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Record of Proceedings

Kansas City Council Business Session – October 24, 2024

City Council Business Session — Thursday, October 24, 2024
BodyKansas City, Missouri
SessionCity Council Business Session
DateThursday, October 24, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Welcome to business session.

0:01

Our first item.

0:02

I'm sorry.

0:03

First item is approval of minutes for business session of October 3rd, 2024.

0:08

So motion.

0:09

So moved.

0:10

Second.

0:10

Second.

0:11

They're moved and second.

0:11

All in favor indicate by saying aye.

0:13

Aye.

0:13

Aye.

0:14

All opposed.

0:15

Motion passes.

0:16

First update is the cold weather shelter plan update.

0:20

Although the water, the drinking water is up, but we'll start with cold weather.

0:24

No, go ahead.

0:25

You'll just move that.

0:26

We'll just switch the slides.

0:31

If you've got a few minutes.

0:35

It's done.

0:39

Oh, perfect.

0:43

Good afternoon, Mayor Lucas and Council members.

0:45

My name is Deion Lewis.

0:47

I'm the deputy director of the Housing and Community Development Department.

0:50

With me today, I have Josh Hingis, who serves as the homeless prevention coordinator.

0:55

Also Sam Brand Samantha Bradfield, who serves serves as our policy strategist.

1:01

Today we're going to be going over our cold weather shelter plan and information.

1:06

And I'm going to turn it over to Josh who's going to lead the charge.

1:11

All right.

1:11

Thanks so much for having us.

1:13

Here we are again.

1:14

Happy to share what we've done over the last year.

1:18

One of the things I really love about Cold Weather Shelter is it is true collaboration in the highest sense, and it's meeting a need that we desperately need to have solved.

1:27

And these operators that we work with jump in and they jump in hard with us, and it means a lot.

1:35

There we go.

1:36

Thanks, man.

1:37

The priorities that we see for this is we want a standardized approach.

1:41

So in as much as we can, knowing and respecting that each nonprofit has different policies and procedures and operations.

1:47

We want things to be similar across the board.

1:50

So if guests are staying at one, they get a similar response, they get uh similar approach, uh, and the staff treats them the same at all locations.

1:58

Collaboration is key here, and collaborating on this is tough and challenging.

2:03

It's why it takes a year to plan this, a lot of meetings, um, but we know we we cannot do it alone.

2:08

And with collaboration, you get those long-term outcomes that we're looking for.

2:12

Uh with number three, we want to connect folks to resources.

2:15

We know when they come inside, that is the best time to do it.

2:18

Um, it's tough to plan ahead uh when you're in fight or flight mode and and cold weather shelter offers us that chance.

2:26

All right, so this is kind of technical.

2:29

Um I have another slide that breaks this down a lot easier.

2:32

We we use this internally.

2:34

Um in general, when you're when you're planning for cold weather shelter, the best thing to do is have everything be temperature based.

2:40

But that can only happen when we have a permanent low barrier shelter, which we're in the process of creating.

2:45

Um so right now we've got uh essentially three levels.

2:50

I I wanted to merge uh one and two to be calendar based.

2:53

So on December one, regardless of temperature, um, there's gonna be openings, and then as it goes to 25 degrees, we're gonna add an additional 55 beds, and we're more at zero degrees unless we're gonna add an additional 100 beds.

3:05

So here's a like an easier breakdown.

3:08

Um when it's coldest, we want to have the most options.

3:12

Another thing to keep in mind is this is the minimum.

3:15

Um with our partners, they are so committed to serving this population.

3:21

Um they're they're willing to do whatever it takes.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Homelessness████████████████████████████████████████40%
Water And Wastewater Management████████████████████████████████████████40%
Data Management██████████10%
Public Engagement█████5%
Affordable Housing███3%
Public Health██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Kansas City Council Business Session – October 24, 2024

The Kansas City Council met on October 24, 2024, to receive updates on the Cold Weather Shelter Plan and the Drinking Water Service Line Inventory. The meeting began with approval of minutes from the October 3, 2024 business session.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes (October 3, 2024): Motion moved, seconded, and passed unanimously with all members voting aye.

