Crossroads aims for community improvement district, potential sales tax
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Crossroads leaders are making progress in their efforts to form a community improvement district.
Crossroads Arts District Board Member David Johnson said his group’s about half-way through the signature collection process.
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“Once those signatures are collected meeting two separate thresholds, then we hand all the signatures over to the city,” he said. “They vet the signatures, and then the council takes action to officially form the district.”
On Nov. 2, Johnson told FOX4 there are two ways the CID would be funded. One is through property assessments, based on that person’s square footage. The other is through an extra retail sales tax.
Even after a city council vote, that extra sales tax wouldn’t be collected until there’s a vote among people who live within the boundaries of the district through an election.
If a retail sales tax is approved by the voters, Johnson said money generated from that could pay for a private security firm that watches over the neighborhood.
“I think people realize that the city’s hands are a little tied with public safety right now, that it would be great if there was more enforcement,” Johnson said Thursday. “But I think if you’re paying attention to the issue, you know that the police department has had trouble staffing.”
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Artist & Craftsman Supply store manager Carlos Ortiz has heard about the idea for a CID.
“We got broken into maybe like last year through one of these windows, so it’s definitely on the rise unfortunately,” Ortiz said in an interview with FOX4 Thursday.
Ortiz has worked at the business in the Crossroads Arts District for six years.
“They broke the locks, and we had to replace a lot of the windows which had actually been busted over the years,” he said of the break-in at the business.
FOX4 showed Ortiz the email Dialectic Engineering CEO Gree Trees sent to Chamber and Kansas City business leaders Oct. 31. The email stated that once Trees’ lease is up, he’s moving his business to Kansas. Trees’ lease is not up until 2030 though.
Ortiz said he shared many of the sentiments Trees laid out.
“I think it’s number one a shame that you know he feels like he’s forced to move out because of crime,” he continued.
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“I think that getting to that point really shows the ineffectiveness of security in the area because that’s something that always comes up in our meetings. It’s, ‘What are they doing to actually increase security?'”
“The KC Chamber believes a collaborative approach is the most effective way to accomplish big picture goals that benefit our region and the city, as well as address critical issues such as public safety,” KC Chamber Director of Communications Michelle Cronk said in a statement sent to FOX4.
“To this end, we continue to support the efforts of KC360 that is being led by KC Common Good as they work to unite the community in addressing the root causes of violence.”
“Modeled off Omaha 360, KC360 takes a comprehensive, community-based approach to reduce gun violence and violent crime, build stronger community relations, increase access to education and jobs and implement responsible justice reforms,” Cronk added.
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“As these efforts show positive results, the Chamber and our partner organizations who are also focused on public safety initiatives are hopeful about the reduction in crime rates that can be realized in other neighborhoods throughout the region.”
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Johnson is one of FOX4’s guests on Sunday’s episode of “4 The People.” It airs at 5 a.m. Dec. 10, but you can also watch it on fox4kc.com later that day. Trees was our second guest. Each person’s interview will air in its entirety that day.
