FIRST REGULAR SESSION
House Concurrent Resolution No. 28
93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Whereas, the Housing Authority of Kansas City (HAKC) was created on July 14, 1941, by city ordinance and mayorial appointment of a five-member Board of Commissioners in accordance with Missouri enabling legislation; and
Whereas, a public housing agency is a governmental or public body that is authorized by the State to engage in or assist in the development or operation of housing for low-income families. Public housing programs are managed by a variety of organizations: housing agencies, local government departments, nonprofit organizations, and private property managers, with the public housing agency acting as the landlord; and
Whereas, the mission of the Housing Authority of Kansas City is to develop, rehabilitate, and manage decent, safe, and sanitary quality affordable housing in a manner that promotes equal opportunity, fair housing, and the deconcentration of race and poverty; and
Whereas, in the beginning, HAKC provided housing for returning veterans in the 1940s, with the program later expanded to include low-rent units for families, and by 1965 the HAKC rental inventory totaled some 2200 units; and
Whereas, as federal policies shifted, HAKC also reoriented its activities. In 1967 and 1968, 200 units were leased from private owners for sublease to HAKC tenants under a rent-supplement program. From 1968 to 1970, 50 foreclosed single-family homes were purchased from the Federal Housing Administration and the Veterans Administration by the HAKC for lease to public housing tenants; and
Whereas, in the 1970s proposals from developers for turnkey housing were requested, and the rehabilitation and modernization of existing structures became a priority for HAKC. For the next decade, a succession of executive directors oversaw the Authority. Tenants became dissatisfied with the condition of what were formerly well-maintained units and sued in 1993 in federal court to hasten the rehabilitation of one of the older developments; and
Whereas, in 1994, the Housing Authority of Kansas City faced daunting and formidable challenges so serious that the agency was placed in federal court receivership, with the agency's housing stock largely distressed and obsolete as evidenced by a 43% vacancy rate, enormous backlogs of uncompleted maintenance work, rampant criminal activity, and hundreds of families living in dangerous, substandard conditions; and
Whereas, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) declared the HAKC a "troubled agency", based on its score of less than 44% under the national Public Housing Management Assessment Program; and
Whereas, today, HAKC operations and the majority of its properties have undergone a dramatic and near complete makeover. HAKC's vacancy rate now averages approximately 2%, maintenance requests are addressed promptly, and crime rates within public housing are down by 44%. In 1998, HUD designated HAKC as a "high performer" agency; and
Whereas, since 1994, HAKC has focused intensive efforts to rebuild distressed communities and to expand the supply of quality affordable housing in Kansas City, Missouri. Several public housing developments, such as Guinotte Manor, Riverview Gardens, and Theron B. Watkins, have been transformed into vibrant new mixed-income communities that serve as the centerpieces of their respective urban neighborhoods, and the beautiful townhouses and streetscapes of Villa del Sol occupy a site that a few years ago consisted of bombed out buildings and empty streets; and
Whereas, in addition, HAKC has helped address the critical housing affordability issues faced by community residents through implementation of over 3,000 new Section 8 vouchers, which allow participants to lease housing units from private landlords allowing participants to have a greater choice in where they live; and
Whereas, by 2003, HAKC had received numerous awards from national, regional, and local organizations which symbolize HAKC's continued success in constructing safe, quality housing for low-income residents, pioneering the rehabilitaiton and revitalizaiton of Kansas City's urban core housing, and communicating those achievements to its clients and the public. The awards received by HAKC include:
(1) The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development's "New Face of America's Public Housing Award" which recognizes housing authorities, developers, and urban designers for their efforts to replace outmoded housing projects with attractive, walkable, mixed-income neighborhoods;
(2) The National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials presented awards for several of HAKC's print publications;
(3) The Historic Kansas City Foundation Award was received for two HAKC public housing "scattered site" homes (quality single-family town homes, duplexes, and houses scattered throughout the city) constructed in the historic Coleman Highlands neighborhood, where HAKC took painstaking efforts to ensure the homes were a complement to the neighborhood; and
Whereas, after years of federal oversight, the Housing Authority of Kansas City has taken steps toward resumption of local control. By 2003, a panel formed by the court-appointed receiver had been working on how to make sure the agency doesn't become dysfunctional again and in September 2002, the HAKC had a Board of Commissioners appointed which will set policy for the Authority when court supervision comes to an end; and
Whereas, while federal receivership was believed to be in its final stages by late 2003, today the Housing Authority of Kansas City is still under federal receivership and has not fully transitioned to local control; and
Whereas, the federal receivership of the HAKC has been overseen by Judge Dean Whipple and Jeffrey K. Lines was the court-appointed receiver for eight years and now serves as the HAKC special master with oversight responsibilities of the Board of Commissioners and the HAKC. According to Mr. Lines, "we have witnessed a dramatic turnaround of the agency...During Receivership, the Housing Authority of Kansas City improved its national standing from a "troubled agency" to a "high performer" status in most key areas of performance measurement", and in July 2003, Mr. Lines stated that the HAKC was "in the final stages of Receivership", however, almost two years later the HAKC remains in federal receivership; and
Whereas, while HAKC has experienced a complete turnaround in federal receivership, it is vital that the Authority be under local control and allowed to set its own policies to address current needs and problems as they arise, as evidence by recent events in the Kansas City area regarding funding for the refurbishing of houses in the Historic Jazz District in which HAKC has a limited ability to respond due to the restrictions of its federal receivership; and
Whereas, as a result of the significant and remarkable efforts of the Housing Authority of Kansas City during receivership, the Authority has earned the right to be returned to full local control and to set policies for the continued provision of quality, affordable housing to low-income families in the Kansas City community:
Now, therefore, be it resolved that the members of the House of Representatives of the Ninety-third General Assembly, First Regular Session, the Senate concurring therein, hereby urge Judge Dean Whipple to immediately end the federal receivership of the Housing Authority of Kansas City initiated in 1994 and allow the Board of Commissioners appointed to set policies for the Authority, thereby returning the HAKC to full local control; and
Be it further resolved that the Chief Clerk of the Missouri House of Representatives be instructed to prepare properly inscribed copies of this resolution for Judge Dean Whipple and each member of the Missouri Congressional Delegation.