Podcast Transcript: Shawnee Pulse - Episode 1

Communications Director Doug Donahoo:
Welcome to the Shawnee Pulse. My name is Doug Donahoo. I'm the Communications Director for the City of Shawnee. This is an experiment that we're trying to reach out more to the residents of the City of Shawnee, to our visitors, to let them know what else is happening. Give them an inside look at the City Hall, at the Parks and Recreation Service Center, at everything else we have going on in the city. Talk to the folks who are working every single day to make Shawnee a great place to work, live, and play. As we go through this year, we're going to be providing you with an inside look at a lot of different topics from around the city.

Of course, we want to hear from you. You can reach out to us via email at [email protected]. Today, we're going to be talking with Deputy City Manager Colin Duffy about the new Landfill Voucher Program and Delivery System that's going to be hitting mailboxes here in the city of Shawnee very, very soon. And here with us now, Colin Duffy, Deputy City Manager for the City of Shawnee. Colin, thanks so much for being our inaugural guest here on the Shawnee Pulse.

Deputy City Manager Colin Duffy:
Yeah. Thank you, Doug. Very excited to be here. Thanks for having me on your podcast.

Doug:
Well, we think there's a lot of information that you can share with the residents of Shawnee, but first, tell the folks a little bit about Colin Duffy.

Colin:
Yeah, definitely. Happy to introduce myself. Colin Duffy, been with the city for two years now. Deputy City Manager for only a few months. Served as Assistant City Manager when I first started two years ago. Kansas kid grew up in Topeka, my whole family, they've been part of local government since I can remember, so kind of following in their footsteps.

Went to school at Wichita State, where I got my undergrad and then stuck around for my master's in public administration. Knew I wanted to get into local government as well, so followed the family into city government. After I graduated with my MPA, worked for Andover, the city of Andover, just a small community just outside of Wichita.

Did that for a year before finally making my way up to Kansas City, where I worked for KCK, Wyandotte County Unified Government. So I was in their auditor's office there for a number of years. Absolutely loved it, great opportunity to learn about all different facets of both city and county government and how each department kind of runs there.

And then after that opportunity, I moved down south pretty far to Johnson County. So, worked there in the County Manager's Office there, worked with some great people, learned a lot about management. A little bit about how to work with the governing body there, and then kind of a year and a half into that, there was an opportunity here in Shawnee and saw a great opportunity to work for a good organization, so took a chance and thankfully, made my way over here to Shawnee to work in the City Manager's Office.

Been here for two years, kind of moved around working with different groups. But I've absolutely loved the community here, loved the organization. I think we have a very lean, mean, fighting machine in the organization. Great people, very humble, very hardworking, diligent. I'm happy to add and contribute to their success.

Doug:
Talk to me a little bit about what you do currently now as Deputy City Manager. You're just a couple of months into the role. But obviously, it's an important one in a city like Shawnee. What are some of your day-to-day responsibilities that folks might not be aware of?

Colin:
Yeah, great question. So if you kind of think about it in corporate terms, Paul Kramer, who's our City Manager, would be likened to the CEO of the organization. My role kind of steps into the CEO role when he is out of the office or when he's traveling or things like that. So kind of fill in as that number two, but really I serve as kind of the Chief Operations Officer.

So I help oversee a lot of the day-to-day management of the organization specifically to administration. I kind of oversee a few different departments and divisions within the city, so I assist with court IT, our volunteer program, as well as working on the budget, which is kind of our largest initiative that we take on each year. It seems like once one budget is finished, you kind of wrap that up and you jump right into next year's budget and the planning and development of that too. So kind of work with those facets, a little bit of economic development, and of course, kind of the main thing is working with our governing body to really execute on their vision and what they have planned for the city.

Doug:
And something else that you are responsible for that is the reason you're here today is you work pretty closely with the trash hauling companies here in the City of Shawnee and with our Landfill Voucher Program.

Can you talk to us just a little bit about Shawnee's relationship with what's known as the Johnson County Landfill? It’s previously known as the Deffenbaugh Landfill, then Shawnee annexed it. Talk to us a little bit about that relationship and how it benefits the City of Shawnee and residents in the city.

