After a lengthy discussion and multiple motions, Shawnee City Commissioners ended up voting 5-2 to renew an annual contract with Latham Consulting Group and Dunnington Consulting for legislative consulting services, as it has for the past three years.

Consideration for renewal of the $60,000 contract had already been deferred from the commission’s December meeting. The new legislative session is set to begin Feb. 3.

It was October 2021 when the City of Shawnee first engaged Dunnington Consulting and Latham Consulting for governmental and community affairs services.

“Over the past three years, the City of Shawnee has worked closely with these consultants to help build important relationships between city staff, state agencies and elected officials as well as to identify and advocate for grant opportunities benefiting the community,” then-City Manager Andrea Weckmueller-Behringer said. “Another key service provided by the consultants is the active monitoring of state legislative activities and the alerting of city staff regarding potential legislation that could impact city operations and the residents of Shawnee.”

She said more than 3,000 bills have been filed.

“What the consulting firms do is they sift through all those bills and help us sort out the ones that may affect the city in a positive or highly unlikely negative way,” she said, adding that by having this early notice and review, city staff can navigate through challenges and opportunities with state lawmakers to ensure that Shawnee’s voice is heard.

Ward 1 City Commissioner Daniel Matthews said he advocated strongly for the contract renewal.

“I thank the city manager and the mayor for taking my request to put this back on the agenda,” he said Tuesday. “Time is of the essence; (the consulting firms) have personal relationships with all 199 legislators, but they’re also in the agencies.”

He said currently one of the big projects they are working on for the city right now is communicating Shawnee’s needs on the Interstate 40 expansion.

“They’re actively looking for state funding opportunities that are available for communities like ours on both the state and federal level,” he said. “One thing I thing should be of note – a significant accomplishment that we’ve seen in the supplemental ARPA funding that was allocated by state officials in 2021 and ’22 – with only a few members on those committees – those relationships matter.”

Matthews said Shawnee received 10.5 percent (about $11 million) of all ARPA funds allocated through the state.

“In my mind, that matters,” he said, adding he is aware some of his colleagues may not be enamored with the firms.

“I think not having representation is not an option for us,” he said, noting his openness to look at other firms or options for representation. “You have to have a voice in the room … to not have representation would be a major setback.”

Ward 4 City Commissioner Ashley Fichtner made a motion to look at other options and decline the contract renewal; Ward 2 City Commissioner Greta Madson seconded the motion.

City Attorney Joe Vorndran said looking at other options did not require a motion, explaining that the agenda item was whether to accept the contract renewal. He suggested an appropriate motion might be to decline to enter into the agreement and then offer an instruction to look at other options.

In response to Mayor Eric Stephens asking if the contract consideration could be deferred again or needed to be declined outright before looking at other options, Vorndran said it might be better to just bring back a new contract rather than deferral and in the meantime commissioners could search out options.

Ward 2 City Commissioner Greta Madson made a motion to decline the contract, but the previous motion had not yet been addressed for a vote.

Matthews took the opportunity to stress there was really no time left to interview other firms with the beginning of the new legislative session so near.

“Session starts Feb. 3; next meeting is Feb. 11; we do have time,” Fichtner said. [EDITOR’S NOTE: The next scheduled regular meeting of the Shawnee City Commission is slated Feb. 18.]

“I’m sorry; I disagree,” Matthews responded.

Ward 5 City Commissioner agreed with Matthews on the point of representation, saying, “I think it’s foolish not to have somebody in the room.”

Fichtner withdrew her motion and made a new one to defer the agenda item to a future meeting; it was seconded by Madson.

Matthews urged fellow board members to vote no on the deferral. “I will make a pending motion if this is deferred to accept this contract for the coming year with the instruction to staff that we – in the pending year – look at other options, so we don’t go a term without representation,” he said.

Fichtner’s motion was voted on — but split 3-3 — with Stephens, Madson and Fichtner in favor of deferment, and Matthews, Odneal and Richter in opposition.

Matthews came back with a motion to approve the contract with Dunnington and Latham, as set on the agenda, with instructions to search out alternate options during this year’s contract; Sehorn seconded.

Madson asked about being locked into a full year with the current contract renewal.

Vorndran explained that termination could be achieved by “mutual agreement of the parties at any time by either party without cause on 45 days prior written notice to the other party or by reason of material breach” according to the agreement.

The motion carried 5-2, with Fichtner and Stephens in opposition.