Dorri Partain
Managing Editor

Concerned residents and City government representatives came together on Thursday, January 29, to address questions amid the approval of City Council Ordinance #260061 passed on January 15, 2026. This same day ordinance initiates the site of a temporary Detention Center Facility, under construction at 7750 E. Front Street, to expand as a permanent location.

During this forum hosted by Latinx Education Collaborative (LEC) and Revolution Educativa (RevEd) at 2301 Lexington Ave., parents representing students attending Frontier Charter Schools, neighborhood leaders, and other organizations attended to direct their questions and concerns to invited speakers. 

These speakers included:

Crispin Rea, City Council, Fourth District-at-Large

Rayna Parks-Shaw, City Council,Fifth District & Mayor Pro-tem

Lindsey French, City Council, Second District-at-Large

Jonathan Duncan, City Council, Sixth District

Mario Vasquez, Kansas City City Manager

All City Council members and Mayor Quinton Lucas had been invited to appear. Mayor Lucas was out of town on City business and could not attend.

Councilman Rea addressed attendees, beginning with an explanation that prior to the council session on Jan. 15, he was not aware of the ordinance that Mayor Lucas, along with councilman Kevin O’Neill (First District-at-Large), were introducing that day.

“The major issue I have with this are same day adoptions (of ordinances) should be saved for very rare circumstances,” stated Rea, “because we are bypassing some very important steps along the way.”

Rea explained that in most cases, not only are there discussions among council members but also testimony from citizens, either during a council session or during public engagement.

“My greatest frustration with this is we (the council) unilaterally changed the location without any prior engagement from the community, zero recognition that there’s a school 3000 feet away.”

The site chosen for this facility, as passed by the April 2025 voter approval of a Public Safety Tax, was to be located adjacent to the Jackson County Detention Center under construction at 7000 E. US Highway 40.

Rea told attendees that the council passed #260061 with a 10-3 vote; he, Councilwoman Melissa Patterson-Hazley and Jonathan Duncan voted no.

Rea added that he was the sponsor for the ordinance (#250969) passed by council last year to build a temporary detention center at the Front Street site. That ordinance passed with a 12-1 vote, with Councilman Duncan voting no.

Duncan told attendees he voted no due to the expense of the temporary facility, the construction contracts, and the location.

“This council knew exactly what they were doing”, said Duncan. “They wanted a jail on Front Street. And whether it’s there for three to five years or twenty years, that is what we voted on- I voted no.”

Chief Operations Officer Dr. Elyar Issandarli attended on behalf of Frontier Charter Schools and stated that prior to being contacted by Councilman Rea, no one at the school -staff , students, or parents- were aware of any detention facility construction.

Frontier STEM, the system’s high school, is one of three schools within 4000 ft of the facility under construction, but the closest with frontage on Front Street.

Issandarli stated he has reached out to the mayor’s office and hopes they can have a public meeting so parents can get more information.

One parent spoke on behalf of other parents, as many who do not speak English. Enrollment at Frontier is currently 70 percent Hispanic, adding to the difficulty to engage with parents and provide information.

She questioned council members in attendance, “What are you going to do to keep kids safe next to a jail facility?”

City Manager Vasquez responded that the site on Front street was considered because there were no residential areas nearby, the area is zoned industrial, and the location is more than 1000 feet from a school, as the code requires. As with any correctional facility, there will be fencing, guards and security measures in place 24 hours, seven days a week.

To address the lack of public engagement prior to the council’s approval of the ordinance, Rea told attendees that he and Councilwoman Melissa Patterson-Hazley had crafted a Resolution (#260077) on Jan. 15 that would direct the City Manager to “engage in community engagement in relation to the Detention Center.” 

City Manager Vasquez stated his staff was working on what that engagement would look like as this site was a “very sensitive topic.”

Vasquez continued that the engagement process should start from the beginning.

“What makes this (Front St.) a good location?” he stated. He wants his staff to “refresh what are the necessary services that need to be included at this location because when the work (engagement) was done for the I-70/ 40 Highway, there was a lot of engagement, but plans for the temporary facility will differ greatly from a permanent facility.”

In response to questions about whether the ordinance or facility site could be changed or halted, Councilwoman French stated she thought she had voted for the City Manager to prepare a report regarding necessary changes to the plan, not voting for an actual location change- otherwise she would have also voted no.

Vasquez responded, “The ordinance two weeks ago jumped ahead. We (the manager’s office) still owe that information.. We have a thick report that explains what those differences are. But now we have an ordinance that says – but now we’re going to move this- so now I’ve got to figure out how I do this, how do I engage the public with this decision. Part of this (process) is doing a comparison, telling you the differences from this (site) and that (site) and deciding if this (site change) is the right thing to do.”

As this nearly two-hour forum concluded, Edgar Palacios, founder of LEC and RevEd, reminded attendees that they were stakeholders in City matters and needed to continue to look out for the future of the community and understand the impact of development issues.

A final question and confirmed response was that the Front Street location was “Not a done deal.”