reStart, a Kansas City-based organization that provides emergency and permanent housing services, has been recommended to be the operator of a permanent county homeless shelter proposed for a Lenexa hotel.
The organization, which was established in 1984, was recommended unanimously by an evaluation committee convened by United Community Services, an Overland Park non-profit.
The recommendation was announced this week and will be reported to the county commission at a date yet to be determined.
“With 40 years of experience, reStart is a community leader in supporting those who are unhoused while addressing the underlying causes of chronic and generational homelessness,” said County Chair Mike Kelly in a news release. “I thank the committee for its recommendation and look forward to continued progress on this issue in Johnson County.”
The county is buying a Lenexa hotel to make into a shelter
County commissioners voted in December to move forward with the purchase of the La Quinta Inn and Suites and a shuttered Denny’s restaurant near Interstate 35 and 95th Street.
The county is now in the fact-finding stage before the sale can become final.
The proposed shelter is intended to provide private rooms for 50 people and services to help them find stable, permanent housing.
The county’s plan is to have shelter operations taken over by an owner/operator to be approved by the commission, on recommendation by the UCS evaluation committee.
UCS sent out a request for proposals in December and the submissions were evaluated by a committee of 16 that included county staff, representatives from Lenexa and Overland Park and experts on homelessness.
There were four submissions to run the shelter
reStart was chosen from among four submissions, said Kristy Baughman, UCS executive director.
The four were judged on several criteria, including experience serving the homeless population, fiscal responsibility and stability and fundraising ability.
They were also evaluated on such things as quality of services, preference given to clients qualifying as chronically homeless and staffing plans.
reStart’s Chief Executive Officer Stephanie Boyer said the organization is excited to be part of the effort.
“All of us at reStart are impressed by the work done in Johnson County so far to address this issue in our community and are pleased to join the process as it moves forward,” she said.
Baughman said the shelter will improve the options for those experiencing homelessness in the county.
“If you are in need of housing in Johnson County but either don’t have children, are not justice-involved nor experiencing domestic violence, you don’t have many options. I’m excited to see the county take this important step in an ongoing process to increase options in Johnson County,” she said.
The sale of the hotel is expected to close in October
Commissioners approved a $6 million purchase price, to come from coronavirus relief funds and $500,000 for due diligence.
The county has paid the first earnest money installment of $150,000 while looking into the buildings’ condition and any unanticipated issues.
Barring snags, the sale will close October 31, 2024.
That’s a deadline that was recently extended as commissioners approved $350,000 in unexpected costs to buy out the franchise on the hotel.
The UCS recommendation also was issued about a month later than originally planned.
