Special meeting called to address buildings, homelessness in downtown Shawnee
The city of Shawnee will hold a special call commission meeting Monday to address a number of issues in downtown. During the meeting, the city will announce who will tear down and remove three buildings from the corner of Main Street and Broadway. Also on the agenda will be taking a closer look at the homeless population in the area.
Inside Coffee N’ Crafts on Main Street, owner Kelsey Hart said sales have slumped due to the ongoing problems downtown.
"It's affected us really poorly,” said Hart. “I've seen us lose a lot of customers over the past few years."
Hart said the crumbling downtown, with many buildings sitting in a pile of bricks, has caused parking concerns as construction clogs up roadways. Less parking has meant less consumers coming through the doors.
In January, two buildings collapsed while crews were working to tear down a corner store at Main and Broadway. There is ongoing litigation at that demolition site. In July, the Kress building on Main Street was knocked down due to damage from the recent tornado as well as years of decay. That property is also under a lawsuit.
"It definitely affects me," said Theresa Cody, who owns Uncommon Threads. That building is next door to the Kress site. She said so far there has been no real resolution about what’s happening downtown with many of the buildings.
"I feel like we have the answers,” said Cody. “We're just not communicating with each other to come up with the solution."
Monday the city plans to award a company with the bid to demolish and remove what’s left of the three old buildings following the January collapse.
"That is quite a large undertaking,” said Andrea Weckmueller-Behringer, Shawnee’s City Manager. “We've had some buildings that were finished within just the timeframe of two weeks, but I suspect that this one will take longer."
She said so far there have been no plans on what, if anything, will replace the buildings.
Another reason for slower sales for some downtown businesses has been an influx of homelessness.
"I know on the surface it looks like the city is sitting on its hands, but that is not the case," said Weckmueller-Behringer.
She said the concern would be addressed during Monday’s meeting as well.
"We will have a very comprehensive report out from all of the different departments that work with the unhoused population because there are several approaches underway that will benefit," said Weckmueller-Behringer.
For Hart, she said she hoped the discussions will lead to change for more than just her business.
"This is my building. This is my home,” said Hart. “I'm just hoping that it'll get better."
Monday’s special call commission meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at City Hall.