Colin:
Yeah, definitely. I think I'll go back a little bit to when it was first created and kind of talk a bit about Ronnie Deffenbaugh. So for those who don't know, Ronnie Deffenbaugh kind of started his waste career in Johnson County with just two trucks, I believe. So, really small operation but grew quite large.

And really kind of developed a name and reputation, not just in Kansas City, but across kind of the whole region over here. So they have the landfill, which is, of course, in Shawnee, right on the corner of 435 and just north of Johnson Drive and south of the river there. 800 acres, fairly large. Each cell is kind of worked on and filled before they move to the next one. So in 2002, during our westward expansion of Shawnee, we annexed the landfill, which brings a little bit of a connotation to it.

But it provides both a benefit and some cons. Of course, you have some smell, you have a lot of trash haulers driving in and out of the city as they're dropping off, which services the entire region. But really, what it does is it keeps our trash costs low here. They don't have to take it 30 miles outside of the city to drop off. So, it keeps costs low.

It's already here. We already know it's going to be here. So, it's something we planned for, and we're prepared for. And really, just try and keep that partnership as less of a nuisance as possible while maximizing the return that we get from it.

Doug:
Shawnee is in an interesting spot in Johnson County in that we basically have an open market for any trash hauling company that wants to come in and offer its services to residents, correct?

Colin:
Yeah, that's right. There are two different ways the city can go about this. They can either contract or operate their own trash service, which a lot of communities do. Even our neighboring community to the east, Merriam, they were actually an open trash hauler community. But this last year, their governing body decided to tease out and look towards a single trash hauler.

Here in Shawnee, though, we do offer kind of an open market, so to speak, where we do have six licensed trash haulers. Of course, they have to be licensed by both the Johnson County Health and Environment Department as well as go through our permitting process, too. So, we have six trash haulers.

That would be Waste Management, Republic, GFL, KC Disposal, Constable, and our newest one, which got added this last year in 2024, Earth First. So, anybody in Shawnee, whether it's a resident in their own home or an HOA, can contract with any one of those six haulers. That's correct.

Doug:
So, what benefits are there in terms of having that open marketplace?

Colin:
The general idea is you get some competition. So ideally, the prices are competitive, and if one service isn't meeting the needs of our residents, they have options to discontinue service with that provider and switch to someone else.

You'll see, I would say, most of our residents either contract with Waste Management or Republic. I'd say a lot of the larger HOAs or even some of the multi-family communities, they tend to lean towards GFL or KC Disposal. So, each one has their own kind of niche market of where they are and where they have better strengths suited to their clients.

Doug:
So that kind of goes into the number of trash haulers that we have in the city. Let's go back and talk a little bit more about the landfill. There is something interesting that Waste Management, as the owner and operator of the landfill now, provides to the city. And that's basically a usage fee for lack of a better term, and that's split 50/50 in the city, correct? How is that spent?

Colin:
We do get a check from Waste Management to operate their landfill each year. Half of that money goes to kind of our Mill and Overlay Program to make sure that our city streets are smooth, that any damage done by all the trash haulers bringing their trash through into Shawnee to the landfill is addressed.

The other piece of it, the other half, goes to our Economic Development Fund, which we use to bring in businesses and incentivize those businesses who are here to either remain in Shawnee or to grow and expand.

Doug:
Another benefit that is available to all residents in the city of Shawnee is something that has gone by a couple of different names over the course of the years. It's been known as Large Item Pickup, it's been known as Tidy Town, and now it is basically a landfill drop-off opportunity where folks can take larger items or items they may have had trouble getting rid of in the past and take them directly over to the landfill, correct?

Colin:
Yes, that's right. And it's kind of a unique service that we have here that I really haven't seen in many other communities. So, something that goes a little bit above and beyond what typical cities do. This year, we were actually kind of really trying to deliver the name that's most accurate to the program itself with the Landfill Voucher Program.

Doug:
Talk to me about what that voucher allows residents the opportunity to do.

Colin:
So, one time a year, our residents receive a voucher in the mail.

They can then take that voucher along with their ID and a truckload, carload, whatever it may be of waste that they want to get rid of. Maybe it is a bulky item. Maybe it's a bunch of kind of spare things that they found in the garage. They can take it to the landfill and drop it off free of charge.

