Unified Government officials believe the S.O.A.R. (Stabilization, Occupation, and Revitalization) program, an anti-blight effort, is making a difference in Kansas City, Kansas.
A recap of the program was conducted at Thursday’s 5 p.m. Unified Government meeting.
Commissioner Angela Markley said at the meeting that if any one of the program’s efforts had taken place a few years ago, the commissioners would have been very happy. With all of the progress made on these efforts now, “that is really an amazing thing,” she said.
The UG is working on hundreds of action steps for the program, involving many different departments, according to UG officials.
For example, the program will try to address repeat offenders more in the property maintenance program , and will implement a vacancy registry software management system.
One goal is to reduce delinquent real estate parcels from 5,500 to 4,500 in 2018, according to officials.
Currently, the program is targeting the Park Drive neighborhood in an effort to reduce blight, according to UG officials. Two of the goals will be to reduce vacant properties in that neighborhood, and also to decrease the delinquent tax rate there.
Edwin Birch, a UG public information officer, on Thursday sent out a news release announcing a new S.O.A.R. Dashboard. According to Birch, the dashboard will improve appearance, communication and safety. These three areas were set as goals by the UG Commission for the program about a year ago.
Through the new website, residents will be able to track progress in areas that are blighted. The mySidewalk program built the S.O.A.R. dashboard, according to the news release. Residents may access the S.O.A.R. dashboard at https://dashboards.mysidewalk.com/soar/.
In other action at Thursday’s 5 p.m. meeting, the UG Commission heard an update of the grant program from monies donated by Hollywood Casino and Schlitterbahn waterpark for charitable purposes.
According to UG officials, there will be about $602,400 available for grants in 2018. Grant recipients who benefit from the programs must be in Wyandotte County. Grants should be aligned with the commission’s strategic plan and with the Healthy Community-Recreation Goals, according to UG information. There are several rules in place for the grant program.
These grant applications will be available in late February, with an application deadline in early April. The Greater Kansas City Community Foundation will review grant applications. Commissioners will select awardees in late May, with the commission having a final vote on all distributions in June, according to UG officials.
At the 7 p.m. meeting, the items on the planning and zoning agenda were approved as recommended, except a proposal from The Woodlands to park trucks at the former racetrack on Leavenworth Road was pulled from the agenda. The UG clerk read a statement that said the request was withdrawn and the site will be cleaned up within six weeks.
In other action, a man who was using a house at Piper Lake as an Air BNB (bed and breakfast) to rent for short vacation stays was turned down in his application for a special use permit. Neighbors appeared at the meeting to object to loud noise and more than 20 people occupying the house during some weekends and holidays. Some other permits for BNBs in other parts of the community were approved at the 7 p.m. meeting, and there was no opposition to them at that meeting.
For more information about Thursday’s meeting, see a video of the meeting at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7-8vQXDsi4.