Kansas City, MO

American Rescue Plan Act

Recovery Plan

Submitted to:

Department of Treasury

1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 

Washington, D.C. 20220

Submitted By:

Finance Department

City of Kansas City, Mo.

414 E. 12th Street, 3rd Floor

Kansas City, MO 64106

Point of Contact:

Theresa Danielsen

Theresa.danielsen@kcmo.org
Kansas City, MO

2021 Recovery Plan

Table of Contents

General Overview...........................................................................................................................1

Executive Summary.............................................................................................................................1

Uses of Funds.......................................................................................................................................2

Promoting Equitable Outcomes.......................................................................................................4

Community Engagement ...................................................................................................................6

Labor Practices.....................................................................................................................................6

Table of Obligations by Expenditure Category............................................................................7

Table of Expenses by Expenditure Category...............................................................................8

Project Inventory............................................................................................................................8

COVID-19 Vaccination.........................................................................................................................8

COVID-19 Testing.................................................................................................................................9

COVID-19 Contact Tracing.................................................................................................................9

Personal Protective Equipment........................................................................................................9

Other COVID-19 Public Health Expenses ....................................................................................10

Other Public Health Services..........................................................................................................10

Starlight Theater.................................................................................................................................10

Kansas City Zoo .................................................................................................................................11

Liberty Memorial Museum ...............................................................................................................11

Legal Aid of Western Missouri .......................................................................................................12

Temporary Housing Services to Address Houselessness .....................................................13

Lykins Neighborhood Housing/Houselessness Support Services ......................................14

Housing Trust Fund...........................................................................................................................14

Performance Report ....................................................................................................................16
Kansas City, MO 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 1

General Overview

Executive Summary 

Through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), Kansas City, MO (KCMO) was granted $194 

million to combat the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and to build the City back in a 

more resilient manner. An in-depth analysis on the impacts of the pandemic was conducted to 

identify the key areas of need. With these results, ARPA funds were allocated across 

departments and organizations to pave the way for a successful recovery. The greatest goal 

KCMO has for the ARPA funds is to set the City up to be in a better position than it was prepandemic. This includes ensuring all residents have access to public health services to keep 

themselves and their families safe. To this end, KCMO has dedicated a large portion of its 

available ARPA funds to housing support services for qualified census tracts. Various housing 

projects have been undertaken to ensure that all KCMO community members have a reliable 

place of shelter and access to necessities, such as food and electricity. These projects 

specifically target Qualified Census Tracts (QCTs), defined by the Secretary of Housing and 

Urban Development, with the most need throughout the metropolitan area. 

Some of the efforts undertaken by local organizations were originally funded with the CARES 

Act and have proven impactful to the community. Efforts thus far have included supporting the

homeless community with shelter and social services. In addition, efforts were made to help the 

people of KCMO obtain COVID-19 related benefits. With the additional ARPA funding, these

projects can continue to build on their foundation and grow their impact within the community.

The ARPA funds present several opportunities as well as challenges for KCMO. These funds 

are an opportunity to make KCMO an inclusive, successful metropolitan area with thriving 

businesses and sheltered and employed residents. The funding will keep the people of the City 

safe far beyond the public health crisis. Those who will be given shelter can re-start their lives 

and find employment in the local KCMO job market. By re-investing in our City and community, 

KCMO will become a much more resilient metropolitan area.
Kansas City, MO 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 2

Uses of Funds

The $194,776,376.00 in funding that was allocated to Kansas City, Missouri from ARPA was 

thoughtfully and strategically disbursed across several KCMO governmental departments, nonprofits, and local organizations. The City received half of this funding ($97,388,188) in May 2021 

and will receive the second half of equal amount in May 2022. These funding awards are 

diverse in nature to ensure that every KCMO entity and community impacted by the COVID-19

pandemic has a clear path towards recovery. These funding allocations include projects for 

public health, marginalized communities, small businesses, governmental services and other

projects listed in the ARP guidelines.

The Kansas City Councilmembers met extensively to discuss in detail their goals for recovery 

and how the funding would be best allocated. Through an interactive budget allocation tool, the 

Councilmembers were able to move around funding to see what awards would best serve the 

people of KCMO. Immediately following the budget decisions, KCMO paved a path forward to 

ensure that the funding awards would maximize impact and prioritize urgent matters. Each 

award pinpoints one issue that was brought on by the spread of COVID-19. Due to the specific 

nature of these projects, each award also has a specific set of goals and targets that will 

contribute to the overall recovery of the city. 

To maximize impact, ARPA funds will be used to cover COVID-19 expenditures (operational 

costs) as well as cover programmatic efforts to address the negative economic impacts of 

COVID-19 (relief programming). The Kansas City Health Department expects to maintain 

current levels of COVID-19 operations to vaccinate residents and ensure new COVID-19 cases 

are thoroughly investigated in Fiscal Year (FY) 2022. By proactively monitoring the on-going 

public health crisis and investing funds in prevention and mitigation, the other ARPA projects 

dealing with economic recovery and equity should continue uninterrupted. 

