Several developments are on the Unified Government Commission 7 p.m. agenda tonight, including a public hearing on issuing industrial revenue bonds for the Homefield project.
The UG Commission will meet at 7 p.m. for a Zoom meeting.
At 5 p.m. Dec. 17, the UG Commission also will meet in a closed, executive session on a personnel matter in the fifth floor conference room, City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kansas.
After the 7 p.m. meeting is completed, there will be a meeting of the UG Public Building Commission on Zoom.
The 7 p.m. agenda includes a public hearing on issuing industrial revenue bonds for the Homefield project, which is at the former Schlitterbahn site at 94th and State.
Also, an ordinance authorizing up to $130 million in STAR (sales tax special obligation revenue bonds) for the Village East Project, including the Homefield area, is on the agenda.
Also on the agenda is the termination of the former Schlitterbahn community improvement district.
Also on the agenda are the downtown Reardon Center project, the Legends apartments and garage project, municipal temporary notes and bonds, and the Quindaro Ruins agreement.
Another proposed ordinance would amend the effective repeal date of several emergency ordinances, extending them to December 2021. Some of these ordinances have to do with farmers’ markets and mobile food markets.
Another resolution would temporarily suspend enforcement of ordinances or portions of ordinances because of COVID-19. These also have to do with farmers’ markets, mobile food markets and exterior sales on commercial private property.
Also on the agenda is a resolution assigning and assuming the lease agreements and bond documents in connection with the $17.5 million aggregate principal amount of industrial revenue bonds for the Assisted Living Associates LLC project at 113th and Parallel Parkway.
Land Bank applications also are on the agenda, including: New construction – single family homes Charles Endicott, 643 N. 54th St. Megan Duma, 2725 GLenrose Lane, build home, short-term rental
New construction – commercial Dustan Fankhauser, 6235 Kansas Ave., build two 3,200 square foot buildings ideal for small contractors Martha E. Gonzalez, 1032 S. 25th St., building to store and maintain trucks.
The Public Building Commission agenda, following the 7 p.m. meeting, includes a resolution authorizing industrial revenue bonds up to $5.065 million plus related reserves and financing costs necessary for all or a portion of the costs of improvements for the existing courthouse, adult jail, west annex facilities and annex parking lot improvements.
Also, the resolution would authorize Public Building Commission Revenue Bonds to be issued to fund about $100,000 of project costs plus related cost of issuance related to the existing jail facility, and $4.375 million in project costs plus related costs of issuances for the existing courthouse facility.
The public may connect to the Zoom meeting on the internet at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81533428077?pwd=MUVMTTdxL1dhTDhwRit6MGpkOU9NZz09 Passcode: 597497
The public also may connect by telephone at 888 475 4499 (Toll Free) or 877 853 5257 (Toll Free). Webinar ID: 815 3342 8077
The UG Commission meeting also is expected to be on UGTV on cable television and on Youtube.
Agendas are online at https://www.wycokck.org/Clerk/Agendas.aspx.
Thursday will be a little warmer than Wednesday, with a high of 45, according to the National Weather Service.
Look for temperatures to increase on Friday to a high near 51, then high temperatures will revert to 41 on Saturday, the weather service said.
Higher temperatures Friday and gusty southerly winds could result in an elevated grassland fire danger on Friday afternoon, according to the weather service. Winds will gust up to 34 mph Friday afternoon.
Today, it will be sunny with a high near 45 and a west southwest wind of 5 to 7 mph, the weather service said.
Tonight, it will be cloudy with a low of 30 and a south wind of 3 to 8 mph.
Friday, it will be partly sunny with a high near 51, the weather service said. A south wind of 9 to 14 mph will increase to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon, with wind gusts as high as 34 mph.
Friday night, it will be mostly cloudy, with a low of 29 and a south southwest wind of 6 to 10 mph, becoming northwest after midnight, according to the weather service.
Saturday, it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 41, the weather service said, and a northwest wind of 5 to 8 mph.
Saturday night, it will be partly cloudy with a low of 28, according to the weather service.
Sunday, it will be sunny, with a high near 50, the weather service said.
Sunday night, it will be mostly clear, with a low around 35, according to the weather service.
Monday, it will be sunny with a high near 57, the weather service said.
Monday night, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 32, according to the weather service.
Tuesday, it will be sunny, with a high near 53, the weather service said.
Tuesday night, it will be partly cloudy, with a low of 34, according to the weather service.
Wednesday, it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 45, the weather service said.
Who will be in the second group to get COVID-19 vaccines in Kansas?
Gov. Laura Kelly has previously announced the first group – health care workers and long-term care workers and residents – would get COVID-19 vaccines now through the winter. EMS and front-line public health workers also are in this first group.
The second group was announced on Wednesday at the governor’s 4 p.m. news conference.First responders, some public-facing workers in essential and critical infrastructure, teachers, school staff, child care workers and individuals at high risk for adverse health consequences are in the second group. That group is expected to get vaccines in late winter.
The third group is all other adults, who are expected to get vaccines in the spring.
Children are in the fourth group, to get vaccines in the summer, if children are approved to get vaccines at that time. Currently, only those over 16 can get vaccines.
“Through this framework, my administration upholds our commitment to maximizing benefits, minimizing harm, and striving for equity, justice, and fairness when it comes to when the vaccine will be made available to which Kansans,” Gov. Kelly said. “We are committed to protecting the greatest number of Kansans, fostering economic recovery, and getting our kids back into school buildings as quickly and safely as possible.”
