being created, and I think some of these concerns, well, I know some of these concerns have been brought up. I think the missing middle does a lot for this. The townhomes, the duplexes, anything in the implex, that helps with more affordability. It's a great option for people who retire who want to sell their home, and downsize, I think the task force is going to be instrumental in helping toward finding solutions to this, and I look forward to seeing that.

Great, thank you. Okay, Mr. Denzer.

Yeah, I think the council, of course, the council's helping to guide development, and they've done a wonderful job in our transient housing. We've got a lot more rental properties. The problem is when all the rental housing coming online, Those people are, for the most part, transient. And we want those people to stay and own in Lee's Summit. Because when you own, you have more skin in the game, so to say. You take care of the city better. You tend to have more quality of residence when you own your place. So I think the council can guide that development. I don't care if it's, as they call it, middle housing, individual housing, condos, town homes, patio homes, senior housing. But I think the idea of ownership, we need to continue to encourage. and do what we can with the market forces which really drive development and just keep those within guardrails and also make sure that our code enforcement and our development is running smoothly and we're not putting excessive demands on developers that cause prices to go up.

Great, thank you. We'll go ahead and move on to question number four. This one will start with Mr. Schiller. And again, it'll be on the screen, but I'll read it. This has to do with communication. On a scale of one to five, five being the best, how do you feel the city's communication with the citizens rate? As a council member, what do you suggest to enhance? How do you suggest we can enhance communication with the citizens?

So we already have lots of great programs like LS Aware and other facilities for other website usage and different... venues through that. We could probably get the word out a little better, especially maybe with some people that aren't more online savvy, go door to door and talk to people, put out flyers, mailers, because I actually just became more aware when I got a little more involved with the city about some of those and was signing up and I realized that was great if I did see something I could report it on the app and let, and let everybody know. But I think we're, I think if you go with the one to five, I think we're at a four and we could probably, you know, there's always a little room for improvement, but overall I feel pretty good about what we're doing. Um, I'm noticing a little more communication through Facebook, um, and online venues through there, the city posting and, and breaking down the meetings because sometimes people don't have three or four hours to look and watch the whole meeting. So maybe just summarize the meeting out and get it out, um, and through Facebook, but a lot of people don't initially use those items, so maybe we could look into some other ways to direct communicate. But communication's very important, so that would be some of the ideas.

Great, thank you. Ms. Young.

I guess if I had to rate it, 3.5 if that's an option to go midway. I think one way that this could be improved would be to improve voter turnout. Because there are a lot of people that don't vote in elections, which to me would imply that they also aren't paying attention. So I think setting up more of an outreach for voters to get more involved. Also, as J.D. Schiller said, more bite-sized educational components, and I know as part of the Housing Task Force, there's going to be some public education on how housing is operating within I think that's really important to make it more bite size instead of relying on people to watch three-hour meetings. But otherwise, I find the website to be easy to maneuver. I know that wouldn't be the case for everyone. So I guess understanding what we're lacking and improving where we need to.

Thank you. Great. Thank you. Ms. Arth?

I would say on a scale of one to five, I don't want to say 3.5 again, I'll say 3.65. I would say that the communication, there is a lot of communication on the website. I noticed when I was looking up the process for this evening, that is out there and I've noticed some other things that are out there and I think that is a big improvement. Um, it's hard when you're in the middle of doing city things, you don't realize what communications aren't going out there. So I think, um, one thing, the website, I like it that they're making more progress toward making it more user friendly. Um, but as a council member enhancing communication, I really like what council member prior and funk did when they went to the Princeton and talked with residents face to face, um, It's a low-cost way of meeting with the constituents, and not even your own constituents, but talking to the public.

Great. Thank you. Mr. Denzer?

Yeah, thank you. Yeah, I would give the city a solid four, especially comparative to other big cities. The communication is so much better than what I used to get in Kansas City. The websites are cleaner. the development minutes, the little weekly ones on Facebook. Maybe, I'm not sure on X if we have a presence out there. We probably do. I just don't see those. But I think those type of things, to keep doing it, there's always room to improve. So I think we're just at a solid four.

All right. Thank you. Mr. Frederick.

I guess since we're going half points, I guess I'm going to go 3.75. Um, so anyway, I know that, um, the communications director just came out this summer with a communications plan. Um, and I think that's going to be very important for, you know, I know that this, our city has had, um, issues as far as, uh, communication and transparency. And I think if we, you know, take advantage of this plan, you know, I think that'll solve a lot of problems because right now, unfortunately, we have a lot of misinformation out there and it's really hard to battle all that. So I think that's will certainly help us.

Great. Thank you.

Thank you.

And Mr. Schiller, you kicked it off. So thank you all. Good answers. All of you. So we'll go ahead and move on. This next question will be for Miss Young. Question number five, expectations and goals. This appointment was created by an unexpected vacancy, and you will be stepping into an existing council with ongoing priorities, relationships, and initiatives. What would you want to accomplish during this time in office, and how would you balance bringing your own perspective with respecting the work already underway?

Okay. I have been keeping up to date on the efforts with the Housing Task Force, updating the incentives policy, the issues around the courts. So I guess as far as stepping in, realizing that this is technically only a seven-ish month appointment, just jumping in where I can fit in and where I can add value as far as those endeavors go. And then what I would like to accomplish, ideally winning an election next April. But yeah, I mean, bringing my own perspective, I think I have the expertise as an attorney and my experience with housing and working with and for local government um so i guess yeah where i'm lacking uh the relationships i i would look for opportunities to meet people to understand where we are in the processes that i'm aware of but otherwise yeah just seeing where my expertise can be of help great thank you miss arth

Over the past year I have kept up with the city council. I watch the meetings every week and so I'm familiar with a lot of the things going on. I would say the things I'd want to accomplish is to make a good contribution to whatever the issues are from my perspective. Maybe as a CPA I think about things in quantitative ways and I think that could add to the discussion. I think my own perspective balancing that and respecting the work underway, respecting the fact that maybe There's not all the background knowledge when you step on to a council You even have less background knowledge than the newly elected people. So just trying to get up to speed with that and Like I said hitting hitting the ground running because I think it's a thing where you do drink from fire hose Great.

Thank you. Mr. Denzer I Think

You know, again, it's only a seven-month period. And the main thing I don't want to accomplish is I want to be able to listen to the citizens of my district and the city and make sure I'm representing them well. As far as coming in on halfway done stuff or things underway, as an IT professional for 30 years, we're constantly moving from project to project. One of the main things I think it's important to do is just ask questions to understand and listen and understand that there's background that you may not know and then just ask questions to kind of clarify it. That'll help you kind of just pick up what you're doing and then try and make a good contribution to the city and to the citizens and Represent them in a fine fashion.

Great Mr. Frederick So You know as Dean said I realized that you know you have when you're coming into this you have to hit the ground running and I know there's a some big things that are coming up for this city. We have, uh, the city court that we had just talked about earlier tonight. We have a big, uh, development issues that are coming up. And also we have a big vote in November, whether we're going to accept, uh, uh, for the trash. So, you know, we have a lot of things coming up, but the big thing is I realized I'd probably have to learn a lot from you guys. You guys have been here, you know what you're doing. But I'd want to learn from you guys. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Schiller.

Well, being in real estate for the past 21 years and having sold multiple houses within this area and the district specifically, I've already built many relationships with the neighbors. And my mom actually does live in Lakewood, which is the majority of the District 3. She's been there about 23 or so years. My dad was a pilot. He had planes at the airport, so we were always there as well. I believe that's part of the District 3 position. duties and whatnot. I would want to strengthen the airport more because that's a great resource for our growing city to appeal to others. And then also continue building the relationships that I've already been building on. It would be hit the ground running. I know we have a lot of other issues, of course. No one could know everything on day one, but like I said, I'm a doer and a lifelong learner, so I'd be very willing to continue doing that and pick up very quickly and continue moving forward. Thank you.

Great. Thank you. Okay. Takes us to the last question. Question number six. We'll go ahead and start with back to Ms. Arth at the very beginning. It's a citizen question submitted by a citizen, obviously, of Lee Summit. City Council decisions can shape Lee Summit for decades. What personal, professional, or community ties demonstrate your long-term commitment to Lee Summit, and how do you envision your involvement here beyond this appointment?

I've been a business owner in Lee summit for 17 years. Um, I have employees and I feel that that I've been very committed to being an employer within the city. I've been involved in various organizations within Lee summit. I would think that that complements what the responsibilities are of a council member because a lot of those interactions are with residents of the city. You get to hear a lot of things that go on. I envision that my involvement here has been, with my city work as well, has been all inclusive. of just committing to the community as a whole.

Thank you. Mr. Denzer.

As a 48-year resident of Kansas City, I think I kind of demonstrate that I don't move around a lot. And when I moved out here to Lee's Summit seven years ago, it was like a whole new world and a whole new world that I like a lot. And in that fashion, living in Lakewood, working with the Lakewood HOA, or the LPOA, as far as on their election committees, and actually leading their election committee in this past year. I don't really have any reason to go anywhere else. I've been kayaking on Lake Tacoma for 20, 25 years. This appointment happens or it doesn't happen, I'm gonna still be sitting in Lee's Summit, still working with my LPOA, still going kayaking, and still trying to do what I can to help other citizens in Lee's Summit.

Great, thank you. Mr. Frederick?

Yeah, I think that I bring just my business experience, my leadership skills, my finance background. But more importantly, and how I think I could continue to contribute to my community, I have three daughters that they just recently graduated from college. That's going to offer me a little bit more time on my hands, and I felt like it was my time to serve and give back to my community. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Schiller.