A key use of funds that Kansas City has prioritized is Revenue Replacement. Using a base year 

general revenue (FY ended April 30, 2019), the City performed a calculation to determine the 

estimated revenue loss due to the COVID-19 public health emergency as of December 31, 2020

($96,960,738). Accordingly, Kansas City has decided to allocate $72,327,188 of ARPA funding 

towards revenue replacement this year. These funds will be used for government services such 

as Parks and Recreation and Fire as well as employee furlough reimbursement and restore 

certain City services and improve the City’s overall financial condition. The City will cover 

eligible, previously budgeted government services equal to the amount of revenue loss 

experienced to make originally budgeted funds available to restore city services detailed in this 

plan, to perform mid-year reappropriations for necessary costs, or to roll funds to fund balance 

at the end of the fiscal year.

In addition to public health funding, funds will also be provided to reimburse City of Kansas City, 

Missouri employees who were furloughed in 2020, provide emergency pay to City paramedics 

and recruit a grants coordinator position to assist with COVID-19 fund tracking and oversight. 

Lastly, funds will be utilized to address the negative economic impacts that COVID-19 had on 

the Kansas City Zoo, the Liberty Memorial and Starlight Theater by restoring in the FY22 budget 

a portion of the passthroughs to these entities. These programs will all include some aspects of 
Kansas City, MO 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 3

community outreach to reach the greatest audience possible and maximize the impacts of these 

funding programs.

ARPA funds can be used to fund programs and services to address the negative economic 

impacts of COVID-19 including housing assistance and support services for persons 

experiencing homelessness. The City has been using, and will continue to use, ARPA funds to 

provide temporary housing to the homeless due to the increased need that is a result of the 

pandemic. The City will also deploy immediate funding to the Housing Trust Fund for eligible 

uses to support housing stability through the production of affordable housing citywide. In 

addition, the City will provide legal services to those in need to help combat housing issues, 

such as eviction, fair housing laws, and housing placement. Volunteer legal staff will be 

deployed to communities of need to focus on the homeless. 

ARPA funds can be used to fund programs and services addressing access to broadband for 

households in need. The plan includes an appropriation to establish programming and support 

services for residents without financial access to sufficient broadband services. The City has 

granted funding to aSteam Village (ASV), one of Kansas City’s most prominent educational 

organizations to head the broadband efforts of KCMO. They will engage the citizens of the 3rd 

Council District to undertake a project generating increased broadband capacity to supplement 

other resources available to the City's 3rd Council District and beyond. ASV will take action to 

implement the Master Plan in three phases. First, ASV will conduct a needs assessment to 

determine which students need connectivity and devices and where they live, to establish a 

process for procuring devices and connectivity and to establish broadband service through 

existing network infrastructure. In phase two, ASV will establish partnerships for new broadband 

infrastructure and service through the award of public-private partnership agreements. This 

phase will consist of the implementation of the partnerships and construction of new, necessary 

broadband infrastructure. Phase three will be the use of public infrastructure to bring new 

service options in line with the City’s principles. To help the partnerships succeed and ensure 

that all residents benefit from connectivity, ASV will consider targeted expansion of digital 

inclusion programs, evaluate subsidy models for the lowest income City residents, and promote 

job training and business opportunities related to broadband deployment. The benefits of 

increasing open access infrastructure will build over time as more consumers benefit from lower 

costs thus enabling ASV to serve wider areas.

When granting awards, KCMO highlighted organizations that have already done outstanding 

work in the metropolitan area working with marginalized communities and specific 

neighborhoods. These organizations have in-depth knowledge of which specific communities 

require the most help and what approaches work best for each community. This approach will 

allow the award dollars to be as impactful as possible.

Between the funding of public health-related costs and the awards provided to local 

organizations to address the negative economic and social impacts, Kansas City has a clear 

path forward towards recovery. With an emphasis on metric-tracking and community outreach, 

the ARPA funds will have a positive impact on the metropolitan area that will continue to be 

seen in the years to come.
Kansas City, MO 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 4

Promoting Equitable Outcomes 

While the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted many negative outcomes throughout the 

entire population of KCMO, specific marginalized communities were impacted on a much 

greater scale. Many struggled to pay their rent or utilities and a record number of people were 

experiencing unemployment. In March 2020, when the CARES Act was passed, funding was 

allocated to KCMO through Clay, Jackson, and Platte counties. With that funding, these 

impacted communities began to receive some help. Although the CARES Act had a significant 

impact on these populations, there is a lot more that is still needed to be done to address the 

damage experienced from the pandemic. Therefore, new projects that specifically target 

marginalized communities throughout the metropolitan area will be supported.

One of the primary goals of the KCMO ARPA award is to use the funding as an opportunity to 

provide housing, whether temporary or long-term to residents of Kansas City, who have 

struggled to find shelter. The City will use $3,000,000 of these funds to provide temporary 

housing to the homeless due to the increased need that was a result of the pandemic. In 

addition, projects have been funded that will enable those who do not know how to seek shelter 

or social services obtain the assistance they require. The City will deploy $12,500,000 to the 

new Housing Trust Fund to support housing stability to produce affordable housing that meets 

the eligibility uses for the ARPA Program. On top of that, a portion of the funding will be set 

aside to provide broadband access to these disadvantaged communities to ensure that they 

have the right resources and information to succeed within the KCMO community.

