OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Kansas City Council Business Session: Measles Preparedness and Sum Fresh Ordinance – April 17, 2025

City Council Business Session — Thursday, April 17, 2025
BodyKansas City, Missouri
SessionCity Council Business Session
DateThursday, April 17, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 32:22

Transcript — Verbatim
0:10

Welcome to business session.

0:12

Our first item is approval of minutes for business session of March 6th.

0:17

Is there a motion?

0:20

Is there a second?

0:21

Good move and second.

0:22

All in favor of approving the minutes for March 6th, say aye.

0:25

Aye.

0:26

Aye.

0:26

All opposed.

0:27

Motion passes.

0:29

Our one item for today in open session is a discussion on measles.

0:35

The Department of Health is here for us.

0:37

So health department, we are ready for you.

0:48

All right.

0:49

Good afternoon.

0:50

Good afternoon, everyone.

0:51

Thanks for having us.

0:53

My name is Dr.

0:53

Marvia Jones.

0:54

I'm the health director.

0:55

With me is Cindy Callender, who is the lead for our communicable disease epidemiology group.

1:01

So we're going to be running through some basic information about measles and our prevention.

1:09

And we know that some of you may have some specific questions as well.

1:12

So we'll get into those as well.

1:13

But I'll let Cindy kick it off.

1:15

So all right, thank you so much.

1:18

All right.

1:19

So first we want to go ahead and talk about measles.

1:22

What is measles?

1:23

So measles is a rash illness.

1:24

It's very contagious.

1:26

It is passed on by person to person, highly transmissible.

1:31

It can affect up to 12 to 18 people.

1:37

Measles also can be suspended in the air for up to two hours, so it also can be airborne.

1:43

So we just want to make sure that we are capturing whoever came into the room after that infected person left.

1:50

The symptoms include this is a prodrome symptoms, and those symptoms are what happens two to four days before the rash illness.

2:03

There's also a coughing, runny nose, and pink eye, which is also conjunctivitis, known as conjunctivitis.

2:09

And then there are spots that can also be seen in the roof of the mouth, which are little white spots called coplex spots.

2:18

The incubation period is pretty long, so it goes all the way up to 21 days.

2:23

I did want to let you guys know that as well.

2:26

So this is what the rash looks like.

2:29

It is a macular papillar rash.

2:32

What that means is that it's it's a flat rash, but it also can have pimples on the top of that.

2:36

And then as it spreads, it can also join together, so it kind of looks like it's all kind of one rash.

2:42

And on the um pictures that we have on the left side, that is um, just so you can see what it looks like for different skin tones.

2:50

It's gonna be red um on lighter skin tone, and it's gonna be purplish for darker skin tones.

2:56

And then I also want to um keep mention that the rash infectious period is going to be four days before that rash starts.

3:04

So a lot of times people don't know that they are they have you know a rash illness.

3:09

Um it's gonna be very representative of a respiratory illness.

3:13

Um and then it also is um up to four days after that rash onset or when the rash starts.

3:19

So four days before and then also four days after.

3:23

There's also some complications that can be um alongside with measles.

3:28

Um that's why it's very important to make sure that uh they are going to their health care providers once they realize that they are um have suspicion.

3:37

So those are severe complications as pneumonia.

3:40

There's also can be brain and ear infections, there can be severe diarrhea, and then there also can be uh blindness and even death, and we all also heard in the news that we've had three deaths, um, two children and then one adult, two children in Texas and one adult in New Mexico.

4:00

So the first thing that we um do is just to kind of assess risk.

4:04

I know that we do get calls um often that we for rash illness that can be numerous rash illnesses, but we do get calls, we treat them all as if they are you know suspicious uh measles, or maybe some other rash illness, but we do treat them all.

4:20

So what we want to do is we want to assess the risk is measles in our community.

4:24

Currently, we do not have any cases in the case, any confirmed cases in KC Mill area, so I just want to let you guys know that.

4:30

Um we also want to determine whether or not they've had any travel internationally, um, maybe to an endemic area, or if they have traveled um to an area that is domestic that is also experiencing any type of outbreak situation.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Health█████████████████████████████████████████████75%
Procedural███████11%
Food Security█████8%
Public Engagement████6%
Summary of Proceedings

Kansas City Council Business Session: Measles Preparedness and Sum Fresh Ordinance – April 17, 2025

Meeting called to order at 7:15 PM. The council approved minutes from the March 6, 2025 business session unanimously. The primary agenda item was a presentation on measles from the Health Department, followed by a discussion and a request for immediate adoption of an ordinance regarding the Sum Fresh grocery store on Prospect. The meeting concluded with a motion to enter closed session for personnel matters.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of minutes from the March 6, 2025 business session: Motion and second carried, all in favor, no opposition.

