Category: Unified Government Commission

A discussion about creating a new PILOT fee classifications is on tonight’s agenda for the Unified Government Economic Development and Finance Committee.

The meeting starts at 5 p.m. May 9. The public may watch the meeting at the Commission Chambers at City Hall. 701 N.7th St., or on Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88967479123?pwd=LzJuOVpCSHp2ZC9uRml6YlRldGVRQT09.

According to the agenda, an amendment to the UG charter ordinance is proposed to create a residential PILOT fee classification. Under such an amendment, UG commissioners could choose, for example, a lower PILOT fee rate for residents and a higher rate for businesses and industries.

The UG legal department has determined that the UG could not separate classes under the present laws, but it could if the charter ordinance were amended. A charter ordinance amendment would require a two-thirds UG Commission approval, and a 61-day waiting period in which a protest petition could be filed, according to the agenda.

Currently, the PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) fee is placed by the UG on all Board of Public Utilities’ customers’ bills. The PILOT fee is currently 11.9 percent.

According to agenda information, the proposed amendment would create two classifications for the PILOT fee, residential and commercial-industrial.

The PILOT fee makes up 20 percent of the total revenues of the city general fund for Kansas City, Kansas, according to agenda information. In 2020, the PILOT fee raised $32.7 million, a decrease of 42 percent from 2019, and in 2021 the PILOT raised $31.7 million, a decrease of 3.1 percent from 2020.

In 2014, the PILOT fee went up from 10.percent to 11.9 percent. The UG Commission votes to set the percentage of the PILOT fee during its budget approvals each year. When the BPU adopted an electric rate increase of 4 percent in March 2017 and 2018, the PILOT fee also increased as a result, according to the agenda.

Other items on the May 9 Economic Development and Finance Committee agenda include:

• Use of $400,000 in the UG Health Department’s reserve funds to respond to a tuberculosis outbreak in Wyandotte County.

• Amending ordinances for a Senior Utility Tax Rebate program.

• Approving an ordinance and resolution to allocate ARPA funds for capital, facilities and park improvements.

• A presentation of budget revisions for UG operating and capital budget policy related to the UG’s cyber security incident response.

After the end of the EDF meeting, the UG Neighborhood and Community Development Committee meeting will begin.

On the agenda for the NCD meeting:

• Adoption of proposed building and fire code ordinance updates.

• A resolution of support for all Neighborhood Business Revitalization organizations in Wyandotte County, including Edwardsville and Bonner Springs, with additional policies.

• Approval of a Mid-America Regional Council Planning Sustainable Places grant request for a complete green Rainbow Boulevard corridor between I-35 and Shawnee Mission Parkway, in partnership with Westwood, Westwood Hills and Fairway.

• Approval of a State Historic Preservation Office grant request through the Historic Preservation Fund for a City-Wide Historic Preservation Plan.

Also on the NCD agenda are several Land Bank option applications:
New construction, single-family homes:
3815 Strong Ave., 3813 H Strong Ave., 1302 S. 38th St., Chris Solutions LLC, two homes.
1536 S. 49th St., Chris Solutions LLC one home.
741 Shawnee Road, Chris Solutions LLC, one home.
4015 Coleman Court, Monique Smith, one home.
1047 Riverview Ave., Richard Dumas, one home.
1914 N. 6th St., 1920 N. 6th St., 1922 N. 6th St., 1926 N. 6th St., 1914 N. 6th St., Communities Cares LLC, four homes built on five lots.
1927 N. 6th St., 1929 N. 6th St., 1931 N. 6th St. , one home built on three lots.

New construction, multi-family
1305 Ann Ave., 1307 Ann Ave., 1309 H Ann Ave., 1311 Ann Ave., 1315 Ann Ave., 1319 Ann Ave., 1325 Ann Ave., Travis Wilson, 9- and 10-unit townhomes.
835 Parallel, 831 Parallel, 827 Parallel, 825 Parallel, 834 Troup, 830 Troup, Wall-Ties and Forms Inc., 15 units, townhomes.
843 Parallel, 851 Parallel, garden and orchard.
2110 N. 51st, Raj Bhatia, 24 units.

