Category: Wyandotte County

The Unified Government Commission plans a meeting at 7 p.m. June 19 at the Commission Chambers, City Hall lobby, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kan.

Before that meeting, a UG subcommittee was scheduled to hold a meeting at 5 p.m. on Community Development Block Grants.

Items on the 7 p.m. agenda include:

– A resolution authorizing payment of $1,520,000 for settling a claim made by the Laborers’ National Industrial Pension Fund for outstanding withdrawal liability amounts for prior participation in the LIUNA Fund. The resolution would authorize general obligation bonds or temporary notes to be issued.

– Presentation of the Comprehensive Annual Financial report from the UG’s independent auditor.

– A resolution designating Brotherhood Bank as an eligible depositor to receive UG funds for investment, subject to meeting eligibility requirements.

– An ordinance authorizing issuing up to $10 million of industrial revenue bonds for Dunn Realty Inc. logistics facility, 240 S. 65th.

– Plat submitted of Village West Apartments, 112th and Parallel Parkway, developed by NorthPoint Development.

– Reappointment of Lynn Kuluva to the Self-Supported Municipal Improvement District, appointment by Mayor Mark Holland.

– Resolution authorizing a land survey for the construction of the 55th Street Bridge north of Leavenworth Road. Eminent domain is authorized under the resolution. The project replaces two bridges and requires drainage improvements for construction along 55th-Nearman Drive, north of Leavenworth Road, and south of Dickinson Road. These are located not far from the Missouri River. According to UG documents, the work includes Work includes installation of a temporary bypass route at each location, demolition of existing structures, and replacement of each with new concrete box culverts, including related street approach replacement, street and channel improvements, guardrails, and the relocation of utilities.

– A resolution authorizing an agreement with the city of Shawnee, Kan., for the paving of County Line Road from 55th Street to 65th Street. The UG share of the cost of the project will be $101,796.

– Two resolutions approving an increasing for the Merriam Lane, 10th to 24th Street project. The local funding requirement increased from $4.8 million to $6.1 million. This project has $4.2 million in federal grants.

– Land Bank item: Transfer of property at 4022 Springfield Ave. to Rosedale Development Association for a community garden.

The agenda is online at www.wycokck.org.

Voter registration to close July 15

Voters will see two changes for the upcoming primary election Aug. 5.

• A new advance voting polling site will be at the Kansas Speedway, I-70 and 110th Street.
• Rules have changed for switching political parties before an election.

Also, there is a new website available for voters who are interested in advance voting at wycovotes.org.

Satellite polling site for advance voting

Satellite voting has been added this year for advance voting in Wyandotte County, according to Frances Sheppard, assistant county election officer. This option includes Saturday voting.

The new advance voting site is at the south building at the Kansas Speedway, she said. Advance voting will begin Saturday, July 26, and continue July 28 to Aug. 2. Hours for advance voting will be 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Only touchscreen voting will be available at the Speedway polling place; paper ballots will not be available there.

Other voting options continue
There will be three other ways to vote in the Aug. 5 election, Sheppard said.

These include the existing options of voting in advance by mail; voting in advance at the election office at 850 State Ave.; and voting at polling places on Election Day, Aug. 5.

The election office at 850 State Ave., will open for advance voting on Tuesday, July 22, and end at noon Aug. 4. Hours for advance voting there are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Those who want to vote in advance by mail may go online for applications at www.wycokck.org/election. Ballots will be mailed beginning July 16, and must be returned by Aug. 5.

Voters also may vote the usual way by going to their designated polling places between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 5.

New rules for switching political parties

The Kansas Legislature recently passed a law that will change how voters may switch political parties. According to a news release from the Kansas secretary of state, those voters who are now affiliated with a political party and want to change to a different party or become unaffiliated before the primary election have until June 30 this year to make the change.

A new law passed this year will not allow party members to switch parties beginning on the day of the candidate filing deadline through the date of the August primary election certification. Because the new law does not go into effect until July 1 this year, it will not apply to this year’s filing deadline of June 1, but starts on July 1.

The secretary of state’s office issued this information about changing parties:
• Registered voters who are affiliated with a party may not file paperwork to change their party affiliations from July 1 through August this year.
• Persons who file paperwork to change parties during the prohibited period will be asked to re-file the document Sept. 1 or after.
• Democrats may not switch to Republican or vice versa (July 1 through August), and switches to and from the Libertarian Party also are prohibited.
• Members of a party may not disaffiliate from their party and become unaffiliated during this period.
• Registered voters who are unaffiliated may affiliate with a party during this period and also when voting at the primary or requesting an advance ballot.

This year, according to the secretary of state’s office, the Democratic Party in Kansas has changed its rules to have a closed primary. The Republican Party has held closed primaries for some years.

A closed primary means that voters already affiliated with a particular party may vote in that party’s primary. An unaffiliated voter who officially affiliates with a particular party at the time of voting may vote that party’s ballot.

Each political party makes its own rules on who may vote in its primary.

Check your voter registration

Voter registration closes July 15 for the primary election, Sheppard said.

Sheppard said voters may check to see whether they are registered to vote, and their polling place location, at the Voter View website, which may be accessed through the election office’s website at www.wycokck.org/election. Voters also may call the election office at 913-573-8500.

The Voter View website is located at https://myvoteinfo.voteks.org.

For more information, visit www.wycokck.org/election, www.wycovotes.org, or call 913-573-8500.