Discussion Items

Measles Preparedness Presentation

  • Dr. Marvia Jones (Health Director) and Cindy Callender (Communicable Disease Epidemiology Lead) presented on the current measles outbreak. Key points:
    • Measles is highly contagious, airborne, can remain suspended for up to 2 hours, and has an incubation period up to 21 days.
    • Symptoms include prodrome (fever, cough, runny nose, conjunctivitis) and a maculopapular rash; complications can include pneumonia, brain infections, blindness, and death. Three deaths have been reported in 2025 (two children in Texas, one adult in New Mexico).
    • As of April 10, 2025, 28 U.S. jurisdictions have reported confirmed measles; six outbreaks (≥3 related cases) in 2025. Texas has over 600 cases, New Mexico 63, Oklahoma 12, and Southwest Kansas 37 cases across 8 counties.
    • Kansas City has no confirmed cases as of the meeting, but the last outbreak in 2019 had 13 cases. Herd immunity requires 95% vaccination coverage; current rates in Jackson County (the best available data) are below that threshold.
    • The Health Department is conducting education, coordinating with state and local partners, and preparing communication strategies.
  • Councilman Ray asked questions about the outbreak trajectory, vaccination rates, free vaccine availability, and capacity. Dr. Jones noted:
    • The outbreak is likely to reach Kansas City, given movement from Texas through Kansas and low herd immunity. A large Mennonite conference at the end of May could increase transmission.
    • Vaccination is free for children at the health department; for adults, the cost is $150 per shot (two doses = $300). For those exposed, the vaccine is free.
    • The health department can test for immunity and will cover costs for those who cannot pay.
    • Councilman Ray suggested waiving fees for adults and offered to sponsor legislation. Dr. Jones said that could be considered but emphasized waiting for a local outbreak before easing age restrictions (currently first dose at 12-15 months for children, 6 months for outbreak areas or international travel).
    • Supply of vaccine is currently adequate, but future federal cuts to HHS and CDC are a concern. Nursing staff shortages are a challenge.

Sum Fresh on Prospect Ordinance

  • Councilman Robinson requested immediate adoption of an ordinance (introduced last week, in finance committee) to allow the Prospect Community Improvement District (CID) board members (Mario Vasquez and Camiko Black Gilmore) to negotiate terms with Community Builders KC. The city has already allocated over $700,000 (no new spending). The sticking point is a one-year funding commitment versus a three-year operational requirement. Councilman Robinson expressed concern that the store may close within two weeks without the city investment, citing dire conditions (photo of empty shelves provided). He urged immediate adoption. No vote was taken on the ordinance during this session; it was placed on the docket for debate.

Key Outcomes

  • Minutes approved unanimously.
  • Measles presentation received; council will be kept updated. The health department will continue monitoring, education, and consider waiving adult vaccine fees if needed.
  • Sum Fresh ordinance: Request for immediate adoption was made; council moved to other business without a recorded vote.
  • Closed session motion: Council voted to enter closed session for personnel and legal matters (city manager position and pending litigation). Roll call: Robinson (yes), Raya (yes), Bunch (yes), Carols (yes), Shower (yes), Duncan (yes), O'Neil (yes), Willen (yes), French (yes), Rogers (yes), Lucas (yes).

Meeting Transcript

Welcome to business session. Our first item is approval of minutes for business session of March 6th. Is there a motion? Is there a second? Good move and second. All in favor of approving the minutes for March 6th, say aye. Aye. Aye. All opposed. Motion passes. Our one item for today in open session is a discussion on measles. The Department of Health is here for us. So health department, we are ready for you. All right. Good afternoon. Good afternoon, everyone. Thanks for having us. My name is Dr. Marvia Jones. I'm the health director. With me is Cindy Callender, who is the lead for our communicable disease epidemiology group. So we're going to be running through some basic information about measles and our prevention. And we know that some of you may have some specific questions as well. So we'll get into those as well. But I'll let Cindy kick it off. So all right, thank you so much. All right. So first we want to go ahead and talk about measles. What is measles? So measles is a rash illness. It's very contagious. It is passed on by person to person, highly transmissible. It can affect up to 12 to 18 people. Measles also can be suspended in the air for up to two hours, so it also can be airborne. So we just want to make sure that we are capturing whoever came into the room after that infected person left. The symptoms include this is a prodrome symptoms, and those symptoms are what happens two to four days before the rash illness. There's also a coughing, runny nose, and pink eye, which is also conjunctivitis, known as conjunctivitis. And then there are spots that can also be seen in the roof of the mouth, which are little white spots called coplex spots. The incubation period is pretty long, so it goes all the way up to 21 days. I did want to let you guys know that as well. So this is what the rash looks like. It is a macular papillar rash. What that means is that it's it's a flat rash, but it also can have pimples on the top of that. And then as it spreads, it can also join together, so it kind of looks like it's all kind of one rash. And on the um pictures that we have on the left side, that is um, just so you can see what it looks like for different skin tones. It's gonna be red um on lighter skin tone, and it's gonna be purplish for darker skin tones. And then I also want to um keep mention that the rash infectious period is going to be four days before that rash starts. So a lot of times people don't know that they are they have you know a rash illness. Um it's gonna be very representative of a respiratory illness. Um and then it also is um up to four days after that rash onset or when the rash starts.

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