A public hearing on the downtown campus redevelopment district renewal of the three-eighths of 1 percent sales tax and small business grants are on the agenda for the 7 p.m. Thursday, March 26, Unified Government Commission meeting.
The meeting will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 26, in the Commission Chambers, lobby level, City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kansas.
None of the items is expected to have opposition.
The UG has implemented some changes to its meeting procedures, trying to limit the number of people in a room, according to the agenda. People do not have to attend the meeting to send in a public comment, and the meetings are continuing to be broadcast on cable TV.
On Monday, a UG committee meeting saw only a handful of staff present, with commissioners phoning in to participate.
According to the agenda, the Thursday, March 26, meeting can be seen on cable TV, Spectrum Channel 2, and Google Channel 141, and also streamed online on YouTube.com.
The UG is accepting public comments on any item on the agenda through emailing planninginfo@wycokck.org on or before 5 p.m. March 26, with the title of the subject line, “Public Comment – (name of agenda item).” Full name and city are required in the body of the email.
While City Hall will be open for this meeting, the number of persons allowed inside at any one time will be strictly limited in order to comply with local directives and CDC guidelines, the agenda stated. Persons may be subject to additional screening and security requirements, according to the agenda. Everyone may comment on any item on which public input is required, the announcement stated.
Before the 7 p.m. meeting will be a UG special session at 6 p.m. with a Board of Health update.
The public hearing at 7 p.m. March 26 is scheduled on the proposed downtown campus redevelopment district at 510 Minnesota Ave. It is the site of the Reardon Center. The commission will be asked to approve the development agreement and an ordinance establishing the redevelopment district.
The project is proposed by Lanier United, whose principal is Willie Lanier Jr., son of the former Kansas City Chiefs linebacker.
A four-story mixed-use retail and residential building will have about 70 to 85 market-rate apartment units; a fitness center with about 6,000 square feet; and about 10,000 square feet of first-floor retail and commercial space.
The project also includes a multi-purpose meeting space, the new Reardon Center, of about 11,000 square feet.
Also proposed as part of the project is a recreational athletic field space at 6th and Nebraska.
As part of the project, the UG would develop infrastructure such as sidewalks, drives, pedestrian and vehicle thoroughfares, with funds coming from the community improvement district and tax increment financing for the project.
There is already a 2 percent sales tax on a community improvement district at the Reardon Center site.
Construction would begin 60 days after closing on the site, and delivery of the ground leases, with the project completion date to be 18 months after construction starts.
The incentives the UG is offering include proceeds from the community improvement district sales tax for pay-as-you-go financing after reimbursement of all public infrastructure costs to the UG. The CID financing would be for demolition, site improvement and hard construction costs in the CID, according to the proposed agreement.
The CID would have a cap of $3.02 million maximum reimbursement to the developer.
There also would be a TIF district including the project site, the BPU parking garage and right-of-way on 6th Street and State Avenue connecting the athletic field site to the Reardon Center site and multi-family site.
After the UG is reimbursed for all public infrastructure costs, the developer would be reimbursed with 100 percent of incremental real property taxes from the TIF District for the first 12 years of the TIF collection period, then decreasing by 10 percent each year afterward, and with incremental sales taxes from within the TIF district. TIF financing is only for demolition, site improvement and hard construction costs in the district, according to the proposed agreement.
The TIF reimbursement to the developer would be capped at a maximum $3.05 million.
The project also would use $1 million of the UG’s transient guest tax funds generated within the community improvement district to reimburse the developer on a pay-as-you-go basis for demolition, site improvement and construction costs of the Reardon Center, according to the agreement.
Industrial revenue bonds would be proposed for an exemption on sales taxes for construction materials, equipoment and furnishings, but not for abatement of property taxes.
The UG also will submit an application for a $5 million Section 108 loan through Housing and Community Development Act to finance non-construction work related to the project.
The project also would have minority, women and local participation goals.
Also on the 7 p.m. agenda is the renewal of the three-eighths of 1 percent citywide retailers’ sales tax.
This tax originally was passed on Aug. 7, 2018 at a special city election, with the proceeds to be used for public safety and neighborhood infrastructure.
The sales tax would begin July 1, 2020, and end 10 years after its commencement.
Another item on the agenda would amend the Small Business Grant Program for the 2020 year to help small businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The businesses could apply for $5,000 maximum for 2020, according to the resolution. Matching funds from the small business would not be required this year, according to the proposal. Besides the usual uses, for this year the grant funding could be used for certain expenses outlined in the proposal that are related to losses from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The UG Commission also will consider a resolution allowing the appointment of one or more deputy local health officers to be appointed by the local health officer, Dr. Allen Greiner, or by UG Administrator Doug Bach, to support public health and safety in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A number of other planning and zoning items also are on the 7 p.m. agenda, including:
• 3140 S. 28th St., special use permit for a tire distribution center, Evan Dolby.
• 3317 Strong Ave., special use permit for a storage container for an office building, Ryan Danley with Comfort Engineering LLC.
• 5831, 5737, 5831R, 5841, 5700, 5832 and 5848 State Ave., 1000 N. 57th St. and 1205 N. 59th St., special use permit for an earthen fill, Tom Irish with 4101 Powell Inc.
• 21 S. 18th St., special use permit for a parking lot, Advance Stores Co. Inc.
• 939 Orville Ave., home occupation special use permit for a short-term rental – AirBNB, Raleigh Miller.
• 428 N. 5th St., renewal of a special use permit for an office space and private security guard company, Angela M. Turner with Simmons Security and Protection Services Inc.
• 2912 N. 47th Terrace, special use permit for a group home for five to seven girls ages 13 to 17, Brittany Jones with Arukah Hearts Ministries.
• 2621 S. 27th St., special use permit for a short-term rental – Air BNB, Delores Dupree.
• 605 S. 7th St. Trafficway, preliminary and final plan review for demolition and construction of a McDonald’s restaurant, Carter Mann with McDonald’s USA.
• 91st and Leavenworth Road, a plat of Wyandotte County Lake, designating parcels to represent current use by the UG.
• Wolcott Drive and Main Street, a plat of Wolcott Wastewater Treatment Plant, being developed by the Unified Government.
• 131st and Sloan Avenue, plat of Piper Creek Estates being developed by BCB Holdings LLC, Brandon Becker.
According to the agenda, there may be some changes to reduce the number of people gathered together at the meeting.
The meeting will be on UGTV, found on Spectrum cable Channel 2 and in HD on Google Fiber, Channel 141. It also is streamed online at YouTube.com.
The public may comment on any matter on the agenda by emailing planninginfo@wycokck.org on or before 5 p.m. March 26, the agenda stated. The title line of the email should read “Public Comment – (name of agenda item). It should include the full name and city of residence in the body of the email. The comment will become part of the public record.
City Hall will remain open to the public during the meeting, according to the agenda note. However, in order to comply with Executive Order No. 20-04 and CDC guidelines, the number of persons allowed inside City Hall at any one time will be strictly limited, according to the agenda announcement. All persons entering City Hall may be subject to additional screening and security requirements. Everyone will be allowed to comment if they desire on any item on which public input is required, according to the announcement.
The agenda is online at www.wycokck.org.
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