Two days after the Lenexa City Council rejected county pressure to approve a Special Use Permit to convert a hotel to a homeless shelter, the Johnson County Board of Commissioners (BOCC) terminated contracts to buy the property and to transfer it to a non-profit intended to operate the facility.
As a result, Johnson County taxpayers are out $500,000 and counting, according to Commissioner Charlotte O’Hara, who opposed her colleagues’ decision.
The terminated agreements were with MAA Krupa Lenexa LLC, owners of the property, and ReStart, a Kansas City non-profit chosen by BOCC to run the shelter.
MAA Krupa Lenexa LLC had received $200,000 in earnest money for the purchase of the property, and was due another $150,000 the day following the BOCC termination of its agreement.
Following the Lenexa vote, ReStart issued a statement expressing its disappointment in the decision, reading in part:
We will continue to advocate for those experiencing homelessness in Johnson County and are committed to working on effective solutions to end homelessness in the area.
Despite strong public support, fear and stereotypes ultimately prevailed. We believe the awareness generated by this has been valuable—data supports the growing need. We urge the community to continue to support initiatives aimed at finding solutions and services for this ever-increasing population in Johnson County.
After the vote, ReStart CEO Stephanie Boyer and Board Chair Susan Schmidt jointly sent a letter to Lenexa Mayor Julie Sayers hinting at possible legal action over the rejection of the Special Use Permit to operate the shelter:
“As such, we are concerned that, if the city council follows city staff’s and the planning commission’s inappropriate and arguably discriminatory suggestions, the City’s actions could be in violation of the Fair Housing Act and/or reStart’s constitutional rights and could result in a legal dispute.
We reached out to CEO Boyer after the BOCC action for comment, but she did not respond.
Following the BOCC termination decision, Commissioner O’Hara was critical of her colleagues, including Chairman Mike Kelly, who supported the homeless shelter plan:
“There is no defense of the county frittering away $500,000 of taxpayers’ dollars on this ill-conceived, ill-funded, and ill-placed low-barrier homeless shelter. A complete leadership fail.”
And, what of possible legal action emanating from the county’s vote to terminate the shelter plan? O’Hara added:
“Anything is possible, but in my opinion, not probable.”
We asked for comment from the BOCC after the week’s events and received a statement from Communications Director Jody Hanson:
“We appreciate the robust community conversation taking place about homelessness in Johnson County and the consensus that now is the time to address what is currently a manageable level of homelessness. We look forward to continued collaboration with our partners as we continue to address the housing crisis in our community, from sheltering unhoused individuals to expanding permanent, affordable housing, and welcome all partners (cities, private entities, faith-based organizations, and others) to join us.
“We communicated with our partners throughout the process, and they were fully aware that the lack of an approved SUP from the city of Lenexa would terminate our contract and agreement that provided for the county to purchase the La Quinta property and transfer ownership to reStart.”
David Hicks – The Sentinel
David Hicks grew up in southern Missouri and graduated from Mizzou with a degree in political science. He has worked as a congressional staffer, broadcaster, government bureaucrat, columnist, campaign worker, and small business owner. He and his wife live in Bonner Springs.
