It's a big fight for an even bigger piece of land.
The city of Prairie Village and Johnson County want to close the Meadowbrook Country Club and turn it into a 88-acre public park while developing the rest of the land.
The only way the city and district would be able to accomplish this is by using a Tax Increment Finance (TIF), which, the city said is now in jeopardy.
On Wednesday night, Sept. 30, the Shawnee Mission School Board announced a special meeting to review the TIF and vote on a possible veto.
According to state law, school districts and counties have veto privileges where a TIF is involved and have 30 days to cast that vote.
According to the district's superintendent, the meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 7, is not necessarily to veto the TIF but to discuss the school district's concerns.
The past few weeks, the school board has received multiple TIF requests and members want to create a TIF policy as well as make sure these projects don't harm the district's bottom line.
According to information provided to 41 Action News by the city of Prairie Village, Shawnee Mission School District would still receive about $60,000 every year during over a 20 year period.
City officials said the project would be expected to raise property taxes and generate even more money for the school district. Without a TIF, city officials said neither the county nor the city could afford to pay for the land.
The special school board meeting is scheduled for Wed., Oct. 7, at 7:30 in the morning.
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Ariel Rothfield can be reached at ariel.rothfield@kshb.com.