All the programs targeting marginalized communities will be publicized throughout the City 

through a variety of partnerships. Ongoing partnerships with Legal Aid of Western Missouri, 

Homesteading Authority, Land Bank, and other Northeast Kansas City neighborhoods will 

enable the programs to reach a large audience and to achieve the greatest physical and 

economic impact. Many of these programs will focus on the Historic Northeast portion of the

City, which has many neighborhoods that would benefit from housing and broadband 

assistance. 

The Neighborhood Legal Support of Kansas City (NLS) has a deep-rooted relationship with the 

homeless population in KCMO. They will utilize their previously formed relationships to reach 

even more people in need throughout the community. The KCMO ARPA funds are supporting 

two community development projects led by NLS that will perform outreach and social services 

to specific marginalized communities in the area. Using the social network of the neighborhood 

homeless community, NLS is now able to effectively screen members of the community to 

determine who is in greatest need and who is most likely to benefit from services. This means 

that resources can be used much more effectively, which will have a much greater impact on 

the communities in need. The NLS is now moving forward with Phase II of their project, in which 

they will use information they obtain from members of the first homeless camp to get in contact 

with people in the homeless community in the Lykins Neighborhood who are in the greatest 

need of assistance and who are most likely to benefit from assistance. At the conclusion of the 

proposed projects, the NLS will have generated many measurable qualitative and quantitative 

outcomes they would like to achieve. For starters, it is imperative that the funded programs are 

easily accessible and publicized to the intended audience. They aim to reach communities that 

typically would not normally have access to these resources. In addition, they would position 
Kansas City, MO 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 5

these communities in a better situation than they were in before the pandemic, both financially 

and emotionally.

In June of last year, as part of its work with the Lykins Neighborhood Association, NLS started 

an innovative project to provide housing for a group of people living in a homeless camp in the 

neighborhood. The initial results of the project have been promising. NLS has secured long-term 

housing for five of the six original participants in the project and full-time employment for three of 

the participants. The project social worker has been successful in obtaining many benefits for 

project participants including: 

• COVID relief checks of $1,200 or more; 

• Identification paperwork (without a drivers’ license or other ID, it is very difficult to get 

work and to access other available resources);

• Access to healthcare; work; and housing.

The project involves a small homeless camp on a vacant lot at 9th & Indiana in Lykins. There 

was initial pressure from nearby homeowners to evict the campers from the lot, which is private 

property. NLS realized that eviction would only result in the campers moving to another lot or to 

a vacant house. So, instead, NLS staff met with and got to know the people living at the camp. 

After initial discussions, NLS created an agreement with the campers under which they agreed 

to a few ground rules. The campers, for the most part, have complied with the agreement and 

over time, they have developed a relationship of trust with them. NLS encouraged campers to 

attend neighborhood clean-up events at which they were paired with neighborhood rehabbers. 

The rehabbers saw their good work ethic and hired them for short-term rehab assignments. One 

of the rehabbers got to know and trust the campers enough that, by December, he was willing to 

invite four of the campers to live in a house he is rehabbing for three months, free of charge. 

Having a house occupied greatly reduces the risk that it will be vandalized. So, there is value for 

rehabbers in having houses that they are working on occupied. Before the February cold snap, 

they were able to move a fifth camper into the house. The sixth camper had moved away from 

the campsite before then. 

Moving forward, the Lykins Community Development project will host twenty (20) meetings 

during their new contract with residents to implement resilient neighborhood stabilization. They 

will also provide interpreters due to the diversity of the community, so all community members 

can be heard. They will continue the work they have already begun, but with a greater audience 

in mind and a foundation of lessons learned.

Another project that has been undertaken in the interest of promoting equitable outcomes is the

aSTEAM Village (ASV) 3rd District Broadband Initiative. This project is centered around 

engaging the citizens of the 3rd District to generate increased broadband capacity and 

supplement connectivity resources in underprivileged areas. This ASV project includes 

community improvement activities in the form of broadband investment that meets the LMI 

national objective as: an area benefit in which the service area for the investment is primarily 

residential and the population of the service area is at least 51 percent LMI; and as a jobs 

benefit in which at least 51 percent of the jobs created or retained by the investment are held by 

or made available to LMI persons. The biggest challenge to achieving success with this project 

is economic inequality within Kansas City and more specifically the 3rd District that ASV serves. 

Just as the health of downtown Kansas City and the region are linked, so is the health of the 

downtown core and its surrounding neighborhoods. Diverse challenges face downtown 
Kansas City, MO 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 6

neighborhoods including increasing development pressures, affordable housing and 

displacement concerns, outdated plans, economic distress, problems related to homeless 

encampments, and inadequate infrastructure. ASV’s Broadband project is an effective tool that 

will grow Kansas City’s economy and raise levels of local wealth through enhanced broadband 

access.

