Council approves Blue Ridge Crossing Community Improvement District; residents press for security funding

The Independence City Council voted to approve the Blue Ridge Crossing East Community Improvement District (CID), a mechanism that will let participating businesses levy an additional 1% sales tax within the district to fund improvements, following public comments focused on safety and security.

Why it matters: Public commenters from the neighborhood and business area told the council that security is the primary concern in the Blue Ridge Crossing area and urged that a significant portion of CID revenue be devoted to “human” security — on-site guards — rather than largely covering operational expenses such as snow removal and landscaping.

Public concerns: Becky Hake, who followed up on a Jan. 6 public hearing, noted that the CID’s budget projections show two-thirds of the revenue going to operating expenses and only about a third to area improvements such as LED lighting. She said the 1% sales tax would be used largely for non-security items and questioned whether the proposed security plan — a phone number to call security — would provide timely on-site response. “When you call 911, you get Kansas City. And Kansas City may take 15, 20 minutes to answer, then they’re going to transfer you to Independence,” Hake said, calling that delay problematic.

Wes Epperson urged the CID to commit a larger share to physical security, saying camera systems without on-site guards are insufficient for preventing crimes. He cited examples in nearby shopping centers where private security is posted inside stores and urged the CID to allocate more than the $55,000 the developer had projected for security in year one.

Council action and conditions: The council passed ordinance 25-002 on second reading with a unanimous vote (7–0). Councilmember McCandless asked staff to prepare a nonbinding letter urging the CID to allocate more funding to onsite security and requested that the CID’s board report back to the council at six months and 12 months on revenues and expenditures; the city manager agreed to prepare that letter and make the request.

What the council said: Mayor Roland reminded the public that CIDs are governed by state statute, have a board of directors and conduct public meetings. He encouraged residents to attend CID board meetings and to communicate security concerns directly to the board.

What was not changed by the council: The city does not approve CID budgets or dictate annual spending; by statute the CID board must file an annual budget. The ordinance creates the district and authorizes the CID process but does not itself bind the CID’s future budget allocations.

Ending: The council approved the CID but asked the developer-board to provide early progress reports and invited community members to raise security preferences with the CID board at their public meetings.