Photo by Julia Williams

Julia Williams

Editor-in-Chief

On Wednesday morning, April 30, Community Improvement District (CID) representatives  across Kansas City, along with Mayor Pro Tem Rayna Parks-Shaw and organizations including Midtown KC Now, piled into a trolley bus to tour various Community Improvement Districts through the City. 

Among attendees included Jared Campbell, resident engagement project manager at Downtown Community Improvement Districts and Downtown Council of Kansas City. Campbell shared on April 30 that he works with both the River Market and Downtown Kansas City CID’s and once a month, the CID’s throughout the City — including the Independence Avenue CID — gather for a meeting. 

In efforts to showcase various challenges, and positivity, occurring within each CID throughout the City, the Districts decided to create a trolley bus tour, which welcomed participation from City Council members, Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) officers and local organizations to see three different CID’s throughout the City: Downtown, River Market and Independence Avenue, to assist in understanding what a CID is and what it provides to the communities it serves.

 While additional members of the Kansas City CID Alliance were in attendance on April 30, including Truman Road, Waldo and the Crossroads, those areas were not highlighted on this bus tour. 

“The goal is to educate,” Campbell said in an interview. “Educate City officials, elected officials, policy makers and senior leadership police department members to provide solutions.” 

Throughout the tour, these organizations covered vacant buildings, the old Federal Reserve (925 Grand Blvd.) and The Scarritt Building (818 Grand Blvd.). Some of the highlighted topics throughout the day included the unhoused population, property crime and liquor stores throughout these areas and their sale of individual alcohol cans and bottles. 

17 U.S. States currently operate under “Alcohol Beverage Control,” which impacts the way alcohol is sold in each of these states. Campbell shared on April 30 that crime and safety within Kansas City has a common thread between the sale of individual item alcohol, which is currently permitted in Missouri. 

However, a driving force behind this trolley tour was not only to discuss areas for concern. This tour additionally worked to highlight positive aspects occurring in each of the focused CID communities. 

“We want the community to see that CID’s are fun as well as active,” Campbell said in an interview. “This is one way to make people aware of the CID’s and the work they do to beautify the neighborhood.” 

For additional information on Kansas City Community Improvement Districts, visit: https://www.kcmo.gov/city-hall/departments/city-planning-development/community-improvement-districts.