Month: October 2016

UG committees to meet tonight

Unified Government committees are scheduled to meet Monday, Oct. 24, at the fifth floor conference room, City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kan.

On the agenda for the Public Works and Safety Committee:

• Acceptance of the Federal Victims of Crime Act for fiscal year 2017 grant of $248,696 to fund office supplies for a VOCA position and for emergency transportation.

• Proposed revisions to the Wyandotte County emergency operations plan.

• Report from the Wyandotte County Solid Waste Committee.

• Presentation on major infrastructure projects for 2017.

• Presentation of Transit Department ridership survey results.

• Discussion of options to fund the gap between the 2017 budget for the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority services and the actual negotiated 2017 contract. There is a shortfall of $280,044, according to agenda documents.

The Administration and Human Services Committee is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24, in the fifth floor meeting room.

On the agenda is a discussion of the revisions to the draft of the Assessment of Fair Housing for submission to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

BPU, UG Commission to meet in joint session on Oct. 27

The Board of Public Utilities and the Unified Government Commission will meet together at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, in the fifth floor conference room, City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kan.

At the meeting, the BPU and UG Commission will discuss right-of-way and infrastructure issues. The two groups are discussing putting utilities underground in areas, including along Leavenworth Road.

The BPU also has been invited to attend the 7 p.m. full Commission meeting Oct. 27 and may have a quorum present there.

At the 7 p.m. meeting Oct. 27 at the Commission Chambers, lobby level, City Hall, planning and zoning items, and other items, are expected to be on the agenda.

The meetings are open to the public.

Free bus rides offered on Election Day, Nov. 8

RideKC routes will offer free fares all day on Tuesday, Nov. 8, to make it easier for citizens to vote in the general election.

“Exercising the right to vote is so important that we want to make it as easy as possible to get to the polls,” said KCATA President and CEO Robbie Makinen. “We are grateful to our regional transit partners in Johnson County, Independence and KCK for agreeing to make this a truly regional transit initiative.”

On Election Day, fares on all RideKC bus routes serving Kansas City, Johnson County, Wyandotte County and Independence will be free. KCATA paratransit offered by KCATA will also be free to ride.

“I simply cannot overstate the importance of getting out and voting on Election Day,” said Kansas City, Mo., Mayor Sly James. “Voting is one of the most impactful ways residents can perform their civic duty and I am grateful to the KCATA and RideKC transit partners for doing their part to ensure all residents have an opportunity to make their voices heard on November 8.”

Before the Nov. 8 General Election, residents can check their polling place and voter status.

Wyandotte County election information is available at Wyandotte County Election Office, http://www.wycokck.org/election/ Kansas allows Advance Voting in person and by mail, in addition to voting at the polls on Nov. 8. The above websites can provide more details. For those who live elsewhere in Kansas, information is available at Vote Kansas, http://www.voteks.org/.

Customers can plan their travel early. For help planning your trip, call 816-221-0660 and be ready to provide the starting address and the address of the polling place you will be traveling to. Customers can also plan a trip with Google Transit trip planner, available on the home page of RideKC.org. The Regional Transit Call Center is also open weekdays from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.