‘Why in God’s name would we spend millions?’ Kansas City mayor decries $21M jail plan
A consulting group recommended Thursday that Kansas City build a new $21 million pre-engineered jail near the Missouri River to house municipal inmates and pre-trial detainees.
Such a facility could offer 100 beds and be ready in about 10 months. It would stand for four or five years until the city could come up with a permanent solution, whether in concert with Jackson County or not.
“We know that you’re in crisis mode and that this needs to be expedited as quickly as possible, so going with a fast-track approach would be the best,” said Marsha Hoffman, principal-in-charge at SFS Architecture, part of a group of architects the city hired to study the issue.
After her presentation to the City Council, Mayor Quinton Lucas was not won over, noting that Kansas City had to dip into its general fund Thursday to replace aging protective gear for firefighters.
“Why in God’s name would we spend millions of dollars on a trailer-park jail?” Lucas said. “We don’t have money for it, particularly where we could actually try to come to some negotiation with all of the jurisdictions in which we sit.”
The group also studied a modular jail design that would have included trailers. It found the pre-engineered metal building to be a better option, Hoffman said, because it would require a smaller operational staff.
Until last year, Kansas City paid Jackson County for 275 beds in the Regional Correctional Center, a small building adjacent to the Jackson County Detention Center. The county declined to renew the city’s lease when it ran out last summer.
In the run-up to that summer eviction, Kansas City signed contracts with Johnson County, Missouri, for 50 beds and Heartland Center for Behavioral Change for 110 beds, including 25 beds for pre-trial detainees of the Kansas City Police Department, a point of contention with the department.
Moving inmates to Heartland proved problematic. Several inmates escaped, and one died while in the facility’s care. Last fall, Heartland was dropped by two of its insurance carriers.
Kansas City’s contract with Johnson County, Missouri, remains, and it has since signed deals for 60 beds in Vernon County and 45 beds back at the Jackson County facility downtown. It can also hold pre-trial detainees at KCPD stations. Factoring in estimated growth in arrests, the consulting group said Kansas City would need 97 more beds, which would be taken care of with the 100-bed jail.
The group studied and ruled out remodeling the Regional Correctional Center. Redoing a top floor at Kansas City Police Headquarters could be a lower-cost option, they said, but that would only provide 50 beds.
Lucas said the issue was a “political problem masquerading as some sort of public safety issue.” He said elected officials in Kansas City and the counties in which it lies need to work out a deal rather than being in a “never-ending pissing contest.”
Asked what he could do to ensure that conversation happens, Lucas said he was “always happy to talk to absolutely anyone in connection with it” and noted that he had met with Jackson County Sheriff Darryl Forte early in his term.
“I’d love to talk to the county executive, the county legislature about how to come to a great arrangement on the jail,” Lucas said. “This is something that I’ve had my door open to do for ages.”
The Jackson County jail has been beset with its own problems in recent years, ranging from filth to episodes of violence. But Lucas has said he believes Forte is doing a better job of running the jail.
Councilwoman Heather Hall, 1st District, said the goal of Thursday’s presentation was for the City Council to find out its options.
“We wanted to gather as much information as we possibly could,” Hall said. “I don’t expect any way shape or form for there to be decisions today.”
