There was a time not so long ago that downtown Shawnee began undergoing a revitalization. A 15-member board of volunteers called the Historic Shawnee Alliance (HSA) worked enthusiastically with the city and businesses to encourage improvements. They held educational seminars attracting professionals throughout the state. They sponsored Keep Oklahoma Beautiful Projects that transformed storefronts, and they managed a Façade Grant Program for the city that encouraged businesses to invest thousands to preserve and repurpose their historic buildings. An amazing transformation was taking place.
Then came a turnover on the City Commission and things changed. The city allowed street closures for special events without prior input from affected businesses. The Commission eliminated the $12,000 downtown façade grant citing budget woes, while allocating $600,000 for a Broadway beautification project. This was not a budget issue, it was a matter of priorities, and apparently downtown was not one of them. Due to the city’s lack of support, the HSA eventually folded, and what you see downtown today is a result of that. The vacancy rate is higher than ever, the homeless presence is higher than ever, and it’s obvious the city couldn’t care less about enforcing downtown property maintenance codes.
But downtown is not the only victim of this dysfunctional city government. Transparency has all but disappeared. For years, the city contracted with various entities to manage tourism, and the public was welcome at meetings. In 2019, the city canceled the contract and created the Department of Tourism, putting an end to public participation. Later, property owners around Shawnee Lake were blindsided by a hastily-drafted ordinance to allow commercialization at the lake. And more recently, the Pottawatomie County Historical Society was blindsided by the city’s announcement to cancel their long-standing lease for the Santa Fe Depot. Citizens were later allowed to be involved in these decisions but only after public outcry.
And woe to any commission member who dares to differ from the ruling majority. This was evidenced by a former commissioner who disagreed with his fellow commissioners by speaking up on behalf of his constituents. Not only was he shunned by other commissioners, but the current mayor allowed the former mayor to publicly humiliate him for over 3 minutes during Citizens Participation, a clear violation of city ordinance.
A crumbling historic icon, vacant boardedup buildings, a growing homeless population, increasing crime, diminished fire protection … there is so much room for improvement. But it will take a change in leadership. Linda Agee, Shawnee