Discussion Items

Cold Weather Shelter Plan Update

  • Deputy Director Deion Lewis and Homeless Prevention Coordinator Josh Hinges presented the 2024–2025 cold weather shelter plan. The plan aims for a standardized, collaborative approach to connect unsheltered individuals to resources during extreme cold.
  • Bed availability (minimum floor):
    • December 1 (calendar-based): baseline openings
    • At 25°F: additional 55 beds
    • At 0°F: additional 100 beds (total minimum ~400 beds)
  • Partners include Hope Faith, True Light, Unity Southeast, Hope City, Shelter KC, City Union Mission, Attorney Point, Cross Lines, and new partner Relentless Pursuit Outreach and Recovery (human trafficking support). Medical support provided by Care Beyond the Boulevard.
  • Data challenges: Staff estimated 3,000 people experiencing homelessness in Kansas City based on available data, but noted that privately funded shelters are not required to share real-time bed counts. The city uses a street outreach app (“Show the Way”) but cannot mandate participation from non-funded organizations. A 2024 UMKC study identified ~240 organizations serving the homeless, but staff cautioned that self-reported data is often inaccurate (e.g., zero actual homeless shelters in KCK despite reported six).
  • Council questions and concerns:
    • Councilmember Robinson asked about Northland coverage (likely three locations, one with up to 80 beds) and transportation planning. Staff said they rely on free public transit and coordinated transport via Attorney Point navigation center.
    • Councilmember Pro Tem questioned the gap between 400 beds and the estimated 3,000 unsheltered population, and pressed for a comprehensive bed inventory from all providers. Staff stated that private organizations are reluctant to share data, but a public website (findhelp.org) lists services.
    • Councilmember Duncan noted the need for clear definitions of “shelter” and “outreach” to avoid misleading counts.
    • Councilmember Robinson requested a breakdown of provider funding requests vs. actual allocations, and staff agreed to provide a follow-up.

Drinking Water Service Line Inventory Update

  • Water Director Ken Morgan and Deputy Director Jeff Martin presented the EPA-mandated inventory of water service line materials.
  • Key statistics:
    • 127,000 non-lead service lines (copper or plastic)
    • 23,000 galvanized lines
    • 27,000 unknown lines
    • Zero known lead lines
  • The initial inventory was submitted to the Department of Natural Resources on October 16, 2024 (meeting the deadline). A customer-facing map is live on the KC Water website.
  • Next steps: By November 15, 2024, the city will mail notification letters to ~60,000 property owners with unknown or galvanized lines. Letters will include health information and translations via website.
  • Long-term: Identification of unknown lines via pilot test neighborhoods (starting early 2025) with full replacement program to be completed within 13 years.
  • Cost concerns: Full replacement of a service line is estimated at $10,000–$15,000 per line. The current rule does not require property owners to replace their portion, but the city must notify and encourage replacement.
  • Councilmembers questioned the effectiveness of mail-only outreach, especially for residents without water service or those who ignore mail. Staff committed to providing fact sheets for council distribution, door hangers in pilot areas, and participation in community meetings. The Office of Language Access will be utilized.

Key Outcomes

  • Minutes from October 3, 2024 approved unanimously.
  • No formal votes were taken on the updates; the council received the information and directed staff to provide follow-up data on provider funding gaps and a comprehensive bed inventory.
  • KC Water will proceed with the November 15 mailer and continue community engagement, including pilot identification programs in early 2025.
  • The meeting adjourned without further business.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome to business session. Our first item. I'm sorry. First item is approval of minutes for business session of October 3rd, 2024. So motion. So moved. Second. Second. They're moved and second. All in favor indicate by saying aye. Aye. Aye. All opposed. Motion passes. First update is the cold weather shelter plan update. Although the water, the drinking water is up, but we'll start with cold weather. No, go ahead. You'll just move that. We'll just switch the slides. If you've got a few minutes. It's done. Oh, perfect. Good afternoon, Mayor Lucas and Council members. My name is Deion Lewis. I'm the deputy director of the Housing and Community Development Department. With me today, I have Josh Hingis, who serves as the homeless prevention coordinator. Also Sam Brand Samantha Bradfield, who serves serves as our policy strategist. Today we're going to be going over our cold weather shelter plan and information. And I'm going to turn it over to Josh who's going to lead the charge. All right. Thanks so much for having us. Here we are again. Happy to share what we've done over the last year. One of the things I really love about Cold Weather Shelter is it is true collaboration in the highest sense, and it's meeting a need that we desperately need to have solved. And these operators that we work with jump in and they jump in hard with us, and it means a lot. There we go. Thanks, man. The priorities that we see for this is we want a standardized approach. So in as much as we can, knowing and respecting that each nonprofit has different policies and procedures and operations. We want things to be similar across the board. So if guests are staying at one, they get a similar response, they get uh similar approach, uh, and the staff treats them the same at all locations. Collaboration is key here, and collaborating on this is tough and challenging. It's why it takes a year to plan this, a lot of meetings, um, but we know we we cannot do it alone. And with collaboration, you get those long-term outcomes that we're looking for. Uh with number three, we want to connect folks to resources. We know when they come inside, that is the best time to do it. Um, it's tough to plan ahead uh when you're in fight or flight mode and and cold weather shelter offers us that chance. All right, so this is kind of technical. Um I have another slide that breaks this down a lot easier. We we use this internally.

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