Economic Development & Finance Committee: Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas (March 30, 2026)

By Connye Griffin, Kansas City Documenter

These notes were produced through Kansas City Documenters, which trains and pays community members to take fact-checked notes at public meetings, strengthening transparency and accountability in local government.

Summary

• Committee members approved and fast-tracked funding requests, despite differences about the merits of incentive and tax abatement plans.   
• The committee voted to approve Santa Fe Grocers to operate a grocery store under the name United Market, according to terms in a nonbinding letter of intent.
• Homefield Community Investment will provide quarterly reports to the committee about its $4.35 million investment in affordable housing in Wyandotte County to be completed by Nov. 14, 2027.
• The committee endorsed further study for CARE (Circuit-breaker Assistance for Resident Equity), a tax relief program introduced by District 5 Commissioner Carlos Pacheco.    

Notes

Meeting Attendance (board or committee members who attended)

• District 7 Commissioner Chuck Stites  
• District 2 Commissioner Bill Burns
• District 1 Commissioner Jermaine Howard
• District 5 Commissioner Carlos Pacheco
• District 8 Commissioner Andrew Davis
• Chair and At-Large District 1 Commissioner Melissa Bynum
• City staff

• Agenda Item 4.1 Senior Citizen Tax Rebates Program. The committee unanimously approved an additional $175,000 from reserves and contingency funds to meet increased applications for tax refunds. Members also voted to fast-track the funding request to the full board’s April 2 meeting. The funding shortfall occurred because the program is more widely known, thanks to word-of-mouth and referrals from the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. To date, 1,581 applications have been completed, up more than 1,000 since this time last year. By March 20, the program had processed $514,389 in rebates and was about $18,000 over budget after taking into account 210 applicant appointments through April 15, and an average of 18 walk-in daily requests. Staff calculated the need for this additional money from this data.
• Agenda Item 4.2 NorthPoint Development. Staff brought forward an amendment to a resolution adopted in 2019 and asked that it be fast-tracked to the board’s April 2 meeting. The amendment would increase industrial revenue bond funding for NorthPoint, near Interstate 70 and the Turner Diagonal, from $155 million to $250 million, a 61% increase. The UG’s chief financial officer said increased construction costs in the past seven years prompted the proposed increase. The bond counsel with Gilmore & Bell said that $30 million left from the original $155 million would be used with the additional $95 million to complete the project’s final phase and that developers would “only bond what they spend … and nothing more.” The proposed amendment to the 2019 resolution passed 7-0 and was fast-tracked. A public hearing on the proposal is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. April 16 at City Hall.  
• Agenda Item 4.3 Nonbinding Letter of Intent permitting Santa Fe Grocers to operate and manage a grocery store called United Market in the space at 501 Minnesota Ave. The operator said Walmart serves the largest share of customers at 20.5%, followed by Sun Fresh at 13.8%. More than 34% of residents have no set place to buy groceries and could be served by United Market. Stites opposed waiving the first year’s rent of $60,000 and the UG’s $150,000 contribution to the project. The UG’s bond counsel said that the UG’s investment in the property was returning nothing while it lay empty and that the $150,000 contribution was a minor consideration to meet a community need and generate revenue for the UG. Pacheco said Santa Fe Grocers would assume 81% of the risk and cost by agreeing to maximize space, buy equipment and make repairs (See Exhibit A, Letter of Intent) at an estimated cost of $572,000 and assume responsibility for $250,000 in inventory. The letter was approved 7-0 and fast-tracked to the commissioners’ April 2 meeting.
• Agenda Item 4.4. An official with Homefield Community Investment told the committee about its investment in Wyandotte County, required by the development agreement with the company SVV from Dec. 20, 2025. Cellphone data showed there were 425,000 visits to the baseball facility in 2025. Homefield now plans to invest $4.35 million in 16 to 20 affordable, workforce homes to be completed by Nov. 14, 2027. Commissioners discussed at length whether purchases should be restricted to Land Bank properties and how the development would be distributed across county districts. One public commenter said the original agreement was to build affordable homes east of Interstate 635 in an area in need of investment. Homefield declined to commit to using Land Bank properties exclusively in any specific area. The UG’s bond counsel said the agreement under discussion did not reflect the public commenter’s recollection. After a discussion about setting parameters for the investment, the committee moved to add a quarterly report requirement so lot locations could be monitored. The committee approved Homefield’s investment 7-0.     
• Agenda Item 4.5 The master equipment lease purchase agreement with Banc of America Public Capital Corp. was amended and authorized with a 7-0 vote. The terms of the leases range from three to 10 years and are set by the life of the item. Police cars, for example, may have a three-year lease because of heavy use, but a camera without heavy use may have a longer lease. The termination date of Dec. 31, 2026, was amended because fire equipment ordered in 2024 had not been delivered.
• Agenda Item 4.6 American Royal paid an origination fee of $5 million. Once paid, UG has 120 days to specify uses for the money. As a result, UG has created an American Royal subcommittee comprising the mayor, committee chairs from the Economic Development & Finance and the Public Works & Safety standing committees plus one non-chair member from all standing committees. Economic Development & Finance nominated and unanimously elected Stites to serve. The American Royal will pay $1.3 million annually for UG’s use.
• Agenda Item 4.7 Due to the length of the March 30 meeting, the Fourth Quarter 2025 Final Report and Investment Report will be reviewed at the April meeting when the first-quarter 2026 reports will also be presented. Five representatives from UMB Bank had been invited to address investments in Wyandotte County. They were given time to briefly review the programs and interactions they had with UG and within the county.
• Agenda Item 4.8 CARE (Circuit-breaker Assistance for Resident Equity ): Pacheco prepared a proposal for a tax relief program using similar programs in cities including Philadelphia and Chicago as a guide. Pacheco did not request action, but he included a proposal for directing the county administrator to analyze and study legal and economic impacts, including revenue sources to make up for any revenue losses through tax relief. The UG’s CFO agreed to investigate the Kansas Legislature’s action and inaction regarding taxes and tax relief and report to the committee later in April.

Observations & Follow-Up Questions

• Beliefs about dollars and cents for investment differ among committee members, but a demand for growth seems to outweigh reservations.
• The meeting began with a request for $175,000 to fund the Senior Citizen Tax Rebate program and closed with a more extensive program for tax relief. How will the government fund its services without property taxes, and what could replace the revenue?
• What needs will be addressed with the American Royal money?

If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@thebeacon.media with “Correction Request” in the subject line. Learn more about Documenters on our website.