Well, kind of basically demonstrating the previous question, I'm pretty tied in with the community through my real estate activities and my family being here and me being born and raised here. So I've been here 42 years now. I don't plan on leaving. I don't think I'm able to leave. It's just too great of a home. I love it, and I always travel. I've traveled all 50 states and been all over the country, and then I just always tell everybody, well, I've got the greatest home of all of you. So I just come back, and then here I am again. So I'll continue developing personal relationships and working through that, continue selling homes either way. It's always been a great business. It's been a great endeavor. buy some rental properties, et cetera. I can only focus on really at least some of it because it's just always been so good and it's just always growing well and values are going up and it's just been what I want to do. So I'm here. My heart is here. Okay, thank you.

Thank you. Ms. Young.

I actually love this question, because it gets to give me an opportunity to tell you why I moved here in the first place. So when my husband and I got married two and a half years ago, I grew up on the Kansas side. Don't hate me. And I had lived in the city for over a decade. And we could have moved anywhere in the metro. And we picked Lee's Summit. And it's for a lot of the reasons you heard tonight. It's the quality of life. It's the schools. It's the community. So as far as community ties, I'm very fortunate I have some of my friends here this evening supporting me, my wonderful husband. So I guess where I envision my involvement here in Lee's Summit beyond this appointment would be continuing to grow those community ties and just kind of infiltrate you all very slowly. Thank you.

Thank you. Okay. Excellent job, all of you, answering these questions. It takes a lot of guts to get up there and give your opinion on some of these questions that are a little tricky. But thank you very much. So that takes us to the closing statement. You each get two minutes, and we'll go ahead and keep the same order. Start with Ms. Arth. And we've got the – our city clerk will keep the timer, and you get two minutes. Appreciate it.

I came here tonight because I wanted to take some of the experiences I have and my fondness for Lee Summit to represent the people of District 3. It's very important to understand incentives, housing, the public safety, and the issues that I actually ran on during my campaign. However, it's also important to remember that as a council member, you or we or whoever is the next council member represents the voice of the people and I think it's important for people to feel heard and especially in a community where they have roots, they live here, they care about what goes on in their backyard. I always say local government is the most important because it literally is in your backyard. I have enjoyed learning more about this city. I've enjoyed meeting residents, and that is why I came here tonight. I appreciate all of your time, and thank you very much.

Thank you. Mr. Denzer?

Yeah, I just want to say I appreciate the invitation here tonight as part of filling this vacant council position, giving us the forum to talk to you guys and to talk to the citizens of And thank you, the mayor and the council, for your consideration. Just one closing thought. I think people want to live and work in areas that are safe, secure, and affordable. We can throw all the money in the world at some of the glitzy, high-priced projects, which I love them. Trust me, I love Green Street. But without a sound fiscal policy, they can become a burden on future generations. And we don't want to leave them behind in crumbling, crime-ridden neighborhoods. By balancing our development needs, our projects with basic infrastructure, never forget about basic infrastructure, maintenance, and support, a no-nonsense crime prevention approach, reasonably priced housing stock, and a continuation of efficient city services. I think we can build a generation of people that will just want to be here. A well-rounded, vibrant city, which is the envy of the area, the region, and the state, a city THAT IS MOVING THE METRO FORWARD. I THINK LEE SUMMIT SHOULD BE THE DESTINATION CHOICE FOR KANSAS CITY IN THE METROPOLITAN AREA. IT'S A MAJOR LEAGUE CITY IN ALL RESPECTS THAT REALLY MATTER. AND I DO ASK FOR YOUR SUPPORT TO MAKE THIS VISION A REALITY AND TO CONTINUE THE WORK OF THIS COUNCIL. AND FINALLY, I ASK YOU TO SUPPORT ME, GARRETT DENZER, TO THE OPEN DISTRICT SEAT FOR THE THIRD DISTRICT OF THE CITY OF LEE SUMMIT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THANK YOU. MR. FREDERICK.

All right. While I understand this is a temporary appointment, it is my full intention to run for election in April and continue serving the residents of District 3. As a lifelong Lee Summit resident, Lee Summit graduate, business owner, and community leader, I'm deeply invested in the future of our city. I'm well connected throughout District 3 and broader community. Through my membership at Lakewood Oaks Country Club, My service has passed grand night for the Knights of Columbus and many relationships I have built with clients and residents over the years. I've developed a strong understanding of the issues, priorities, and opportunities facing our community. My work serving seniors has strengthened one of the most important qualities a council member can possess, the ability to listen. Every day I work with individuals and families to understand the needs, address their concerns, and help them find practical solutions. Integrity, honesty, and accountability are the foundation of my business, and these values would be the foundation if I was to serve on the city council. If appointed, I would focus on listening to the people of District 3, supporting public safety, and help foster responsible growth to ensure Lee's Summit remains a thriving community. While some applicants may have prior experience in the city government, I bring a unique combination of financial expertise, business experience, community involvement, and strong relationships throughout our city. Most importantly, I bring a servant's heart and a genuine desire to represent the people of Lee's Summit. Each of you was once given the opportunity to have a leadership role in this city, and I respectfully ask you for the same opportunity. I would be honored to earn your vote and the chance to serve District 3 and help move Lee's Summit forward. Thank you for your consideration. And by the way, that was really cool how everybody was taking advantage of Green Street. I loved it. Thank you. Mr. Schiller.

So Lee's Summit is a growing, changing, Lee's Summit is growing, changing, and entering another important chapter in its history. Growth brings opportunity, new business, new neighborhoods, new investment, and new possibilities, and it also brings responsibility. The decisions made today about development, infrastructure, public safety, and neighborhoods will shape the Lee's Summit that future generations inherit. I have spent my entire life watching this community grow, and I want that growth to be ambitious, but wise, forward-looking, but grounded in what makes Lee's Summit special. My own path to leadership has been built largely through experience, and I consider myself a doer and a lifelong learner. So basically, for more than two decades, I've built a business, worked with homeowners and businesses, solved problems, adapted to changing circumstances, and learned that results come from showing up and doing the work. I learn quickly. I ask questions. I listen to people who know more than I do. I study the facts, and I am willing to change my position when better information supports it. And most importantly, when I accept responsibilities for something, I follow through. No new council member will know everything on day one. I certainly would not pretend to. What I can promise is that I would rely on day one, open-minded, prepared to learn, willing to listen, and ready to work. If appointed, my responsibility would be to help keep neighborhoods strong, infrastructure prepared, families safe, businesses confident to invest, and residents confident that their voices matter. My vision remains that Lee's Summit continues being prosperous, welcoming, and filled with opportunity and hope for all. Leadership is not about knowing everything before you begin. It is about having the humility to keep learning and a determination to turn what you learn into results for the people you serve. That is the kind of council member that I want to be. So thank you, Mayor and council members, for your time and consideration this evening. Appreciate it.

Thank you.

Thanks.

Ms. Young.

First of all, I do not envy the decision that you guys have to make between all these qualified candidates this evening, so good luck with that. But thank you again for the opportunity to be here. I hope through my answers you've not just gotten a sense of how I think, but how I will approach serving on council. So I'll come prepared. I'll listen, especially when someone sees an issue differently than I do. I'll ask questions, follow the facts, and make the best decision I can for Lee Summit over the long term. I know that being a good council member isn't just about how you vote. It's about working with the other people sitting up here with you all. So while I'll advocate strongly for what I believe, I know that disagreement on one issue will not keep me from working with someone on the next. I grew up playing competitive sports. I also think my background would bring a useful perspective to this council. I spend my professional life working through many of the same issues that we've talked about tonight. growth infrastructure, housing, economic development, again, my favorite, private-public partnerships, and how decisions get implemented in the real world. That doesn't mean that I'll know everything. Again, I'll ask questions. I'll rely on council members, the expertise of city staff, and listen to residents and keep learning. I've actually really enjoyed this process because it's reinforced in me just how much I want to get involved in my community and how seriously I would take this opportunity, so thank you. And I'm ready to start the work. I believe my experience, judgment, and perspective would add something valuable to this council, so I'd be honored for your support for the appointment. Thank you.

Thank you. And again, thank you all for putting yourselves out there in this type of a form it's it's not easy. And it reminds me of it seemed like it wasn't too long ago, Mister Dunning little over a year ago, maybe we went to a similar process to fill another district vacancy and ironically here we are again just over a little over a year over past that time to our Council representatives. We're sitting in your chairs and both interviewed for that position. So I remember how inspiring it was to listen to them, too. And you all are definitely very prepared. You all care about this community, just like all of us up here, like everyone in this room, probably. And so I just commend you all. Excellent answers, all of you. And it is going to be a tough decision. So before we go on to the next phase in the process, I just want to explain something. We're going to take a short recess here at the council. I think just go to the bathroom or get a drink of water or something. But before we do that, I want to explain that, as Mr. Dunning said when we started this process, The next process will take five minutes total, okay? And I know we have some people here that are here to support each of you five candidates or applicants. So we're going to limit the public comments to five minutes total. Is it five minutes per candidate?

explain that for me yet sorry may we have a general public comments five minutes but then if we have members of the public that wish to speak on behalf of the candidate then five minutes per candidate okay that makes sense so we're going to leave the room and let you all figure out who's going to come up to speak for public comments and then also to speak on behalf of your preferred candidate

So when we come back, we're going to do the public comments and then we'll allow each one of you to come speak on behalf of whoever you're supporting. All right. So thank you all very much. We'll take a quick recess and we'll be back. Thanks.

