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.
Really? Are these people serious? Yeah right, just what the Northeast area needs. They won’t spend the money to revitalize the area and add grocery stores but you can put a re-entry center for ex-prisoners in the area. What kind of positive message does that send to the people that live in this area. This is totally ridiculous!
There is an obvious need for these facilities given that residence in a halfway house can be a common requirement for release. And they are needed in diverse locations as they serve a wide swath of people who come from all walks of life (there are many in Johnson County as well). Certainly, we should be vigilant and work to make sure the surrounding community is safe and not negatively impacted … but we can’t shun our neighbors who are working to do right and better themselves as they rejoin society.
Perfect location for this facility. Pretty remote and few residences nearby. As long as they arrange for bus service and the parolees don’t have to walk through the neighborhood, it will work.