Author: Mary Rupert

UG to make temporary exception to residency rule for economic development director

UG Economic Development Director Katharine Carttar will not have to live in Wyandotte County while her husband, Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas, is in office, according to Unified Government officials.

UG Administrator Doug Bach said during the 5 p.m. UG special session on Thursday, June 24, that he was making a temporary exception for Carttar based on her situation.

He said during the past 20 years there have been several exemptions to the residency rule.

“In the case of Ms. Carttar, she wants to live in Wyandotte County. However, due to her husband’s employment, he also has a residency requirement. She has expressed her clear desire to keep her job, but also would like to live with her husband and raise their son together,” Bach said.

Bach said he thinks Lucas’s residency requirement trumps the UG’s residency requirement, and a temporary waiver of the UG residency requirement will be made while he is the mayor of Kansas City, Missouri. When Lucas no longer holds the position of mayor, Bach said it is his expectation that Carttar would reside in Wyandotte County.

“I do believe this is the right thing to do for this employee,” Bach said at the meeting.

Commissioner Tom Burroughs asked about other residency situations with legal challenges.

Bach said there had been legal challenges when the UG terminated employees that did not comply with residency. He said those were all situations where there was no “ask,” and the employees decided to live somewhere else without asking the UG administration.

Misty Brown, the UG’s chief legal counsel, said none of the previous cases had challenged a request for a waiver, they just challenged a termination for violation of the residency rule.

Commissioner Burroughs said the UG has been trying to recruit public safety employees, and many times employees have spouses who live outside the community and could not move into the community. He asked how the situation with Carttar was different from that.

Bach said the difference is that Carttar was already employed with the UG, and with the birth of her son, and the situation with her spouse, who was also under a residency requirement, put her in a position of whether to leave the UG position or not live in the same household with the spouse.

Bach said there are cases where people in public safety are being recruited, with the spouse living in another community, but the difference is Carttar’s case was pre-existing employment versus someone not already employed here.

He said there are changes they might consider to the policy in the future based on reciprocity to other jurisdictions, but that was not under discussion at Thursday’s meeting.

Commissioner Burroughs said as the UG moves forward with other personnel, he hopes they don’t see an exodus of personnel to other communities. He didn’t see this as much different from other cases of residency requirements, he said. He said he had a tremendous respect for Carttar and her husband, but his responsibility was to the citizens of Wyandotte County.

Commissioner Melissa Bynum supported Bach’s decision.

“We have a professional employee who I think we could all agree is performing at a very high level,” Commissioner Bynum said. “In 2020, we were not only experiencing a pandemic, but our employee was instrumental in bringing our county to near record levels of capital investment. Historically, we have examples of allowances being made for other UG employees, and why would we ask this professional to choose between her child and husband, and a job that she performs at a high level that benefits every single one of us? That’s the question I put in front of everyone.”

She said it was a unique situation with a spouse who could not move, so there were no options on the table. The situation forced a choice between a professional choosing between her spouse and child and her job, and that was “patently unfair,” she said.

“What you’re proposing is a very narrow carve-out, and it has a finite ending to it,” Commissioner Bynum said. “It is not into perpetuity.”

Commissioner Christian Ramirez said the residency requirement has been an issue for a long time in the community.

At first, Ramirez said he was not in support of the exception, as the majority of the community supports a residency requirement. But it is a temporary exemption, with a finite end, tied to Mayor Lucas’s term as mayor, he said. Ramirez asked if it would end at one term or more.

Bach said it would be tied to Mayor Lucas’s time as mayor, and there is a two-term limit in Missouri. He said it would not apply to any other offices Mayor Lucas might hold in the future.

Ramirez said he was on the fence but he would support it because it had a finite end.

“It’s hard to find an employee like Katharine,” Ramirez said, “employees that are compassionate and passionate about the work they do in the community that they serve. It would be very hard to replace Katharine for all the work she’s done.”

Bach said this exception was made for Carttar’s unique situation, not based on her skill sets. He said this is a unique situation.

To view more details of this meeting, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-aJI8KyPh8.

UG Commission approves amended Village East project

The amended Village East project was approved Thursday night by the Unified Government Commission. At the south side of the drawing is State Avenue, with Parallel on the north side. The purple area on the map is east of 94th Street. (Drawing from UG Commission meeting)

The Unified Government Commission on Thursday night unanimously approved an amended Village East project.

The project area includes the former Schlitterbahn water park at 94th and State, and also includes an area east of 94th between State Avenue and Parallel Parkway.

According to UG Administrator Doug Bach, the current deal include the sale of UG land to the developer. STAR bond financing was previously approved at $130 million, and as part of the project, there will be the sharing of Menard’s revenue.

