The Unified Government Commission voted to amend its Safe and Welcoming ordinance at the Thursday, June 9, meeting.
According to the UG’s legal staff, changes were made to the ordinance to bring it into compliance with a new state law by July 1. The former provision in the UG ordinance, stating they wouldn’t turn over information about undocumented persons to federal authorities, was not allowed by the state law.
Other minor revisions were worked out after going through a UG committee.
After discussion about how long the community identification card would be in effect, the commission decided on three years as a compromise.
The first motion, for a two-year community identification card, failed on a 4-3 vote. Six votes were needed to pass it.
A second motion, for a three-year ID card, passed 6-1. The name of the ordinance also was changed to the KCK Community ID Act.
Judy Ancel, of the Cross Border Network, who worked with the Safe and Welcoming Coalition for a number of years, earlier in the meeting had requested that the name of the ordinance be changed to “Wyandotte County Community ID Act.” She said with the state law changes, “safe and welcoming” was no longer appropriate as it might no longer be safe for the undocumented.
Also, she thought a two-year community ID card was too short and proposed five years for the card.
In other action, Mayor Tyrone Garner outlined some details about the search for a permanent county administrator. He said he hoped to have a search firm in place by mid-July. It will be an open process, with the UG issuing requests for proposals, he said. A committee will be appointed for the county administrator search.
The UG Commission also heard presentations from the International Association of Firefighters, Local 64, and from KCK Fire Department officials about how they would reopen the Fairfax fire station that had been closed under a previous administration.
Several ideas were presented by each, along with cost information, and the commissioners and Mayor Garner directed them to sit down together, come up with a proposal they could agree on and present it to the commission at a later date.
A meeting at 5 p.m. on June 9 about developing the area east of I-635 had been canceled. Mayor Garner apologized to residents and individuals who had signed up in advance to speak at that meeting. According to UG officials, there was a difficulty in getting a quorum for the meeting. The meeting will be rescheduled, according to officials.