There are a couple of things though that aren't included in that. That would be kind of the white appliances, those Freon refrigerators, or the like, which cannot be dropped off. But everything else should be available. One other use a lot of people take advantage of is after storms that come through. If they aren't impactful enough for us to open our debris site, they can take their yard waste there as well and drop that off.

Doug:
Any resident in the City of Shawnee is eligible to make that trip to the Waste Management Landfill and do that drop-off?

Colin:
Correct. Yes. All they need is their voucher and then their ID proving proof of residence, and they're able to take it off. Again, they just need to go to right off 435 and Holiday Drive. There's an attendant right there. All they have to do is redeem that voucher, and they're able to drop it off.

One thing new this year is the delivery method that we have for the voucher. Last year and in years prior, we had sent that by mail as an individual item. But this year, we're doing something unique—realizing some cost savings and kind of providing them a good opportunity to learn a little bit more about the program. That’s by including it on the front page of our All Things Hometown magazine. So that is scheduled to hit mailboxes, I believe, in February.

Doug, I think you're the expert on that. When can they expect that?

Doug:
So, All Things Hometown is our quarterly magazine that is published four times a year to give folks an update on everything that's happening in the City of Shawnee—events, news, a message from the mayor, Parks and Recreation programming that's available to enroll in, and yes, as Colin said, this year for the Spring Edition, we are going to send it in the first week of February.

You'll find a wraparound the magazine that will include the voucher that you can detach from the magazine itself. You can still hold on to the magazine—it’s still good and packed with information—and that's the voucher that you'll then take to the landfill to make whatever drop-off you'd like to make.

As Colin said, you do need proof of residency in the form of your driver's license, but that's really it. The other thing to note is Shawnee is also rare in the fact that you get to make this large item drop-off directly at the landfill. We also have a requirement that all trash service companies are required to provide at least one large item pickup to every resident they service in the city. Isn't that correct?

Colin:
That is, yes, Doug, and I’m glad you brought that up. So, I would say most cities have their bulky item pickup, and depending on their trash hauler, it's either a specific time of year, or they can schedule it.

For us, it's kind of up to the trash hauler on the methodology that they use to deliver their bulky item pickup. For instance, if you're a customer of Waste Management, Republic, GFL, or Constable, all you have to do is call and schedule your free bulky item pickup with your trash hauler. Again, if you have any issues in doing so, you can reach out to the city. We'll be happy to assist you with that.

For others like KC Disposal, they offer bulky item pickup twice over the summer. They communicate with their customers pretty frequently leading up to it.

Doug:
So, the big thing that we want folks in Shawnee to know is that even with this change of the voucher delivery system, we haven't taken anything away. In fact, Shawnee residents have two shots to get rid of large items: either through a pickup with their trash hauler that is scheduled in advance or on a set date the trash hauler lets the customers know about, and also to take items directly to the landfill with this voucher.

Colin:
Exactly, yeah. So two opportunities for them to do it—one as they need or as they see fit to take it, and the other one scheduled with their trash hauler.

And of course, for anybody who wants additional information on what those limitations are when you take your voucher to the Johnson County Landfill, you can go to cityofshawnee.org and under the Residents tab, click on Trash Collection, Recycling, and Yard Waste.

Doug:
If you do have any questions, we're always happy to answer them. You can reach out to us at [email protected], and we'll be happy to answer any questions you have.

We'll continue to update folks as the All Things Hometown Spring Edition is hitting mailboxes. So, follow us on Facebook, on Nextdoor, or on Instagram. We'll be providing updates as the magazine begins to hit mailboxes.

And again, happy to answer any and all questions you might have. Colin, you've been an excellent first guest. I think everybody will agree that this was a great way to kick off the Shawnee Pulse to give folks some information about this program and to let them know the changes that are coming this year. So, we appreciate you joining us.

Colin:
Doug, thank you. Very excited to talk trash with you. Always a pleasure.

Doug:
Once again, that was Colin Duffy as our first-ever guest on the Shawnee Pulse podcast. Colin was an excellent guest with a lot of great information. Of course, you can find out more information on our website at cityofshawnee.org.

Joining me now is Kate Kincaid of our Shawnee Parks and Recreation Department to talk about previous and upcoming events. Kate, how are you?

