STATE OF KANSAS
)
WYANDOTTE COUNTY
)) SS
CITY OF KANSAS CITY, KS )
REGULAR SESSION
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2009
The Unified Government Commission of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, met in
regular session Thursday, October 29, 2009, with ten members present: Holland, Commissioner
At-Large
First
District;
Mendez, Commissioner
At-Large Second District;
Barnes,
Commissioner First District; Miller, Commissioner Second District; Murguia, Commissioner
Third District; Mitchell, Commissioner Fourth District; Pettey, Commissioner Sixth District;
Cooley, Commissioner Seventh District; Ellison (via telephone), Commissioner Eighth District;
and Reardon, Mayor/CEO presiding. Kane, Commissioner Fifth District, was absent. The
following officials were also in attendance: Dennis Hays, County Administrator; Hal Walker,
Chief Counsel; Tom Roberts, Unified Government Clerk; Doug Bach, Deputy County
Administrator; George Brajkovic, Property Management; and Captain Henry Horn, Sergeant-AtArms.
MAYOR REARDON called the meeting to order.
ROLL CALL: Mendez, Barnes, Miller, Murguia, Mitchell, Pettey, Cooley, Ellison, Holland,
Reardon.
INVOCATION was given by Father Jerry Spencer, Holy Name Catholic Church.
THE AGENDA FOR October 29, 2009, was presented. Mayor Reardon asked if there were
any revisions to the agenda. There were none.
MAYOR’S AGENDA
ITEM NO. 1 – 090349...APPOINTMENT
SYNOPSIS:
Consideration of the Unified Government appointment of Dr. Patricia Caruthers
to the REACH Healthcare Foundation’s Community Advisory Committee for a term to expire
May 31, 2012.
Action:
Commissioner Holland made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Pettey, to
approve. Roll call was taken and there were nine “Ayes,” Mendez, Barnes,
Miller, Murguia, Mitchell, Pettey, Cooley, Ellison, Holland.
CONSENT AGENDA
No Items of Business
PUBLIC HEARING AGENDA
ITEM NO. 1 – 090350…PUBLIC HEARING/ORDINANCE
SYNOPSIS: Consider the establishment of the 39th and Rainbow Redevelopment TIF District,
submitted by George Brajkovic, Property Management. The district is bounded by 39 th Ave. to
the north, Rainbow Blvd. to the east, 40th Ave. to the south, and Adams St. to the west. Proposed
are four project areas that will include residential and mixed-use development. On September
17, 2009, the full commission unanimously adopted Resolution No. R-98-09 setting the public
hearing date of October 29, 2009.
George Brajkovic, Property Management, stated this is to create a TIF district in the 39th and
Rainbow Blvd. area. Under K.S.A. 12-1770a-TIF statute, there are nine criteria that need to be
met within the blight study. Two independent blight studies were done, one from Integra Realty
and a supplemental report by Polsinelli.
The findings indicated a substantial number of
deteriorated or deteriorating structures, predominance of defective or inadequate street layout,
unsanitary or unsafe conditions, deterioration of site improvements, improper or obsolete
platting, the existence of conditions which endanger life or property by fire and other causes, and
conditions which create economic obsolescence.
Two major findings regarding deteriorated or deteriorating structures within the sample
area were the Sun Inn Motel on the south end with sagging and deteriorating second floor
walkways in the motel, and broken and uneven steps in front of an apartment building on the
northern end. Predominance of defective or inadequate street layout—39th Street is on the north
end. As you proceed south along Rainbow Blvd., the southern portion is 40th. There is no left
turn allowed from Rainbow Blvd. onto 39th Avenue. There are three bus stops within close
proximity to that major intersection that impairs adequate traffic flow. Unsanitary or unsafe
October 29, 2009
conditions—KU Med Center has a lot of students/pedestrian traffic. The study revealed lots of
liter, broken glass/bottles along the heavily traveled sidewalks.
Deterioration of site
improvements—broken sidewalks, collapsing fences, broken asphalt, deteriorating stairs, and
crumbling retaining walls. Improper subdivision or obsolete platting---this area was developed
in the 1920’s.
The majority of the single family lots don’t meet today’s standards for
commercial development. Rainbow Blvd. evolved over time from a neighborhood street to a
major four-lane thoroughfare. The Master Plan for this area indicates a mixed-use development.
