KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City, Missouri, City Council Committee debated Wednesday whether to use interest earned from American Rescue Plan money to beef up security at the city’s entertainment districts.
The resolution would direct roughly $232,200 of revenue from ARP interest to support off-duty officer security for the Westport and Country Club Plaza entertainment districts.
The security would be performed by off-duty Jackson County Sheriff’s deputies.
While the ordinance was first introduced on June 30, discussion comes with potentially increased urgency following a mass shooting this week at Ale House in Westport that left one person dead and five others, including an Ale House security guard, injured.
Additional security services for the 18th and Vine Jazz District had previously been allocated in the city’s budget.
“The presence of officers is a concerted effort to upgrade and streamline security options to better ensure the safety of the thousands of people visiting the entertainment districts on any given day or night during summer months,” a council committee document describing the effort reads.
The committee took no action on the resolution during Wednesday’s Transportation, Infrastructure and Operations Committee meeting.
A Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department presentation on entertainment districts is scheduled for the City Council’s Business Session Thursday afternoon.
The resolution would also direct roughly $519,000 of ARP interest to the RebuildKC project fund.