Ever wondered how the city budget works? The total 2026 budget is over $380 million, which includes funding for daily operations, capital improvements, debt service, internal service, and enterprise operations. For example, the General Fund is the foundation for the city's day-to-day services and investments like road maintenance, public safety, and fire protection. The General Fund is supported by property taxes, sales taxes generated by local businesses, franchise taxes, and other sources like licenses, permits, and fees. For every dollar citizens pay in property tax, the city receives 18 cents. This means the city receives $845 a year in property taxes for a median single-family house. These taxes provide public safety, park maintenance, infrastructure, and the best services to keep Lee Summit going and improving. One of the community's top priorities is infrastructure investment, which is reflected in the Capital Improvement Plan. $113 million of the 2026 budget is invested into the capital improvement plan. The 2026 capital improvement budget includes investments like the 291 and 50 highway interchange, Third Street, Ward and Purcells intersection, and Prior Road. The budget process includes guidance from the city council, citizen input, and critical success factors from the city's IGNITE strategic plan. To learn more about the city's budget, visit cityofls.net backslash budget.

When the person called on the phone, she said that there was a dinosaur walking down her road. Of course, we had to go out and check that out. We get out there, and it was a big African tortoise, probably 60 pounds, walking down the road. When they walked, they really stand up tall, so I could see why she thought it was a dinosaur. I'm Rodney Wagner, I'm the manager of Lee's Summit Animal Control. So as you can see, we've got all sorts of animals here. We've got some guinea pigs off to the side. All the windows up here are animals that are adoptable right now. Every one of these dogs is ready to go and ready for adoption. And the same thing with our cats over here. A lot of cool cats in here now, so. This is our three acre lot we have out back. This is where we do all the walking of dogs, exercise. We also have a side yard off to the side over there so we can let them run loose. They can run together and then we have what's called play groups. Kind of like having a bunch of kids. Here's our vet room. We have a vet that comes out twice a week. This is our sally port where we bring the animals into. This is one of our animal control trucks. And we can hold up to six animals. We have a lift on the other side to put big animals in. We actually have temperature gauges in here and in the truck to tell us how hot it is. Once it gets to a certain temperature, we bring all the animals back here immediately, so. This actually has traps in it, but. We do a lot of wildlife trapping. I mean a lot, so. Bats, hot-bellied pigs, horses, cows, emus, a lot of reptiles. We had a citizen one time that had over 200 reptiles in his basement. Caimans and alligators in here that are four or five feet long, you can't keep those. And people do, and they're surprised when they can't keep them. I'm like, really? You're surprised you can't have an alligator in your house? Our main goal here is public safety and also the safety of the animals, and we have very dedicated people back there, and they definitely stay here for the love of the animals, which also includes getting them adopted out. We'll have about 4,000 impounded animals a year, probably about close to 2,000 are dogs and cats. The cats and dogs, when they get impounded here, they go on a five-day hold, and then after the five days, if the owner doesn't show up, then we can put them up for adoption. Adopt an animal here is actually really simple. You just come in, look for whatever animal you're looking for, find the right pick. You have to go to the adoption room up there and see if you get along with them as much time as you want to in there. From that point on, it's just a matter of making sure they're spayed or neutered and all their vaccinations up to par and they're good to go. We have a very high adoption rate because we try everything in our power to get animals adopted out. We have Heart of America, a humane society that we do a lot of adoptions through. And then we also have other groups. We have some people that literally will just look all over the country for somewhere for a dog to go. And we sent dogs up into South Dakota, North Dakota, Washington State. So it's actually, it's a huge united effort to get all these animals home.

Tarzan's got lots of energy. Hazel's got a weird bell bell. She wants nothing to do with the other cats. She'll kind of get her grumpy face going.

And the good thing about the people here is that they get all their friends to get animals too. All of us have probably the limit of all the animals that we can have at home. You know, they are huge animal lovers. If it was up to the people here, we'd have 15 cats running around in here. We had a citizen one time out there, and he was bathing his two nine-foot-long boa constrictors in the front yard. Apparently, that was garnering some attention, and so we went out there and had to talk to him about that. Do I do this job? Oh, dude, I love this job. I grew up on a farm, and taking care of that many animals, you can't help but like animals. This is just like fancy farming. You know, you're just bringing animals in here, taking care of them and find them homes. And yeah, absolutely animal lover.

Traditionally, we think as police officers, those responding to law enforcement needs within the community. But honestly, we are there to serve our citizens, and our citizens do go into crisis. They do have mental health crises, and we're being called to those scenes on a regular basis. In order to help serve those citizens better, we did initiate the Crisis Intervention Team Program. These are officers that are specially trained to de-escalate crisis situations. Recently, we've brought co-responders onto the scene, licensed, qualified mental health professionals housed within our police department. and they respond with those officers directly to those scenes where a crisis is occurring so they can interact with that citizen and get them the help they need right there on that scene.

The co-responders are either a bachelor or master level in a behavioral health related field. They wear plain clothes. They don't carry weapons or anything like that.

I have a police radio that I listen to all day. Listen for, you know, those key words. Mental health, behavioral health, crisis.

There's a lot of officers that just call for me. I have my own radio number.

I also have the ability to self-dispatch to them and say, 982's en route. Officers en route. 914.

So typically I arrive after they've made it safe. I'll make contact and get kind of the rundown. And then I just kind of jump right in.

Like, hey, you know, my name's Allison. I'm a mental health professional. I'm here to help you. I'm not here to take you to jail or arrest you. Sometimes

All a person needs is a voice, someone neutral, someone outside that can listen. I do a lot of safety planning, including family, their support network. Who's close to you? If they're home alone, who can come over and hang out with you today? Can we lock away your sharps? Can we put up your meds? Do you need meds? Can we get you over to the urgent care to get you assessed for your medications? Some of them also are like, oh, I'm so glad you came. This made me feel so much better.

Our main goal as co-responders is to, one, get people connected to the services that they need and also divert from emergency rooms and jails.

And they almost get a different view of the police responding. That lets me know you care and the officers care. Please call the police.

Can we help?

In 2020, we had 722 mental health related calls for service. 2022, by that time, 1,479. These mental health related calls for service are increasing. How we're responding to that is increasing the number of crisis intervention team officers we have available, as well as the number of co-responders we have available to respond on these calls.

So what I think is important for the community to know about the co-responder program is that we're here. We exist. All you have to do when you call 9-1-1 is ask for us. You know, say, hey, I want a co-responder to respond to this crisis, and we'll go. I was really struggling about eight years ago on my personal journey with mental health, and I met some amazing social... All right, let me go ahead and explain it one more time.

Hopefully I'll get it right this time. So, the next stage in the process is public comments. Anyone who wishes to come up to speak in general of what you envision this next council appointee, kind of what you expect out of that person or that role. Not specifically or personally, but any individual that's on that front row. Just in general, what you envision This new person coming in and what they should maybe stand for your opinion. Okay, how you feel about that role? so you get five minutes total and So can I have a show of hands of who wants to speak for public comments? So we have three of you So who's the CPA in the room? So we're gonna split five minutes between you three 1.66 is that right?

Now, if it's okay, because we talked a little bit beforehand, if they can do it first and then I'll use it.

So you three and our city clerk will keep the timer going, okay? So come on up. We can do it one at a time.

Okay.

Yeah, one at a time, please.

I'll be done real quick. Yeah, I just noticed that we have five great candidates here. But they're all four brand new faces and only one I've seen before. I mean, if they want to be involved with the city council, this is the first time I've seen most of them here. So if they want to be involved... this is the first time I've seen involvement. So anyway, thank you. Thank you.

Come on up. Spall and wider. Come on up.

What I would like for the person that gets picked for this council seat. to remember is that the information asymmetry between what you know and what they know is huge. The gap is huge. And so it would behoove you to go in this with a, I'm not going to say it like Reagan said it, I'm going to say it, distrust and verify, verify, verify. Because I have done a lot of looking in the public records and I have concerns of page not found, that some things are making it in there and then disappear. Videos from planning commission, from city council, it'll say unavailable. And I wonder, why is that? And things that I've seen and printed and screenshots, and then I go in later and poof, it's gone. I would like you to try to close that information asymmetry gap quickly and distrust and verify, verify, verify.

Thank you. OK.

So we all heard them talk. This is obviously my first introduction to all of them as well. We do know that one of them used to work on one of the campaigns. And we do know that one of them has also been part of the city council planning from discussions. And I know that everyone has their own opinions. The important thing I think that the city should consider when it's looking at the individuals is how they're going to affect the dynamics of the council. For me, there were two people that stood out. And I will just mention them and allow you guys to process that in your analysis on your votes. And that is one of them is a member of the bar. The other used to have a history of insurance and has members that are teachers. Those are key facts and key elements and I wish everyone luck. I think it's a hard choice but I just wanted to call out the standouts that I observed and I did ask why they were here as part of that dynamic to see how they'd respond both to community engagement and in understanding that. They had different responses and I don't want to put them on the spot because I don't think that would really be reasonable and fair But I do wanna make sure it's clear that when we all talked about numbers and ratings, and we looked at how people voted citizen engagement of 3.5, basically set the middle ground and anchored everybody to that thought pattern. And when people went a little bit above that, that we were doing better on engagement, there was no real specific fact that grounded that. And when we talk about looking at how the city's doing and evaluating How will we do that? We have to make sure that we anchor that to specifics and areas that can be evaluated and that we don't allow political maneuvering in our thinking and we focus on solutions. And so when I compare the two people that led it to me, it was about who would provide the most concrete solutions. And unfortunately, I have to go back a little bit on how you should never trust bar members. because bar members do do better at language and coming up with solutions. And that can be beneficial to the council. But if the council is more concerned about citizens in their aging health and in the housing, I would not go with the lawyer because that dynamic is different. And so the question that I would encourage every council member to consider when they're trying to decide their votes is what they want the council to reflect. Do they want it more focused on long-term longevity and community connections, which an insurance agent and someone who's got relationships with teachers is going to do far better? Or do they want more practical, fact-driven, organized thinking that is connected with the law and what we're trying to achieve. And I hope that the city will consider that. Thank you.