Parks & Recreation Program Manager Kate Kincaid:
I'm good. How are you, Doug?

Doug:
Doing okay. This is going to be the other part of our regular episode: looking at what’s happened recently in the city and what’s coming up so folks can update their calendars. One thing we want to include is a brief update on what happened with the most recent city council meetings.

The first council meeting of the new year took place on Monday, January 13th. Not a lot happening that evening. The big event was the council approved the rezoning of a third of an acre on West 65th Street from commercial neighborhood to a duplex residential zoning for a future planned development in that area on a 7-0 vote.

The next council meeting will happen on Monday, January 27th at Shawnee City Hall, starting at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers. You can find more about that when the agenda is published in about a week and a half on cityofshawnee.org.

Kate, what else is going to be happening in the city for folks to know about?

Kate:
Yeah, absolutely. So, the snow is not slowing us down. We've got plenty of great upcoming events.

Doug:
Indoor events, I hope.

Kate:
Indoor events, that's good. We're sticking indoors for January and February.

Starting with History on Tap on January 22nd. That is going to be at Shawnee Town 1929 in their Town Hall. They do this monthly throughout the winter months when the museum's closed. It’s great—you get a great speaker, hear a great story, and it’s $8 per person, which includes a drink and your presentation. That is on January 22nd at 7 p.m.

Doug:
What is the presentation for January?

Kate:
January's presentation is Found in Grandma's Attic: Exploring Photography.

Doug:
Oh, well, photography is a great way to track history, especially in a community like Shawnee, where the history goes back so far, even before Kansas was a state. So, it’s great to see that Shawnee Town is keeping that history alive and letting folks explore more about it in a fun environment like History on Tap.

Kate:
Absolutely, absolutely. It’s definitely a great presentation to come and check out. We have another one in February as well.

Doug:
Yes, please tell us all about the one in February.

Kate:
February 19th at 7 p.m. at Town Hall as well. That one is going to be Heading to Market: Truck Farming Then, Now, and Going Forward. For those who are unaware, Shawnee has a huge history of being a truck farming community.

They're going to explore that a little bit. They have local breweries that come out and share some drinks with you. So, you get to fill up your glass and listen to a great presentation. That one is also $8 and starts at 7 p.m. at Shawnee Town Hall on February 19th.

Doug:
Excellent. What do we have for families and the kiddos coming up?

Kate:
Yeah, so on Friday, January 24th, we have our Kids’ Night Out. That is a double win: Mom and Dad, girls’ night out, whatever you’d like—you can hit the town while we watch the kids at the Shawnee Civic Center. That is $15 per child from 6 to 9 p.m. if you register before Wednesday the 22nd. After that, it's going to be $20 per child.

Doug:
Is there an option for me to just leave the child at the Civic Center overnight?

Kate:
Unfortunately, it's not a lock-in.

Doug:
Oh, alright. Well, win some, lose some.

Kate:
Win some, lose some. That's for ages 5 to 12. But you can get a night out and enjoy some fun, safe activities for your kids there at the Civic Center.

We also have the Princess Tea for our little ones. This is for children ages 2 to 5. We set up our big castle in the Civic Center. You can come out, take pictures with princesses, dance the morning away, drink some lemonade, and get some goodies like that. Lots of photo opportunities. That is Saturday, February 1st at 10:30 a.m. at the Civic Center. That’s $20 per prince or princess.

Doug:
Excellent. I think the most important thing to take away from all of these events in January and February is they are all indoors.

Kate:
Indoors, yes. We are not venturing out just yet. We don't trust Mother Nature quite that much.

Doug:
The good news is there are plenty of great outdoor activities that will happen soon in Shawnee. With the Pulse, we’ll keep everyone updated on these activities in every episode.

Kate, thank you so much for being with us here, and we will see you in February.

Kate:
Yep. Thank you, Doug. Thanks for having me.

Doug:
And thank you for listening to the Shawnee Pulse wherever you are—walking, in your car, or at work. Thanks so much. You can find more information about the Shawnee Pulse on our website, cityofshawnee.org.

Of course, we want to hear from you. If you have any comments or ideas for topics you'd like to hear us talk about, please reach out via email at [email protected].

Thank you again for joining us here on the first episode of the Shawnee Pulse. We’ll see you again in February.