Category: Unified Government Commission

UG Commission to hold special meeting today on personnel

A special meeting of the Unified Government Commission has been called for 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 30, to discuss a personnel issue.

The agenda for the meeting does not state what position will be discussed, only “a candidate for employment.”

The announcement was made on Wednesday of UG Administrator Doug Bach’s retirement, effective Jan. 6.

According to the agenda for Dec. 30, the UG Commission will schedule an executive session to discuss a candidate for employment, “a private personnel matter.” Executive sessions are closed to the public under the Kansas Open Meetings Act.

According to the meeting notice, the meeting will be in the fifth floor conference room at City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kansas.

The meeting will be on Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/s/89319631457?pwd=YjhLRFICZWtUVWUrZ3ArNORGZ2hzZz09.

The public also may access the meeting by phone.

The lobby of City Hall will be open to the public to those who want to view the meeting from there.

For more information, visit https://wycokck.civicclerk.com/Web/Player.aspx?id=2186&key=-1&mod=-1&mk=-1&nov=0.

UG administrator Bach to retire Jan. 6

Doug Bach (File photo from July 2019)

Unified Government Administrator Doug Bach has announced his retirement, effective Jan. 6.

UG public information officer Krystal McFeders confirmed the announcement this morning. McFeders said she was surprised by the announcement today.

Bach has served as county administrator since March 2014 and has 31 total years of employment with the Unified Government and the city of Kansas City, Kansas.

Ashley Hand, UG director of strategic communications, said she had not heard yet who will be named to be the interim UG administrator starting Jan. 6. Some of the appointment process may be governed by the UG’s charter, she said.

The UG’s current assistant county administrators include Emerick Cross, Melissa Sieben, Alan Howze and Bridgette Cobbins.

Before being appointed county administrator, Bach served as deputy county administrator from 2003 to 2014, and previously served in leadership roles with the UG and the city of Kansas City, Kansas, including the departments of finance, community development and procurement, as well as with the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department and county administration.

“I am honored to have served with the many hardworking, talented individuals across the Unified Government,” Bach said in a news release. “Together, we have tackled many challenges and are now well-positioned to rebound from this pandemic stronger than ever.”

Bach is credited with directing multiple major economic development projects that have brought in hundreds of millions of dollars into the area, stabilized the local economy during a downturn while creating new jobs. He has worked to eliminate debt obligations as an organization ensure future fiscal sustainability and guided the UG through its COVID-19 response.

According to the UG charter, the county administrator is the chief administrative officer of the UG. The county administrator is appointed and dismissed by the mayor with the consent of the UG Commission, the charter stated. The administrator reports directly to the mayor and is subject to an annual review.

Hand said Mayor Tyrone Garner would have no comment. Also, two UG commissioners did not comment.

UG offers small business resiliency grants

A new KCK Small Business Resiliency Grant Program has been announced.

The grant is funded through the Unified Government’s allocation of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, according to a spokesman.

The grant was created to help reduce the financial strain on local businesses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the spokesman stated in a news release.

Businesses may use the funds to prepare for changes in the ways consumers are doing business, including funds for upgrading websites for e-commerce, buildings and physical plant remediation to comply with safety guidelines, software upgrades and professional service support, according to the spokesman.

The expenditure of the funds is subject to the eligibility requirements, rules and regulations of the U.S. Treasury Department and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, according to the spokesman.

For more details, see www.wycokck.org/ARPA.

Local businesses wanting to apply for this grant are asked to submit the required documentation through the Economic Development’s online applicant registration form at KCK Small Business Resiliency Grant, the spokesman stated.

Grant applicants are for eligible to apply for up to $10,000 in funding, and if awarded are not required to accept the full amount of awarded funds. Priority will be given to businesses with fewer than 25 employees, but local businesses may have up to 100 employees. For a complete list of business, expense, and grant type eligibility requirements, review the Small Business Grant Program Overview document.

All businesses that receive grant funds are required to complete a business intake and two hours of business technical assistance training to assist with resiliency, sustainability and business planning.
Grant request applications will begin to be reviewed starting Jan. 4, 2022. The grant application process will remain open until all funds are distributed.

“Small businesses are at the heart of our local economy,” Unified Government Small Business Liaison Shaya Lockett said. “These grants will provide much-needed assistance to help small businesses in KCK adopt new technology and tools to navigate the impacts of the pandemic on our economy.”

For questions, any application accommodations, including technical assistance about the Small Business Grant Program, contact [email protected] or 1-913-386-7600. Phone hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.