Kansas City Business Session – September 12, 2024: World Cup 2026 Progress and Violence Prevention Fund Update
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Kansas City Business Session – September 12, 2024: World Cup 2026 Progress and Violence Prevention Fund Update
During the business session on September 12, 2024, the City Council received updates on the World Cup 2026 planning and the Health Department’s violence prevention fund. Council unanimously approved the minutes from the July 25, 2024 business session. The meeting concluded with a brief discussion on ordinances and resolutions.
Consent Calendar
- Motion to approve the minutes of the business session of July 25, 2024 passed unanimously (all ayes, no opposed).
Discussion Items
World Cup 2026 Board Update
- Councilwoman Melissa Robinson, appointee to KC 2026, introduced the monthly update. Goals include delivering six matches safely, leveraging the event for long-term regional impact, and being responsible stewards of city resources.
- Executive Director Pam Kramer reported that 636 days remain until the event. Progress includes: establishment of a safety and security steering committee with city emergency management, police, and medical leads; selection of a mobility consultant (HTB and Burns & McDonald approved for initial 150-day scope); FIFA approval of the first version of the traffic transportation management plan; and announcement of the FanFest site at the World War One Museum and Memorial in late August.
- Three local providers have been approved to produce Kansas City host city merchandise. A project management platform (Smartsheet) will launch in September, revised expense projections will be discussed with the board in October, and a 2025 budget is expected in November.
- Councilman Raya asked about decision-making for the $15 million city allocation. Kramer clarified that the board approves expenses consistent with the host city contract, and the city manager will sign off. No funds have been allocated yet. Raya also inquired about inclusion of the Hispanic community in procurement and outreach. Kramer noted a meeting with Hispanic community leaders and a business intake form via the Chamber of Commerce. Councilwoman Robinson urged ongoing inclusion.
- Councilwoman Patterson requested a written report identifying security partners and quantifying the cost of manpower to understand the city’s financial share versus other jurisdictions.
Health Department Violence Prevention Fund Update
- Dr. Margaret Jones, Director of Health, presented the status of the $6 million per year, five-year (total $30 million) violence prevention fund allocated in May 2023. She provided a snapshot of allocations to various organizations, including evaluation costs of $1.3 million for the full project (approximately $350,000 per year).
- Existing contracts are in early stages; many partners are still hiring and ramping up, so invoicing is behind. Programs align with the 2019 Kansas City Blueprint for Violence Prevention.
- Councilwoman Robinson asked for documentation linking investments to the Blueprint. Dr. Jones agreed to provide that. Robinson also inquired about using funds to support small businesses not classified as 501(c)(3) nonprofits; Dr. Jones stated it would require working through procurement.
- Councilman Carls asked about accepting new applications; Dr. Jones said they are not currently accepting new RFPs but are open to proposals from council members.
- Councilman Raya asked about the $600,000 community capital fund for neighborhood associations. Examples include weekly community dinners and safe bus stop programs to build social connectedness, directly from the Blueprint. Raya expressed concern that despite a 20–25% decline in homicides, violence feels unabated. Dr. Jones noted prevention programming typically shows results in about five years. She expects UMKC research consultants to share early data within two to three months.
- Councilman Duncan asked about resources for youth already involved in the juvenile justice system. Dr. Jones described partners working on family reintegration and early identification of at-risk youth, but noted data-sharing challenges with schools.
- Mayor Pro Tem requested creation of an online dashboard to track progress of all violence prevention programs for transparency.
Key Outcomes
- Minutes from July 25, 2024 business session approved unanimously.
- World Cup 2026 update received; Councilwoman Patterson’s request for a written security cost report was acknowledged.
- Health Department update received with commitments to provide Blueprint alignment documentation and to report on early research data within 2–3 months.
- Mayor Pro Tem’s request for a public dashboard will be pursued.
- No ordinances or resolutions were brought forward for discussion.
Meeting Transcript
We'll get started. Welcome to business session for September 12, 2024. Our first item is approval of minutes for business session of July 25th, 2024. Is there a motion? So moved. It's been moved and seconded all in favor of approving the business session minutes. Say aye. Aye. All opposed. Motion passes. We will uh start today with the World Cup 2026 board update. And so come on up. We're excited to hear from you. Hi. Hello. Like we choose. Yeah. All right. Uh good afternoon, colleagues. Um, thank you for um hosting our making sure that we have this conversation today. Um, for the record Melissa Robinson, third district city council member and appointee to KC 2026. The purpose of these monthly updates that the mayor has said with KC26 is really to make sure one, we're all uh brought up to speed as it relates to the governance and implementation. Uh we want to ensure that we're obviously responsive to the agreement with FIFA. Um at the end of the day, we want to make sure that Kansas City feels proud and the surrounding areas of this set of historic events that will be happening in 2026. But not only proud about FIFA in the matches, but also proud about the way that we've been able to leverage this event as being a host city to benefit generations to come. And then finally, we want to ensure that we're being responsible stewards of city resources. We know that there's been a significant investment, but not only with city resources, but with other localities, um state of Missouri, the federal government, and also sponsors that are going to invest in FIFA. And so I have uh met with some of you. I hope to get on everyone's calendar just to ensure that we're in tune with the top line things that you would like to see during these monthly uh presentations. Uh and so with that, I'll turn it over to our executive director uh Pam Kramer. Thank you. Um, also joined by uh our uh secretary of our board, Kathy Nelson, who is CEO of the Kinsey Sports Commission and Visa Casey. So thank you, Mayor and City Manager and Council for having us. Um excited to share our progress today. Um are the slides up and available. She should do that. I can't see the whole slide. Oh, thank you. Sorry. What operator error okay? Can everyone see that? Um can they see? Oh, yes, it's up the screen. Okay, great. So uh as I start every presentation, just um we're we're closer every day, right? 636 days to go, so definitely operating with a sense of urgency and making the most of every day. I feel really good about where we are and excited to share some progress. So um, as councilwoman Robinson said, this is really uh much more than those matches. Our goals are yes, to deliver the six matches in a safe and seamless and distinctly Kansas City way, um, but also to leverage the opportunity to rise on the world stage to put Kansas City front and center in front of um the hundreds of millions, if not billions, of people who will watch uh matches and see shots of Kansas City from FanFest. And then in everything we do, we're contemplating how we can make a sustained and long-term impact on the region uh through the World Cup.
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