The current condition does not match. Conditions that endanger life and property by fire or other
causes—improperly covered window wells along heavily traveled sidewalks, exposed wiring,
and doorways blocked by gates that were bolted to the structures.
From those factors, they must answer one of three questions in determining a blighted
area: 1) Impair or arrest the development of the municipality? Staff review of both blight
studies agreed with their findings that it does consider the inadequate traffic flow, pedestrian
traffic. 2) Conditions which constitute an economic or social liability? Those are prevalent
along Rainbow Blvd. with multiple curb cuts allowing lots of access points onto Rainbow Blvd.
adding to improper traffic flow. 3) Conditions which constitute a menace to the public health,
safety, morals, or welfare in its present condition? The analysis in the blight study by Integra
looked at the appraised values per unit in the area. Those appraised values were considerably
lower than like developments within the same area. Of the nine factors listed, TIF statues require
meeting seven of those. Both blight studies support that and they can answer yes to the three
questions.
Chase Simmons, Polsinelli Law Firm, appeared representing Rainbow Redevelopment
Partners, an entity for Lane Four Development. Hunter Harris from Lane Four Development was
also present. Currently, Marty Street goes in from Rainbow to the west. It would become the
site entrance. The first step is to set up the district so the use of tax increment financing is an
option for partial financing of this project. They anticipate coming back in December with a
plan and financing proposal. Blight is a term of art, not necessarily Webster’s definition.
The project consists of four areas. At this time, Lane Four proposes to redevelop the Sun Inn, 11
rental homes, and 2 retail buildings. There is one apartment building that may stay in the project
and will fit in with the redevelopment. Everything within the red and blue areas is under contract
to sell to Lane Four.
The apartment building is the purple area in Project Areas 2 and 3 and is not under contract. The
ownership prefers not to sell but to work within the overall development. The yellow and light
October 29, 2009
blue is part of the proposed TIF district, but they have no plans at this time to include them in the
redevelopment. They are not under contract and they have no plans for those areas. They are
potential future areas for development and put them into the TIF district.
They had to propose a district plan, which is a general description of appropriate uses within the
area. It’s a residential, mixed use development, with some retail, office, hotel, residential,
structured and surface parking, and public and private improvements. There was discussion
about consolidating the bus stops near or on the property. This is consistent with the Master
Plan.
There are nine blighting factors under Kansas Statute. You need to find that a majority of those
factors are present and cause an economic obsolescence and the safety, health, and welfare
problems that were previously mentioned.
The submitted blight study found that all those factors were present except for tax delinquencies
and unusual title conditions. Some are more present than others.
Structural issues with the hotel and some of the homes.
The traffic situation is a problem mainly due to numerous access points onto Rainbow. There
are residential driveways right onto Rainbow, which is a state highway.
October 29, 2009
Structural issues. All the fencing and retaining walls are in bad repair.
There are a number of parcels where there are various uses intermingled with each other. There
is commercial, residential, and hotel uses, but they’re not set up in a way that has any coherence.
October 29, 2009
The Integra study found numerous areas with electrical problems and unsafe conditions. The
area is not used to its full potential nor is it consistent with the Master Plan.
39th Street is to the right and Rainbow is at the bottom. They plan to bring all the buildings as
close as possible to Rainbow to create a matching corridor with KU on one side and a matching
October 29, 2009
massing on the other side. Parking will be in the back and there will be some underground
parking. This is the type of community popping up around universities, hospitals, etc. because
of their 24/7 activity.
Commissioner Mendez asked when the project will start. Mr. Simmons stated the current
project schedule is for groundbreaking in the spring with some completion 12 months thereafter
and the hotel about 18 months. Commissioner Mendez asked what will be the total cost of the
project. Mr. Simmons stated they turned in cost estimates and will have more details when they
come back with a plan. It is between $30 and $40 million.
Commissioner Holland asked do you intend on leaving the existing apartments on 39th Street.
Mr. Simmons stated yes. The owner is willing to sell but not at a price that makes sense. They
think it will look consistent with rest of the development. Commissioner Holland asked if the
façade will be upgraded to look similar to your development. Mr. Simmons stated they will
provide more details in December.
.
Mayor Reardon opened the public hearing.
The following appeared:
Dale Rice, D & R Realty, stated the aqua parcel is not in their development plan at this time.