Community Engagement 

In addition to its regular annual survey, KCMO, through its regular resident survey contractor,

has been administering an anonymous survey* periodically to its residents. The City's goal is to 

understand residents’ level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with City services, as well as their 

outlook on the COVID-19/Coronavirus pandemic. The surveys are collected via mail, phone, 

and online to ensure that a broad swath of the population is assessed. These results are 

regularly posted along with a guide to interpret the data (https://www.kcmo.gov/cityhall/departments/city-manager-s-office/datakc/citizen-and-business-satisfaction-survey-results).

For each project related to housing, City Communications will implement a communications plan 

that will incorporate and involve communications initiated by the local Continuum of Care 

agencies.

The City is also a key partner with the Housing Solutions Summit and leaders at all levels of 

Missouri government. This seeks to create sustainable solutions through collaborative efforts to 

provide housing for people who are unhoused. This includes:

• Identifying barriers to housing access and develop solutions to overcome them

• Developing policy recommendations at all levels of government

• Developing accountability measures at all levels from residents to service providers 

to government

• Respecting and preserving our diversity, maintaining a high regard for cultural, 

social, and ethnic identities

KCMO believes that through initiatives, such as this Summit, it will be able to get feedback from 

a diverse and inclusive segment of society and be able to implement new projects based on this 

feedback.

*Using a statistically significant random sample

Labor Practices 

KCMO has allocated a portion of ARPA funding to various broadband projects throughout the 

city to ensure everybody has equal access to public information, schooling materials, and work 

from home capabilities, if needed. ASV is one of Kansas City’s most prominent educational 

organizations, that focusses predominantly on science, technology, engineering, the arts, and 

mathematics (STEAM) fields for disadvantaged students. ASV has been awarded ARPA funds 

to focus primarily on providing broadband access to the greater community. 

The ASV broadband projects have many labor practices put in place that will ensure the 

contract is executed smoothly and effectively. First, the ASV will secure a Chief Operations 
Kansas City, MO 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 7

Officer, who will be responsible for on and off-site day-to-day operations. The named person will 

be required to meet specific deadlines and execute all tasks in the most efficient and effective 

manner, as defined by the Board of Directors. This board will meet to develop a business 

strategy and map out long-term plans for the project. The roll-out of the program will involve 

comprehensive training for all network and radio installation services, as well as maintenance. 

Next, the ASV has outlined a multi-level linear organization structure for the contract to ensure 

there is a solidified reporting structure. This provides all laborers with a level of accountability in 

each position. The Board of Directors oversees the Managing Directors, who have guidelines to 

follow when executing the program goals. These directors oversee a Financial Manager, Chief 

Technology Director, Program Director, and Human Resource personnel. The personnel on the 

ground are the hands-on experts, who will be executing the programmatic goals. They will have 

direction from the various managers and Chiefs. The multi-level reporting structure ensures that 

all issues are resolved in a timely manner. This has been determined as the most effective way 

to provide KCMO residents with broadband access through the ARPA award.

Use of Evidence 

When contracts are being developed for the City’s ARPA projects, qualitative and quantitative 

measures will be included in these contracts. These measures will follow required reporting 

requirements for the various Expenditure Categories. 

KCMO will develop and employ a data-based approach to provide a credible approach to 

measuring the effectiveness of the use of ARP funds. The data obtained must be reproducible, 

accurate, precise, and relevant to the desired outcome. Ideally, data will be collected as close 

as possible to the point of service delivery/project completion. Once collected and verified, data 

will be integrated into stakeholder communication and program reporting. Analysis of the data 

will also guide the adjustments required to ensure initiatives achieve the desired outcomes.

Table of Obligations by Expenditure Category

Category Cumulative Obligations to date 

($)

1 Public Health

1.1 COVID-19 Vaccination $2,605,850.00

1.2 COVID-19 Testing $1,245,600.00

1.3 COVID-19 Contact Tracing $1,358,950.00

1.5 Personal Protective Equipment $816,480.00

1.8 Other COVID-19 Public Health Expenses $300,000.00

1.12 Other Public Health Services $129,120.00

2 Negative Economic Impacts

2.10 Aid to Nonprofit Organizations $1,320,000.00 
Kansas City, MO 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 8

Category Cumulative Obligations to date 

($)

3

Services to Disproportionately Impacted 

Communities

3.10 Housing Support: Affordable Housing $12,640,000.00 

3.11

Housing Support: Services for Unhoused 

Persons $3,000,000.00

3.12 Housing Support: Other Housing Assistance $45,000.00 

4 Premium Pay

4.1 Public Sector Employees $1,000,000.00 

5 Infrastructure

5.16 Broadband: “Last Mile” projects $500,000.00 

6 Revenue Replacement

6.1 Provision of Government Services $72,327,188.00 

7 Administrative

7.1 Administrative Expenses $100,000.00 

Table of Expenses by Expenditure Category

Category Cumulative

expenditures to 

date ($)

Amount spent 

since last 

Recovery Plan

3 Expenditure Category: Services to 

Disproportionately Impacted Communities

3.11 Housing Support: Services for Unhoused 

persons 

$2,399,999.99 $2,399,999.99

Project Inventory 

KCMO has used ARPA funds for multiple projects that implement evidence-based interventions. 