Thank you. Okay. This next part of the process, um, again, each candidate, if you have an individual or multiple individuals that want to speak on your behalf specifically on your behalf, You have a total of five minutes per candidate. So depending on how many people want to speak, you can speak one minute or up to five minutes. So we'll go ahead and start in the same order we started earlier with Ms. Arts, if she has somebody.

You should have received some letters on my behalf, so I did not ask them to come tonight.

Okay. All right. Thank you. Mr. Denzer?

Yeah, I'm not aware of anyone that's going to speak for me, so I just want to say thank you again, and thank you to these candidates. You're all very well qualified, whoever is the selection. I'll fully support you, and thank you.

Great, thank you. Mr. Frederick?

Yeah, I have one person that's going to be speaking on my behalf. I have my friend Sherry West. She's actually a local real estate agent here in Lee's Summit, very successful here. I think a ton of her, and I totally, fully support whatever she has to say.

He has no idea. Oh, yeah. Hold on a second. All right, good evening everybody. I'm honored to stand here tonight to endorse my friend, over a decade, Chris Frederick for City Council. I've always believed that the people you surround yourself with either lift you up or just seem to make life a little bit harder. Chris is one of those rare people who consistently lifts others up, as a friend, a family man, an employer, and a neighbor. If someone needs help, Chris is the first one to volunteer. He's already mentioned his family, but I'd like to elaborate more than just being a husband and a father. Those are terms we use to describe someone quickly, but truly his actions in those roles are why I'm advocating for Chris today. He's been married to Lori for over 27 years, and in that span of time, they've had countless conversations about their community that Chris can now reflect on in a different way. He's heard the needs, whether it be from Lori at school or a different school setting, And in my real estate opinion, directly impacts the highest resale value a community has. Chris has the ability to take all of the conversations over the years and have a good conversation with you. Why wouldn't we want that? This is key insight to what Lee Summit is doing well and what we can also improve upon. That's important to someone like me that moved from St. Louis 10 years ago and built a real estate career here. And yes, I love Lee Summit so much more than St. Louis after living there for 40 years, so. Thank you for having me in Lee Summit. We've had some very interesting conversations in regards to the housing, a few being real estate education to our local high schools, the prices of our first-time homebuyers and what they have to pay in our 55-plus community that may want to downsize and not pay $600,000 to do so. With having three daughters that just graduated college, homeownership is something Chris wants to be a part of alongside of you. Chris is also a successful business owner in the healthcare industry. He's learned over the years how to listen, execute, have patience and understanding, as well as manage a team of people who have grown to financially support their own families. Think about what it takes to do all of that well. A husband of over 27 years, a father raising three daughters, a businessman who's mentored six agents to their own success, a professional who spent years patiently guiding elderly clients through something as confusing as Medicare. You don't do all of that without being a genuine listener. Chris knows how to hear what people actually want, not just what's easiest to respond with. That's exactly the kind of leadership city council needs. Someone who listens to what the community wants, hears where fellow council members are coming from, and brings people together toward what's best for Lee Summit. Chris hasn't ventured into politics before, and some of you may already know who you want to sit beside you, but I would kindly ask all of you to quietly think for just a second. Chris has proven himself in what already matters. We'd be the fortunate ones to have him. He's proven he's loyal, dependable, knowledgeable, deeply cares about Lee Summit, and he's wanting you to take a chance on him so he can be an asset to our community. I'd ask you to see Chris Frederick as a strength, a fresh set of eyes, someone you would be proud to sit next with.

Thank you. Okay, Mr. Schiller. Do you have anyone, Mr. Schiller? Thank you.

I did have some people reach out to you through email and possibly phone calls, texts, and I do have my neighbor here, Mike Roth. Come on up, Mike. And neighbor, you know, if you live next to anybody for eight years, you're going to tell the truth. So here it is.

Mayor and city council members, thanks for letting me speak. I'm speaking on behalf J.D. Schiller, obviously my neighbor of eight years. And over the last eight years, I've noticed his attention to detail of his own property, as well as his concerns and help for his neighbors, always willing to help someone needing his help. And some of his attributes, J.D. 's young, he's 42 years old, and I feel it'd be a positive addition to the already experienced Lee Summit City Council, bringing some new and different perspective. Thank you.

Thank you. Ms. Young?

I did have people email you, but I also do have some friends I've coerced here to talk on my behalf, and I don't know who wants to go first. No pressure. How many people are wanting to speak? Just three. Three?

Okay.

Under five.

I'll make this fast because she has a lot of friends here. She's a very lovable person. I have lived in Lee Summit for about eight years now. I have raised my two young boys here and we consciously chose that decision. We live in Lakewood and we love that community. And I like to think that Andrea moved to Lakewood to be with me and my boys. I wouldn't be here speaking on her behalf if I didn't believe that she would, make that district better for my boys to grow up in. I have worked as a nurse in this community at St. Luke's East for the last decade and I've worked with many of the community and I know that she also dedicates herself to those people. She was a bridesmaid in my wedding and I know how fiercely she loves and when she dedicates herself to something like this, I know that she's going to give it her all. So if there's anybody that I would vote for, whether I knew her or not, she would definitely have my vote. So hopefully I can leave you with that.

Great. Thank you.

My name is Courtney Ullman and I'm a resident here in Lee's Summit. I met Andrea in 2022 and since then I have come to deeply respect her both as a person and a business professional. She has an exceptional ability to make thoughtful, fair, and sound decisions even in complex or challenging situations. Her analytical skills, creative problem solving, and ability to understand the goals, perspectives, and intentions of all parties involved are truly outstanding. I have had the opportunity to experience Andrea's leadership firsthand, and I would trust her judgment and leadership in any situation. She is honest, dependable, and consistently demonstrates a high level of integrity and commitment to everything she takes on. Andrea is someone I hold in very high regard and I would recommend her for this position without hesitation. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good evening, Mayor and City Council. My name is Emily Hawkins. I've had the pleasure of knowing Andrea for about five years. One thing that I think she really exemplified tonight is her excitement for Lee Summit and her excitement for the possibility of this position. And that just kind of embodies how Andrea projects herself through normal everyday conversations. I grew up in Lee Summit. Andrea moved here three years ago and is teaching me things about the city that as a lifelong resident here, I knew nothing about. She's very excited to be involved and every time we hang out, all of the conversations always circle around What do we do to make this place better? This place is awesome, but how can we make it even more cool? I know she is focused a lot on kind of city planning infrastructure. Every time we go out, she's like, this is cool. How can it be better? That just really kind of reiterates what she's passionate about, both personally and professionally. And I would say I think she's an excellent candidate, along with everyone else up here on your panel list. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Good evening. My name is Chris Hawkins. I'm Emily's husband, and I've also known Andrew for about that period of time. Actually, first off, takes that you put out of your busy weeks, as I'm sure, to come here and represent everything and listen to the public. And I actually kind of wanted to speak to the public's behalf as well as yours in knowing Andrea and some of the concerns and hearing that. I know that I think she would maintain a very objective eye and listening to all the concerns you had and then turning that as best as she can into an action plan. You know, one thing I found in being up here is people do want to feel heard. And in knowing Andrea, I think she does a very good job of that. I think, like I said, her city planning experience makes her kind of a shoe-in for me. I know when we go out, she does kind of all we talk about, and it's just fascinating, and she just dives into every bit of it. So I think she'd be a very net positive for Lease Summit, and great candidates all, but I'm here to endorse Andrea, so thank you guys very much.

Thank you. Is that it? Come on up. Make it an even five.

My name is Sophia. I'm Andrea's sister, and I just wanted to mention that she really does want to serve in this position. As her sister, I would call her and try to talk her out of it, play a little devil's etiquette, and she was still very determined to want to be here. I also work in city government, and Andrea is someone that I actually will call rather than a co-worker because I value her opinion even as my sister in a professional setting. And I also want to mention that I too have once ran for an elected position. I served on a school board. And so I understand some of the in and outs of all that kind of stuff, like not wanting to bring your own agenda to the board and that kind of relationship between you and the city manager and not the rest of the staff. And I can speak highly and trust that my sister will be a very strong advocate for you guys on the council. Thank you.

Great. Thank you. All right. Well, you had all five. great job. Everyone that spoke to the great job. So that takes us to the easiest part of this process. We're going to keep going no more breaks. Let's just keep it going. This is the part of the process where we get to deliberate a little bit and amongst each other. Discuss ask questions. So I think the board is it up there for 10.

Thank you, Mayor. Well, first I want to thank everyone who applied for the position and who came to the forum tonight. We had just a really good group of applicants. I think anyone sitting here today could step into this role. So I really appreciate you guys. And I know it's a little nerve wracking putting yourself out there and answering all these questions. So thank you guys. As I think about this, I guess what I'm looking for, especially given the duration of the appointment that it would just be until the election in April, I want someone who is able to really jump right in and get up to speed on the issues that we're working on very quickly. I think, to me, there are two candidates that really stand out for that ability, Andrea Young and Dana Arth. I think they bring different things to the table. What I really appreciate about Ms. Young is the professional background that she has, the experience with urban planning, with working on public-private partnerships. especially the experience working with incentives, because that can be such a hard thing to grasp. For me, I remember it was drinking from a fire hose, trying to understand all the different mechanisms, the rate of return, the total percentage of requests. There's just a lot to it, and I want someone who can jump in right away and understand that, but also be ready to ask difficult questions. And I think having worked in both the kind of the public sector and then also the private sector, that she would bring a really unique perspective to be able to analyze those requests. And I was trying to think of a nice way to put this, but the best way I can come up with is to have a really good BS detector. Like, I think that it's really important to have that and to ask hard questions. And then for Ms. Arth, I think her experience on Planning Commission and in that role also working with our CEDC, her experience on the Charter Commission, I think that she brings a lot of experience in how our city government functions, our procedures, and I think that she could also step right into that. So I like both of those candidates, and I think anyone sitting here today could fill this role. To me, I would lean more towards Andrea because I think that that particular experience is really important to me, to be able to jump right into some of the things we're working on, such as the incentive policy review. But I really look forward to the discussion. I think that there's no bad choices tonight. So thank you.

