Clay County and Kansas City Agree to Settle Annex Dispute

Clay County and Kansas City appear to have agreed to terms as it relates to the Clay County Annex construction project. The agreement comes after months of legal debate stemming from Kansas City issuing a stop order on the project in September.

Owen has authorized more than $11 million in expenditures for the project to date

In the agreement, it states the county will dismiss its lawsuit against the city and allow the city to inspect if the project created grading or material site disturbances on property adjacent to the county’s. Additionally, it will ensure a stormwater management program plan is created and make county contractors, representatives, inspectors or engineers available to meet with city inspectors to discuss good faith concerns about erosion control.

With the agreement, the city of Kansas City will rescind its stop order and not issue further stop orders or require the county to obtain city building, utility, land disturbance or other permits related to construction of the Annex except those involving public infrastructure including streets, sidewalks, traffic lights, stormwater, water, sewer and other public improvements.

Clay County released a statement which read: “All work will continue in an effort to maintain the project timeline in a manner that aligns with the approved budget. The county has long had in place building codes to govern construction projects and ensure their safety for occupancy. Missouri law gives the county authorization to develop these codes and use them in inspections of the project. We look forward to working with the city in the future on other development projects and infrastructure upgrades within Clay County.”

Kansas City initially issued the stop order after the county failed to apply for the site disturbance permit.

Despite continued opposition of the project, the Annex is being constructed at the direction of two of the three current county commissioners, Gene Owen and Luann Ridgeway. Both have terms which expire at the end of this year. Owen and Ridgeway gave oversight power of the Annex and related expenditure control to Owen early in the project. Without public oversight, Owen has authorized more than $11 million in expenditures for the project to date.

Presiding Commissioner, Jerry Notle, has been opposed to the project since its inception, but he has been outvoted 2-1 at every turn. Even with new commissioners being seated on January 1, 2021, concerns will still be present. The current project is so far underway that it might be more costly to the county to halt the work, rather than continue. A number of alternatives have been considered, but as no one knows what the exact status of the project will be by the time the new commission is seated, it is impossible to know which course of action will be most prudent at the time.

KPGZ News – Jim Dickerson contributed to this story