Listed below are short descriptions of each applicable project that falls into ECs 1, 2, and 3, 

along with breakdowns of the amount of funds that have been dedicated to evidence-based 

interventions.

KCMO is also collecting performance metrics for each of these projects to provide a base of 

strong causal evidence. Such metrics are included for situational awareness.

COVID-19 Vaccination

Project [Identification Number]: 1A

Funding amount: $2,605,850.00

Project Expenditure Category: 1.1 COVID-19 Vaccination
Kansas City, MO 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 9

Project overview

These are projected costs of in-house vaccinations and vaccination events including the 

salaries and contracts of event workers as well the costs included in the set-up of the event.

Use of Evidence

All the funds in this project are being allocated towards evidence-based interventions.

COVID-19 Testing

Project [Identification Number]: 1B

Funding amount: $1,245,600.00

Project Expenditure Category: 1.2 COVID-19 Testing

Project overview

These are the costs associated with community and employee testing including the salaries 

and contracts of personnel associated with these efforts.

Use of Evidence

All the funds in this project are being allocated towards evidence-based interventions.

COVID-19 Contact Tracing

Project [Identification Number]: 1C

Funding amount: $1,358,950.00

Project Expenditure Category: 1.3 COVID-19 Contact Tracing

Project overview

Contact tracing is critical to containing the spread of coronavirus. Containment, the key 

strategy in quickly halting an epidemic, requires rapid identification and quarantine of the 

infected individuals, determination of whom they have had close contact within the previous 

days and weeks, and decontamination of locations the infected individual has visited. These 

costs include the salaries and contracts of personnel.

Use of Evidence

All the funds in this project are being allocated towards evidence-based interventions.

Personal Protective Equipment

Project [Identification Number]: 1D

Funding amount: $816,480.00

Project Expenditure Category: 1.5 Personal Protective Equipment

Project overview
Kansas City, MO 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 10

Included in this project is the cost of masks and gloves, as well as other personal protective 

equipment (PPE), for communities and City personnel. 

Use of Evidence

All the funds in this project are being allocated towards evidence-based interventions.

Other COVID-19 Public Health Expenses 

Project [Identification Number]: 1E

Funding amount: $300,000.00

Project Expenditure Category: 1.8 Other COVID-19 Public Health Expenses

Project overview

These funds are obligated for an advertising campaign designed to raise public awareness 

of COVID-19 preventive measures and increase public trust in the efforts. 

Use of Evidence

All the funds in this project are being allocated towards evidence-based interventions.

Other Public Health Services 

Project [Identification Number]: 1F

Funding amount: $129,120.00

Project Expenditure Category: 1.12 Other Public Health Services

Project overview

These are the costs associated with supplies needed in support of other public health 

projects such as needles, alcohol wipes, band aids, and other office supplies.

Use of Evidence

All the funds in this project are being allocated towards evidence-based interventions.

Starlight Theater

Project [Identification Number]: 5A: Starlight Theater – Restoration of Funding 

Funding amount: $156,000

Project Expenditure Category: 2.10 Aid to Nonprofit Organizations

https://www.kcstarlight.com/

Project overview

The Starlight Theatre has a deep and lasting impact on Kansas City and the region by 

providing exceptional performing arts experiences. With historically nearly 300,000 annual 

attendees, pre-pandemic, and more than 50,000 people impacted by community 

engagement programs, Starlight has the largest capacity of any nonprofit arts organization 
Kansas City, MO 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 11

in Kansas City to create access to the arts, foster arts advocacy, and develop future 

audiences with an enduring bond to the arts. Starlight is consistently recognized as a top 

theatre venue for both musical theatre and popular music concerts and events. 

Use of Evidence

The Starlight Theatre facility has significant on-going maintenance and repair costs that are 

required of the 71-year-old campus. These costs can include annual painting, concrete 

repairs, aging HVAC repairs, aging irrigation system upgrade for water use savings, 

lightning protection for our 4-story structure, office backup power due to unreliable electrical 

service, and other unforeseen repairs. The ARPA award will ensure that portions of the 

facility are upgraded for efficiency and safety in addition to preserving the facility as it ages.

Starlight always adheres to industry standards for physical environment and evaluates 

capital needs against those, while keeping in mind guest safety and comfort based on 

industry knowledge.

Kansas City Zoo

Project [Identification Number]: 5B: Kansas City Zoo – Restoration of Funding 

Funding amount: $780,000.00

Project Expenditure Category: 2.10 Aid to Nonprofit Organizations

https://www.kansascityzoo.org/

Project overview

The Kansas City Zoo, a private non-profit organization, is operated in agreement with the 

Kansas City, MO, Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners, is partially funded by the 

Zoological District, and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Friends of 

the Zoo (FOTZ), a non-profit volunteer Board of Directors, oversee operations of the Zoo. 

The Zoological District Commissioners administer and manage the funds collected through 

the district that support the Zoo.

