ORDINANCE NO. 250992
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Sponsor: Councilmember Kevin O’Neill
Reducing Contingent Appropriation in the amount of $1,200,000.00 in General Fund to provide funding for the purpose of design professional services related to a permanent detention facility at the site of the modular detention facility; directing the City Manager to include a request for appropriation in the FY27 submitted budget from the Public Safety Sales Tax Fund in the amount of $1,200,000.00 as a transfer to the General Fund; designating requisitioning authority; authorizing the Director of General Services to execute a contract amendment with Treanor, Inc. for design professional services related to the permanent detention facility; and recognizing this ordinance as having an accelerated effective date.
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WHEREAS, Kansas City operated the Municipal Farm correctional facility until its closure until 2009 based upon an agreement for incarceration between Jackson County, Missouri and the City of Kansas City; and
WHEREAS, Kansas City had a detention facility on the top floor of Kansas City, Missouri Police Department (“KCPD”) headquarters for 77 years, which closed in 2015; and
WHEREAS, upon the closure of the eighth-floor detention facility, all Kansas City inmates charged with ordinance violations were housed in the Jackson County Detention Center, Clay County Detention Center, or Platte County Detention Center; and
WHEREAS, in 2018, Jackson County informed Kansas City, it would evict all Kansas City inmates from their facility; and
WHEREAS, Kansas City has since 2019 contracted with third parties, including other counties to house inmates; and
WHEREAS, on April 8, 2025, Kansas City voters renewed the Public Safety Sales Tax, a quarter cent sales tax supporting public safety infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, City officials pledged funds generated from the sales tax would support the construction and operation of a City-owned municipal detention facility; and
WHEREAS, Kansas City Council already has pledged initial Public Safety Sales Tax funds of $6,682,640.00 to support KCPD equipment and vehicle purchases in Ordinance 250472; and
WHEREAS, Kansas City Council in Resolutions 250393, 250839, and 250890 reaffirmed its support for staff and consultant focus on the urgent construction and delivery of a modular facility by June 1, 2026; and
WHEREAS, Ordinance 250890 redirected previously approved funds for the renovation of the eighth-floor detention facility and added further funds for the construction of a modular detention facility at the site of the Kansas City tow lot on Front Street; and
WHEREAS, City staff has briefed City Council on options for a facility, which include construction of a detention facility upon land for which the City holds an option adjacent to the new Jackson County Detention Center (“40 Highway site”) or an expanded permanent modular detention facility on the tow lot site; and
WHEREAS, City staff has advised City Council of additional site preparation costs of $27 million on the 40 Highway site, which sits in a flood plain; and
WHEREAS, City Council has been briefed of cost savings on Public Safety Sales Tax funds exceeding potentially up to $125 million through construction of a permanent modular detention facility on the City tow lot site; and
WHEREAS, City Staff has asked for authorization to review a potential detention facility site at the Kansas City tow lot that maintains efficient delivery of a permanent detention facility for Kansas City; and
WHEREAS, Treanor was selected as the design professional for the Kansas City Detention and Rehabilitation Center which includes scope in support of the detention facility; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:
Section 1. That the Contingent Appropriation in the General Fund is hereby reduced in the following amount:
26-1000-179990-B Contingent Appropriation $1,200,000.00
Section 2. That the sum of $1,200,000.00 is hereby appropriated from the Unappropriated Fund Balance of the General Fund in the following account:
26-1000-077210-B-07P-26027 Permanent Detention Facility $1,200,000.00
Section 3. That the Director of General Services is hereby designated as requisitioning authority for Account No. 26-1000-077210-B-07P26027.
Section 4. That the Director of General Services is hereby authorized to execute a contract amendment in the amount not to exceed $1,200,000.00 with Treanor, Inc. for design professional services related to the permanent detention facility at the same location as the modular detention facility from funds appropriated herein.
Section 5. That the City Manager is hereby directed to include in the FY27 submitted budget a transfer of $1,200,000.00 from the unappropriated fund balance of the Public Safety Sales Tax Fund, No. 2320, to the General Fund.
Section 6. That the City Manager is hereby directed to apply any unspent funds appropriated pursuant to this Ordinance to final detention facility design and construction.
Section 7. That this ordinance, relating to the design, repair, maintenance, or construction of a public improvement and appropriating money, is recognized as an ordinance with an accelerated effective date as provided by Section 503(a)(3) of the City Charter and shall take effect in accordance with the same.
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I hereby certify that there is a balance, otherwise unencumbered, to the credit of the appropriation to which the foregoing expenditure is to be charged, and a cash balance, otherwise unencumbered, in the treasury, to the credit of the fund from which payment is to be made, each sufficient to meet the obligation hereby incurred.
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William Choi
Interim Director of Finance
Approved as to form:
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Dustin E. Johnson
Assistant City Attorney