Fairway City Council approves updated fee schedule, parking-code change and telecom franchise; employee manual wording amended

Fairway, Kan. — The Fairway City Council on Dec. 9 approved a slate of routine items including a resolution updating the city’s master fee schedule, an ordinance revising local parking restrictions and an ordinance granting a telecommunications franchise to Sprint Communications Company LP.

Nathan, speaking for city staff, said the annual fee-schedule review identified code items that lacked associated fees and that staff would present a set of changes reflecting those gaps. "Every December we go through and update the master fee schedule as called out by the city code," Nathan said, adding that November sales tax receipts were $202,000 and that staff expects to transfer about $1,500,000 from the general fund to the capital improvement fund at year-end to support future CIP projects. Council approved Resolution 2024‑E by unanimous vote.

Council briefly discussed a new peddler fee and asked whether an exception should be made for Santa Claus during the holidays; staff said they would consider that language for future updates. Council members also asked about a proposed green-space impact fee; Nathan said the work is ongoing and staff expects to return with a proposal that could be added as an amendment to the fee schedule in early 2025.

Public comment before the consent vote addressed a separate matter in the employee manual. A commenter identified as Jim urged deleting the word "unlawful" from a nondiscrimination line in the manual, calling it "unnecessarily restrictive" and noting an inconsistency later in the section. Council members and staff—including an attorney on the dais experienced in employment policy—debated whether removing the word would broaden or weaken protections; the council agreed the deletion was non-substantive for this employment-policy context and that item H would be modified. The consent agenda (items A–I) was approved unanimously.

On parking, Public Works Director Bill said Ordinance 18‑18 aligns the city code with existing signage along 62nd Street near Highlands Elementary, ensuring the no-parking rules used for morning drop-off are reflected in the code. "This is just bringing this up to what the actual signage was out there," Bill said. Council approved the ordinance unanimously; members asked staff to consider future discussion of Mission Road congestion between Shawnee Mission Parkway and the Indian Mission.

Finally, the council adopted Ordinance 18‑19 granting a franchise to Sprint Communications Company LP to construct, operate and maintain telecommunications infrastructure in Fairway; staff characterized the new agreement as a routine renewal similar to the expired franchise previously in place. The measure passed with unanimous approval.

The meeting closed after brief governing-body comments and no additional public comment; staff will return in January on the Shawnee Indian Mission item that was removed from tonight’s agenda.