New construction, commercial:
1604 Minnesota Ave., Chris Solutions LLC, co-working office space.
3510 Strong Ave., Chris Solutions LLC, co-working office space.
706 Quindaro Blvd., Mohammad A. Chaudhry, parking lot.
6116 State Ave., Chantelle L. Sims, affordable small eat and boutique center.
5211 Parallel Parkway, The Dominique Experience Foundation, community center.

New construction, garage
4200 Leavenworth Road, Juan Antonio Vividor Rosa, currently owns 4100 Leavenworth Road.
2624 N. 21st St., garage, Edwina Gaskin, 2636 R N. 21st St., unbuildable lot.
701 Parallel, Aaron G. Chaney, currently owns 2010 N. 7th St.
950 Reynolds Ave., Jesus Valle, currently owns 945 Reynolds Ave.
1859 N. 28th St., Marisol Villa.

Land Bank property transfers:
Yard extension
2105 R. McDowell Lane, Robert Needham, currently owns 2105 McDowell Lane.
Property transfers
2517 N. 17th St., 2515 N.17th St., 2513 N. 17th St., OCP Neighborhood Association, park.
727 Central Ave., CABA, pocket park.
731 H. Tenny Ave., Rachel Bichara, vacation of right of way.

For more information about the meetings and how to view them, visit https://www.wycokck.org/Engage-With-Us/Calendar-of-Events/Standing-Committee-Meeting-EDF-and-NCD.

Mayor Tyrone Garner today rejected a request from the Unified Government commissioners to start a national search for a permanent UG administrator.

At a special meeting at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, UG commissioners made individual statements supporting a search for a permanent UG administrator. The commissioner statements were in favor of a search for a permanent administrator. There was widespread commission support for the national search.

Currently, the UG has an interim administrator, Cheryl Harrison-Lee.

Mayor Garner responded to the commission by quoting the UG charter ordinance, Section 2-61: “Neither the commission nor any of its individual members shall in any manner direct, supervise or require the appointment, promotion, transfer, assignment, demotion, discipline, suspension, discharge or removal of any officers or employee that the mayor, county administrator or any of their subordinates are empowered to appoint.”

The mayor appoints and dismisses the county administrator, according to the charter ordinance, “with the consent of the unified board of commissioners.”

After making a statement, the mayor adjourned the meeting and left, without further discussion.

In his statement, Mayor Garner said, “I stand firmly in alignment with our administrator.”

He said that Harrison-Lee has been the interim administrator barely four months. She is doing an assessment and audit of the UG, he said. He said they needed to give her time to do the work that needs to get done.

Mayor Garner said the community had sent a clear message at the last election that they want change.

“Change is here, and it’s not going away,” he said. “I’m not here to play politics as usual, and I won’t.

“I feel really bad for Ms. Harrison-Lee, having to endure a commission that is coming forward and saying do a national search, when she hasn’t even been here for the duration of her contract,” Mayor Garner said.

He said it was imperative for the mayor and commission to support her in her work. He said he’s not prepared to have the discussion on the national search until he’s ready. If they need to have a discussion later about a national search, he said he would let them know.

Mayor Garner said survey results and discussions with residents have not suggested having a national search, but have suggested that the UG lower taxes, address the PILOT fee and improve the quality of life for residents.

“I feel ashamed that we are even having this conversation. I ask that we come together and work on the issues that are important to Wyandotte County. It’s not about me, it never has been and never will be,” the mayor said before adjourning the meeting and leaving.

“There are questions,” Commissioner Mike Kane said.

The commissioners had given their statements earlier in the meeting.

Commissioner Angela Markley said at the time of Harrison-Lee’s appointment, several commissioners expressed an opinion that there should be a national search for a permanent administrator.

