The fate of the Leawood’s old City Hall moves forward

By Ben McCarthy

During Monday Night’s nearly 200 minute meeting of the Leawood governing body, a plan was finally put in motion that will see the area around 96th and Lee Boulevard finally redeveloped. 

With it, will come the demolition of the old Leawood City Hall building at 9615 Lee Boulevard. 

The master plan calls for the creation of a new public park where the building now stands. After being constructed in 1953, it has been shuttered for over 30 years. 

Councilmembers unanimously approved the revised preliminary development plan for Leawood Fire Station 1 which will largely remain in place and the creation of the new park, which will feature a playground and walking trail.  

Leawood’s original fire station will be renovated, with some parts of the building being brought down in order to create a new patio area. The old City Hall, which was shuttered in 1994, will be completely demolished. This revised plan had also been unanimously approved last month by the City’s Planning Commission. 

The motion carried 7-0, with all Councilmembers acknowledging that the moment was decades in the making, and did not come lightly. The tone of the Council’s discussion was set by Ward 1 Councilmember Matt Peppes, who was not present for the meeting due to a family medical situation. Peppes, the youngest and newest member of the city council, could not vote in absentia, but a statement he penned was read by Mayor Marc Elkins before the other members spoke. 

Peppes spoke of the city’s need to to balance preservation efforts with other priorities, and pointed to a need that this redevelopment would fill in North Leawood: for more park and community-oriented space. He added that there has been ample time over the last two decades to formulate a better concept, a refrain followed by his seven colleagues. 

Ward 2 Councilmember Mary Larson raised concerns about the project’s rising price tag (now up to $3.6 million), but ultimately said she was ready to move forward despite that and the emotional weight the issue carried for residents.

“We’ve been discussing this since 2001,” Larson said. “It’s time to go.” 

Ward 3 Councilmember Lisa Harrison recalled the issue as being one of the first things she voted on after being elected ten years ago, and casting a vote to save the old City Hall. 

“What I didn’t know about then was the triple threat of lead, asbestos, and mold,” Harrison said. “We have spent more time on this than any other issue.” 

Recent building inspections have noted the presence of those three environmental hazards. Discussions in recent years focused on preserving the 1,100 square foot structure have included the costs associated with mold and asbestos remediation. 

Ward 1 Councilmember Alan Sunkel said they will now have to figure out how to pay for razing the entire building at the $3.6 million price tag. 

Concepts such as an ice cream and coffee shop inside the old City Hall were brought up again during the meeting’s opening citizens comments. Former Councilmember Debra Filla said this idea showed the most promise, and was a way to save the building and the vast community history it held. She ended her remarks by asking for another year to try and save it. 

“It’s a piece of art,” Filla said.

JoLynn Hobbs, President of the Leawood HOA, was also on hand to give an opening statement.

“I would much rather rework the original city hall building into an open-air shelter that can be enjoyed by our residents than tearing down the historic building for grass,” Hobbs said. 

 Ward 4 Councilmember Julie Cain spoke of having desperately tried to find a compromise through the years, while Ward 3 Councilmember Rachel Rubin said more of the onus is on the residents to have provided a blueprint, both in concept and financially-speaking.

“We do have wealthy residents, and they have had time to come forward to save [the building],” Rubin said.

Ward 2 Councilmember Sherrie Gayed called the plan “beautiful” while acknowledging that no plan was going to be 100% perfect, and was far from finished.

“We do have two years to get a final plan,” Gayed said. “I do believe we are ready to move forward.” 

Despite the vote, the matter could continue on much closer to the 2030’s. 

Mayor Elkins confirmed during his remarks prior to the vote that this step was just essentially setting a deadline of 24 months for a final plan to be brought together. 

The Mayor finally took votes on the resolution at 9:30pm. After the seven councilmembers voted in favor of it, the mayor was barely finished announcing the passage of the resolution when people in the audience began leaving. 

Hobbs was the first of a handful of residents in attendance who were already making way to the door to depart City Hall, seemingly for the final time to pause the end of its predecessor.