Great. Thank you. Council Member Pryor.

Thank you. I think Mayor Pro Tem Shield said it really well. I think all of you guys would be great in this role. Two candidates stood out to me, and that's Dana Arth and Andrea Young. I think that what I'm looking for is, as Mayor Pro Tem Shield said, there's seven months. So I'm looking for someone that's going to have a pretty seamless transition into the position. And... and who I feel like is going to represent their constituency well. I think that Dana Arth has been in this community. She's well known in our community. I feel like she's going to be a good representative of not only her district, but the community. I feel like Andrea Young would be too. So it's going to be a tough decision. Right now, you guys are my two top picks. I think I'm leaning Dana right now. But I think that you guys would both be great. And I think this next election is going to be a wild election because they're going to have a lot of really great candidates. So thank you.

Thank you. Council Member Funk.

Thank you, Mayor. You've heard it from two of them. Thank you all for putting your name in and doing this. I'm with my colleagues. If we're bringing it down to Ms. Young and Ms. Arth, I've had the opportunity to serve with Dana and Planning Commission. I feel like she could really step into this role and get moving Dana garnished 40% of the votes from her constituents in this last election. I Think she's got out knocked on some doors. She knows her community. I think both of you would do a great job With that mayor, do you do we want to make nominations?

We want to keep we'll let the comments and questions Keep going and we have it. Thank you all. Thank you very much council records

Thank you, Mayor. So I am the remaining representative for District 3 and this process is torture for me. I feel very personal about this district and I've lived here 50 years. I've lived in Lakewood 18 years and so all of you Lakewood people, hello and thank you so much for being here. It's wonderful. And Mr. Denzer, I've seen you on our Facebook page and I didn't realize that was you so it's so nice to meet you and I appreciate your work in Lakewood and I you're all wonderful and completely passionate about this and that's wonderful. Dana and I, Ms. Arthur and I ran against each other last April and it was a very difficult season for everyone during that election season and I came out feeling like we did a good job in our district. I feel like we handled the politics of the politics well. I thought we were respectful and I was happy with how things were resolved. And while I have lots of, I mean I love lots of things about all of you, but Ms. Arth has already been involved for 12 years and I feel like the most seamless transition for all of us would be someone who already knows all the staff, you already know all the rules, you already know the charter, you already know how to do the buttons on the computer, like you already know how to be involved here. It's difficult for me because I just lived through that election So I think the people that voted for me would not be happy if I voted for you, but at the same time I know that if we look at a state level when your vote is Removed when your vote is suppressed and people are not representing you at us at any level of government that is creates hopelessness and creates it creates a disengagement from your people, and I don't want that to happen either. The 40% of people who voted for you, I want them to feel like they're being heard and represented, and I think that we could pair nicely, representing different voices from different things, because the last thing I want is for a population of people to not have their voice heard. So for me, it's more based on principle that I think it would be a nice, fair, combination for us to serve and then you all are wonderful and very vibrant and would have a great time campaigning and I think that you should do that and then let the voters take their choice again in April and I'd love to see you all stay engaged and possibly serve on committees between now and then because we have several appointments to make coming up soon. So that's how I feel about things. Thank you all for coming because I know it's hard to come and stand in front of everyone.

Thank you. Councilmember Frazier.

First of all, I'd like to encourage all of you to run in April when the election comes up. I think you all would be definitely formidable candidates. I took some notes, things that really hit home to me during each candidate's presentation. And a couple of things stood out. And I think there's a couple of things that we need and will continue to need here on the dais. And one is to listen. And many times people speak first and then listen. That is not the direction that we want to go. But listen to your constituents. And as many of you have said, we've received, you know, we've listened to our constituents whether they were in our district or not. They've sent emails. They've called. and said, hey, you know, we're interested in this particular candidate or this particular issue. You heard tonight the issue that we're having with the courts. You've heard tonight issues that are going on or up for discussion as far as the FLAC cameras are concerned. So those are the things that we want to hear. And we have to make sure that folks in our district and outside of our district continue to be a part of of Lee's Summit. The other thing that I think kind of distinguishes many of you is, you know, you've got a whole, and I'm going to say a generation of folks who went to school in Lee's Summit. I was not, I didn't go to high school in Lee's Summit. But I came to Lee's Summit for a reason, and I think a lot of you came to Lee's Summit for a reason as well. Mr. Dinser, I appreciate that you, he said, I lived in Kansas City for 42 years, I think are what you said, And so he came and brought that experience as to what worked, what didn't work, and what he would like to see in Lee's Summit. Totally appreciate that. We know from a fiscal standpoint that, you know, we need that expertise. We need to continue to have that expertise. So everyone spoke to that, and so that just makes our decision quite a bit more difficult. I will say there's a couple of things that Andrea said that resonated with me One is the communication. We know that we are challenged with communication. And she said something that was like, take it in bite-sized pieces. That's huge. I mean, I think that's absolutely wonderful, right? And voter turnout, another definitely piece of information that I think I'm happy that you brought up. My heart is closed to seniors and insurance and Medicare, so definitely the experience that you would bring to the table as well. I think housing is huge now in Lee's Summit. But what I think is most important to me, and I think I'm not going to speak for everyone on the dais, but to have a diverse opinion or a diverse background as far as housing is concerned. We want folks in the full spectrum. We talk about the messy middle and that's still up to be discussed, you know, what that is and where it is. But at least people that come to the table. Everyone, we are not a homogenous group here. We all think differently. But the fact that we can come together and discuss options, I think you all have demonstrated that that's what you guys can do as well. So I like that. And again, I'll just say that, Mr. Schiller, you said more than once that you are a lifetime learner. We have to be. We have to be. We are evolving and we can't stand still. We know that. We went from BS, which is before Sherry, 33,000 some odd to we're definitely on our way, as you mentioned, from the sixth largest city to it wouldn't surprise me if we were going to hit the fourth. So I think we just need to have a diverse set of opinions and whatnot. And we do need to represent all of the people. I am not a fan of anyone saying I absolutely won't do this or this is what I believe in. I've always said I came to serve not only to share my opinion, but the opinions of everyone who voted for me as well as those who didn't. So those are the things that I think we have to keep We have to keep in mind front and center. So it is a difficult decision. I don't envy it. The best thing I can say is that keep April in mind. Keep April in mind. Even whoever takes the position, keep April in mind that you're like, yeah, this isn't exactly what I thought it was going to be. Maybe we can better support others that are in the role. And the final thing is, I did not know we had a country club in Lakewood. No, I didn't. No, I didn't. No, I didn't. But anyway, thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Council Member Craven.

Thanks, Mayor. Sure, you said a lot. Girl. Everything that everyone said up here, I echo. So I don't have any disagreement with anything that has been said. But what I do want to say is, I know I can't see you, JD. You've been hitting this whole night. But what I do want to say is, I was in the same seat as y'all a little over a year ago. So I understand how much it took for you to fill out this application to be here tonight. And I applaud you for that because I know that like I was telling my colleagues before we stepped out, is that the fact that you decided to put your hat in the ring to go for something like this shows your commitment, shows your dedication, shows that you will take this seriously. I know exactly probably how you're feeling right now. One of the things that I do want to say is that where everyone had wonderful reasons as to why they kind of looked at the people or looking at the people that they're looking at. I want to just tell my perspective a little bit because I am not of the perspective that just because someone has served on local committees or You know have personal relationships with anybody on council That is you know the highest ranking for me. Because I do realize and understand, because one, that wasn't me. And here we are. But what I do acknowledge and what I did acknowledge was what everyone had to say. Because I know we're all talented in our own ways. And I know that we come with a plethora of expertise and talents and professionalism. We've heard that in your comments. But what I do want to say is, This is just one step. And whoever we choose tonight, that does not seal your fate of being on this council. Because if I thought that way, I wouldn't be here today. But I do want to say that everybody gave really, really good responses. I did read everyone's application. And for me, there was a couple of people who really stood out. And not because of... you know, anything that I kind of came in here knowing about any of you. But it was because of kind of how you answered and the points that you kind of referenced and how you kept tying your questions back to your knowledge of the city and what's currently going on. And it showed me that, you know, to a degree you've done your research and whether you were here in person or Listening to our council meetings every day. We do know there's other options So you could have been you know watching at home, but I do but I did notice that each one of you had Some knowledge of what we're doing and I think that each one of you can you know hit the ground running because you know you have the the ability to. And then I think that you also know that we are resources and it's not just one vote that decides anything. It's all of us collectively. So I just encourage you to not take this night as a defeat or as a shoo-in for the term, the four-year term. Just know that you know, continue to work towards this seat because I think you all want it. And so with that being said, you know, I don't know who yet, but I felt like, you know, I just wanted to put that out there that great job, great job stepping up in your willingness to be a part of this process because it's not for the weak. Thank you.

