by William Crum
Several people attended a meeting tonight, some against a permit for a federal re-entry program that would house 85 prisoners in the Fairfax area of Kansas City, Kansas.
Terry Williams, executive director of ReEntry Development LLC of Mandeville, La., told those attending the meeting at 925 Sunshine Road that the program’s purpose will be to get people who have previous criminal offenses a job.
“Our locations are chosen by the Bureau of Prisons, and Kansas City, Kansas, is one of those,” he said. Other facilities are in Topeka and Wichita, he said.
According to planning documents, it would be a residential reentry center or “halfway house” services for federal offenders who are released to the Kansas City, Kansas, area. Typically the offenders are at the end stage of their sentences.
If the proposal is approved, Nov. 1 would be the launch date, and the new facility would be renovated July 1, 2017, he said.
Those in attendance at the meeting raised questions in particular about security issues and how safe the facility will be for the community. Tonight was the neighborhood meeting that is required for planning and zoning purposes.
Williams stated that while several people asked questions about the meeting, no one voiced opposition.
According to planning documents, the facility at 925 Sunshine Road would be a private facility operated under contract with the federal Bureau of Prisons. There would be 25 staff members at the facility, with about 10 of them present at any one time. The prisoners would go in and out of the facility for approved job interviews and employment.
The building on Sunshine Road previously was occupied by Industries for the Blind.
A future planning meeting about the site may be held at 6:30 p.m. June 12 at Kansas City, Kansas, City Hall, 701 N. 7th St.