Kennett council tables decision on landlord’s request to improve 97 rental properties amid tenant-safety concerns

Kennett City Council postponed action on a request from property owner Riley Cook to improve and retain rental licenses for dozens of units after council members voiced concerns about unsafe housing, unclear recent property transfers and limited emergency housing for displaced tenants.

The item was presented as a follow-up to earlier enforcement under Ordinance 3099; staff told the council that a memorandum with Cook’s request to improve rental properties was submitted on Aug. 8. A city recorder document provided that day showed 97 properties newly recorded in Cook’s name while 58 remained listed in the name of Eddie Flores, a previous owner. Council members said the ownership changes complicate enforcement and eligibility for licensing.

The debate centered on two competing concerns: council members’ reluctance to put tenants at immediate risk of eviction and the council’s stated interest in holding landlords accountable for code violations. Several council members said Kennett lacks emergency housing: a councilmember reported talking to the Kennett Housing Authority and said there is no local emergency shelter and that families have been on wait lists since 2021.

Pastor Dino, speaking on behalf of the AME Church, offered to help tenants understand their rights and to hold tenant meetings at the church and the community center. "I'll be passing out so they know what their rights are," he said, adding that the church’s offers were not "just trying to put a Band Aid on anything."

Cook told the council he had submitted a plan and would provide regular updates. He told the council, "I put a $100,000 out to do this," and said he could provide daily logs of work. Council members repeatedly said that code-enforcement inspections, not a self-reported log, would guide decisions about the license.

Council discussion included a narrowly framed proposal from at least one member to grant a provisional license through the next meeting (suggested date Sept. 2 in the discussion), with code enforcement required to report progress at every council meeting and an automatic termination if timelines were missed. Opponents said they did not trust prior assurances and argued that granting more time would reward a landlord who had, in the council’s view, repeatedly failed to bring units to code.

A councilmember moved to consider Cook’s proposal and another councilmember seconded. Before the council completed its deliberations, members said they had just received additional information that could affect the decision; the motion was withdrawn and the item was tabled to the next meeting for further investigation. No final vote on licensing occurred.

City staff told the council they would collect the outstanding records and provide updated information at the next meeting. Council members encouraged community groups and the AME Church to coordinate tenant assistance in the meantime.

Why it matters: Councilmembers framed the decision as a choice between two harms — potentially displacing tenants who have nowhere locally to go, or allowing rental properties that fail health and safety standards to remain occupied. The council postponed a decision to gather clearer ownership records and code-enforcement evidence before acting.