Council Member Carlisle.

Thank you, Mayor. So I don't really want to repeat everything that was just said, but I will echo thank you all for taking the time to fill out the application, for coming and giving us all of your ideas and your comments. And I took notes for anything that anybody said also that really stuck out for me compared to anybody else's answer, and I have a lot of notes. I'm sorry. It's a mess. I'm sorry, guys. So this is a very hard decision. You all did so great. You all made so many good comments. But I can see how it's leaning, which makes my life easier because I don't have to make such a big decision. I see that it's kind of being whittled down to a couple. So this is wonderful to have this many people interested in a position that's only going to be seven months. And then you're going to have to run. And that's only for a year. And then you're going to have to, I mean, you're not going to have to, I guess. But ideally, that's how it would work, right? So the fact that this is such a short term and we have so many great people that are interested in this says a lot for District 3, first of all, but also says a lot for you guys. So thank you so much for coming out. giving all your responses, and coming to talk to us. Because although I did read all of the applications, it's not easy for me to judge people on paper. You can look great on paper and walk in the door a train wreck, right? So, I mean, I just need, I really, I'm better off seeing people, seeing your responses, seeing your body language and all of those things. So thank you so much for coming and participating. Thank you, Mayor.

Great, thank you. so um i think we're ready for nominations so all right five minute break sorry okay ever wondered how the city budget works

The total 2026 budget is over $380 million, which includes funding for daily operations, capital improvements, debt service, internal service, and enterprise operations. For example, the General Fund is the foundation for the city's day-to-day services and investments like road maintenance, public safety, and fire protection. The General Fund is supported by property taxes, sales taxes generated by local businesses, franchise taxes, and other sources like licenses, permits, and fees. For every dollar citizens pay in property tax, the city receives 18 cents. This means the city receives $845 a year in property taxes for a median single-family house. These taxes provide public safety, park maintenance, infrastructure, and the best services to keep Lee's Summit going and improving. One of the community's top priorities is infrastructure investment, which is reflected in the capital improvement plan. $113 million of the 2026 budget is invested into the capital improvement plan. The 2026 capital improvement budget includes investments like the 291 and 50 highway interchange, 3rd Street, Ward and Purcells intersection, and Prior Road. The budget process includes guidance from the City Council, citizen input, and critical success factors from the City's IGNITE strategic plan. To learn more about the City's budget, visit cityofls.net backslash budget.

When the person called on the phone, she said that there was a dinosaur walking down her road. Of course, we had to go out and check that out. We get out there, and it was a big African tortoise, probably 60 pounds, walking down the road. When they walk, they really stand up tall, so I could see why she thought it was a dinosaur. I'm Rodney Wagner, I'm the manager of Lee's Summit Animal Control. So as you can see, we've got all sorts of animals here. We've got some guinea pigs off to the side. All the windows up here are animals that are adoptable right now. Every one of these dogs is ready to go and ready for adoption. And the same thing with our cats over here. A lot of cool cats in here now, so. This is our three-acre lot we have out back. This is where we do all the walking of dogs, exercise. We also have a side yard off to the side over there so we can let them run loose. They can run together and we have what's called play groups. Kind of like having a bunch of kids. Here's our vet room. We have a vet that comes out twice a week. This is our sally port where we bring the animals into. This is one of our animal control trucks. and we can hold up to six animals. We have a lift on the other side to put big animals in. We actually have temperature gauges in here and in the truck to tell us how hot it is. Once it gets to a certain temperature, we bring all the animals back here immediately, so. This actually has traps in it, but. We do a lot of wildlife trapping. I mean a lot, so. Bats, hot-bellied pigs, horses, cows, emus, a lot of reptiles. We had a citizen one time that had over 200 reptiles in his basement. Caimans and alligators in here that are four or five feet long, you can't keep those. And people do, and they're surprised when they can't keep them. I'm like, really? You're surprised you can't have an alligator in your house? Our main goal here is public safety and also the safety of the animals, and we have very dedicated people back there, and they definitely stay here for the love of the animals, which also includes getting them adopted out. We'll have about 4,000 impounded animals a year, probably about close to 2,000 are dogs and cats. The cats and dogs, when they get impounded here, they go on a five-day hold, and then after the five days, if the owner doesn't show up, then we can put them up for adoption.

You guys ready? All right, so now I will accept nominations. Mayor Pretem.

Thank you, Mayor. I'd like to nominate Andrea Young. As I kind of said earlier, I think that her professional background and experience would be really valuable on this dais and bring a perspective that we haven't really had. So I would love to see her appear with us asking good questions. So thank you.

Okay, thank you. Council Member Funk.

Thank you, Mayor. I'd like to nominate Dana Arth. I think her years of experience and needing someone that is up to speed immediately, we have that person right there. Thank you. Great. Thank you.

Any other nominations? Hearing or seeing none, we'll ask the city clerk to go ahead and do individual roll call.

Vote. Council Member Cravens.

I'm sorry, we'll start first. How are we going to do this, mister?

Yeah, the process is outlined as the clerk just randomly calls your all's your names. Then you offer who you would like to vote for.

State the person you want from the two that were nominated.

Just to be clear, out of those two.

So out of those two, state your preference. Thank you.

Councilmember Cravens.

I have to go first. This is a hard one, but I think I will pick Andrea.

Councilmember Adkins. Ms. Arth, please. Councilmember Funk.

Dana Arth.

Councilmember Carlisle. Dana Arth. Mayor Pro Tem Shields. Andrea Young. Council Member Frazier.

Andrea Young.

Council Member Pryor. Dana Arth, please. And Mayor Lopez.

Dana Arth. So I think that's majority.

That's five votes for Ms. Arth and three votes for Ms. Young.

Yes. So before we completely end the process, I won't repeat what's already been said. And we've stated it several times tonight. Like, it takes so much guts for you guys to do what you did tonight. And you heard it from the perspective of a person that was sitting in your seat if you were not selected tonight. And she's here now. So you all were super impressive. I highly, highly encourage you, for whatever reason, it just wasn't, you weren't chosen tonight, to please get engaged if you're not engaged. And I think I can say this without getting in trouble, that if you're interested in getting engaged, we can make sure we find a board or commission for you soon. So all of you are that impressive that I would stick my neck out for each one of you. And I know that I would have to have the support of my colleagues as well. So just thank you sincerely for being out here today. We're going to take like a five minute recess as we did last time. It's somewhat of a tradition now. Two years in a row. We're going to come out and meet each one of you and have a brief conversation. That's all right. So five minute recess.

Ever wondered how the city budget works? The total 2026 budget is over $380 million, which includes funding for daily operations, capital improvements, debt service, internal service, and enterprise operations. For example, the General Fund is the foundation for the city's day-to-day services and investments like road maintenance, public safety, and fire protection. The General Fund is supported by property taxes, sales taxes generated by local businesses, franchise taxes, and other sources like licenses, permits, and fees. For every dollar citizens pay in property tax, the city receives 18 cents. This means the city receives $845 a year in property taxes for a median single-family house. These taxes provide public safety, park maintenance, infrastructure, and the best services to keep Lee's Summit going and improving. One of the community's top priorities is infrastructure investment, which is reflected in the capital improvement plan. $113 million of the 2026 budget is invested into the capital improvement plan. The 2026 capital improvement budget includes investments like the 291 and 50 highway interchange, 3rd Street, Ward and Purcells intersection, and Prior Road. The budget process includes guidance from the City Council, citizen input, and critical success factors from the City's IGNITE strategic plan. To learn more about the City's budget, visit cityofls.net backslash budget.

When the person called on the phone, she said that there was a dinosaur walking down her road. Of course, we had to go out and check that out. We get out there, and it was a big African tortoise, probably 60 pounds, walking down the road. When they walk, they really stand up tall, so I could see why she thought it was a dinosaur. I'm Rodney Wagner. I'm the manager of Lee's Summit Animal Control. So as you can see, we've got all sorts of animals here. We've got some guinea pigs off to the side. All the windows up here are animals that are adoptable right now. Every one of these dogs is ready to go and ready for adoption. And the same thing with our cats over here. A lot of cool cats in here now, so... This is our three-acre lot we have out back. This is where we do all the walking of dogs, exercise. We also have a side yard off to the side over there so we can let them run loose. They can run together, and then we have what's called play groups. Kind of like having a bunch of kids. Here's our vet room. We have a vet that comes out twice a week. This is our sally port where we bring the animals into. This is one of our animal control trucks. and we can hold up to six animals. We have a lift on the other side to put big animals in. We actually have temperature gauges in here and in the truck to tell us how hot it is. Once it gets to a certain temperature, we bring all the animals back here immediately, so. This actually has traps in it, but. We do a lot of wildlife trapping. I mean a lot, so. Bats, pot-bellied pigs, horses, cows, emus, a lot of reptiles. We had a citizen one time that had over 200 reptiles in his basement. Caimans and alligators in here that are four or five feet long, you can't keep those. And people do, and they're surprised when they can't keep them. I'm like, really? You're surprised you can't have an alligator in your house? Our main goal here is public safety and also the safety of the animals, and we have very dedicated people back there, and they definitely stay here for the love of the animals, which also includes getting them adopted out. We'll have about 4,000 impounded animals a year, probably about close to 2,000 are dogs and cats. The cats and dogs, when they get impounded here, they go on a five-day hold, and then after the five days, if the owner doesn't show up, then we can put them up for adoption. Adopt an animal here is actually really simple. You just come in, look for whatever animal you're looking for, find the right pick. You have to go to the adoption room up there and see if you get along with them. You spend as much time as you want to in there. From that point on, it's just a matter of making sure they're spayed or neutered and all their vaccinations up to par and they're good to go. We have a very high adoption rate because we try everything in our power to get animals adopted out. We have Heart of America, a humane society that we do a lot of adoptions through. And then we also have other groups. We have some people that literally will just look all over the country for somewhere for a dog to go. And we sent dogs up into South Dakota, North Dakota, Washington State. So it's actually, it's a huge united effort to get all these animals home.

