Shawnee County adopts Vision Zero plan, clears intent to finance 176-unit apartment project and sets CID hearing for Stormont Vail campus

The Shawnee County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously Nov. 24 to adopt a Vision Zero-style resolution and a comprehensive safety action plan intended to reduce serious injuries and fatalities on county roads and to satisfy a Safe Streets and Roads for All grant requirement.

Courtney House, director of public works, told commissioners the plan sets two primary goals: to strive for zero fatalities and serious injuries on the county road system by 2055 and to adopt the comprehensive action plan required to pursue federal SS4A funding. House said the project is nearly complete and offered to provide a presentation to the commission at a subsequent meeting. Commissioners requested that follow-up presentation and then approved the resolution by a 3-0 vote.

Separately, the commission approved a bond-inducement resolution for Johnson Bettis Meadows LP, expressing the county’s intent to issue taxable multifamily housing revenue bonds and enter into a base-lease and lease-purchase agreement to support construction of a 176-unit multifamily project at Southeast 31st Street and Southeast Fremont Street. Bond counsel Bob Perry described the applicant as a special-purpose entity established with the Topeka Housing Authority and a Nebraska development partner; no members of the public spoke at the hearing. The board opened the public hearing, received no public comment, and approved the resolution 3-0.

The commission also set a public hearing to consider creating a Community Improvement District that would cover county-owned land on the Kansas Expo/Stormont Vail Event Center campus. Counsel described the CID as a financing tool that can enable a special assessment process and the levy of a sales tax for certain purposes within the district; the board set the hearing date and directed staff to correct the facility name in the published notice. The motion to set the hearing passed 3-0.

What this means: Adoption of the safety resolution makes the county eligible to move forward with SS4A-related safety projects and grant requirements; the bond-inducement resolution authorizes staff to proceed with necessary agreements to allow the developer to seek sales tax exemptions and financing. The CID hearing is the next procedural step in any district formation, and the board will consider the matter after required public notice and hearings.