Cities, suburbs conflict
By MICHAEL SPENCER
When one drives down Woodlawn Avenue in Wichita, he comes to another city, Eastborough. The speed limit before he reaches Eastborough is 35 miles per hour, but when he enters the six blocks of Eastborough on Woodlawn Avenue, he must reduce his speed to 30 miles per hour. This illustrates some of the problems existing between cities and suburbs.
In the early 1960's, Wichita launched a program of annexation which brought the area of the city to just over 79 square miles. The goal of this program was expressed in its title "The One Wichita."
These incorporated towns would help build the Wichita Metropolitan Area; they include Augusta, population 6,183; Derby, 5,321; Eastborough, 1,230; Haysville, 4,277; Kechi, 836; Mulvane, 2,814 and other cities with approximately 5,000 persons-a total of more than 25,000 persons. The town of
Although 20 square miles of land was added to the city, some needed area could not be annexed because incorporated towns wanting to maintain their identity fought against becoming a part of the city.
Incorporated towns
Eastborough serves as an excellent example of problems that can exist and how they are solved. In the late 1940's and early 1950's the city of Eastborough grew near the eastern limits of Wichita. One of the principal reasons for its growth was many of the wealthy families of Wichita wanted to escape the high level of taxation in the city.
Rapid growth
In the 1950's and 1960's, Wichita experienced rapid growth due to the expanding aircraft industry in the city. During the ten years between 1950 and 1960, the city grew at a rate of 51.4 per cent from 168,279 to 254,698. The city limits of Wichita grew very rapidly in all directions, but especially to the east where most of the large industry is located. Eventually the entire city of Eastborough was surrounded by the city of Wichita.
Although Wichita made many attempts at annexing Eastborough, it was unsuccessful. It should be emphasized that many wealthy Wichitans live in Eastborough—people such as Olive Beech, owner of Beech Aircraft, and former Kansas Governor, William Avery—who can swing a great deal of political leverage.
One of the largest conflicts between Wichita and Eastborough, other than the annexation, concerned the paving of Woodlawn Avenue. Woodlawn is a boundary between the two cities. In 1964 Woodlawn was a two-lane road which needed repaving and also enlarging. Neither city wanted to do the work. Wichita argued since Eastborough maintained and enforced speed regulations on the road, it should have the responsibility of working on the street. On the other hand, Eastborough argued since the street ran into Wichita at either end of the city, and a far greater number of Wichita cars and trucks used the street than did those from Eastborough, it should have responsibility. Finally an agreement was worked out by which each city would pay for one-half of the work.
City contracts
Other problems of services have been worked out between the two cities. Basically, the City of Eastborough provides its own streets and police protection. It lies within common school district No. 259 which provides school services.
Through a contract with Wichita, it obtains sewer and water service and fire
protection. These types of contracts between cities are very frequent and are often used for solving urban problems.
Intergovernmental co-operation is usually characterized by one of the following types of action: (1) joint enterprise, (2) furnishing services by one unit of government to others, (3) mutual aid or (4) parallel action.
Joint enterprise has often been quite successful in providing public services, such as health and sanitary functions. For this purpose, two or more units of government enter into an agreement to employ a qualified individual or create a department to perform the necessary duties involved.
Cooperation common
The rendering of services by one unit of government for other units is fairly common. An example is Eastborough.
Mutual aid which is based upon the principle of exchange of services has been used most frequently for providing reciprocal aid in fire fighting.
Parallel action is commonly undertaken as a result of informal understandings rather than formal agreements—by enacting uniform regulations pertaining to such matters as zoning, building construction, and subdivisions.
Atchison housing project upgrades community
By SANDRA SIAU
"The idea behind any public housing development is to provide a community's low-income citizens with the incentive to improve their situations and, in so doing, lead richer, fuller lives. Giving them safe, decent, sanitary housing at a cost which leaves them part of their income for things other than the bare necessities, helps to restore human dignity and turn despair into hope for the future," explained Robert Kocour.
The executive director of the Atchison Housing Authority since June 1967, Kocour, an energetic young man of 30, knows what he's talking about. For two years the Atchison native, a 1960 graduate of St. Benedict's College, has witnessed the overwhelming need for human renewal in the course of planning an ambitious public housing development for the northeast Kansas community of 13,000 residents.
Monev is from HUD
Scheduled to begin construction around June 1, the project is funded by a $2,940,000, 40-year loan awarded Atchison by the Fort Worth, Texas, district office of the federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Agency in March 1967. It calls for the erection of a 10-story high-rise complex containing 150 units for elderly persons (62 and over) in the downtown and 50, single-story units for low-income families on two separate sites.
