Month: July 2016

Edwardsville’s Village South project moves ahead

A preliminary artist's rendering of the new Village South development near I-70 and the Kansas Speedway in Edwardsville, Kan.
A preliminary artist’s rendering of the new Village South development near I-70 and the Kansas Speedway in Edwardsville, Kan.

The Village South at Edwardsville development project has moved ahead with the creation of a redevelopment district.

According to Zack Daniel, assistant to the Edwardsville city manager, the 27-acre redevelopment district was created by the city council on Wednesday night. The developer of the project is Compass Commodity Group III LLC, which is being represented by Lane4 Property Group.

The new $60 million development will be at 110th Street from about Riverview to I-70, he said. The area generally is south of Village West, the Kansas Speedway and The Legends Outlets. It will include two hotels, a sit-down restaurant, a power sports retail location and conference and meeting space, he added. The two hotels, which earlier were identified as possibly LaQuinta and Holiday Inn, will have a total of 185 rooms, located near the small conference area. There will be some pad sites available.

According to Edwardsville officials, the project also includes an area that will be available for development in the future. So far there are no plans for that area.

If the project develops in the way it is currently envisioned, it will become a substantial sales tax contributor to the city, Daniel said.

“It would be a substantial economic development boom for the city, if the studies we’ve looked at and the figures the developers presented to us are moving in the direction we think they are,” Daniel said.

If it goes into operation by 2017 and 2018, then the assessed real property value of that area would be estimated at $5 million, and would grow by 1 percent annually, he said.

The projected visitor spending for the site would be more than $8 million, Daniel said, and it would create 146 full-time and part-time positions. The project also would create a small number of new residents, he believes.

An apartment complex originally planned for the development, when it was announced in February, now is not part of the plan, he added, so the population is not expected to grow much from the project.

As part of the redevelopment district effort, on Wednesday the council designated the area as “blighted.” That will make it eligible for improvements, Daniel said.

The project is proposed to be funded by tax increment financing, Daniel said. TIF is usually used to finance land acquisition, site improvements and infrastructure in eligible areas, he added. Daniel said TIF financing for the project has not yet been approved by the council, and that is one of the future steps in the project.

The developer will submit information to the city to outline the improvements, he said, and then a redevelopment plan will be developed.

Tentatively, a public hearing on the redevelopment plan will be held on Sept. 20, he said. The Edwardsville Planning Commission will review the initial redevelopment plan to make sure it conforms with the city’s comprehensive plan, with July 20 being the earliest date that review could take place, he said.

To see an earlier story on this development, visit https://wyandotteonline.com/edwardsville-council-moves-forward-with-development-south-of-kansas-speedway/.

Another crash reported on I-635

Another crash was reported on I-635 northbound near Gibbs Road in Kansas City, Kan., about 11 a.m., according to a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper’s report.

In the earlier crash this morning on I-635 near Metropolitan, a motorcyclist was killed, according to authorities. Traffic then became backed up on I-635.

The trooper’s report stated that a Chevrolet passenger car lost control while stopping for traffic and hit a Jeep utility vehicle, causing the Jeep to roll.

The driver of the Chevrolet, a 30-year-old Kansas City, Kan., woman, had a possible injury, according to the trooper.

The driver of the Jeep, a 50-year-old Kansas City, Kan., man, was injured and taken to a hospital in Overland Park, according to the trooper’s report.

According to the Kansas Department of Transportation, I-635 may reopen around 2:30 p.m. today.

Kansas hospitals seek federal intervention to stop Medicaid cuts

by Jim McLean, KHI News Service

The Kansas Hospital Association is urging federal officials to stop Gov. Sam Brownback from implementing $56.4 million in Medicaid cuts set to take effect today.

Brownback ordered the cuts in May to cover shortfalls in the fiscal year 2017 budget approved by the Legislature. The hospital association is asking the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to immediately intervene to stop the cuts, which include a 4 percent reduction in provider payments.

“Kansas is attempting to fund its self-inflicted budget deficit in substantial part on the backs of Medicaid patients and hospitals and other health care providers,” wrote Tom Bell, KHA president and chief executive, in a June 29 letter to Andy Slavitt, the acting administrator of CMS.

Under normal circumstances, the state would be permitted to implement the cuts before submitting a Medicaid plan amendment to CMS for approval. But Bell argues federal officials need to act quickly to prevent cuts that he and others say could limit Medicaid beneficiaries’ access to care.

“CMS should become directly involved at this point by insisting that the state promptly submit required amendments in a form that can permit immediate action by CMS,” Bell wrote.

In the letter, Bell said the state’s budget problems aren’t enough to justify the cuts, which also would trigger a loss of $72.3 million in federal matching funds.

“The state of Kansas advances no justification for the payment reduction beyond its budget shortfall,” he wrote. “CMS cannot approve a state plan amendment solely driven by budgetary concerns.”

Kansas officials have directed the three managed care organizations that oversee the day-to-day operations of KanCare, the state’s privatized Medicaid program, to implement the cuts.

Angela de Rocha, a spokesperson for the state’s Medicaid agencies, declined comment on the KHA letter except to say that state officials weren’t aware of “any instances in which CMS has blocked a state plan to reduce Medicaid provider rates.”

Mike Randol, director of the Division of Health Care Finance in the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said in an interview Thursday that the agency was on track to implement the cuts on schedule.

“We’re on our timeline to implement the reduction on July 1,” Randol said. “We are on target internally to have our state plan amendments changed to reflect the reduction, and those will be submitted to CMS on the appropriate timeline.”

Normally, Kansas officials would have until Sept. 30 to submit the plan amendments for CMS approval.

CMS officials didn’t immediately respond when asked whether the agency would alter that schedule in response to the KHA request.

The nonprofit KHI News Service is an editorially independent initiative of the Kansas Health Institute and a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor reporting collaboration. All stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to KHI.org when a story is reposted online.

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