Councilman Crispin Rea Earns Leverage In Fight With Mayor Q Over New Jail Move

This debate might garner more traction in the very near future given the brazen switcheroo and more people paying attention . . .

Here's a weekend column that's worth reading . . . Check the basics and then the link:  

Mayor Quinton Lucas cited cost savings and looming deadlines for the abrupt about-face, adding that the public will be consulted as development plans move forward. According to Lucas, the original site would have cost the city about $25 million more because it’s on a flood plain . . .

Fourth District At-Large Councilman Crispin Rea opposed the ordinance. After the vote, Rea took to social media to explain why he was against relocating the proposed jail.

“With very little transparency, the Mayor pushed an ordinance to move the municipal detention center site from I-70 and 40 Hwy (a location overwhelmingly supported by voters last April) to Front Street just to the east of Frontier Academy. I opposed it,” Rea wrote on his Facebook page. “There was zero community engagement, we bypassed the ordinary council process of committee hearings and public testimony, and made the decision without completed analysis proving that it’s a lower cost site. There is a high school nearby, businesses, and neighborhoods that were not consulted. It very well could be a great location, however, process and transparency should still matter.”

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Toriano Porter At KC Star: "Why did Kansas City relocate municipal jail without community engagement?"