Use of Evidence

The Kansas City Zoo was provided an award to help keep the current employees at the Zoo 

employed and to help the Zoo return to normal staffing levels (hiring freeze was in place 

most of 2020 and first quarter of 2021). The Zoo is an Equal-Opportunity Employer and has 

advertised for positions in economically disadvantaged communities to try to assist those 

areas. In addition, the project will help offset utilities and operational maintenance costs.

Funds for this project were not used for evidence-based interventions.

Liberty Memorial Museum

Project [Identification Number]: 5C: Liberty Memorial Museum – Restoration of Funding

Funding amount: $234,000.00

Project Expenditure Category: 2.10 Aid to Nonprofit Organizations

https://www.theworldwar.org/
Kansas City, MO 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 12

Project overview

The National WWI Museum and Memorial is the official, congressionally designated 

museum and memorial honoring veterans who served and died in WWI. The only official 

national war memorial outside Washington D.C., the museum and memorial were opened by 

President Calvin Coolidge in 1926. Unlike other memorials of this stature, it does not receive 

regular federal or state funding, but rather relies upon earned income, philanthropy, and 

other business operations to fund the budget. It serves more than 600,000 annual visitors, 

plus millions of veterans, families, students, and researchers online.

Use of Evidence

The museum and memorial experienced a decrease of 62% in earned income for the nine 

months April – Dec 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. Forced to close the doors to 

the public March 15 – June 1, 2020, by Order of the Mayor, all aspects of operations have 

been, and continue to be, negatively affected by the pandemic. While staff implemented 

drastic cost controls, there are unavoidable expenses, making the financial deficit difficult to 

overcome. The Liberty Memorial Museum was provided funding to go towards museum 

maintenance, utilities, and security. With revenue shortfalls, these necessary expenses 

became unaffordable to the organization. The project allows the museum to catch up on 

certain deferred grounded improvement to maintain the guest experience at previous levels.

Funds for this project are not being used for evidence-based interventions.

Legal Aid of Western Missouri

Project [Identification Number]: 8: Legal Aid of Western Missouri – Restoration of Funding 

Funding amount: $150,000.00

Project Expenditure Category: 2.10 Aid to Nonprofit Organizations

https://lawmo.org/

Project overview

Legal Aid of Western Missouri (Legal Aid) provides free civil (non-criminal) legal assistance 

to people who need it most and can afford it least. With offices in Kansas City, Joplin, St. 

Joseph, and Warrensburg, it serves a 40-county area where 295,000 people live in poverty.

Legal Aid is governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees. The Board is committed to guiding 

Legal Aid’s efforts to protect and advance the rights of the most underserved – leveling the 

play field and ensuring that everyone can have access to the justice system. Legal Aid’s 

funding comes from a wide variety of federal, state, and local government sources, 

foundations, law firms, and other private sources, along with donations from attorneys and 

other individuals. This funding restores funding cut in the FY 22 budget.

Use of Evidence

Legal Aid sets out to provide residents with legal services for involving housing issues such 

as cases assisting clients with the creation and preservation of low-income housing, tenants’ 
Kansas City, MO 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 13

rights, unlawful evictions and lockouts, foreclosures, quality of housing, termination of 

utilities, and unsafe housing. In addition, legal aid will be assisting nonprofit organization 

startups and legal services in qualified census tracts.

Temporary Housing Services to Address Houselessness

Project [Identification Number]: 6A: Transitional Housing 

Funding amount: $2,399,999.99 (cumulative expenditures to date); $3,000,000.00 

(cumulative obligations to date)

Project Expenditure Category: 3.11 Housing Support: Services for Unhoused Persons

Project overview

Pallet Community

The point of Pallet Community (VERGE) is to create an all-in-one housing first site where 

the clients can work on goals and life skills that will begin on preparing them for long term 

transitional housing programs and long-term permanent housing. Currently, many people 

are pulled off the street and placed in housing before they are ready. VERGE will have all 

services including the caseworkers onsite 24 hours per day. There will be coordination with 

local nonprofits and charity groups to offer hot meals, food and clothing, dental services, 

haircuts, mental health needs, etc. Verge is an innovative approach to housing for 

houseless individuals, the strategy of providing intensive wrap around services in a setting 

that will act as stabilizing force until persons are ready for permanent housing. We believe 

this will make the greatest impact.

Transitional Housing Contract

The program serves houseless individuals and families. There are four intended outcomes:

1) provide housing for 90-days for up to 500 houseless individuals by contracting with local 

hotels, 2) provide case management and other services to individuals/families in the 

program, 3) identify appropriate transitional or permanent housing options for 

individuals/families in the program, 4) collaborate with Continuum of Care agencies and 

other organizations to establish a network that would assist with service delivery for program 

participants.

Use of Evidence

While each project has their own specific objectives (please see below), both projects, like 

all KCMO initiatives designed to combat homelessness, are fully dedicated to using 

evidence-based interventions when making decisions about the care of a client. All funding 

provided by the ARPA is being used in this format.

As part of KCMO wider Continuum of Care (CoC), each project offers, in some capacity,

case management, supportive services, mental health and substance abuse treatment, 

educational groups, and employment assistance. Together these essential support services 

can help support individuals and families to help break the cycle of homelessness. A 

collaborative foundation and effective systems provide a mean of moving forward to an

assertive community treatment with a housing first approach.

