Senior citizens are leaving Eudora because there aren’t enough housing options for them, Ed Jankowski told city commissioners Monday night.

Jankowski spoke during a public hearing regarding a proposed apartment complex near the elementary school that would offer affordable housing options aimed to serve families and senior citizens. Developer GW Weld is involved with the project.

“I think there’s a real need for what he’s doing that doesn’t exist here that much in Eudora,” Jankowski said.

He said seniors are leaving either because they can no longer take care of their properties themselves or because there aren’t affordable options.

The apartment complex would have two phases, the first with 36 income-restricted units and 40 market-rate units. Another 40 units will come in phase 2. Weld and Dustin Baker are working on an application for the federal low-income housing tax credits.

The affordable housing units would range from $500 and $950 for monthly rent and market rate would be between $1,100 and $1,650. The complex represents an almost $18 million investment, Assistant City Manager Zack Daniel said.

The proposal was before the city because Weld and Baker must illustrate city support in their tax credit application. Industrial revenue bonds are often used for cities to partner with a private company and incentivize development or grant incentives, said Kevin Wempe, the city’s bond counsel from Gilmore Bell.

These can come in the form of tax abatement for 10 years and sales tax exemption on construction materials. Paschal’s Landing requested 75% property tax abatement.

While Jankowski supported more senior housing, he expressed concerns about incentives the project is seeking from the city.

He said the 10-year abatement would lose some money to the city and wondered when would be the time for the city to stop giving out special incentives to developers. He said he thought the developers could fill these apartments even without the incentives.

“That’s a lot of tax money that the city is foregoing on this, and I know that the analysis that has been done says that you’ll come out ahead on your utility rates and other forms of tax that could be collected by the city. I wonder if that’s really true,” Jankowski said. “I don’t think the developer here is going to have any trouble filling this new entity because of the need of it and therefore he’s going to see his revenue come in at a very good rate.”

Mayor Tim Reazin said the commission is considering when these incentives should stop, but that the development of Nottingham is dependent on more rooftops coming to the area first.

At a previous meeting, Weld mentioned the need for support due to challenges associated with the project, citing high interest rates making development difficult, as well as a new sewer that could cost over $1 million.

Ruth Hughs also spoke during the public hearing and asked what effects the bond issuance would have on the city. She asked if she was correct that there is no jeopardy to the city because the city would not be liable if they were to default on the bond payments.

Reazin said the city will lose out on the potential for property tax for that 10-year period. The city would not be on the hook for any bond defaulting, though.

She also asked for information on the cost-benefit analysis of the project.

Daniel said the overview came out good for the city.

“The high-level overview is that the taxing entities, the county, the school district and the city, all experience a net gain of revenue at the end of the abatement period after the incentives are expired and issued but also provide service to the new development there,” Daniel said.

Importantly for the city, there is no credit impact or risk of payment for the system, Wempe said. In the event of a default scenario, the tax abatement could just be turned off.

Caren Rowland also spoke during the hearing and said the city is getting important and expensive infrastructure out of the deal, and that is something important to remember. The new sewer system is very expensive but will help prepare for the future.

Reazin said he talked to Weld about his concerns, including utility easement preparations and a safe crossing to the elementary school. He does not want a repeat of the issues at the high school and the Meadowlark neighborhood, but he knows that is a conversation that will continue down the line.

Commissioner Roberta Lehmann said she doesn’t want another Meadowlark situation and wants to see a properly done traffic study around the area.

City attorney David Waters reminded the commission this public hearing is not authorizing any project details, but just approving a notice of intent of the bonds. All building permits and project plans will still have to be approved by the commission.

Following the public hearing, the city approved a resolution of intent to issue industrial revenue bonds in the amount not to exceed $27 million to finance the acquisition, construction and equipping of the apartment complex, which is known as Paschal’s Landing.

They also approved a motion to support the construction of the project, which included exemption of fees for the project in the amount of $80,000 to show their support for the tax credit portion of the project.

The city also had a public hearing for the activation of the tax increment financing district for a section of the Nottingham district.

The district was first established in 2017 with the intent of using this form of financing to fund improvements, but the official activation has not yet occurred. In 2020, the city implemented a temporary note. Now, the city will permanently finance the temporary notes through general obligations bonds payable through revenues generated by the district, Daniel said.

The action includes Casey’s, Wendy’s, Scooter’s, Mid America Bank’s future site and the space between Casey’s and Scooter’s that is currently being marketed for commercial use.

No members of the public spoke during the public hearing for the district, and there were no questions or comments from commissioners.

In other business, the request to vacate public easements on the high school property as they continue construction work and expansion with new classrooms and a new gym was approved. The request was initially presented to commissioners in March.

Three easements will be affected, including a water and electric line. A public hearing was required to properly approve the request to vacate. No one from the community participated.

In other business, the city received the results of a traffic study for Church Street, including the intersection of 23rd Street and the high school. As traffic continues to be an issue around the area, this study helped further understand growth needs and the possibility for the extension of 23rd Street to the west and South Fir Street to the north.

CFS Engineers posed the following three as possible options to help aid the issues:

• Extend South Fir Street north and connect to West 20th Street. Construct an additional driveway for Eudora High School with an access point on West 20th Street.
• Extend South Fir Street north to connect to West 20th Street and extend 23rd Street west to connect with Winchester Road/E2100 Road
• Extend South Fir Street north to connect to West 20th Street and construct an east-west road, designated as 25th Street, between the middle and high school. The road will connect Church Street and Winchester Road/E2100 Road.

No action was taken on the study, but just served an update to the commission.

A last minute item regarding the pedestrian bridge shared-use path with the Kansas Department of Transportation was also added to the agenda. The Church Street bridge crossing over K-10 will finally move forward after receiving three bids on the project.

The city received a grant in July 2022 from KDOT to install an 8-foot Church Street sidewalk from 15th Street to 20th Street, ADA ramps, crosswalks and signage.

The lowest bid came from Miles Excavating for about $1.4 million. The city is expected to pay 20%, or about $361,000. The city approved this action to move forward with the collaborative cost with the state.

During city staff updates, City Manager Kevyn Gero said the city is in need of more members of the board of zoning appeals. There are only three active members and two more are needed for meetings.

She also said there will be a work session for the Nottingham development at the end of the next meeting. She said federal highway officials came to Eudora Monday to further plan for RAISE grant plans.

She also mentioned the art gallery event that will be Wednesday night and features Fire Chief Mindy Andrasevits’ artwork.

The city will do a first quarter budget review session on May 3, Daniel said. The city is also planning for a work session on next year’s budget at 5:30 p.m. May 28.

Police Chief Wes Lovett said the department is waiting to hear back on traffic sign study quotes. He said there are some inconsistencies through the entire community as far as signs go, and a study could help figure out what needs changing.

Lovett also said the department will be participating in a drug take back day on Saturday. People can bring their unused or expired drugs to the front of the department from 10 a.m. to noon.

Parks and Rec Director Sally Pennington said fifth and eighth graders helped place new mulch on Main Street and said they did a great job. She said they will start filling the pool next week, and will have more updates on aquatics at the next meeting.

The commission also voted to approve the consumption and sale of alcohol at CPA Park for the Main Street Market series. The Convention and Visitors Bureau will continue the markets from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on select Thursdays this year.

They also approved a proclamation declaring May 5 through May 11 as public service recognition week for city employees.

Belinda Rehmer spoke during public comment to let commissioners know there would be a station for community members to pray for city leaders at the Eudora Baptist Church on National Day of Prayer on May 2.

Reach reporter Sara Maloney at [email protected]. 

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