Officials say changes will reduce face-to-face interactions, help minimize spread of COVID-19
Various agencies in the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, announced several operational changes today, in response to the COVID-19.
“The purpose of these changes is to limit face-to-face interactions and expose our residents to large gatherings that put people in close proximity,” Doug Bach, county administrator, said in a news release. “All of these measures are in keeping with our ongoing recommendations for residents to avoid large gatherings and practice social distancing, in an effort to minimize their risk of exposure to COVID-19.”
“We encourage residents to register with the myWYCO app online and utilize services on www.wycokck.org,” Bach said. “Residents can conduct much of their business with us virtually, including paying property taxes, making reports to 311 and renewing vehicle registrations. Practicing this type of social distancing and using these virtual tools will help residents minimize their exposure to large groups and thus their potential exposure to COVID-19.”
Among the steps being taken are postponement of some court hearings; no visitors to the county jail; canceling the next delinquent tax sale; postponing the Planning Commission meeting; municipal court hearings from March 16 to 20 are postponed; eliminating face-to-face appeals for the appraiser’s office and conducting them by phone or through documents; activities are canceled at the community centers; and district court jury trials through April 19 are continued.
Kansas City, Kansas Municipal Court
The Kansas City, Kansas, Municipal Court is taking precautions to maintain a safe and healthy court environment for all court participants, visitors and staff in response to COVID-19. The court staff will keep residents informed via their website, through UGTV and through communication at our main customer service line at 913-573-5200.
Other actions being taken to help protect the health and safety of court participants and visitors include:
• Janitorial staff are disinfecting doors, handles, elevator buttons and surfaces in public areas of city hall more often.
• All court hearings scheduled for March 16 – 20, 2020 will be postponed. If you have a court appearance or scheduled, we will be contacting you by mail with a new court setting.
• Payment date adjustments will be updated and mailed to the defendant directly.
• At this time, we will maintain regular business at the clerk’s window, but encourage all to utilize web, email, and app-based services.
• Probation visits will be rescheduled or moved to telephone reporting on an individual basis.
• Defendants on DUI or Domestic diversion will be contacted directly by the Prosecutor’s Office with instruction.
• Many services for the court are available our website, https://www.wycokck.org/Municipal.aspx, including information about case(s). You may also request entry, continuance and file motions through our email address [email protected].
• Residents can also make payments and register for additional alerts on the myWYCO app.
Transportation
• KCATA and Unified Government Transit are working on keeping buses clean and disinfected.
• They are purchasing sanitation equipment that can also be used for Public Works facilities.
Planning Commission
• Planning Commission meetings for the foreseeable future will be postponed. This includes the upcoming Planning Commission meeting scheduled for April 13, 2020.
The Wyandotte County Historical Museum
• The Historical Society quarterly meeting scheduled for March 22, 2020, is canceled.
Delinquent Real Estate
• The Delinquent Real Estate tax sale, currently scheduled for April, will be canceled.
Appraisers Office
The Wyandotte County Appraisers Office will be conducting all appeals currently scheduled via phone or by encouraging submittal of an evidentiary appeal online. The Appraisers Office will be calling property owners and tax representatives who are currently scheduled for an in-person appeal and advise that those will be changed to a phone hearing.
• Appeals: Phone and evidentiary only will be held; in-person online submittal has been disabled, and creation of an appeals document upload has been completed to assist public in easy upload of their documentation.
• Field Work: All field inspections have been suspended, which include sales inspections, appeal interior inspections, building permits, and annual re-inspection processes.
Department of Motor Vehicles
Effective Monday, March 16, the following treasury and motor vehicle changes will occur:
• All motor vehicle business will occur exclusively at the Annex Office at 8200 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas 66112. There will be no motor vehicle business at the Courthouse Office.
• All real estate and property taxes will be collected at the Courthouse Office. There will be no real estate or property taxes collected at the Annex Office.
• All Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) business will be conducted at the Courthouse Office. There will be no CMV business conducted at the Annex Office.
Parks and public events
• The Roller Warriors event, scheduled for this weekend at Memorial Hall, will be canceled.
• Activities, programming, and events at community centers have been canceled.
• Reservations at George Meyn Community Center, James P. Davis Hall and Pierson Park will be postponed until further notice.
Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office
• The Wyandotte County Sheriff has suspended visitation for inmates to the prevent the spread of COVID-19 within the jail. Visitation will resume when it is deemed safe to do so.
Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department
• The Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department will continue interacting with the public, according to a news release. Some changes that are planned include calling in a report on a non-injury accident where the vehicles are able to be driven, to 913-596-3000. Personnel at stations and headquarters will conduct business behind glass partitions. The communications center will be closed to public visitors. Officers on calls will gather information outside residences when possible and will maintain a distance of at least six feet. Only trained personnel wearing personal protective equipment will have contact with individuals who have tested positive or are showing symptoms of COVID-19. For more information about operational changes being instituted by the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department, visit www.kckpd.org.
District Court of Wyandotte County
• The Wyandotte County Courthouse remains open for business.
• All jury trials, criminal and civil, scheduled through April 19, 2020, are continued. Any juror who received a summons for jury trials through April 19, 2020, do not need to report for jury duty on the assigned date. Jury trials scheduled to commence on or after April 20, 2020, will be evaluated on a weekly basis.
• Jurors who were summoned during this time will be put back into the jury pool and may be summoned later in the year.
• All other scheduled hearings, dockets and court appearances will proceed as scheduled. Any requests for continuances or appearances by phone shall be directed to the assigned division.
• Persons who have symptoms of COVID-19, or have been exposed to COVID-19, should not report to the courthouse.
• Instead, contact the office of the Wyandotte County Court Administration at 913-573-2940 for assistance.
• Further administrative orders may be issued as appropriate as this crisis continues to evolve and develop.
For more information about any further changes in operational procedures or policies, residents of Kansas City, Kansas and Wyandotte County can call the Wyandotte County helpline at 3-1-1 or visit [email protected].
As more information becomes available it will be posted to the UG website at https://www.wycokck.org/COVID-19.
–Information from the UG