JOHNSON COUNTY, Kansas (KCTV) — On Wednesday night, the house was packed at the Sunset Drive Office Building in Olathe, Kansas, for a public information meeting about a planned homeless shelter that Johnson County hopes to open next year.
The facility, called the Homeless Services Center, will convert an old three-story La Quinta hotel into 50 single rooms for adults with stays of 30 to 90 days and 25 studio apartments as transitional housing for adults with stays of up to 24 months.
“This is a community-wide problem,” said Mike Kelly, chairman of the Johnson County Board of Supervisors. “It goes beyond the cities and therefore requires a community-wide approach.”
It’s a project that’s been years in the making. Planning for an emergency shelter began in 2018, but the effort stalled due to a lack of funding, according to the county. The county says the funds are coming from available federal COVID funds to move the project forward, allowing it to continue without new tax revenue.
Kelly outlined the county’s investment in the property, which totals about $10.55 million. LaQuinta and restaurant cost $6 million, plus $850,000 for due diligence and franchise fees, and $3.7 million to renovate the building and build capacity for reStart, the organization the county selected to run the shelter.
Kelly added that operating costs to the county would be approximately $62,000 annually over five years, which would be raised from the county’s general fund, for which the BOCC has expressed its intention to provide such a fund.
Cities in Johnson County are being asked to provide financial support for the shelter’s first few years of operation. According to Kelly, 11 cities in the county have requested presentations on the shelter. Ten cities have agreed to participate, two have declined, and six more are still waiting to participate.
Further information about the shelter was also provided at Wednesday’s meeting. It will be a referral-only shelter, meaning homeless people will have to contact service providers who work with the county to be allowed to stay in the shelter.
Security and protection were also discussed. There will be controlled access to the building. Trained staff will be on site around the clock. There will also be rules of conduct for the people housed there, such as that the people must be medically stable and that there will be a curfew from 10 p.m.
Opponents of the shelter say they don’t like the location and are concerned about a potential increase in crime or that people who don’t live in Johnson County will be placed in the shelter while Johnson County residents have to pay for it. Some people at the meeting said they volunteer to care for the homeless in the community and are fully in favor of the shelter.
“I live in Lenexa,” said resident Lynn Michaelson. “I live across the highway, but I’m all for helping these people. What was said in the meeting is true: They’re scared of living on the streets and they’re looking for help, and this is a real way to help someone.”
READ MORE: Community is invited to discuss the new homeless assistance center with leaders
“I just see the need and I’m really glad they’re holding these information sessions,” said Carol Shimeall, another Johnson County resident. “It looks to me like they have everything under control.”
The district said it had also spoken to residents and businesses living near the shelter since December, with meetings taking place in July.
Another public information meeting will be held at the Monticello Library in Shawnee on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. The project also has a permit pending and is scheduled to go before the Lenexa Planning Commission on August 26.
Meanwhile, the City of Lenexa has posted on its website that city staff are recommending that the Planning Commission deny the permit:
The full staff report outlining the reasons for the recommended rejection is scheduled to be released on Thursday, August 22.
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