This week has several local government meetings scheduled.
Tuesday
The Unified Government Commission has called a special meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 26. On the agenda is the postponement of the Oct. 28 and Jan. 13 tax sales, which are proposed to be rescheduled for Thursday, April 28. The agenda is online at https://www.wycokck.org/Departments/Clerks-Office/Agendas-Minutes#section-2.
The Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Education has a regular meeting scheduled at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 26. The agenda is online at https://go.boarddocs.com/ks/kckps/Board.nsf/vpublic?open.
Thursday
The Unified Government Commission will meet at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28, in a special session on Zoom for an ARPA funding discussion and update. The public also may view the meeting from the lobby of City Hall. The meeting will be available on YouTube, UGTV, through Zoom and by phone. To join by Zoom, visit https://us02web.zoom.us/s/89866261477?pwd=VW1xeVlOZEc4R3RaK2dLNzlLM014UT09. For more information, visit https://www.wycokck.org/Departments/Clerks-Office/Agendas-Minutes#section-2.
The Board of Public Utilities has called a special session at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28, in the board room, with telephone and internet access available. The BPU board will move into executive session to dsicuss labor issues. To join by Zoom, visit https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84523139724. More information is at https://www.bpu.com/About/MediaNewsReleases/BPUBoardtoConductSpecialSessionOctober28th.aspx.
The Unified Government Commission will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28, for its regular meeting. The meeting will be on Zoom, on telephone, on UGTV, on YouTube and the public also may watch the meeting from the lobby of City Hall. For more information, visit https://www.wycokck.org/Departments/Clerks-Office/Agendas-Minutes#section-2.
Friday
The Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Education has called a special board meeting at 1:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 29. The meeting will be on YouTube and on Zoom. For more information, visit https://go.boarddocs.com/ks/kckps/Board.nsf/vpublic?open.
Two Unified Government committees, the Public Works and Safety Committee, and the Administration and Human Services Committee, are scheduled to meet beginning at 5 p.m. tonight.
On the Public Works and Safety agenda is a responsible bidder amendment to an ordinance that would allow the UG to adopt a standard operating procedure requiring OSHA-10 certification and a drug and alcohol abuse prevention program for some construction contracts. It is intended to increase safety.
The Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department is requesting to apply for an Economic Development Administration grant for a public safety training facility.
Also on the agenda is a request to create a grant-funded program coordinator position in the Police Department’s Victim Services Unit.
Also scheduled is an overview about the imporvements for the levee trail system, including a trail head park on each side of the Rock Island Bridge.
A public works quarterly report also is scheduled at the PWS Committee meeting.
The UG Administration and Human Services meeting will follow the PWS meeting.
The agenda includes a district court update by Judge William Burns.
Also scheduled is consideration of a resolution to amend the meeting time schedules for UG committees and the UG Commission.
Also scheduled is a request to reallocate returned or unused Emergency Services Grant funds to assist in establishing temporary shelters.
Under consideration will be a resolution to accept federal funds for homelessness assistance and supportive services, and enter into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Also on the Administration and Human Services agenda is a request from Mt. Carmel Redevelopment Corp. to revise its budget. It manages the Willa Gill Center, providing services to address housing and food insecurity. The corporation receives a $260,000 grant from Community Development Block Grant and general funds each year. With increased costs, it is asking for an increase in the 2022 budget.
The meetings will be on Zoom. For information about how to connect to the meetings by internet or by telephone, visit https://www.wycokck.org/Departments/Clerks-Office/BOC-Virtual-Meeting.
A map from the Kansas Legislative Research Department showed the Congressional districts in Kansas. The 3rd District, in green, is the only one that showed growth, and it is 57,816 people over the ideal population. Next to the 3rd District is the 2nd District. (Map from Kansas Legislative Research Department)
by Mary Rupert
Wyandotte County residents were urged to send letters supporting keeping Wyandotte and Johnson counties together as much as possible in the 3rd Congressional District.
The Unified Government Commission, at its Oct. 14 meeting, voted to send a letter of support to keep the counties together in the 3rd District. They also encouraged residents to send in letters.
The Kansas Legislature currently is drawing new lines for the state’s four Congressional districts and its state Senate and state House districts. It is using new population data from the U.S. Census results that came out this summer.
Because population increased in both Johnson and Wyandotte counties, the 3rd District most likely will be trimmed somewhat. The district also includes a small part of Miami County.
The political concerns are that some lawmakers in a Republican-controlled Legislature may attempt to create a district where U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, a Democrat, cannot win re-election. Some observers fear that an attempt to split the 3rd District will be made, with possibly an attempt to put some of Wyandotte County in with the 1st District of western Kansas. One year ago, the former state Senate president suggested that they redraw the district maps to make sure Republicans win the 3rd District. (See https://kansasreflector.com/2020/10/09/senate-president-susan-wagle-embraces-gerrymandering-to-benefit-gop-in-kansas/)
Legislative hearings have already been held for the public to make comments; however, written testimony is still being accepted, and there is still time for the public to send letters to the committee. The oral testimony at a hearing at KCKCC Aug. 12 was all in favor of keeping Wyandotte and Johnson counties together. The new population figures were not in yet at the time of the hearing.
Recently, the population figures were released, including down to the precinct level, Commissioner Tom Burroughs said at the UG Commission meeting Thursday.
The maps show a lot of growth in the Piper area of Wyandotte County, affecting the 36th state House district and the 5th state Senate district. Some other areas of Wyandotte County also had growth.
Burroughs is also a state representative who serves as the ranking House minority member of the redistricting committee.
