Committee hears bill to name K‑5/I‑635 stretch for Marvin S. Robinson II

The Committee on Transportation opened a hearing on House Bill 2029 to designate a portion of K‑5 in Wyandotte County and the overlapping portion of Interstate 635 as the Marvin S. Robinson II Memorial Highway.

The bill would name K‑5 from the junction of K‑5 and North 18th Street west to the junction with North 30th Street for the late Representative Marvin S. Robinson II and would redesignate the adjacent portion of I‑635 as necessary where the routes overlap. Representative Patrick Penn testified in support, saying Robinson “embarked on a remarkable 37 year journey dedicated to safeguarding this vital piece of Kansas in American history.”

The naming matter is tied to the sign‑placement rules in state law. The reviser explained the bill is subject to KSA 68‑10,114, which requires the secretary to receive sufficient funds to cover sign costs plus an additional 50 percent of the initial cost to pay for future maintenance or replacement before signs will be erected. The reviser said the bill’s Section 2 performs a redesignation where K‑5 and I‑635 overlap; that stretch had earlier been named the Harry Darby Memorial Highway, and the redesignation replaces the named portion while leaving other designations intact.

Supporters emphasized Robinson’s local preservation work around the Quindaro Ruins and his long record of public service. Representative Ballard, who said she had been Robinson’s office mate, told the committee the Quindaro Ruins ‘‘is no more fitting tribute to Marvin’’ and urged passage. Harold Dwight, Robinson’s brother and pastor of Eagles Nest Church of God in Christ, described Robinson as a lifelong Wyandotte County resident who ‘‘continued his fight in the Quindaro Ruins’’ and recounted local sites and historic ties the family sought to preserve. The unified government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, submitted written testimony in support from Mayor Tyrone Garner.

Committee members asked procedural questions and the chairman noted there may be an amendment under discussion; Representative Penn said he was ‘‘in talks with the family’’ and they were awaiting some numbers to determine feasibility of the change. No final action was taken; the chairman closed the hearing and said the committee will probably work the bill at a later meeting.

The committee record shows proponents described Robinson’s legislative record in broad terms: Representative Penn listed ‘‘about five’’ house bills and eight concurrent resolutions with which Robinson was associated and said Robinson worked to place the Quindaro Ruins on the National Register of Historic Places. Those numeric counts were presented by the proponent as approximations from recorded research and were not introduced as statutory citations.

No oral opponents testified at the hearing. The committee did not vote on HB 2029 during this session; members were told the bill may be taken up for working or amendment at the committee’s next meeting.