Unified Government Neighborhood & Community Development Committee (March 2, 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
- The Neighborhood & Community Development Committee of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, heard from Kay Sharp, community development director, about the use of federal dollars to deliver services to Wyandotte County residents.
- The committee approved lots for the Land Bank and mitigation for contaminated Land Bank parcels and discussed a broader review of about 400 properties in the Douglass-Sumner area.
- The committee also discussed Kansas State University’s nationally recognized program for mitigating lead contamination, which Kansas City, Missouri, is using.
- The city’s parks and recreation team provided an overview of its stewardship.
Notes
- Meeting Attendance
- Andrew Davis, committee chair and commissioner District 8
- Melissa Bynum, commissioner-at-large District 1
- Dr. Carlos Pacheco III, commissioner District 5
- Chuck Stites, commissioner District 7
- William (Bill) J. Burns Jr., commissioner District 2
- Jermaine Howard, commissioner District 1
- Alan Howze, assistant county administrator
- Wendy Green, deputy chief counsel
- Sergeant-at-arms
- Staff managing online chat and PowerPoint slides and calling the roll
- Kay Sharp, community development director
- Angel Ferrara, parks and recreation director
- Vincent Billaci, manager of parks
- Matthew Zayas, fiscal officer
- Shaya Lockett, recreation manager
- Amanda Martin, Wyandotte County Historical Museum director
- Michael Sutton, Land Bank co-manager
- Jud Knapp, Land Bank manager
- Alyssa Marcy, long range planner and brownfields coordinator
Community Development (item added after agenda posted online)
Davis invited Sharp to update new committee members on Wyandotte County’s use of federal dollars to meet the community’s needs. Sharp provided documents to the committee that would not be publicly available until the committee’s minutes are posted online.
Sharp referenced Wyandotte County’s five-year and annual action plans. This is the fourth year of the five-year consolidated plan. She noted the spending limits and qualifying requirements set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the county’s compliance with these…