Tarzan's got lots of energy. Hazel's got a weird bell bell. She wants nothing to do with the other cats. She'll kind of get her grumpy face going.

And the good thing about the people here is that they get all their friends to get animals too. All of us have probably the limit of all the animals that we can have at home. You know, they are huge animal lovers. If it was up to the people here, we'd have 15 cats running around in here. We had a citizen one time out there, and he was bathing his two nine-foot-long boa constrictors in the front yard. Apparently, that was garnering some attention, and so we went out there and had to talk to him about that. Do I do this job? Oh, dude, I love this job. I grew up on a farm, and taking care of that many animals, you can't help but like animals. This is just like fancy farming. You know, you're just bringing animals in here, taking care of them and find them homes. And yeah, absolutely animal lover.

Traditionally, we think as police officers, those responding to law enforcement needs within the community. But honestly, we are there to serve our citizens, and our citizens do go into crisis. They do have mental health crises, and we're being called to those scenes on a regular basis. In order to help serve those citizens better, we did initiate the Crisis Intervention Team Program. These are officers that are specially trained to de-escalate crisis situations. Recently, we've brought co-responders onto the scene, licensed, qualified mental health professionals housed within our police department. and they respond with those officers directly to those scenes where a crisis is occurring so they can interact with that citizen and get them the help they need right there on that scene.

The co-responders are either a bachelor or master level in a behavioral health related field. They wear plain clothes. They don't carry weapons or anything like that.

I have a police radio that I listen to all day. Listen for, you know, those key words. Mental health, behavioral health, crisis.

There's a lot of officers that just call for me. I have my own radio number.

I also have the ability to self-dispatch to them and say, 982 is en route. Officers en route. 914.

So typically I arrive after they've made it safe. I'll make contact and get kind of the rundown. And then I just kind of jump right in.

Like, hey, you know, my name's Allison. I'm a mental health professional. I'm here to help you. I'm not here to take you to jail or arrest you. Sometimes

All a person needs is a voice, someone neutral, someone outside that can listen. I do a lot of safety planning, including family, their support network. Who's close to you? If they're home alone, who can come over and hang out with you today? Can we lock away your sharps? Can we put up your meds? Do you need meds? Can we get you over to the urgent care to get you assessed for your medications? Some of them also are like, oh, I'm so glad you came. This made me feel so much better.

Our main goal as co-responders is to, one, get people connected to the services that they need and also divert from emergency rooms and jails.

And they almost get a different view of the police responding. That lets me know you care and the officers care. Please call the police.

How can we help you?

In 2020, we had 722 mental health related calls for service. 2022, by that time, 1,479. These mental health related calls for service are increasing. How we're responding to that is increasing the number of crisis intervention team officers we have available, as well as the number of co-responders we have available to respond on these calls.

So what I think is important for the community to know about the co-responder program is that we're here, we exist. All you have to do when you call 9-1-1 is ask for us. You know, say, hey, I want a co-responder to respond to this crisis and we'll go. I was really struggling about eight years ago on my personal journey with mental health and I met some amazing social workers and amazing programs that have helped me get to where I am today. I really couldn't see myself doing anything else. We want to help and that's what we love to do.

So I had a client, we got a call, she had some suicidal ideations and she really felt that she had nobody. And you know, in getting to know her story and getting to know who comes around and sees you, well then we found a support person and they responded immediately and we made a plan. I called back and checked on her in an hour and then I checked on her in two hours. We were able to get her into the additional services to where she talks to someone every week or more. I just took a person that really just thought they had nobody and nobody would show up for them and show them you do. And you'll be amazed who is in your corner if you just simply say, I need a little help.

The applicants are walking out. Ms. Young, thank you. Those of you that are still here, awesome. Everyone that spoke on all your behalves, great job. Spouses, kids, you guys are all awesome. Thank you, guys. It shows, again, this community is different. I have no other words. And so, Ms. Dana Arth, congratulations to you. You will be sworn in at the next council meeting on the 22nd. Ceremonially. Ceremonially. Yes. We'll do this one in right now. Okay. Afterwards, okay. All right. So city clerk will swear you in and you all I know you're the two remaining Applicants. Thank you guys again I'm glad hopefully you got to visit with every one of us up here You know how we state where we stand and how much we value you guys and we'll be in touch for sure All right. So thank you guys for putting putting up with this process and we'll be talking and be in touch soon All right. Thank you. And we're gonna go ahead and proceed with the agenda a couple more items And we, let's see, where are we? Yeah. Committee reports?

Yep.

Committee reports. Yes. Mayor for Tim Shields.

CEDC will meet tomorrow at 4 p.m. in chambers.

All right. Thank you. Council Member Funk.

Thanks, Mayor. Monday, the 21st Legislative Intergovernmental Relations Meeting at 1130. Great. Thank you. Okay.

Seeing no others, we'll go to council comments. Council Member Frazier.

Okay, once again, be careful what you ask for. I want to remind folks that if I don't know you and I haven't heard and you are interested in the Housing Task Force or the Economic Incentive Task Force, please reach out to me, call me, email me so that we can have a conversation. That's the first thing I'm going to say. The second thing I want to comment on is meet me. Saturday at the Jam for Bruno and Michael Jackson. I'm sorry. Yes, yes. I am too excited. And I think it's a great family event. And as you can say, I'm really excited about it. Advertisement tickets are sixteen dollars pre-sale and Yeah, bring your cameras. I will not be embarrassed but you might see me dancing or something like that, but I understand this is part of birthday month birthday month and so yes, you know, all right, thank you bear potentials Thank you

Mostly I just wanted to say I really appreciate the process that we went through tonight, the forum, the answers that all the candidates gave were great. The discussion that we had was really great. Obviously, my first pick is not the person that's going to be sworn in tonight, but I think the person who has selected Ms. Arth is an excellent choice, and I'm so glad that we had so many great candidates here and that we were able to have such a good, respectful discussion about that, and I really appreciate that. And then just on a personal note, I'm going to be out of town the 10th through the 17th, so there's going to be a few different meetings during that time span that I'm probably going to miss, so my apologies in advance to my colleagues that I won't be able to attend all those.

Great. Thank you. Hopefully it's for fun somewhere So before I turn it over really quickly to mr. Dunning I just want to go ahead and restate Thank you to all of you up here on the dais Yeah for having a very in-depth very intense robust respectful discussion and conversation in this process. I am very proud of the process. It was done with the highest level of transparency and respectful. And so you all made it happen. And staff, thank you, Mr. Dunning and your team for helping us. Our city clerk is amazing. She helped us navigate through that process. Yeah, you can clap for her.

Yeah. Yeah.

So, yeah, just thank you all. And this is just, again, shows that we can have the tough, engaging discussions here in our community and might have a bruise or two sometimes. But we'll get through these things and continue to prosper and do what's right for our citizens. That's the bottom line. So with that being said, I know we have to go into closed session. So, Mr. Dunning, you want to take us to the next topic?

Sure. Staff Roundtable got a couple topics. And if you don't mind, Mayor, I know Chief Forbes, there's been a lot of discussion about automatic license plate reader technology. So Chief Forbes has a short update on that. And while he's coming up, I think each of you have one of these that you're... Place up there, but I'll mention, so this is the Wellness Fun Fair this Sunday, September 13th, over here at Green Street. It's a partnership between the Wellness Commission here at the city, Jackson County, Lee Summit Cares, you probably saw Mr. Madden here earlier, who was going to promote this. So Sunday, September 13th, from noon to 5 p.m., the Wellness Fun Fair over here at Green Street. Encourage folks to check it out. Lots of activities and overall wellness and resources and things to take advantage of. Okay.

Thank you. Yeah, with that. So really quick, Chief, if you can bear with me for a second. This is just for the public to be aware. At the end of our last council meeting, I made a comment and said that we had quite a bit of testimony last week during public comments regarding this topic. And I shared with the public that we as a council, as your elected representatives, we are listening and are very sensitive to concerns and questions you all have. And so I asked our city manager, Mr. Dunning, and police chief Forbes. To take some of these questions and try to respond to some of them and that's what chief Forbes is gonna do tonight We don't have all the answers. There's a lot of work that's being done behind the scenes to make sure that these summit We're not like everyone else we're gonna be we're gonna be better than everyone else and and be transparent and respectful and And make sure that we do it the right way and we're not violating anybody's Rights, right? So So that's why we're responding to the question some of the questions that were posed last week And that's why chief is here as a chief.

