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Residents praise city suits, urge strict permitting and oversight of proposed CoreCivic facility
Summary
Several Leavenworth residents used the city commission's public-comment period to applaud the commission's federal and state lawsuits against CoreCivic and to call for close permitting scrutiny and protections, including compliance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act.
Several residents told the Leavenworth City Commission on May 27, 2025, they support the city’s decision to refile legal action against CoreCivic and urged strict permitting and community safeguards if the company seeks to operate a detention facility in the area.
The comments came during the public-comment portion of the commission’s meeting, when the mayor and commissioners do not respond to speakers and may only direct staff to follow up afterward.
Mike Trapp, a Leavenworth resident at 707 South Broadway and a former executive director of a local sexual-assault provider, thanked the commission “for assertively defending your land use rights by taking both first federal court and then refiling in state court, to to force CoreCivic to get a special use permit to operate.” He said his tour of the CoreCivic site showed signage required by the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) but lacking a listing for a sexual-assault provider, which he said is required under PREA. “That’s just one ... example of why we need the permitting process to ensure ... the community are gonna be protected from this corporation,” Trapp said.
Jake Sire, a Kansas City public high school teacher, urged the commission to “continue resisting the movement for deportations” and tied opposition to a broader review of immigration policies and rhetoric. “We encourage you to continue resisting the movement for deportations, which only justifies itself through illogical stigmas Americans have been placing on Latino immigrants for centuries,” Sire said.
Other speakers likewise thanked the commission for its legal actions. Mackenzie Foster of Kansas City told the commission, “Thank you for fighting for Americans everywhere. Please keep fighting.” Rick Hammett said residents have a duty to dissent and thanked the commission for acting: “Each and every one of us has both a right and a duty to dissent.”
William Rogers, a Leavenworth resident, criticized what he described as misinformation about CoreCivic circulating from a Kansas state elected official and urged the commission to proactively provide an informational summary about the city’s permitting and special-use process so residents can better understand how the matter developed. Rogers also asked the commission to recognize Pride Month and show support for the local LGBT community.
No formal action was taken during the public-comment period; the commission’s rules prohibit action on items raised during public comment. Several speakers asked the mayor or commission to follow up with staff after the meeting.
The speakers’ remarks referenced the city’s ongoing legal steps and asked the commission to insist on a full special-use permitting process, including documentation the speakers said federal standards like PREA require. The commission did not respond to speakers during the meeting, consistent with the posted rules.
