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Committee holds surplus-parcel resolution, administration cites security limits on badge data
Summary
Legislators held Resolution 21850 to solicit bids on six county parcels after requests for employee badge-access reports and other internal data raised security concerns; administration said no formal offers exist and a public hearing will be scheduled.
The Jackson County Finance and Audit Committee on Feb. 18 voted to hold Resolution 21850, which would declare six county parcels surplus and authorize the administration to solicit bids for their sale, after members requested more information and raised concerns about process and transparency.
Chair Sean Smith said he had requested employee badge-access reports and HR records showing where county employees are assigned to help assess the county's overall real estate needs before approving a surplus declaration. Caleb Clifford of the administration cautioned that "the badge access information was not released due to safety concerns of both the courts, law enforcement officials, and the administration" and said releasing door-entry patterns could create a "significant security risk." Clifford said the administration would not include that badge-access data in a public hearing.
Clifford told the committee the county had been approached by the Lee's Summit School District about possible future sites and is working with University Health on a master-developer contract for the broader area, but he stated, "we have not received an offer for any portion of the property that's being discussed." Several legislators said they were concerned that potential interest from outside entities might be driving the surplus process; the administration said the surplus-first, public-solicitation process is the county's standard and that prior inquiries had not produced acceptable bids in analogous cases.
The committee directed staff to schedule a public hearing on the surplus resolution and to invite University Health and the Lee's Summit School District to participate. Committee members asked administration staff to provide additional internal analyses for the legislature (for committee use) but acknowledged that some requested records would not be released publicly for security reasons. Chair Smith also said the public hearing would be publicized, and he volunteered to prepare a press release and suggested using the Summit Tribune for local notice.
No bids or sale prices were available at committee time; the administration said the county has not received any formal offers for the parcels under consideration. The committee held Resolution 21850 pending the public hearing and additional internal briefings to the legislature.
