LEAWOOD, Kan. — People in Leawood spent the weekend passing out fliers and collecting signatures in hopes to save their neighborhood Hy-Vee.
Earlier this month, Hy-Vee announced it would close its 122nd and State Line Road store on June 1 because Leawood leaders wouldn’t support its attempt to remodel and expand.
Hundreds of people plan to show up to a city council meeting on Monday to push for re-opening negotiations.
“We just want to make sure that they understand, this is important to us,” said Julie Fountain, a shopper and Foxboro Neighborhood Association member. “We cannot have an empty shopping mall in the middle of Leawood.
In an open letter to Mayor Peggy Dunn and the rest of city council, residents urge them to reach a resolution with Hy-Vee executives. They think the city should consider compromising its policy on Community Improvement Districts, or CIDs, so the store can impose an extra tax on shoppers to help pay for outdoor and internal improvements.
“I think if this sits here empty and if this is any indication of how they`re going to handle other CID requests, then we’re going to end up with a lot of vacant space,” said shopper Marianne Sears.
They’re just a few of the concerns people plan to share after Monday night’s long-awaited meeting between city leaders, the shopping center’s owner and Hy-Vee executives.
“We`re just hoping we can get all of the sides to talk again and come up with some sort of solution that would be helpful to everybody,” said Fountain.
Mayor Dunn declined an interview Sunday, but told FOX 4 she believes in the city’s current CID policy and described it as “deliberate.” Still, she hopes they can “work something out.”
If you want to share your concerns, the public is allowed to attend the work session at City Hall that starts Monday evening at 5:30 p.m. in the Oak Room. City Council will then hold its regularly scheduled meeting at 7:30 p.m., where the public is allowed to sign up to speak.