Pallet Community
Kansas City, MO 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 14

The intended outcomes will be to 1) provide safe, secure, dry housing to those experiencing 

houselessness, 2) provide needed wrap around services to those individuals to move them 

into permanent housing, 3) create an additional pathway to permanent housing that will 

positively impact the numbers of homeless within Kansas City, Missouri. The project is 

intended to serve houseless persons exclusively.

Transitional Housing Contract

There are four intended outcomes: 1) provide housing for 90-days for up to 500 houseless 

individuals by contracting with local hotels, 2) provide case management and other services 

to individuals/families in the program, 3) identify appropriate transitional or permanent 

housing options for individuals/families in the program, 4) collaborate with Continuum of 

Care agencies and other organizations to establish a network that would assist with service 

delivery for program participants.

Lykins Neighborhood Housing/Houselessness Support Services

Project [Identification Number]: 7B: Houselessness Initiative

Funding amount: $185,000.00

Project Expenditure Category: 3.10 Housing Support: Affordable Housing and 3.12 Housing 

Support: Other Housing Assistance

Project overview

Neighborhood Legal Support & Affordable Housing Support of Kansas City

The Lykins Neighborhood Housing Support Services will utilize the funding to provide 

affordable housing to low-income residents for marginalized communities in the Historic 

Northeast City. The Lykins neighborhood organization will provide outreach to homeless 

individuals assisting them in obtaining relief payments, government issued ID, access to 

healthcare, work, and housing. Legal action will be taken to acquire abandoned, blighted, 

and/or vacant properties to return to rehabbed, good quality housing for low-to-moderate 

income families.

Use of Evidence

When a contract is developed for this ARPA project, evidence-based outcomes will be 

included per the reporting requirements.

Housing Trust Fund

Project [Identification Number]: 9: Affordable Housing

Funding amount: $12,500,000.00

Project Expenditure Category: 3.10 Housing Support: Affordable Housing

Project overview
Kansas City, MO 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 15

Per City Council Resolution No. 210249, the City Manager was directed to develop a plan to 

fund the construction or rehabilitation of affordable housing units and to report such plan to 

the City Council within 120 days. Therefore, the City will utilize the $12,500,000.00 

allocation in the Housing Trust Fund for eligible uses to support housing stability 

programming citywide. These eligible uses include supporting affordable residential and 

multifamily housing, special needs housing for families, seniors and vulnerable residents, 

conversion of unused buildings and schools, preservation of housing and community led 

development. The Housing Trust Fund Program is in development.

Use of Evidence

When a contract(s) is (are) developed for this ARPA project, evidence-based outcomes will 

be included per the reporting requirements. 

The aSTEAM Village (ASV) 3rd District Broadband Initiative 

Project [Identification Number]: 10: Broadband Access

Funding amount: $500,000.00

Project Expenditure Category: 5.16 Broadband: “Last Mile” projects

https://asteam-village-inc.square.site/

Project overview

aSTEAM Village, Inc. (ASV) is a Kansas City non-profit organization with a focus on STEAM 

education for youth and adults including IT and Computer Science certification preparation, 

and certifications for college readiness, workforce development, and entrepreneurship. 

aSTEAM Village is a partner in the US Department of Housing and Urban Development 

(HUD) EnVision Centers, which are premised on the notion that financial support alone is 

insufficient to solve the problem of poverty. The biggest challenge to achieving the success 

of this project is poverty -- of the general area, as well as the community of the 3rd District 

that ASV serves. The existing digital divide in this district has increased current inequities 

and punished low-income families during the pandemic. This aSTEAM Village project 

includes community improvement activities in the form of broadband investment

Use of Evidence

The ASV business model is to take the broadband enabled applications that we use in our 

daily lives and bundle those services into specific solutions that target distinct communities, 

neighborhoods, and industries. Although we have several applications for all sectors of the 

economy, aside from the basic residential consumers, aSTEAM Village will be focused on 

providing services that target four areas: education, healthcare, construction, and 

community development. The specific services offered are as follows: broadband Internet 

access, broadband-enabled telephone service, video security and surveillance, video 

conferencing, and computer centers for youth and adults. aSTEAM Village will own and 

manage its own network infrastructure as well as the equipment needed to deliver services 

and security to the end-user. The primary outcome is, providing residences and businesses 
Kansas City, MO 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 16

in Council District 3 (zip codes 64106, 64108, 64109, 64110, 64124, 64126, 64127, 64128, 

64129, 64130, and 64133) with broadband service.

Performance Report

As of August 31, 2021, the Temporary Housing Services to Address Homelessness projects, 

Pallet Community and Transitional Housing Contract has received and expended funds. The 

Transitional Housing Contract has been initiated and has tangible metrics that have been 

collected to date

KCMO is also collecting performance metrics for each of these projects to provide a base of 

strong causal evidence. Such metrics are included for situational awareness. Projects that have 

yet to be executed will display intended performance metrics in lieu of quantitative data. Note 

that the intended performance metrics are subject to change and may or may not be fully 

reported on in subsequent reports.