The developer has committed to make capital investments of $3.75 million in other parts of the community, he said. They have already spent $20 million in land acquisition and demolition at the site, he added.

The project now has added Perfect Game, a provider of amateur baseball events that holds tournaments, which will add a $30 million facility, he said.

The UG and the state have already approved the expanded STAR bond project district, he said.

Approved at Thursday night’s meeting was changing the development plan, he said.

Originally the Homefield project was to have been around the old Schlitterbahn waterpark area, and now it has been moved to east of 94th Street. The action on Thursday gives the developer the approval to move forward with their plans in the new area. It does not approve new bonds for the project, he added.

Robb Heineman, with the Homefield development, said they have had good discussions with potential auto dealers to be added to the area on Parallel Parkway east of I-435. The discussions are well down the road, he said. They hope to have them under contract by November, when they hope to do bond issuance.

There is a parcel along Parallel east of I-435 under contract with a fast-food operator that may close in the next 90 days, he said.

Another property in the Parallel area east of I-435 will be a 90-room Fairfield Inn, probably startng construction in the next 90 days, he said.

Camping World, south of Menard’s, has executed a 20-year lease-agreement, Heineman said. Camping World sells recreational vehicles, RV parts and outdoor gear. They are now in planning, and are working on design drawings, he said. The expectation would be to have Camping World open early in 2023, he said.

A 325-room water-themed water resort hotel will be built in an area where the former Scholitterbahn water park. The $75 million project is a first-class hotel, will generate a lot of room nights and will have 20,000 to 30,000 square feet of conference space.

“It probably in itself is a destination attraction,” Heineman said.

A luxury RV park is planned, with about 150 slips for RVs in the area, he added.

The Milhaus 280-unit apartment project is in planning, and he hopes they will close in July and start construction in 60 days.

With the price of lumber dropping recently, it will allow some of these projects to move forward, he said.

On three parcels on State Avenue, they are in active discussions with restaurants, Heineman said. They hope to have them designated by the next 60 to 90 days.

A national medical office provider is interested in a building along State Avenue near 94th, according to Heineman.

The primary Homefield building, a 225,000-square-foot building, now will be located east of 94th Street, he said. It will have many different sports and sports programs. It will include a multipurpose field.

Perfect Game, a leading tournament operator in the United States, changes the game in a big-time way, Heineman said. There will be tournaments in town during the season, to result in 75,000 room nights a year, he said.

“We’re getting new calls every day from retailers, from restaurants, from different attractions,” he said.

The site is exceeding what their expectations have been, he said.

Bach said the state will consider approval of the restated project plan by June 30.

UG Commissioners Christian Ramirez and Brian McKiernan said they would like the developer’s capital investment in the community to be east of I-635.

Heineman said they were looking at a number of projects throughout the community, including some in the east. They are looking at housing, retail, hospitality and different projects, he said. He said it was something they were committed to and very interested in.

McKiernan said in this project, the sales tax will go back to the project, but the full property tax will go to the city, county and taxing districts.

Commissioner Gayle Townsend wanted to make sure that Wyandotte County residents would have access to the Homefield project, its ballfields and amenities.

Heineman said they wanted to be as inclusive as possible, and Wyandotte County residents would have preferred access and preferred pricing.

Commissioner Melissa Bynum said a report on the project stated it could have revenues of as much as $445 million.

Bach said they are always hopeful that the developments produce at a higher level. He said the Village West projects did, and bonds were paid off early there.

There were no public comments at the public hearing.

For more information, a video of the meeting is online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d-O-by5mzY.

BPU approves one-month moratorium on utility disconnections

The Board of Public Utilities, in a unanimous vote at a special Zoom meeting Tuesday night, June 22, approved a one-month moratorium on residential utility disconnections.

Board member Jeff Bryant made the motion for the moratorium, and it was seconded by Rose Mulvany Henry. Bryant said he would like the board to review the decision at the BPU’s second meeting in July to determine whether an extension would be granted then.

General Manager Bill Johnson said the moratorium on residential disconnections will go into effect on Wednesday, June 23. It will be in effect through the end of July.

The BPU at its June 16 Zoom meeting heard from activists with Build Power MoKan urging another moratorium on electric shutoffs. The group has appeared at BPU meetings for some months, making comments during the public comment segment.

On June 16, the activists said there had been thousands of BPU customers disconnected since the earlier moratorium ended this spring. At the Tuesday, June 22, meeting BPU staff did not have the total number of disconnections since April available at the meeting.

Board members asked for the number of customers disconnected because of inability to pay their bills, as there also may have been other disconnections because customers were moving.

Board members were seeking more information from the staff about the number of people with delinquent bills and the number of people affected by disconnections.

