Kansas City Council Business Session – December 2, 2021
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Kansas City Council Business Session – December 2, 2021
The Kansas City Council held a business session on December 2, 2021, beginning at approximately 2:15 p.m. (20:15 UTC). The meeting included approval of prior minutes, an update from the Office of Citizen Engagement, a mandated report on mask wearing, and a discussion of an ordinance to fund a national search for a new police chief. No public comments were heard.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes (Business Session, November 10, 2021): Moved and seconded; approved unanimously by voice vote.
Discussion Items
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Office of Citizen Engagement Update – Councilman Ellington introduced Mr. Austin Taylor, who presented a consolidated report for August through November 2021. Key activities included:
- Partnership with religious organizations to build neighborhood coalitions.
- Recognition from Evergy for community engagement work.
- Collaboration with organizations such as Zane for Heart and Z Travel.
- Creation of an Office of Citizen Engagement pamphlet with resources.
- Participation in Civic Saturday events with the city manager’s office.
- Workshops on grant writing and qualifying language for community organizations.
- Distribution of 200 blessing bags and 150 dinners to homeless camps, in partnership with Emanuel Family Child Care Development Center. Councilman Ellington expressed support for the office’s work, noting its potential to increase service provider capacity and improve efficiency for homeless services.
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Mask Mandate Report – The council acknowledged receipt of a memorandum from Acting Health Director Mr. Thompson, dated December 1, 2021, regarding the wearing of masks in public spaces, as required by state law. No further action was taken.
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Swallow Park Lights Fee Inquiry – An unnamed council member reported constituent concerns about a fee charged to drive through Swallow Park to view holiday lights. The city manager was asked to provide an explanation at a future meeting regarding why the fee exists and where the revenue goes.
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Ordinance to Fund National Search for Police Chief – Councilwoman Shields introduced an ordinance (on the printed docket) to authorize $200,000 for a national search firm for the Kansas City, Missouri Police Commission. She argued that the funding would remove a potential excuse for not conducting an immediate, nationwide search. Councilmember Ellington questioned why the council should provide funds for a search that is solely the commission’s responsibility, noting the commission could accept the money and still not conduct a national search. Councilwoman Shields responded that the ordinance expresses the council’s expectation and provides financial support, but final decisions rest with the commission. No vote was taken during the business session; the matter was expected to be taken up later in the regular session.
Key Outcomes
- Minutes of the November 10, 2021 business session were approved.
- The Office of Citizen Engagement report was received; further monthly reports will be provided per ordinance.
- The mask mandate report was acknowledged as received.
- A request for information on Swallow Park light fees was referred to the city manager for a future response.
- The police chief search ordinance was introduced and discussed but not voted on; the council planned to reconvene at 3 p.m. for the regular session to continue deliberations.
- The business session was adjourned.
Meeting Transcript
Me all here. The I I see four uh members of our council online. I don't see all their faces, so I'm just gonna acknowledge that we have four online and we have three in chambers, which by my calculation means we have a quote here. So we're gonna get started. Um Mr. Clerk, I think the first item is approval of minutes for business session November 10th 2021. Yes, sir. Um is there a motion? So moved. Second. It's been moved and seconded to approve the minutes for business session of November 10th, 2021. All those in favor, please respond by saying aye. All right. All right. Those minutes have been approved. Okay, Mr. Clerk, can you move to the next item, please? Office of citizen engagement. Councilman Ellen. I'm gonna try to be just as uh short as Howard was with that. So we're gonna give a brief update of the Office of Citizen Engagement and try to get you guys out of business session as quick as we can. I know we're a couple months behind, but that's only due to the fact that we was pushed back with the presentation. And with that, I'd like to bring up Mr. Austin Taylor, which is good, which will give you an overview of what has actually transpired. And I'm also uh somewhat excited to say that there's been a lot of movements behind the scenes, and I'm looking forward to see what actually happens in next week's presentation. Um, cool. I'll just switch seats. Sorry about that, guys. Oh no, sorry. Oh no, that is not it. Okay. I appreciate you. Sorry for the delay, guys. Um as this is loading up. Okay, cool. Um so again, as um council um SCD council member um Ellington was stating that um this was the presentation that was actually um supposed to be presented in um August and then um then September, then October. So we just consolidated and then we got pushback again. But we do have um, if you guys would like, I can send you guys by the end of business day the presentation for all of November due to City Ordinance 210140 stating that we must give a monthly report. So I can give that to you guys um at your guys' convenience. But um the Office of Citizen Engagement, of course, um City Ordinance 210140, where we are supposed to be um working directly with citizens, doing community advocacy, working alongside with um 311 and different entities throughout the um city government. Luckily, today, actually, just to give a brief update, um, we were acknowledged by Evergy in regards to the work that the Office of Citizen Engagement has been doing with within the city of Kansas City, partnering with different organizations, businesses, and individuals. Um, so that was a great honor, and we got to speak more on the ordinance. And I did a big shout out to, of course, um the city council, um, city manager, and just the city offices as a whole. Um, so for August, um, we connected with religious organizations to determine the best steps to establish um coalition to help um advance the local government neighborhood partnerships without looking for personal and organizational benefit. That's pretty much um in turn. We I believe that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Um and with the office of citizen engagement, I wanted to make sure we had some form of a steering committee that um provided a conscience of sort to make sure that we properly research um catalog, recognize, and celebrate these organizations and individuals and businesses that are serving the city. Um we've um as well did a amazing partnership with organizations such as Zane for Heart. Zane for Heart is actually an organization that um is based here in um Kansas City that has been working internationally um with individuals providing medical um research, um providing um um holistic cares, and then um Z Travel we actually just was awarded a um a commendation by the Jamaican Parliament, and they are actually based in Kansas City. The founder um is a Jamaican resident that transferred to um Kansas City, and now she's doing a mobile lab that's working with COVID and prevention and um just mobile labs with daycare centers and so on and so forth.
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