Subsequent to the HAA Board meeting of 4/29/99, industry representatives from the various affected rental housing associations met at the Price Development Co. offices on 5/03/99 to discuss a unified strategy to address proposed regulatory actions scheduled to be presented by city staff to the Overland Park Community Development Committee, and to be brought before the entire city council shortly thereafter.

It was agreed by those in attendance on 5/03/99 that written correspondence from various affected rental housing constituenciess to the mayor and individual members of the city council would be beneficial as similar, but not specific respective points of view would be represented. A mailing deadline of 5/20/99 was established for all participants to submit their correspondence.

In addition to the written correspondence, those in attendance on 5/03/99 agreed to make specific personal contacts with key members of the city council.

Doug Price and Sam Alpert met with Mayor Eilert on 5/13/99. The mayor indicated that he would not favor a blanket program that calls for periodic inspection of all units, but sees the necessity to facilitate an improved system of dealing with problem properties. A relatively few serious difficulties with multifamily properties located within O.P. over the past ten years have created an undue sense of urgency to demonstrate to the public that the city is doing something in this regard. The major indicated that he would support the formation of a rental housing commission to further study the scope of the problem and to make remedial recommendations on a case by case basis.

Doug Price and Sam Alpert met with Councilmen Greg Musil and Carl Gerlach on 5/24/99. Both agreed that financially burdensome regulation should not be pursued, but they insisted that at a minimum a recommendation to enact an ordinance to facilitate cost free registration of all rental properties will most likely advance from the Community Development Committee to the full city council for approval. They were also receptive to the formation of a rental housing commission.

Neil Sader submitted a written response to Sam Alpert's letter dated 5/07/99 to Mayor Eilert. The communication from Sader echoed the need to establish a better means of dealing with the problem of notification of absentee owners" when necessary.

A letter from Joe Mulvihill to Lenny Ozar dated 5/20/99 was circulated to HAA members and other rental housing providers notifying them of KCMO city council activity regarding licensing and inspection of residential rental properties. The letter was in response to information given to Mulvihill by a news media source (Scott Simon), who had wrongly assumed that among items held over for periodic docket review by the Neighborhood Development Committee, this issue would be discussed at the 5/26/99 committee meeting. As a matter of course this issue continues to receive semi-annual attention because it has never been fully resolved by the city council; but at this time the Neighborhood Development Committee has not scheduled the matter for discussion or testimony. In an informal discussion with Ed Ford (a committee member), Sam Alpert learned that staff has been instructed to devise a plan for presentation which would require registration and inspection of units only where a pattern or repeat history of codes infractions have occurred. Ford indicated that there is now a desire on the part of several members of the council to focus on specific problem landlords as opposed to enacting sweeping regulation that would unduly burden quality housing providers. Lester Washington, one of the remaining Cleaver administration senior staffers, has been asked to provide a historical background of the tabled ordinance for the benefit of the new council members. It is anticipated that review of the issue by the Neighborhood Development Committee will take place within the next few months.