Here’s our recommendation on $175 million in Kansas City bonds in the Nov. 8 election

Mayor Quinton Lucas and the Kansas City Council have put a $175 million bond package on the Nov. 8 ballot. Residents are asked to vote on two separate questions: One asks for $50 million to boost affordable housing, and the other for $125 million to go toward construction and deferred maintenance at the Kansas City Convention Center, local community centers, parks and pools.

We urge voters to support both.

Let’s start with the $50 million that would go into the city’s housing trust fund, created in 2018 to help build, rehabilitate and preserve affordable housing for very low-, low- and moderate-income households throughout the city.

Kansas City has set a goal of 10,000 affordable housing units by 2027, and has pledged funds already committed to the trust fund to build about 500 of them per year over the next five years. That includes 14 projects approved this summer. Federal COVID-19 relief funds are earmarked to build another 4,000 units. That leaves 2,000 dependent on the $50 million bond. It’s a worthwhile investment.

The $50 million in the bond proposal for housing is less than 30% of the total package. The money wouldn’t solve all of Kansas City’s housing problems. But it would help to address the scarcity of decent affordable housing — transitional, rental, or to own — available for those with lower incomes.

A few million dollars are currently sitting in the housing trust fund. They are from federal COVID-19 relief funds and of course will soon run out. The city and affordable housing advocates want to ensure there’s money available as housing projects are proposed.

Even the money the bond would provide won’t last forever, and the city knows it needs a steady funding stream. For now, however, the bond proposal shows city leaders are serious about wanting to grow the accessible housing stock. KC Tenants, a local affordable housing advocacy group that fights hard for housing the poorest families, supports the bond measure.

We support it too, and so should voters.

The bulk of the money the city is asking for permission to borrow — $125 million for “the acquisition, construction, renovation, improvement, equipping and furnishing of city parks, recreation, and entertainment facilities” — is needed, too. Our convention center, community centers, parks and pools have been neglected for too long and are sorely in need of improvement.

Bartle Hall is often a visitor’s first impression of our city. The center’s tattered rug, outdated computer systems and peeling paint in the Music Hall don’t make a good first impression. Worse, the restrooms haven’t been fully upgraded since the late 1970s. In one men’s room, the urinals are basically grates over holes in the floor.

Visit KC, the city’s official tourism bureau, promotes tourism as Missouri’s largest industry. “Each year, the Kansas City community welcomes 25.2 million visitors, and that creates $3.4 billion in visitor spending annually,” according to the organization. More than 700,000 people attend events at the convention center every year. So the city’s welcome mat should not be held together with duct tape.

And there’s no question that community centers, parks and pools in all parts of the city will need upgrades. Consider the Tony Aguirre Community Center on the Westside, where the warped hardwood basketball court has needed major work for years and is now unusable. Wrecked plumbing has closed both the indoor and outdoor pools for more than a year.

The city would issue bond money over five years with $35 million each year for the first two, $25 million the third, $20 million the fourth and $60 million in the last year. We urge leaders to prioritize the housing money as early in the rollout as possible.

Any time the city asks to take on more debt, voters should scrutinize the proposal carefully. We certainly have in this case. But voters should feel good about supporting these improvements. This is spending that would directly impact everyone’s quality of life.

This story was originally published October 16, 2022 at 6:30 AM.