Starlight Theater

Performance Metrics:

• Number of workers enrolled in sectoral job training programs

• Number of workers completing sectoral job training programs

• Number of people participating in summer youth employment programs

• Total number of concerts held

• Total number of performers employed

• Total number of in person/virtual attendees

• Total duration of performances

• % of revenue loss that has been recouped

• % of positions that have been re-hired 

• Average number of attendants at the venue per event in FY20/21 (pre-funding) 

vs FY21/22 (post-funding) 

• Growth in revenue

Kansas City Zoo

Performance Metrics:

• Number of workers completing sectoral job training programs

• Number of people participating in summer youth employment programs

• Number of workers enrolled in sectoral job training programs

• Square footage of habitat improvement

• Number of events held

• Total $ of Communications Investment

• % of revenue loss that has been recouped

• % of positions that have been re-hired 

• Average number of daily attendants at the zoo in FY20/21 (pre-funding) vs 

FY21/22 (post-funding) 
Kansas City, MO 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 17

• Growth in revenue

Liberty Memorial Museum

Performance Metrics:

• Number of workers completing sectoral job training programs

• Number of people participating in summer youth employment programs

• Number of workers enrolled in sectoral job training programs

• Total number of events held

• Total number of exhibitions improved

• Total number of in person/virtual attendees

• % of revenue loss that has been recouped

• % of positions that have been re-hired 

• Average number of daily attendants at the museum in FY20/21 (pre-funding) vs 

FY21/22 (post-funding) 

• Growth in revenue

Temporary Housing Services to Address Homelessness

Pallet Community

Although the initial funding of the project was approved May 27, 2021 and an initial deposit was 

made June 3, 2021, this project is currently on-hold until resident concerns on location can be 

mitigated. The timeline for this municipal legislative process has not been released.

Performance Metrics:

 

• Number of people of households receiving eviction prevention services (including 

legal representation)

• Number of affordable housing units preserved or developed

• Total number of tiny houses

• Total number of sheltered individuals

• Duration of stay (average)

• Total number of families in tiny homes

Transitional Housing Contract 

The project was approved April 8, 2021 and was initiated April 9, 2021. The project ended on 

July 15, 2021 and there are currently no plans to revive it. To maximize its effectiveness, the 

project was coordinated through Lotus Hospitality Group and Lotus Care House. The project 

also collaborated with Continuum of Care agencies and other volunteer organizations.

Although the project largely succeeded (please see collected performance metrics below). The 

program challenges were related to the nature of the population served. Houseless individuals 

usually have a variety of issues, and that complexity warrants a high level of care based on the 

individual/family needs. Staffing was an issue however, because other homeless services 
Kansas City, MO 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 18

agencies volunteered to provide services, the concern was manageable. Another challenge was 

the amount of time dedicated to the program. The 90 days was helpful but, because of the 

complexities mentioned earlier, additional time would have made a difference especially 

regarding identification and placement of individuals/families in transitional or permanent 

housing. 

The project did call attention to the houseless issue and helped to educate the public on the 

ongoing needs of the population. The project prompted groups to focus their efforts on the 

houseless which will provide additional resources.

Housing project participants, although for a short time were provided stability and this allowed 

homeless service providers easier access to their existing and new clients. This established 

continuity of care that is rare.

 

Performance Metrics:

• Approximately 400 individuals were housed during the 90-days of the program 

• 200+ Individuals applied for Independence Housing Authority (IHA) Section 8 housing 

choice vouchers which became available on 6-28-21 with many participants having 

follow-up interviews that week and in the following weeks

• 344 Individuals completed housing needs assessment

• 80+ Vulnerability Index – Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Prescreen Tool (VISPDAT) surveys completed

• 61+ Employed – part-time or full-time

• 29+ – Exited to housing programs

• 2 healthy baby deliveries due to being at hotel service coordination

• 29+ connected to substance abuse / mental health treatment programs

• 14 life-saving or serious medical interventions including HIV and chronic related illness

• 30 acquired vital documents - 60 vital documents (MO/KS Birth certificates, IDs) have 

been paid for with continued support for participants interested in getting vital documents

Legal Aid of Western Missouri (Non-Profit)

Performance Metrics:

• Number of people of households receiving eviction prevention services (including 

legal representation)

• Number of affordable housing units preserved or developed

• Total number of individuals assisted with legal services

• Total $ in settlements received using legal assistance

• Total number of lawyers/ law-related staff volunteers

• Hours of volunteer work

• Total number of cases taken to court

 

Housing Trust Fund

Performance Metrics:

 

• Number of people of households receiving eviction prevention services (including 

legal representation)
Kansas City, MO 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 19

• Number of affordable housing units preserved or developed

• Total number of housing purchases enabled

• Total combined value of home purchase assistance

• Total number of neighborhoods covered

• Total number of families impacted

• Total number of individuals assisted with housing solutions

The aSTEAM Village (ASV) 3rd District Broadband Initiative 

Performance Metrics:

 

• Total number of zip codes covered

• Total number of households with new access to broadband

• Total number of students with new access to broadband