Category: Unified Government Commission

Two Unified Government committee meetings are scheduled tonight.

The UG Public Works and Safety Committee will meet at 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 15, followed by the UG Administration and Human Services Committee after the PWS Committee is over.

The PWS Committee will consider a resolution authorizing a cooperative agreement between Bonner Springs, Edwardsville and the UG establishing the UG communications center as the public safety answering point and creating an advisory committee.

The Armourdale Industrial District Pump Station is on the PWS agenda. A resolution would declare it is a necessary project and would authorize a survey of land for the project. A few additional buildings may need to be installed near the existing building, according to agenda information. The pump station location is listed as 300 N. 4th St., west of the Kansas River, east of I-70 and north of Central Avenue.

Also at the PWS meeting, a presentation is scheduled on open burning.

Additionally, the 2022 Capital Maintenance and Improvement Plan projects and the selection process will be discussed.

There is also an update scheduled on mowing services on county-owned land.

Added to tonight’s Administration and Human Services Committee agenda is a resolution that would result in the assignment of the Unified Government’s opioid litigation claims to the Kansas attorney general.

Also on the AHS agenda is an agreement between the UG and the Credit and Homeownership Empowerment Services Inc. (CHES) to support the Bank On program, promoting financial stability through access to banking accounts.

Also on the agenda is a request to conduct a public hearing on Nov. 18 to complete the closeout of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The hearing is required by the state.

Also on the agenda is a presentation on the Wyandotte County Museum by Amy Loch, museum manager.

The committee meetings will be shown on Zoom at
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86145480513?pwd=L2tSeS9Qbjd2RmN1NWxjZ29oOWFzZz09.

The passcode is 629319.

The meetings also are accessible by telephone, toll free at 877-853-5257. The webinar ID is 861 4548 0513.

The meetings also are expected to be shown on UGTV cable television, and also on YouTube.

For more information about how to comment at a meeting, visit https://www.wycokck.org/Departments/Clerks-Office/Engage-in-Public-Commission-Meeting.

The Unified Government Commission will meet on Thursday, Nov. 4, with virtual access available.

At the 7 p.m. meeting Nov. 4, the agenda includes:

• An ordinance amending the definition of “responsible bidder” to enable the UG to adopt a standard operating procedure requiring OSHA-10 certification and a drug and alcohol abuse prevention program for certain construction contracts.

• A request to apply for an Economic Development Administration grant for a public safety training facility, presented by the fire department.

• Creating a grant-funded program coordinator position in the police department’s victim services unit.

• An overview of levee betterments, including a trail head park on each side of the Rock Island Bridge.

• Accepting federal funds for homelessness assistance and supportive services, in an agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

• Approval of a budget revision for Mt. Carmel Redevelopment Corp., which runs the Willa Gill center.

There is also a 5 p.m. special meeting scheduled in the fifth floor conference room at City Hall, 701 N 7th St., Kansas City, Kansas.

The 5 p.m. meeting will be a closed, executive session to discuss the county administrator’s quarterly review.

To join the 7 p.m. meeting by Zoom, visit https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85498198183?pwd=ZHh3d3NBK2trNWxBdDhtUHBFOFI0QT09

The passcode is 354089.
The Webinar ID is 854 9819 8183.

To join by phone, call toll-free 877- 853-5257 or 888-475-4499.

The meeting also should be able to be viewed on YouTube and UGTV cable television. The public may attend in the lobby of City Hall and participate in public hearings from there.

The Unified Government Commission on Thursday night unanimously approved the Armourdale Master Plan.

Consultant Andrew Moddrell said the area was unique in that it was surrounded by natural barriers such as rivers and other barriers, such as railroad tracks.

The area has a rich history with residents and meatpacking plants located there, and was a victim of the 1951 flood. The new master plan includes residential development.

It is a neighborhood that has endured the past 70 years with a significant lack of investment and resources, Moddrell said.

This process definitively says in 2021 that Armourdale is here to stay, after 100 years of neglect, and now there is an opportunity to deliver resources to Armourdale that it so richly deserves, he said.

According to UG officials, this version of the master plan that passed Thursday included a few things left out of the earlier versions, including a few parcels.

The Armourdale area is expected to see some development in the future as a result of the Rock Island Bridge restoration project. The bridge is expected to become a tourist attraction and event center. Apartment projects are proposed nearby.

The plan previously had been discussed by committees and the commission, and received prior approval. To see a previous story, visit https://wyandotteonline.com/public-open-house-today-on-armourdale-master-plan/.

The commission also approved a development agreement for the Legends Hotel project.

Developers are building a Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott at 98th and Parallel Parkway. The hotel would have a 1,000-square foot conference room and an indoor pool.

The development agreement calls for a community improvement district sales tax of 1.5 percent on top of existing state and local sales taxes, according to Patrick Waters, UG attorney.

The total project budget is $10.7 million, and it is requesting a maximum of $1.5 million in CID incentives, he said.

There are no bonds associated with the project, he added. It would be a pay-as-you-go project.

The 1.5 percent in additional sales tax would be paid only by customers visiting the hotel, and would be used to reimburse construction costs, developer Rubin Ranat of Legends Hotel said. The project is within the STAR bond district, according to Waters, and this CID is separate from the STAR bonds.

According to Waters, there are no industrial revenue bonds and no tax abatements with the project, which would pay full property taxes to the UG. It also would pay the transient guest tax to the UG.

The first motion on the hotel, for the community improvement district, passed 9-1, with Commissioner Tom Burroughs voting no. The second motion, for the hotel development agreement, passed 10-0.

Also approved were assignment and assumption agreements in the ownership of auto dealerships in the Legends area. They were splitting into three parts, although they had the same owners, according to UG officials. The agreements will continue with the three, according to UG officials.

Also, an effort to build homes in the downtown area near 9th and Walker moved ahead, after having been delayed from a previous meeting. The developers met with a neighborhood group, and the Land Bank applications then moved forward.

In other action, the commission set aside for two months an application to keep horses on a property in the Bell Crossing and Sortor Drive area. Staff had recommended denial of the application for the special use permit, based on recommendations from the conservation district and planning staff. More acreage was needed for the number of horses sought to be on the property, the district stated. The applicant, who had discussed doing a survey, may return in two months.