$13 million left unspent on East Side development in KC: ‘That just can’t happen’

The one-eighth-cent sales tax designed to help Kansas City’s impoverished East Side is at a crossroads.

Almost three years after voters approved the levy, conditions in the targeted district — 9th Street to Gregory Boulevard, The Paseo to Indiana Avenue — remain largely unchanged, and unacceptable. The initial promise of revitalization and renewal in those neighborhoods remains just that, a promise.

The situation must change by the end of 2020. Kansas Citians must see tangible evidence that the tax, which now provides almost $11 million a year, is helping rebuild businesses, providing safe and affordable housing and stimulating job creation in the urban core.

That means buzzing saws, swinging hammers and grinding drills in the district. New brick and fresh mortar must replace aging buildings and vacant lots.

There is some reason for optimism. A new oversight board, including a majority of members appointed by Mayor Quinton Lucas, is now in place. The board has the opportunity to turn the page from previous controversies to make the tax work.

The city’s budget moves staff oversight from the Planning Department to the Neighborhoods and Housing Services Department. It’s a good idea. Fresh eyes and a better focus on block-by-block renewal should improve administration of the levy, which is formally known as the Central City Economic Development sales tax.

But using the tax to improve the urban core will require more attention than has been given to this effort to date. City staff and developers must work harder to be “shovel ready” when funds are made available.

The first round of projects, recommended in late 2018, called for spending $6.1 million with seven developers. Four of those developers have yet to see a dime.

Last September, the City Council approved a second round of spending from the tax, $10.6 million. None of that cash has reached the street either.

Of the $16.7 million earmarked for East Side projects so far, $13 million remains unspent.

“That just can’t happen,” said D.J. Pierre, chairman of the oversight board. “If people want to see it renewed, they’ve got to see the progress.”

Builders are still straining to meet city requirements for workforce inclusion and wages, the same issues that bedeviled developers in the first round of projects.

City officials say they’re trying to arrange a pre-proposal conference before the third round of spending, in an effort to make sure proposers know what they’re getting into. That step remains critical.

There is also talk of requiring developers to begin their projects by a certain date, or lose their funding. While some flexibility is important, requiring visible signs of progress is an important goal.

We supported the Central City tax in 2017. We still support it. Kansas City’s East Side has been neglected for far too long, and the modest tax — targeted to significant projects in a specified area — remains a good idea.

But the lack of tangible results worries even some supporters of the tax. They think voters will not renew the levy unless they see results. They’re right about that.

It isn’t too late, but it is getting late. The new board must push to make sure the program shows real progress this summer, and that the third round of spending goes to qualified developers ready to hire and build.