Shawnee council adopts public-offense code change, awards fire-engine bid and approves two private-activity bonds

The Shawnee City Council on Monday, Sept. 8, unanimously adopted an amendment to the 2025 Uniform Public Offense Code, awarded a bid to replace Engine 71 in the Shawnee Fire Department and approved two federally taxable private-activity revenue bonds, city communications director Doug Donahue said.

The actions were taken on 6–0 votes; Councilmembers Mike Kimling and Jacqueline Walters were absent and therefore not part of the votes, Donahue said. Each of the four formal decisions recorded at the meeting carried the same unanimous tally.

The council adopted the 2025 Uniform Public Offense Code for Kansas cities with a single amendment that expands the definition of "critical infrastructure facility" for trespassing purposes, Donahue said. The change was adopted 6–0. The city summary did not specify which additional facility types were added to the definition.

The council awarded the bid for a new fire engine to replace Engine 71. Donahue said the replacement has an approximate three-year lead time so the vehicle will be ready when Engine 71 reaches the end of its frontline-service lifespan. The award was approved 6–0; the communications summary did not name the vendor or include the contract amount.

Council members also approved two requests for federally taxable private-activity revenue bonds. The first was for Heartland Logistics Park Building 3, with an amount not to exceed $60,400,000; the second was for a self-storage facility at 60 Fifth and Mower, with an amount not to exceed $6,500,000. Donahue said the council approved both bond requests on 6–0 votes. The meeting summary did not include additional underwriting or developer details.

The meeting included a four-minute business-from-the-floor segment in which a citizen interest group spoke; no substantive council action tied to public comment was reported in the meeting summary. Mayor Sandifer issued several proclamations and welcomed staff from Mirror Inc., including a proclamation tied to mental-health and substance-use recovery observances; ceremonial proclamations were noted in the summary but not debated or voted on.

The council will next meet Monday, Sept. 22, at 6 p.m. in council chambers at Shawnee City Hall. Full minutes and archived agendas are available at cityofshawnee.org.