Federal judge dismisses lawsuit over Prairie Village controversy on Election Day

On the same day that Prairie Village voters cast their ballots over the future of their city government, a U.S. District Court judge dismissed a lawsuit that aimed to block a project that drove heated debates this election season.

The judge’s decision means that Prairie Village will be able to move forward with its plans to finance and build a new City Hall, mirroring the will of voters who elected City Council members who also backed the project.

“In dismissing all seven claims in this individual’s ‘unnecessarily arduous’ complaint, the judge affirmed that that plaintiff presented no law to support that an ‘even remotely’ similar action by any city has ever been found to be a violation of either Kansas or Federal law,” Prairie Village Mayor Eric Mikkelson said in a statement. “We appreciate this clear judicial validation of our good, established government practices and processes in Prairie Village.”

In June, Prairie Village resident Marc Vianello filed a lawsuit in Johnson County District Court — and later in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas — after the Prairie Village City Council approved a project to build a new City Hall and renovate its current municipal complex.

In his lawsuit, Vianello claimed that the local ordinance that allowed the city to issue nearly $30 million in general obligation bonds to fund the construction and renovations violates the Kansas Constitution and statutory requirements for a bond election. The lawsuit also claimed that the city’s previous reliance on the ordinance for other projects was illegal.

The city filed to dismiss the case, claiming that Vianello didn’t have the right to bring the lawsuit to the court because he didn’t demonstrate a sufficient connection to or harm from the laws being challenged, and the judge agreed.

“Plaintiff (Vianello) does not allege a single instance of Defendant (the city) taking an action that, irrespective of Kansas state law, violates a federal statute or constitutional right,” the ruling said.

With the court’s ruling, the city’s attorney, bond counsel and construction manager will determine next steps to get the project back on track, City Administrator Wes Jordan said in a statement.

Fritz Edmunds, Vianello’s attorney, could not be reached for comment before publication.

The judge’s ruling

Vianello argued that he could bring this action opposing a new City Hall against the city because of his status as both a taxpayer and voter, but “that alone is insufficient to establish standing,” according to the ruling.

The judge said in her ruling that Vianello failed to point to any similar action by another municipality to be in violation of the state or federal law.

“Plaintiff has simply failed to establish he was deprived of a protected voting interest and therefore he lacks injury to establish standing as a voter,” the ruling said.

“In sum, the court is unable to find standing for federal claims that effectively ask this court to determine whether a municipality’s actions violate state law.”

Heated election debate

The City Hall project was the latest local government initiative that fueled another contentious election cycle for the northeast Johnson County city.

Previous debates around housing in the city caused a group, known as PV United, to form in opposition to protest any proposed changes to the city’s zoning in an effort to bring more affordable housing options to the city. At that time, their efforts were largely successful and ultimately changed the makeup of the City Council.

But that changed this year. This election, the six candidates backed by PV United who ran for City Council promising they would put the City Hall project to a public vote all lost their races.

Unlike the last election cycle, PV United failed to gain a majority of the City Council. All six candidates who won aligned themselves with the current City Council’s decision to approve the City Hall project.

PV United’s ballot question asking voters to abandon the city’s form of government also failed this election cycle.

“The past three years, Prairie Village has been the most toxic political environment in Johnson County and it’s been incredibly difficult,” incumbent Cole Robinson told The Star after elections on Tuesday night. “I’m looking forward to seeing how everybody works together in the coming months and just kind of see how everything unfolds.”