We appreciate you coming back and providing this next information So yeah, thank you mayor members of council specific to the questions There was a as you said there was a lot said in the public comment last week So I know I'm not going to touch on everything that was said and we are working on responses To what we could call from that We may miss something and we're always happy to answer any questions that come our way. But I want to give you a quick update on our use of automated license plate readers. Our police department, as you know, as an accredited agency, we follow nationally recognized standards and have a habit of adopting advanced police practices with policy, training, strong supervision behind what we do. This council has generally approached public safety decisions the same way, and we saw that reflected tonight carefully with the whole city in mind, and with more attention to the long-term interest of Lee's Summit than to emotion, and we are aligned with that approach as well. ALPR we have found to be an effective tool. It helps prevent crime, develop investigative leads, locate wanted persons, and find missing adults and children. We have seen that value here and that assessment is not mine alone. It is shared by our command staff and officers who talk to me now daily about the value of the system. But like any technology that holds sensitive information, it has to be used responsibly. Data protection is not optional. It's something we must do. And so we are in active discussions with our regional public safety partners to align those best practices for data security and proper use. Major Walters, many of you know, is organizing regional discussions on those topics. This is consistent with the professional standard this department has built over time. We're very much active in the region, so rather than focus solely on our own agency, we see value in expanding discussions regarding responsible use of expanding public safety technology through the entire region. and also with representatives from our Public Safety Advisory Board. So we have a lot of folks to choose from because pretty much every city of 50,000 residents and over in this region is using ALPR and some cities that are smaller than that. So we have quite a few that have discussed interest and want to do this. This region has a strong history of collaboration and making sure that we're doing things efficiently and effectively from our Mars radio system to many other efforts we've done with the Mid-America Regional Council and others. And it's not the only technology that we think needs to be addressed. Frankly, we're seeing advancements in technology that we've never seen in society, and law enforcement is within that same realm. So we do see ALPR as a big part of that discussion, but We really don't even know what's around the corner as far as technology, so we all have to concentrate and focus on responsible use of that. So we have found no violation again involving Lee's Summit data, but even so, we have paused our sharing of ALPR data with outside agencies until those regional efforts produce even stronger protections for how our data is used by other law enforcement agencies. We are confident that this can be done, particularly with our regional partners. I can't speak for other states or anything like that but again we have such a good relationship with our Kansas City regional law enforcement partners that we feel pretty confident that that can be done, and they've also frankly expressed great interest in the topic themselves. We're also working with the vendor on tighter data protections as well. We will recommend continuing with that vendor only if those protections can be provided. The tool is useful, but if data protection is not assured, then to the city's satisfaction, we won't hesitate to cease our relationship with the vendor. Frankly, it's just like any other technology product that the city uses. If it doesn't serve the purposes that we establish, there's other vendors out there or there's other products or there's other ways that we can go about it. So again, we do see value in ALPR. I understand that's a tough decision and some disagree with that. But if we're going to continue to use the tool, we want to use it the most responsible way, not only for our department, but for our region. We have 54 cameras covering 1,000-plus roadway miles in the city of Lee's Summit, and we want to use those responsibly. So we'll report our findings to the city manager, and he can certainly share those with council. And I heard a lot about support for public safety tonight from the folks who spoke to you and keeping these summits safe and quality of life and 100% that's our our motivation That's what we want to do and our police department is keys to keep this community safe Some may disagree with using that tool. I get it. I understand We see value in it currently, but we want to use it the right way. So we're going to extend efforts to do that and We'll keep you advised. Thank you. Thank you.

I think we have a question from the prior.

Yes Thank you mayor. So one question that I've gotten a few different times do we have any sort of policy or anything stating that if a police officer uses the flock camera To track an ex to stalk anyone. Is there some sort of disciplinary action that like we already have a policy for I

Absolutely, and that's not only a violation of our department policy, but of state law. And quite frankly, I'm working with our state representatives, too, through professional organizations on strengthening those laws because, again, automated license plate reader data is just one set of data that our officers have access to and I don't want any of that data misused and that's a serious violation that could result in criminal prosecution and We frankly is Cooperate with prosecutors and looking into that if that does occur. It's a serious issue Great question. I appreciate that.

Thank you.

Yep.

Good. Thank you. Councilmember Atkins. I

Thank you so much, Chief, for giving these updates. And I want to circle back to the things you said and have you elaborate a little bit more. So the first one is when you say regional partners, can you list, like, do you mean Jackson County partners or, like, who are you partnering with?

We're open to any regional partners. Frankly, we're closest to our Eastern Jackson County partners, so they have expressed initial interest at a higher level because we've cooperated on many things like officer-involved shooting investigation teams that we've created and built. Again, radio system initiatives, so our agencies in Eastern Jackson County have jumped on board rather quickly, but we're open to extending that to our Kansas partners, our partners up north of the river, you know, we're open to all of it. So I've had discussions with all those chiefs and have received a great deal of interest so far.

Oh, great. So that'll be kind of led by Major Walters after it gets up and running.

You'll just have a series of meetings and, yeah, just talk about best practices and how we can all kind of work together to make sure that data is being used appropriately. Great.

Thank you. And then also, you said that you paused... are sharing, can you elaborate on that? Like when and how, what does that impact?

Correct. So right now, and this was done last week actually, the only agency that accesses our data is Lee's Summit Police Department. So we don't share our data with any outside partners. Again, once we get assurances that that data is being used in the same fashion that we use it internally, then we may explore opening that up to those agencies with strong commitments and probably agreements in place. They would want to trust that we're using their data in the same way. So I think we can do that regionally. I'm not sure if we can do it larger than that, but the regional concept is something that we can really solidify.

Yeah, great. Thank you. And then in terms of communication, because this is great communication, do you think you'll be able to, will you guys work on putting this in some sort of a bite-sized information to distribute out or?

I like the bite size, too. But, yeah, we'll work with our city public information folks because it's been a discussion not just with the police department but with the city. And, again, some of the technologies that are being discussed impact more than just the police department. So I'll talk with Mr. Dunning about the best way to communicate that out and get this information out there.

Thank you. I appreciate it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Kinsman Breyer.

Sorry, one last question. This is another question I've gotten a couple times, but every police officer has access to flock, correct?

Yeah, after they've been trained on the system, every officer can access it for investigative purposes.

Are there any cities that have just a group of officers or a small group of officers that have access to...

That's, you know, I'd hate to comment because without knowing all the policies and practices of every agency, I know the ones I talk to in our region, that's not really something you see, but I don't want to say that doesn't exist because it probably does somewhere. You know, it's hard for me to say.

Would that be something hard to accomplish?

It would just cut down some of the capabilities of the system for sure because some of the uses of the system is if we get somebody who's victimized with a violent crime, for example, we don't want to have to spend a ton of time tracking down a user of the system who can pull up that tool. Some of those minutes are valuable when we have somebody who's victimized, someone in Lee's Summit and is fleeing the area quickly. You know, I don't know. There could be a way, but I hate to end with the audit capabilities of the system to be able to track every keystroke, essentially, that our officers enter. That, you know, that provides some, affords some protections to see if somebody is misusing it.

And then one other question, and this is just because I saw it just on Facebook several times, but flock cameras only read license plates. They're not out there taking pictures of people and activities. They only read license plates, correct?

They're focused on vehicular traffic. So, yeah, they get a picture of the car, the license plate. So they can narrow it down to a car type, but they're not doing facial recognition or that sort of thing.

So we can take an actual picture of a car?

Yeah, yeah. I mean, obviously the vehicle that the license plate is attached to, it can be part of the database as well.

Do we have additional cameras that can take pictures on any of our vehicles?

Intersections that are lights or is it just well, I mean there's a city network of video cameras That are separate and distinct from automated license plate reader doesn't mean those they obviously capture video and images and things of that nature that Could be run through any any number of systems for the same purpose, but that's not their exclusive purpose I mean, thank you That's member Frazier

I just want to make sure I understand. So you mentioned that they can only access the data or the information for investigative purposes. And I think you spoke to, for example, coming from kind of like a healthcare security HIPAA standpoint, are there safeguards? And I think... You said no. There aren't any safeguards to proactively track, if you would, who can access something on the need to know. So in other words, is there something that you have to do before you access the information instead of determining after the fact or retrospectively that they should have accessed it?

And I'm not sure I'm following your question completely, but again, our officers have access to... what we call NCIC, National Crime Information Center, CJIS data, Missouri criminal record information. So they have access to all sorts of privileged data, not too dissimilar as you talk about with HIPAA. Although that's not our world so much. It's more criminal justice information. So it's part of their post licensing, it's part of our policies and procedures, our audit systems, our strong supervision. and our adherence to state law that they will not misuse that data. So whether it's ALPR data or any other criminal justice data, so we don't restrict officers as far as Only our certain officers could access criminal justice databases if that makes sense But we have audit mechanisms to determine if they're misusing that data And there's a train it sounds like there is a training aspect of it prior to them even being able to access it anyway Then what I'm assuming go through or review the the state laws that are associated with it.

Yes, that's correct. Yes.

Thank you mayor

Thank you. Chief, thank you so much. Thank you, Mayor. Mr. Dunning, thank you guys for responding and supporting not only our request, but our citizens' request. So with that being said, I'm not seeing any other questions. We do have to go into a closed session, so we'll go ahead and read this into closed session. Mayor Pertem? Oh, are you going to do it separate of our meeting? I didn't hear the question. No, Ms. Arth is going to be sworn in.

We can do that after this session. We can take care of that. We don't need to be present for that.

Okay, so we're getting ready to read into closed session. Should she get sworn in first so that she can participate in that?

Certainly she can. Okay. Do you want to swear her in first? Read into closed session and swear her in first.

Yeah, you could still do that. I mean, because the swearing in is not official counsel action. That's just an action that the clerk takes. So you can read into closed session. She can be sworn in. Then we can all go back there.

Okay, perfect. So you want me to go ahead and read it? Go for it. Pursuant to section 610211 of the rights statute, state of Missouri pertaining to legal actions, causes of action, litigation involving public government body, any confidential privileged communication between a public governmental body or its representatives and its attorneys, I move to enter closed session.

Roll call, please.

Mayor Pro Tem Shields? Yes. Council Member Funk? Yes. Council Member Adkins? Yes. Council Member Pryor? Yes. Council Member Carlisle?

Aye.

Council Member Cravens? Aye. Council Member Frazier? Aye.

Yes.

All right. But he goes to go home, right?

do do Thank you.