KCRag Forum

KCTOGA wrote: ↑Thu Oct 17, 2019 4:16 pm I fear a near Funkhowser freeze coming to DTKC development. DT is, and always should be, the economic engine for this area. We cannot lose the momentum already created under the leadership of Sly. Someday we may not need TIF, as for now I feel we still do. I am a 56 year old northlander who is enjoying a vibrant DT for the first time. I only hope to GOD they will at least use TIF for Strada, other OFFICE towers and to finish off Cordish! DAMN!!!

kboish wrote: ↑Fri Oct 25, 2019 3:22 pm Has anyone read the interview Lucas did with the BizJournal? Any thoughts on it?

beautyfromashes wrote: ↑Thu Dec 05, 2019 10:43 pm Do we feel that the interim city manager that was just announced will be made permanent? I know that a search committee has been put in place, but that doesn’t mean they will not make the interim permanent. Personally, I’ll be disappointed if they do a national search and end up with someone from Kalamazoo Michigan or Fort Smith Arkansas. We need to be able to pull a candidate from another mid- to large city who can address issues out of experience and bring ideas that push us to compete with peer cities.

smh wrote: ↑Fri Dec 06, 2019 11:58 am From what I know this city manager has no interest in becoming permanent. That said, I also thought someone else was going to be the interim so what do I know.

top Port Authority staff and appointed commissioners expressed displeasure at an arrangement by the Kansas City Council that deeply cuts the portion of incentives coming back to the authority to fund its own infrastructure projects. They called the action an unwarranted use of state dollars for city purposes.

Under the original terms of the USDA incentives, about $20 million from the AIM Zone would go to the owner of the downtown office building at 805 Pennsylvania selected as the new home for ERS and NIFA. The money would lower the lease rate the federal government would pay.

About $6 million would go back to the Port Authority to pay for transportation projects under its control, such as a facility to manage barge traffic sailing down the Missouri River, one of the Port Authority’s responsibilities.

But last month the Kansas City Council passed an ordinance that reduced by about $4 million what the city would contribute to the USDA incentive package. In turn, the Port Authority felt compelled to cut the $6 million it had counted on from the AIM Zone by $4 million to make up the difference and keep the USDA interested in relocating to Kansas City.

Port Authority commissioners also learned that a proposed affordable housing project along the Berkley Riverfront did not receive an allocation of low-income housing tax credits from the Missouri Housing Development Corporation. The 70-unit apartment project proposed by Prairie Fire Development, Port Authority officials said, was not on a list of recommended projects from Quinton Lucas’ office.

Our upcoming city budget will include funding to hire more police officers and social workers, and to build out a diverse, well-trained department. We must ensure these additional people are used in ways that focus on preventing and solving violent crimes.

Our budget will also include funding to expand mental health resources for survivors of shootings and the friends and families of homicide victims. I fully intend to break the cycle in which today’s friend or relative of a victim is tomorrow’s victim or potential assailant.

Additionally, my office is hosting work sessions with the City Council, police leadership and other community leaders to determine and expand upon what is working in our taxpayer-supported crime reduction industrial complex, and then to adjust what isn’t working. This includes review of KC NoVA, the Kansas City No Violence Alliance, and other crime prevention programs taxpayers support each year.

As a police commissioner, I’ve requested our police department, in alignment with other major city departments, to establish weekly shooter reviews to ensure that all investigatory and prevention efforts are being coordinated as effectively as possible across all taxpayer-funded entities, including our prosecutors’ offices. My goal here is clear: to prevent new victims by solving crimes and providing assistance to those most at risk.