He doesn’t have a problem what happens to the south. He doesn’t see why his property should
be included if it’s not part of the plan and requested that it be removed from the TIF district.
Wendy Wilson, Rosedale Development Association, 1403 Southwest Blvd., stated at a
meeting of their Board of Directors, there was a unanimous vote to support this TIF district and
plan.
Shawn Nelson, Jaywalkers Sports Bar & Grill, 3916 Rainbow Blvd., stated he thinks the
project would be good for the neighborhood. He asked what happens to the area if the TIF
project goes forward but the development project stalls or fails. They are in a negotiating
process. They don’t own the property; they are a tenant and want to know how they fit into the
picture. He requested to see copies of the studies.
Mayor Reardon closed the public hearing.
Mr. Brajkovic stated when staff first looked at this area, they considered the impact of some of
the existing development corridors. If you follow 39th to the east on the Missouri side, it is a
developed area. They wanted to extend the 39th Avenue corridor through the intersection toward
Adams. That being the most important intersection as you enter that development, staff’s
opinion was to redevelop the entire intersection in the same character.
Commissioner Holland asked can both sides of the street be used without encumbering Mr.
Rice’s property. Mr. Brajkovic stated that is a challenging request. Taking into consideration
the lack of existing right-of-way combined with this being a heavily traveled mas-transit area,
those were two contributing factors staff made to the developers for inclusion. Commissioner
Holland asked if eminent domain would be used in taking private property. Mr. Brajkovic
stated no. Commissioner Holland asked what would be the impact on Mr. Rice’s property if
it’s included in the TIF district but not in the development. Mr. Simmons stated it would have a
positive impact on his property. From a marketability standpoint, a TIF would already be in
place. Mr. Brajkovic said he will share copies of the study with Mr. Nelson.
Commissioner Mitchell stated he is concerned for Mr. Nelson and that he has not been well
informed. Mr. Brajkovic stated staff sent certified mailings to property owners and/or tenants
in the proposed TIF district. Mr. Simmons stated when they did the neighborhood meeting,
they pulled tax/ownership records and sent notices to everyone in the district as well as those 250
feet around it. We had 50 people or more at the neighborhood meeting. We followed normal
protocol and followed the law on setting this up.
Commissioner Mitchell asked if they passed this as it is and he gets with the developers and
comes back and says he is not better off this way, can they change something when it comes to
the district.
Doug Bach, Deputy County Administrator, stated they could refine the
boundaries of the plan area so it could or could not include his area. The district could be set out
but nothing effectively happens with the project area until there is an approved plan that’s
approved with it. The other concern is what happens if the district is set and nothing moves
forward. The answer is nothing happens. A district is just a district. They’ve had some districts
with several plans in several different areas that kick off and can happen over a sequence of time.
October 29, 2009
One option is to not include it in the next phase of the plan. If you approve the plan and nothing
happens, essentially nothing happens with the area.
It sits there until someone starts the
redevelopment. Mr. Simmons stated even at the district creation stage, you could remove any
of the areas from the district. If the aqua property is removed, they would support that.
Commissioner Pettey stated I hope there has been good communication. They are defining a
district and no one is present. If there hasn’t been sufficient communication with the aqua
district because they’re not immediately impacted and you have no real plan for them, is that true
of the yellow district as well? Mr. Harris said there are two properties in the yellow district,
Taco Bell and Appeals Medical Facility. Both of them have been under contract for purchase
and they decided they didn’t need to be part of the development or there were heavy
negotiations. They received notice of this meeting and the neighborhood meeting.
Action:
ORDINANCE NO. O-79-09, “An ordinance making certain findings and
establishing the 39th and Rainbow Redevelopment District.” Commissioner
Miller made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Holland, to approve the
ordinance. Roll call was taken and there were nine “Ayes,” Mendez, Barnes,
Miller, Murguia, Mitchell, Pettey, Cooley, Ellison, Holland.
STANDING COMMITTEES’ AGENDA
No items of business
ADMINISTRATOR’S AGENDA
No items of business
COMMISSIONERS’ AGENDA
No items of business
LAND BANK BOARD OF TRUSTEES’ AGENDA
No items of business
October 29, 2009
MAYOR REARDON
ADJOURNED THE MEETING AT 7:46 P.M.
October 29, 2009
_________
_________________
Tom G. Roberts, CMC
Unified Government Clerk
tk/cg
October 29, 2009