Since it appears that the state’s utility and rental assistance program, Kansas Emergency Rental Assistance (KERA), only covers renters and not homeowners, board members said they also were concerned about homeowners who may have trouble paying their utility bills. KERA is a program started this spring at the state level after receiving federal funds.

Lori Austin, chief financial officer for the BPU, said in answer to a question from board member Ryan Eidson that the BPU was owed about $825,000 in accounts that are more than 61 days overdue. Some of those customers have made payment arrangements with the BPU, she said. The overdue accounts figure is down from April, at the end of the last moratorium.

Board member Mulvany Henry said she had thought about this utility moratorium issue almost constantly since their June 16 meeting.

The BPU board has it in their control to do something in the community for those who need help, she said.

Bryant said he had thought long and hard since the board’s June 16 meeting, and had consulted with some of the ratepayers in his district.

“There’s an overwhelming need in our community,” Bryant said.

He added his fear is that the 348 applications to KERA from Wyandotte County are just the tip of the iceberg, and many BPU customers don’t understand the program is available, or have other hurdles that make it difficult to apply.

The state has been struggling with implementation of the management of the program, he said.

Board member Mary Gonzales said it’s likely there are many people who are struggling and could be eligible for KERA assistance, but are probably not applying.

She asked if some additional information about the KERA program can be placed on the BPU’s website, so that more people could see how to apply for it. Eidson also asked for more information to be placed on the website in a prominent place and made available to customers.

BPU chief communications officer David Mehlhaff said he would be working on that soon. He also said the information about KERA is contained in news releases that are already posted on the BPU’s website. The BPU has previously posted some KERA information on its social media pages. He said he has been working on the BPU printed newsletter that will be sent out to each residence soon, including information about KERA, which will be available for those who don’t have the internet.

Johnetta Hinson, executive director of customer service at the BPU, said more than 400 KERA applications have been made from Wyandotte County. Currently, more than 50 payments have been made from KERA to BPU totaling about $38,000, she said.

Bob Milan Sr., board president, was in favor of the 30-day moratorium, but he also pointed out that bills may just continue to accumulate when there is a moratorium. The bills are just due later, when they may be larger and it may be harder to pay them, unless assistance is received.

What they’re doing is just prolonging the agony, Milan remarked. Somewhere along the line it has to come to an end, he added.

The BPU encourages customers who have trouble paying their bills to call the customer service department and arrange a payment plan.

Milan said ratepayers are paying for services that they use before the bill was received. Customers have already received around a month’s service before their payment is due, he said. In that sense, the customer already is using the service for free until their bill is paid, he said.

When the BPU confirms that a KERA application has been completed, it puts the customer’s account on hold and does not turn off the electricity, according to BPU officials.

After a payment is made or the customer is denied by KERA, then the hold is taken off the customer’s account, according to officials.

Some customers, however, are unaware that an assistance program exists or do not understand how it works, according to activists at earlier meetings.

At earlier meetings, the utility heard reports that there had been delays in processing the applications with the new program. Also, activists said some members of the community needed assistance in filling out the form, and some did not have access to the internet to file the form.

While local nonprofit agencies have lent a hand in helping applicants, the local agencies are not receiving reimbursement from federal funds for this assistance, according to information presented at earlier BPU meetings.

Johnson said he would like to ask officials in charge of KERA if there was any way to provide assistance to local agencies, such as the United Way, that are helping with the applications. The BPU has a meeting scheduled with those officials in early July, he said. In Missouri, utility assistance funds were distributed to cities and counties, and then given to nonprofit agencies to distribute, he said.

Last winter, before this latest federal program, some utility assistance funding went through the Unified Government, and then to agencies, he said.

Mulvany Henry suggested asking the UG for additional help, and said she would speak to other UG elected officials.

Hinson said there were five criteria listed on the KERA website to qualify for assistance.

Those included: the tenant rents his or her home; the tenant’s 2020 household income did not exceed 80 percent of the area’s median income; at least one member of the tenant’s household is experiencing documented financial hardship as a result of the COVID pandemic, such as loss of employment, reduction in household income or significant COVID-related expenses such as medical bills; at least one member of the tenant’s household is uncertain where he or she will stay or may become homeless without housing assistance; and the applicant can provide valid proof of identification.

For more information on KERA assistance and more guidelines, visit https://kshousingcorp.org/emergency-rental-assistance/.

For other assistance with food, housing and utilities, the United Way’s telephone number is 211.

To see earlier stories about utility cutoffs and moratoriums, visit
https://wyandotteonline.com/thousands-without-power-as-kck-faces-heat-index-of-102-on-thursday/

https://wyandotteonline.com/not-as-many-bpu-customers-signing-up-for-state-utility-assistance-as-may-be-eligible/

https://wyandotteonline.com/activists-say-theres-a-disconnect-with-bpus-electricity-disconnection-policy/