Kocour's $800 a month budget, based on the number of units the Atchison Housing Authority will construct, is provided by HUD. Out of it, he must pay all the expenses of his one-man office located in the city hall. The Atchison Housing Authority board—Dr. F. A. Donavan, Joseph M. Carrigan, the former mayor, Hazen Shaeffer, present mayor, Floyd Denton and Mrs. James Rockwell—put in countless hours without pay.
"The high rise, which will be
16 KANSAN May 13 1969
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constructed on the present site of the five-story Atchison Hotel, should be completed in two years. We're shooting for 18 months on the family units, but since these are duplexes, they'll be made available as they're completed," Kocour stated.
Economy boon seen
"The development promises to be a boon to our economy as well as a chance for low-income citizens to lead more productive lives. In Atchison, where only 63.6 per cent of the estimated 6,250 dwelling units are considered sound (with all of the necessary plumbing facilities), we've had a running battle with sub-standard housing for some time.
"In 1960, the median income of our 5,121 families was $4,796 per year, with an estimated 24.2 per cent of the population earning less than $3,000 annually. In 1965, the welfare rolls listed 1,080 recipients. Few people here can afford to build new homes. During the past few years, the overflow of army families from Fort Leavenworth (with rent allotments of up to $250 per month), has forced up rental prices of better homes, creating a small panic among our lower middle-class citizens," Kocour continued.
Landlords are problems
"At the bottom of the critical housing situation are our slum landlords—a small corps of Atchison's respectable citizens—who prosper on the blood money they extract from low-income families forced to rent from them. Our strongest opponents, these landlords make a practice out of buying up shacks for from $700 to $1,000 and, without putting any equity into them, renting them for as much as $40 a month.
"Some of these shacks have
no electricity and no indoor plumbing. The squaler and filth is unbelievable. But, the welfare office continues to pay the rents and the building inspector is reluctant to condemn them unless they become vacant. We have no place but other shacks to move these tenants to," Kocour said in disgust.
"The slum landlords are by no means the only opponents of the housing development. We've been told by other members of the community that the elderly residents won't want to live in a high rise and will be afraid to ride the elevator. However, our consultants (Butler and Associates of Springfield, Mo.) Fort Worth's HUD officials, and trips to communities where this type of structure has proven to be successful in housing the elderly, have convinced us it's the right type for our purposes.
New building cheaper
"We've also been criticized for planning a new building instead of converting the dilapidated, 42-year-old Atchison Hotel into units for the elderly. It's hard to convince people that, in this case, it's cheaper and more practical to erect an attractive new building.
The hotel site, which borders the downtown mall at Seventh and Commercial Streets, was selected because it's within minutes of all of the services elderly people need to have close at hand-doctors, dentists, supermarkets, shops-Kocour explained. The complex, to be constructed of structural steel and cement blocks, will contain 90 single efficiency units (HUD estimates at least 70 per cent of the elderly live alone), 50 to 55 one-bedroom apartments and five, two-bedroom apartments.
In addition to the Atchison HA office and a lobby, the main
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floor will serve as a community center for residents and their guests. A central, 200-capacity community room, complete with demonstrator kitehen, will be available for large functions, such as the weekly meetings of the Over 60 Bridge Club. Smaller rooms will be used for conferences, seminars and activities like ceramics, drawing and painting. Each floor will contain its own social area and a laundry center.
Every unit will include a stove, refrigerator, window shades and paid utilities. Rent, to be based on the number of occupants per unit and amount of total income, will vary from $30 to $60 per month.
"According to HUD, there are 1,500 people in Atchison who are eligible for residency in the high rise," Kocour noted.
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"Low-income families are usually thought of as those whose total annual income is less than $3500, but to be eligible for the family units, the maximum income will vary, depending on the number of children in a family, debts, medical expenses, etc. Each applicant will be considered as a separate case by the Housing Authority. The rent will also
range from $30 to $60 per month, and the same extras given the elderly, will be included," Kocour stated.
The family duplexes, designed to be attractive as well as functional, will be painted different colors and feature brick facades. Both the northside complex, which will contain 38 units, and the 12-unit Highland Park complex (an area involved in the Southside urban renewal project), will be landscaped with play and parking areas provided.
Plans call for 10,
three-bedroom, 24,
two-bedroom, and four,
one-bedroom apartments to be
constructed on the northside,
and six, three-bedroom, four,
two-bedroom, and two,
one-bedroom units on the
Highland Park site.
"Now that we've cut through all of the government red tape involved in implementing a project like this and the planning stage is finished, the Housing Authority's anxious to begin actual construction. Rising building costs will probably force us to increase our budget before we're finished, but in the long run, it'll be worth it."
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