She requested an executive search firm to post the job immediately, no later than 30 days, with a timeline process in place in 45 days. Finalists would be identified and interviewed, and the process used could be similar to the same process the UG used to screen the police and fire chief, she said. The commission should receive updates on the process at least once a month until a permanent administrator is appointed, she said.

Commissioner Melissa Bynum agreed.

“I think the job of county administrator is of utmost importance within our entire community,” she said.

She said she didn’t know how they could identify that they have the very best candidate who can do that work unless they post the job nationwide, conduct a search, conduct interviews and select a candidate who they think is best from all who might apply. The UG did similar nationwide searches for the police and fire chief, as well as for the former UG administrator.

Commissioner Christian Ramirez agreed with the nationwide search. The past administrator was able to maintain some stability through a very unstable time during the COVID pandemic, he said. It is important to continue to strive for that stability, he said.

Commissioner Brian McKiernan agreed with the national search and said it is consistent with best practices to begin the process of a search for a permanent administrator at this time.

Commissioner Mike Kane agreed and recalled interviewing multiple candidates before Doug Bach, former administrator, was named. The commission, staff and mayor along with the community were involved in the process, he said.

Commissioner Gayle Townsend concurred with the others, and said it is not anything against Harrison-Lee that she supported a national search.

“I believe this is a best practice procedure issue,” Commissioner Townsend said. She said Harrison-Lee could apply for the full-time position. It serves the community, mayor and commission best if they follow the procedure that was done five or six years ago, she said. There was a lot of community engagement in the process then, she said.

Commissioner Harold Johnson said he was very pleased with the application from Harrison-Lee, and at the time they did not look at other candidates. Although he is very impressed with her, as a matter of best practices, they should look at more candidates for the permanent position, he said. It is something he has supported since day one, he said.

Commissioner Tom Burroughs asked for a time frame to take on the national search, and asked if it would be through licensed administrator organizations.

Commissioner Markley said the nationwide search firm would perform that process and would know where to post the nationwide search. She noted that in the police chief search, a series of workshops was put together to help evaluate candidates.

Commissioner Chuck Stites concurred with the national search, saying it’s the right thing to do to be transparent and open to all possible candidates. He thought Harrison-Lee should apply, and that candidates should be vetted to find the best possible one.

Commissioner Andrew Davis said he agreed with Commissioner Markley’s statement and he wanted the community to have a voice on who the permanent county administrator is. He said he wanted time to be able to talk with his constituents about what they see, what they feel and what they’re experiencing in their neighborhoods. He wanted the people of Wyandotte County to feel they were part of the process, he said. He added he hoped the selection of the permanent county administrator would be people-centered.

The special meeting is on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43arLFKQUw4.

A special meeting of the Unified Government Commission has been scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 3, to discuss the posting of the county administrator position, according to a meeting notice from the clerk’s office.

Some UG commissioners have recently commented that the UG had not yet placed a job posting for a permanent UG administrator. Cheryl Harrison-Lee is currently the interim UG administrator.

Some commissioners have been stating that the interim UG administrator also has an economic development consulting job with the city of Kansas City, Missouri.

UG Commissioner Christian Ramirez posted April 21 on Facebook that “Wyandotte County residents deserve to have an Administrator who is going to devote their entire time to its growth and prosperity.”

He continued that he thought it was a conflict of interest for an administrator to be working for both of these cities, as she would be overseeing economic development projects in both cities. Ramirez called on the mayor to start a permanent search for a county administrator.

The hybrid format meeting at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday will be carried on UGTV cable television, on YouTube and on Zoom. It will be in the Commission Chambers at City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kansas.

The public may view the special session from the Commission Chambers on the lobby level at City Hall.

The Zoom link is at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88928583330?pwd=aEh6QnhodXBBSWdUbXFsUzVXdzVqZz09.

The passcode is 581882.

Telephone dial-in is at 877-853-5257, toll-free, or 888-475-4499, toll free.
The webinar ID number is 889 2858 3330.