Kansas City Kansas Housing Authority: Board Meeting (Aug. 20, 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

• Learning Club Executive Director Laura Swan introduced tutor Nibogola “TuTu” Ntbunguka and gave her a $600 check for her contributions to Learning Club’s mission and her college education in nursing. Learning Club has sites in Kansas City Kansas Housing Authority (KCKHA) properties and Ntbunguka has tutored for the program.
• Authority CEO Andrea Tapia reviewed ongoing work with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to resolve deficiencies the department identified in an agency review.
• The authority hopes to have stopped a revolving door of chief financial officers by bringing in someone with decades of experience in public housing.
• In public comment, a local landlord told board members the housing authority should be directly involved in tenant-landlord legal issues and in teaching tenants about their responsibilities as tenants. 

Notes 

• Special Presentation on Learning Club
  • Swan reviewed Learning Club’s mission. As stated on the organization’s website, its mission is to “provide real help in real time, making sure children are fed, clothed and cared for, so they can learn and grow.”
  • Learning Club began in 2002 with 14 children attending. Now more than 400 children receive services such as “homework help,” snacks and tutoring weekly in public housing community centers, public housing common rooms and places easily accessible to overcome transportation barriers.
  • Participating high school students may receive stipends for tutoring others in the community. This is one reason the KCKHA and Learning Club offered support to Ntbunguka as an outstanding tutor and longtime contributing club member.
• Minutes from KCKHA’s June 18 board meeting were approved without discussion. The minutes and related documents are available at KCKHA’s website. The board did not meet in July.
• Executive Director’s Report
  • Tapia referenced the Jan. 26, 2026, meeting during which she shared KCKHA’s problematic Public Housing Assessment System score of 64 out of 100 from HUD. The score categorized KCKHA as a “substandard performer.” The score is based on National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate inspections conducted in 2024.
  • Tapia said housing authority staff meet with HUD officials once a month to discuss issues like staffing, maintenance and housekeeping.
  • Other topics Tapia addressed were:
    • Occupancy:  Although occupancy was less than 87%, KCKHA is  striving to increase that percentage.
    • Capital Fund Program and Modernization: KCKHA has discussed installing cameras and had conferred with the Kansas City Kansas Police Department about possibly using cameras and drones. That conversation is ongoing.
    • Housing Choice Voucher Program: 1,080 vouchers have been issued and 226 landlords were involved.
    • Resident Opportunity Self Sufficiency (ROSS): A ROSS coordinator reported that two tenants’ needs for furniture were met. Other ROSS services include education about good nutrition, digital literacy and workforce readiness. ROSS also oversees youth enrichment and family-support programs. Commissioner Karen Schibi asked whether KCKHA accepted donations. It does.
    • Communication and Community Engagement: The Back-to-School event was a success. About 170 backpacks were distributed, fewer than staff had hoped. But Tapia enjoyed seeing the families linger.
    • Public Safety. KCKHA representatives attended the Officers’ Night Out on Aug. 4.
    • Chalet Manor. Tapia said KCKHA was working with HUD and finalizing documents to close on the remodeled Chalet Manor, expected to occur by Aug. 31.
• Resolutions 2026-17 through 2026-22 were unanimously approved with one involving discussion. Staff explained the reason for canceling a contract (2026-17) was because the vendor wanted up-front payment. Regulations and procedures prohibited KCKHA from doing so.
•  Public Comment. A landlord who leases to KCKHA clients said landlords had rights, too. He said he expected staff to contact him to resolve his concerns and complaints. He said that otherwise he would call the media about his complaints. Tapia assured him someone would follow up with him.
  • He said his goal in making a formal complaint at the meeting was to ask that tenants be educated about homeownership and tenant responsibility. His other requests involved help with:
    • Background checks for tenants, because many default soon after renting.
    • Writing lease agreements.
    • Evictions.
    • Educating tenants about respect for the properties and about landlords’ costs for property cleaning, lawn care and home repairs.
  • He also wanted a class about homeownership to be offered to teach tenants “how to maintain property, how to take care of it, to advance their life, not to stay in poverty for the rest of their lives.”
• Committee Reports.
  • Bylaws: No report.
  • Finance: Board Chairman Matthew Watkins introduced Mary Harvey, who stepped in to help run the housing authority’s finance department. Harvey retired four years ago. She was director of finance and chief financial officer for the Columbia Housing Authority. She is familiar with the software KCKHA uses. She has 20 years of experience with finance, software and HUD regulations.
    • Tapia thanked all finance department staff, some of whom gave up scheduled vacations to ensure that landlords were paid on time during the changes in directors.
    • KCKHA has had three CFOs recently, Vice Chairman John D. Rios said. Such turnover is not ideal, he said, but there were improvements with each one. By bringing in Harvey, he believes the agency will enjoy better communication between all departments and more detailed, clear reports.
  • Public Information: The committee was scheduled to meet Aug. 26. Nothing else was reported.
  • Development: Commissioner Linda Warner said the committee discussed physical-needs assessments for homes north of Leavenworth, Wyandotte Towers occupancy and Belrose Manor.
  • Resident Participation: Resident Commissioner Holly Duff announced a meeting in September.
  • Chair’s Announcement: The annual board retreat scheduled for the fall will be postponed until the first quarter of 2027.
  • In a closing conversation, Commissioner Jacques Barber asked whether the new communication system, more automated than the prior one, was going well or whether citizens had complained because automation was challenging for some. Tapia said she foresaw no loss of one-to-one personal interactions due to automation.
• The board adjourned to reconvene at Rosedale Tower for a tour of the property.

Observations & Follow-Up Questions

• How will KCKHA resolve the landlord’s complaint? Will support for landlords increase? Do landlords need more support?
• Should KCKHA and KCKPD share cameras, camera footage or both? What benefits would come from such sharing?
• How will KCKHA increase occupancy, especially at lower-performing properties? Plaza Towers is the highest-performing property. What sets it apart from the others?
• Why does the authority keep cycling through chief financial officers?

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