Several area residents asked the Unified Government for money for youth programs on Thursday, Feb. 25, at the Unified Government’s first public budget hearing.
The combined budget hearing and Community Development Block Grant hearing brought out 13 people who spoke to the UG Commission about needs. The UG has a $323 million budget during 2016, according to UG officials.
Three persons spoke in favor of more funding for the John F. Kennedy Recreation Center, 1310 N. 10th St., near Big 11 Lake in Kansas City, Kan.
James Connelly asked the UG for more investment in the JFK Center. He also asked the commission to do something more with Indian Springs Shopping Center at 47th and State Avenue, which is in the process of being torn down.
Former Kansas City, Kan., Councilmember Chester Owens asked the UG for additional funds for programming at the JFK Center. He said the center is very busy with constant activities for family members. It is doing a good job but more could be done if paid personnel were added, he said.
Carolyn Wyatt also asked for more funding for the JFK Center. While it has some sports such as football, basketball and soccer, it doesn’t have enrichment programs that educate and help youth, she said. She offered a list of activities or programs that she said would be good to implement at the recreation center. A person is needed to run the programs, she added.
Cle Ross, executive director of Kansas RBI (Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities), which has renovated the old 3&2 baseball field near 53rd and Parallel Parkway, said about 1,000 local youth are playing in Kansas RBI, from all commission districts, and he asked the UG for a $1.4 million contribution for an educational building at the site. Kansas RBI would then ask Major League Baseball for a $1.4 million match, he said. Several young baseball players attended the meeting in support of Kansas RBI.
Eileen Bobowski, manager of development and communications with Camp Fire Inc.’s national headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., said Camp Fire had a presence in Kansas City, Kan., until last year, when state budget cuts shut down the organization here. Because of a grant from the Ewing Kauffman Foundation, one Camp Fire program at Frank Rushton Elementary School continued since November, she said. The school’s staff is seeing measured improvement in the behavior of students in the program since then, she said. The students in the program are learning conflict resolution skills that help them resolve problems peacefully on their own, she said. She also discussed two Camp Fire programs that help with students’ healthy eating and encourage exercise. She asked for funding consideration.
Arlana Coleman, who has served as a volunteer with the annual Wyandotte County Back-to-School Fair, said it has been a struggle the last few years to come up with enough funds for the event, which gives school supplies to about 5,000 children. The Back-to-School Fair also is the host for about 70 community service providers who provide immunizations, health screenings, eye screenings, books and information to students and families, she said. She asked for funding, as funds would be needed for the school supplies and putting them in backpacks. Everyone there is a volunteer and they donate their time and money, she added.
Speaking on behalf of senior citizens was Maria Cline, who asked the commission to find it in their heart to fund senior bus transportation. The senior group trip fare recently went up from $1.50 per person to $5 per trip. Also, the eligible age for senior paratransit was increased from 60 to 65 recently. The senior paratransit bus fare increased from $1 to $2 for each one-way bus trip. Fixed-route fares for the disabled will become fare-free.
“Think about the senior citizens that have paid their dues,” Cline said. “Don’t get greedy.”
Bill Hutton, chairman of the Downtown Shareholders, presented a slide show of the organization’s events during the year and said the organization’s focus for 2016 and beyond will continue to promote economic development, housing, wellness, cultural and social opportunities in the downtown area. They encouraged continued support for work done by the neighborhood business revitalization group.
Murrel Bland, executive director of Business West, was the only person appearing who asked for low property taxes. He commended the mayor for his listening tour to get residents’ opinions on how $12 million in anticipated additional sales tax revenues in 2017 from The Legends should be spent, and also for the mayor’s scheduled meetings with business groups.
“High property taxes are a major concern with most of our members, and that is consistent with most of the concerns that most Wyandotte County businesses have, according to the more than 200 visits that the Wyandotte County Economic Development council has made during the past two years,” he said. Most of the Business West members are small businesses. “The Unified Government must reduce property taxes substantially if Wyandotte County is to be competitive with neighboring communities such as Basehor and Shawnee. Tax rates in these nearby communities tend to be 15 to 25 percent lower than Wyandotte County.”
Much of the larger new commercial development here has received substantial tax relief, he said, and he is aware that these developments would not have occurred had it not been for incentives.
“Lower property taxes will encourage residents to stay in Wyandotte County and also attract newcomers,” he said.
Property tax relief was at the top of the list of items that residents said they wanted during the mayor’s Listening Tour, according to a UG chart. Residents wanted 19 percent or more than $3 million to go toward property tax relief, according to information presented by Reginald Lindsey, UG budget director. Also high on the list were new improvements, park improvements, street resurfacing and demolition, Lindsey said.
John Latenser, representing the Fairfax Industrial Association, said the organization was requesting continued funding for curbs and sidewalks in the Fairfax area. Curb and sidewalk funding is in the budget for five years, is at the $100,000 level, and the association is requesting an increase to $300,000, he said.
Brenda Shivers of the Northeast Economic Development Corp., asked for continued funding of the organization and its housing rehabilitation program for individuals who cannot afford it. She asked for a minimum of $150,000 to continue its programs.
Greg Kindle, president of the Wyandotte Economic Development Council, asked for an increase by $50,000 to continue the organization’s work and invest in a new workforce solutions program. Kindle said in the last three years, there have been $2 billion in investments announced in Wyandotte County, including $690 million in 2015.
“Community prosperity is dependent upon the quality and quantity of jobs,” Kindle said. “We have the jobs, over 1,500 unfilled jobs today paying over $42,000 a year. We need a plan to connect those good-paying jobs to our residents. To that end, we are working with our partners on a workforce solutions pilot program.”
Efforts will be coordinated among partners in a measurable approach, he said. Two focus areas will be developing a future talent pipeline and targeting existing underemployed populations, he said. WyEDC will play a coordination role among existing and potential businesses, workforce training, placement agencies, social services, government, and kindergarten through grade 16 education providers, he said. He said WyEDC is growing its private sector investments as well for this initiative.
Wilba Miller, UG director of community development, said the UG receives around $3 million for CDBG and related funding in 2016 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. About 77 percent of these funds go toward the CDBG program, with 17 percent to the HOME program and 6 percent to ESG (including programs for the homeless).
UG Administrator Doug Bach said there may have been some requests that would be appropriate for the charitable contributions fund or for Community Development. The UG staff will look at the ideas and determine where the requests would be better served, according to Bach. Residents may be contacted and asked to send in an application to the appropriate program.
New charitable contributions fund guidelines also were approved today, and applications for that community charitable fund are expected to go online soon at the UG’s website, www.wycokck.org.
There will be another budget public hearing, probably in July, closer to the adoption of the budget, according to UG officials.