The timelines will depend on whether the state receives the vaccines from the manufacturers according to plan, according to the governor.
Vaccines of front-line health care workers began Tuesday in Wyandotte County, and were expected to continue through this week and this month. They are receiving the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Kansas received about 23,000 doses of the vaccine this week.
Long-term care home vaccinations probably will start next week, Gov. Kelly said.
According to Gov. Kelly, 49,000 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is expected in Kansas next week. That vaccine was pending emergency use authorization. Another shipment of Pfizer vaccine also was expected.
While the pandemic will be over some day, probably not soon, life isn’t expected to return to normal for some time. Gov. Kelly urged people to continue wearing masks, socially distance and practice good hygiene.
Answering a question about “line jumping,” or going out of turn, Dr. Lee Norman, Kansas secretary of health, said the people who will administer the vaccines will ask recipients the reason they registered for the vaccine. He is hoping people will self-police and the spirit of good will and the community spirit will carry the way, he said.
Gov. Kelly, answering a question about a mayor in Dodge City who resigned after being threatened when the city issued a mask order, said there is no place for threats in today’s world. “This is a health crisis, not a political battle to be won,” she said.
The governor also urged Congressional leaders in Washington to organize and pass a second relief package as soon as possible. Progress was reported on efforts to pass a relief package on Wednesday.
“It’s long overdue,” Gov. Kelly said. The proposed funds would help individuals as well as programs such as vaccine distribution.
“In addition, Congress needs to extend the deadline for CARES Act funding,” she said. Without the extension some of the funding may have to be forfeited, she said. The deadline is Dec. 30 for agencies to spend the federal dollars they have been allocated.
Sens. Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts have introduced legislation to extend the deadline, and Gov. Kelly commended them for it on Wednesday.
“Kansans need help,” she said.
Nurse recounts her experience on a ventilator, successfully fighting COVID-19
At the University of Kansas Health System news conference Wednesday morning, doctors said they were excited to see the first health care workers there getting the vaccination.
At the news conference, a 50-year-old nurse from the Great Bend area discussed how she formerly didn’t always wear a mask when she was in the community. She got COVID-19, and had to be hospitalized. Her condition worsened, and she had to be airlifted to another hospital and put on a ventilator, she said.
The nurse praised her respiratory therapist for going beyond normal expectations, and helping keep her family informed.
Now she is feeling much better and she tells her family, including the younger ones, to wash their hands and wear a mask. The nurse also tells everyone not to think about politics, but to pay attention to the advice to wear a mask and socially distance.
There was some complacency in her small town, and the feeling that they wouldn’t get the coronavirus there, she said. The mask-wearing culture in her town is starting to get better, she said. Wearing a mask is just respecting other people, she added. She also said she wants to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
The University of Kansas Health System reported lower numbers of COVID-19 patients on Wednesday, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control. There were 76 active COVID-19 patients in the hospital, a decline from 87 on Tuesday, with 36 patients in the intensive care unit, a decrease from 55 on Tuesday and 26 on ventilators, the same number as Tuesday. There were another 74 COVID-19 patients who are not active patients but are still in the hospital, a decrease from 74 on Tuesday. In all, there were 150 COVID-19 patients at the hospital, down from 165 on Tuesday.
HaysMed in Hays, Kansas, reported 26 COVID-19 inpatients, down from 30 on Tuesday, and 19 of them were active patients, with seven in the recovery phase.
The doctors noted that patient numbers in hospitals in the Greater Kansas City area seem to be trending downward now.
Case numbers
Wyandotte County reported a cumulative 12,847 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, an increase of 95 since Tuesday. There were three additional deaths reported, with the cumulative total at 187.
Kansas reported an additional 4,551 COVID-19 cases from Monday to Wednesday, with a cumulative total of 194,569, according to figures from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. There were an additional 144 deaths statewide, for a cumulative total of 2,253. Dr. Norman said that deaths were sometimes reported in batches, and did not occur on the same day.
The Mid-America Regional Council Kansas City Region COVID-19 data hub reported an additional 1,409 cases in the nine-county Kansas City region, for a cumulative total of 108,978. There were a cumulative 1,288 deaths reported. The average number of new hospitalizations was 183, down from Tuesday.
Johns Hopkins University’s COVID-19 dashboard reported 16,979,762 COVID-19 cases in the United States on Wednesday, and 307,501 cumulative deaths.
Free COVID-19 testing available Thursday
Free COVID-19 testing is available from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17, at Vibrant Health Argentine location, 1428 S. 32nd, Kansas City, Kansas.
The tests are through the Wyandotte County Health Equity Task Force and Vibrant Health.
The Unified Government Health Department has moved its COVID-19 testing from the 6th and Ann location to the former Kmart at 78th and State Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas. The hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Tests are free for those who live or work in Wyandotte County. The tests are nasopharyngeal swab tests. The Health Department no longer uses saliva tests.
The tests now are open to asymptomatic people as well as those who have symptoms or have been exposed to COVID-19. Check with the UG Health Department’s Facebook page to see if there have been any changes in the schedule. Bring something that shows that you live or work in Wyandotte County, such as a utility bill.
Cards and letters of encouragement for caregivers at KU Health System may be sent to Share Joy, care of Patient Relations, 4000 Cambridge St., Mailstop 1021, Kansas City, Kansas, 66160. Emails can be sent to [email protected].