He said the 3rd Congressional District will be quite challenged to remain whole, with an influx of population in the two counties. There was a tremendous growth in Johnson County, he said. Johnson County will probably pick up two new state House seats and possibly a state Senate seat, he said.
The state legislative redistricting website showed a 12.07 percent increase (over 65,000 increase) in Johnson County’s population, and a 7.45 percent increase (11,740 increase) in Wyandotte County’s population.
Burroughs said people in the 1st Congressional District also wanted to see the 3rd District remain whole and not transfer part of it to join in a district with western Kansas.
“We share a border with the metropolitan area,” he said. “We have urban communities that are not related to the rural communities; our industries are different,” he added.
He urged people to submit letters to the committee, remembering that everything is subpoenaeable.
Other written testimony on file with the committee stated that Wyandotte and Johnson counties share common concerns, are members of the Mid-America Regional Council, and work on metropolitan area projects jointly.
Burroughs said redistricting maps will be in bill form, with any change requiring another bill. Each chamber will have its own maps, and will work toward an agreement. Then, when they agree, the final bill will go to the governor for a signature. If she vetoes the bill, it will go back to the Legislature to start over again, Burroughs said.
Commissioner Christian Ramirez asked everyone to focus on the data, not on the politics, and to do what’s fair.
Redistricting and Wyandotte County districts
State Rep. Valdenia Winn, D-34th Dist., said Rep. Burroughs’ 33rd district and Rep. Kathy Wolfe Moore’s 36th district, along with her district, grew in population. The 33rd District and the 36th District were 3,000 to 4,000 over the ideal population, she said.
“As long as we can shift some precincts within the county on the House side, I think we’re good,” Rep. Winn said on Tuesday.
However, Rep. Winn was not so sure about the state Senate districts. Sen. Jeff Pittman, D-5th Dist., has a district that includes a large part of Leavenworth County, and Sen. Pat Pettey, D-6th Dist., has a district that includes parts of Johnson County.
“If we had our way, it wouldn’t have any impact,” Rep. Winn said.
“Yet the larger question is whether we stay in the 3rd (Congressional) District with Johnson County,” Rep. Winn said.
There has been talk occasionally about putting Wyandotte County in the 1st District with Garden City and western Kansas.
“How bizarre for Wyandotte County to be in the same district as Garden City,” Rep. Winn said.
She recalled the story about the former state Senate president who was captured on video at an event last year saying that they can redraw the districts so that Republicans would win.
“They have the power,” Rep. Winn said.
Ten years ago, the redistricting map went to the courts, she said, and the same thing could happen again this time.
State Rep. Pam Curtis, D-32nd Dist., said her district would have to grow, estimated by about two precincts. It might be possible that a couple of precincts from Rep. Winn’s district could be added to Rep. Curtis’s district. Another district that needs to add some population is Rep. Louis Ruiz’s 31st District, she said.
At this time, it appears that Wyandotte County won’t lose any state House districts, she added.
Local legislators are thinking it might be a good idea to advocate for retaining districts within the county and not splitting them, she said.
She said they still don’t have the final population numbers for the districts, and once they get them, they can hone in more. A change this year is that there are computer programs that can do redistricting mapping, she added.
Population increases seen in two state Senate districts
State Sen. David Haley, D-4th Dist., was on the redistricting committee from the 2010 and 2000 census counts, although not on the current committee.
“I’m very interested and remain interested in the process of reapportionment of districts and the geographical lines,” Sen. Haley said on Tuesday.
It’s a bit surprising that politics and political partisanship are still allowed to determine the various outcomes, he said.
Sen. Haley said he didn’t think the 1st Congressional District as it is currently composed is a match to make a “community of interest” with Wyandotte County, as would be required by the rules governing redistricting. He said he hopes it would not meet court muster if they try to do that.
He said the state Senate’s 4th District and 5th District both came in with a population increase, and both will need to lose some of their population to maintain the statistical average. He did not think his district would change very much, though.
Sen. Haley said he believes it would be difficult for conservative legislators to justify sharing or changing the existing lines of the 5th state Senate District, where Sen. Pittman, from Leavenworth, currently holds office.
One of the questions that often comes up is will Wyandotte County continue with three state senators, or will it have two? Would the lines be drawn for two state Senate districts, with about 20,000 of the population left over and going to an adjoining district?
“The problem is that Sen. Pettey’s district, the 6th, is shy of population,” he said. It needs to increase by 5,000 or so constituents, he said, and the 4th District needs to lose about that many residents. If the 6th district would move entirely into Wyandotte County, it would have to pick up more residents than that, according to Sen. Haley.
Sen. Haley said that while he imagines there might be all sorts of maps under consideration, he hasn’t seen any made public yet. He hasn’t even seen them privately, he added.
“This is going to go quickly,” Sen. Haley said. The filing deadline for state representatives and congressional races is going to be the first week of June 2022, about eight months from now, he said.
“That’s not a long period of time for people to acquaint themselves with their district to be a state representative or senator,” he said.
Sen. Haley said he was most surprised by his district, for the first time, increasing in population.
“The assault on real property ownership by the local government, UG, in the aggressive taking of private lands through covert real property tax sales, delinquent property tax sales, misled me to believe that there would be a resulting loss in population in the district,” Sen. Haley said. “So I was surprised that this statistical anomaly of an increase was actually proven by the census.”
“I believe the 2030 census will result in a population boom east of I-635 all the way down to the Johnson County line in Wyandotte County, of even greater population still,” Sen. Haley said.
