Category: Unified Government Commission

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.

Public hearing, other items on tonight’s UG Commission agenda

The Unified Government Commission will meet at 5 pm. and 7 p.m. Thursday, June 24.

At a special session at 5 p.m. will be a Commission Infrastructure Committee meeting.

At the 7 p.m. meeting will be a public hearing on the amended and changed project plans for the Village East Star Bond district.

Also on the agenda for 7 p.m.:

• Changes to the regulations on the municipal separate storm sewer system.

• A supplemental indenture with regard to industrial revenue bonds for the Dairy Farmers of America project. The original action was approved in December 2017.

• A resolution to appoint Matthew Willard as interim Wyandotte County appraiser.

• The nomination of Pam Blood to the Wyandotte-Leavenworth Area Wide Advisory Council on Aging, submitted by Commissioner Brian McKiernan.

• Recommendations on how to spend the casino grant funds.

Several Land Bank option applications also are on the agenda, including:
• New single-family homes from Jeff Johnson, 27 S. Cherokee St., 101 S. Cherokee St. and 747 Seminary St.
• Single-family homes from Steve Miller: 8708 Yecker Ave., 10740 Miller Lane.
• Single-family home from Nathaniel McCormack, 645 Sandusky.
• Single-family home from Zachary Jones, 2219 S. Ferree.
• Single-family home from Frank Piper, 2806 Wood Ave.
• Single-family home from Taylor Miller, 1835 S. 5th St.
• Single-family home from Juan Mendoza, 105 S. 14th St.
• Single-family home from Ken Hinds, 2600 Yates Ave.
• Single-family home from Chris Garcia, 1268 Pennsylvania Ave.
• Garage from Guadalupe Adrian Rubio, 1206 Rowland Ave.
Two yard extension requests:
• 3061 Cissna St., Mike Dixon; and 1034 Everett Ave., William Weaver.

The meeting is online at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85819710743?pwd=bFFQU2VzcG1abzZxU05VT2I4Zzg4Zz09
The passcode is 027143.
To join by telephone, call 888 475 4499 (toll free).

For more information on how to connect to the meeting, visit https://www.wycokck.org/BOC-Virtual-Meeting.aspx.

The meeting is expected to be on UGTV cable television and on YouTube.