Month: June 2019

Reservoirs holding unprecedented amount of water; more releases planned into rivers

An unprecedented amount of water is stored in Kansas and Missouri reservoirs, according to Corps of Engineers officials.

Reservoirs are holding high water levels behind their dams, according to corps officials, which means more water has to be released into the rivers.

The Missouri and Kansas river levels in Wyandotte County are currently in flood stage and are declining slightly, according to hydrologic charts.

The reservoir system in the Kansas City district has 11 million acre feet of storage and currently 9 million acre feet are occupied, according to Eric Shumate, chief of hydrologic engineering for the Kansas City district. He made his remarks during a news conference Monday.

Shumate said the reservoir at Lake Perry would continue to make releases at 10,000 cubic feet per second. Also, releases of 4,000 cfs from Milford Lake began today, he said. It takes about six days for the water from Milford to reach the Kansas City area.

Tuttle Creek releases are at 30,000 cfs and are expected to remain the same. However, there are only low flow releases currently from Clinton Lake. The releases started May 29 from Tuttle, which is near Manhattan, Kansas.

Kanopolis is releasing 2,000 cfs, and there are plans to increase it to 2,500 cfs, then to 3,000 cfs, he said. It will take about 10 days for water from the Kanopolis to travel to the Missouri River, according to Shumate.

According to Shumate, Truman Lake exceeded the top of its flood control pool last night around 10 p.m., and releases are being increased from Truman from 30,000 cfs to 40,000 cfs around 6 p.m. Monday. The Truman Reservoir is south of the Kansas City area, in southwest Missouri.

In South Dakota, the Gavins Point dam on the Missouri River increased its releases to 75,000 cfs from 70,000 cfs on Saturday, said a Corps official.

He said the June 1 basin runoff forecast showed the runoff forecast for 2019 was 50 million acre feet, the second highest on record, second to 2011, in over 100 years. About 20 million acre feet is expected to be added in the future, and there is 11.5 million acre feet of water stored in pools, he said.

The Corps official expected the Gavins Point releases to be maintained into the fall if not all the way through to the winter.

Even though there is some rain in the forecast, with 1.5 to 2 inches of rain expected now through Saturday, and the water releases are being stepped up from upstream reservoirs, current hydrologic charts do not show the Missouri and Kansas rivers in Wyandotte County experiencing any increases. The Missouri is in moderate flood stage, while the Kansas is in minor flood stage here.

Jud Kneuvean, chief of emergency management in the Kansas City District, Corps of Engineers, said the Kansas City district has issued more than just under a million sandbags, and will receive a fourth sandbag machine to help with the demand, along with 1.5 million more sandbags and more barriers.

On Monday, the Corps provided assistance to the Kaw Valley Drainage District in Kansas City, Kansas, and the CID levee in Kansas City, Missouri, according to an official. He said the Kaw Valley system is in good shape and performing as it should.

Forty-three levees in the Corps of Engineers’ Kansas City District have overtopped or overtopped and breached since May 22, he said. Two have been intentionally cut to prevent damage. This figure does not include the number of damaged levees that occurred in March and April, he added.

Corps officials also said the Missouri River now has been closed to barge and recreational vessel traffic from mile 0 at St. Louis to mile 380, upstream of Kansas City, as of Sunday. No boat traffic is allowed unless the boat is approved for waivers.

Demolition

Demolition is taking place at the old Welborn Elementary School at 5200 Leavenworth Road, Kansas City, Kansas. A new 68,000-square-foot school building was constructed at the site, and the old school buildings are being demolished. The new two-story facility will have 26 classrooms, as well as an art room, music room, multipurpose room, gymnasium, media center and a flex-makerspace.
Demolition is taking place at the old Welborn Elementary School at 5200 Leavenworth Road, Kansas City, Kansas. A new 68,000-square-foot school building was constructed at the site, and the old school buildings are being demolished. The new two-story facility will have 26 classrooms, as well as an art room, music room, multipurpose room, gymnasium, media center and a flex-makerspace.

Downtown grocery project, downtown YMCA building and Turner Logistics project on tonight’s UG committee meeting agenda

A home rule economic development grant for the downtown grocery is on the agenda for the Unified Government Economic Development and Finance Committee meeting tonight.

The EDF meeting will begin after the end of the UG Neighborhood and Community Development Committee meeting, which starts at 5 p.m. in the fifth floor meeting room at City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kansas.

Some major projects are on the agenda, along with a report on industrial revenue bond real property tax projection.

According to the agenda, a proposed ordinance includes a ground lease and development agreement, a lease agreement and community benefits agreement for the grocery store property at 501 Minnesota Ave.

The UG owns the property where the 12,000 to 14,000-square-foot store will be built, and the UG will construct the building.

Under the agreement, the rent is listed as $1 per year to the UG. The proposed contract states the tenant will pay the UG the purchase price for the cost of completing the improvements. The amount of the price was blank in the agenda document. The tenant would have to pay the taxes.

Also, a community benefits agreement stated that CBKC CDC is making a qualified lowincome community investment under the federal New Market Tax Credit program of $6.86 million in NMTC beneficiary loans to finance the construction of the new grocery store at 5th and Minnesota.

The new store is to be managed and operated by the Mercantile, which is based in Lawrence, Kansas.

Also on the agenda was an ordinance and resolution to issue $1.42 million in taxabe general obligation improvement bonds to provide funds for the downtown grocery project, with the bonds to be purchased by the Local Initiatives Support Corp. (LISC).

The various actions proposed are for the purpose of obtaining New Market Tax Credits for the project, according to the agenda.

Also on the EDF agenda are a resolution authorizing the sale and lease of the old YMCA building at 834 Armstrong Ave., Kansas City, Kansas.

According to the resolution, the YMCA property will revert back to UG ownership upon certain conditions being met, that the UG now believes will soon be met. The YMCA building, although about a century old, was sold by the city of Kansas City, Kansas, to the YMCA in 1996.

According to the resolution, Y Lofts LP is interested in purchasing part of the property and leasing part of the property for a redevelopment of the 8th Street YMCA into senior housing.

The resolution stated the UG, the YMCA and Y Lofts have reached an agreement that upon the conveyance of the 8th Street YMCA facility by the YMCA to the Y Lofts, the YMCA will deed the property back to the UG; the property will be subdivided; the eastern part of the property will be sold to Y Lofts and the western lot of the property will be leased to Y Lofts.

Another item on the EDF agenda is a public hearing on the resolution of intent to issue industrial revenue bonds not to exceed $155 million for Turner Logistics project, which is located on the Turner Diagonal in Kansas City, Kansas.

An ordinance to create the Turner Logistics Community Improvement District also will be considered.

The Neighborhood and Community Development Committee meeting will precede the EDF meeting at 5 p.m. Monday in the fifth floor meeting room, City Hall.

On the agenda for the NCD meeting are transfers to the Land Bank from 1269 and 1273 Kansas Ave., and 1527 S. 34th St.

Also on the Land Bank agenda are applications:
1040 Splitlog Ave. – Jose Coreas-Arevalo, yard extension
1273 Kansas Ave. – Sandra Aguirre, property acquisition
1269 Kansas Ave. – Sandra Aguirre, yard extension
1506 N. 55th Dr. A – Jase Properties, LLC, yard extension
1527 S. 34th St. – Samantha Lopez, yard extension

The committee also will hear an update on the Land Bank rehab program, and an ordinance will be considered to amending the boarding procedures and requirements for unfit properties.

For more information, visit https://www.wycokck.org/Clerk/Agendas.aspx.