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>>> it's been more than a yearin the making.anybody inside? >> over the last hour, you'vebeen watching kcpt's latestdocumentary, our divided city, getting at the roots of violentcrime on kansas city's eastside. >> we want the same chance.we want the same opportunitiesfor a job. >> there's not a whole lot ofpeople living around here, somany empty houses. >> this hour, we continue theconversation as citizens weighin with their views, and we prod and poke for answers fromneighborhood law enforcement andpolitical leaders. >> we don't have enough policeofficers, and we need them.>> because there are no grocery stores in areas, because there'sno jobs available, that thatmight affect the crime rate.
>> folks are solving conflictwith violence, so we really gotto get back to the pre-k level and start teaching conflictresolution.>> we're on location at the paseo academy this hour for thecrime caucus.caucusing with our citizens, the new head of the mayor'santiviolence task force,councilwoman jolie justus, two of her council colleagues,quinton lucas and alissiacanady. joe mchale, commander of theeast patrol division, umkccriminologist, kim novak, atf agent jon hamm, the head offedad hoc group against crime damondaniel, neighborhood leader pat clarke and our filmmaker michaelprice.>> like many cities in the u.s., kansas city has two stories totell.the story about the gleaming,
pretty neighborhoods.>> when you talk to people inkansas city, you hear a lot about the troost divide.>> land of opportunity, mostlywhite, and then the story about the east side of town, home tothe black community.>> can i ask you, though, at the very get-go here, you're digginginto this.what surprised you having done this documentary?>> the levels of blight.i've never seen anything like it.there's an argument, is therenot, that in a city this wealthy, the -- here at thecenter of the world's greatestsuper power, thousands of people expected to live in an areathat's blighted, which is whatwe see in large parts of the community east of troost.it doesn't do a lot for hope.and the idea that we have a
community that is allowed tolive amongst this, i think thequestions should be asked. >> major joe mchale, whatactually happened, though, thatgot us to this situation where we seem to have a handle on themurder rate.it may not be an acceptable level, but going down and then awhat actually happened there?>> in 2012, we started looking at the intelligeece we had onthe groups and gangs in kansascity that were feuding, and realized very quickly we werelacking in that intelligence,who are the people driving violence in kansas city, so in afocused deterrence model, you'reonly going to impact one portion of what homicides are.domestic violence murdersquadrupled in 2015. we had seven dead children in2015.you take those numbers, and it
doesn't take long to add that tothe group violence and get to109. >> 109 last year, 34% increaseon the year before.we started the year with 8 homicides in the first 10 days.we can talk academically aboutthese numbers and what's actually happening, but is therea sense of panic about what ishappening here over at the ad hoc group against crime?you've been doing this a longtime, damon. >> there's a panic, always asense of urgency, especiallywhen you're sitting across the table from a mother or fatherwho now has to bury their child.one of the things we have to understand is that we areresponding to the symptoms ofsomething much larger, and it kind of talks about that in thebeginning when you referencedthe red lining that has occurred
and the disinvestment.this didn't happen overnight.this has been decades and decades of divestment in acommunity that was segregated byrace and now by opportunity, particularly economicopportunity.so that's the way that we really have to focus, is looking at howdo we really bring opportunityto these folks who are living east of troost and create thosekind of pathways so they canhave better economic opportunities.>> 83% of the homicides fromlast year involve firearms, but we're told the state hashamstrung kansas city and localcities all across the state of missouri and said they can'tenact any of their own localmeasures to control the flow of guns.so this is an issue that istotally out of the city's
control?jolie justus, not only are thechair, but you've spent a decade of your life as a missouri statesenator.you were there in jefferson city, and understand how thatworks.is there nothing that kansas city can do?>> there's always something thatkansas city can do. i think that's one of the thingsthat we are looking at as a partof this task force. no. 1, what is -- what are ouroptions, and no. 2, politically,what is feasible, and so one of the things that we have to do iscontinue that dialogue, and ithink that we're starting to see a conversation start to switch.i think we are also finallystarting to see that one of the things we need is more data, andwe finally have a push for thatinformation both locally and
nationwide.those are going to make all thedifference when it comes to really creating that change thatyou're talking about.>> over at the atf, nothing is being done on guns, jon hamm?>> that's what we do every day.every june that gets recovered as part of a crime in kansascity is traced through atf.we go back and find the first lawful purchaser of that gun,and with that data, we can goback and figure out, you know, are they guns -- we know thereare people that buy them forpeople who can't have them. we know that there areresidential burglary ringsbreaking into houses looking for guns and only guns, because theycan sell them quickly, and theycan get a good price for them. and then you complicate thatissue with the continuednarcotics trade.
people doing that for a livingare going to have a gun toprotect the dope, going to have a gun to protect the money, orgoing to have a gun to protecttheir turf. and we have agents on the streetevery day with the kansas citypolice department and embedded units that do nothing but worron that.>> when you hear people say, well, we have laws on the bookscurrently.they're just not being enforced, how do you respond to that?>> well, i would tell you thatthe western district of missouri, as faa as federalprosecutions, ranks second inthe country behind puerto rico only as doing the most gunprosecutions federally in theunited states and the district of kansas is third.>> we want to hear from you.-@we have a question already.
>> my question is to julie.>> jolie justus?>> justus. she said what is politicallyfeasible and what is -- thosearen't, like, real terms for what we're talkiig aboutviolence-wise.police callly feasible, you know.what does that mean when we'retalking about violence in kansas city.what i think a lot of peopleleft out is these blighted neighborhoods, these propertiesare owned by people and they'renot by the people in the neighborhood.the majority of the east oftroost who are not homeowners are renters, so some of thesecompanies and corporations andproperty groups own these properties.so how are we pursuing them?>> we mentioned here from the
questioner, the word politicallyexpedient, that term didn't meananything to the questioner. what does it mean to you, jolie,justus?>> responding to the question related specifically to gun lawsand is it possible for us tochange gun laws on a local level since we have, frankly, anational government and a stategovernment on both sides of the state line who refuse to respondto this issue, and frankly, arepassing, i think, reckless gun legislation that makes thingseven harder in a localcommunity. so what we are talking aboutright now, is there anythingelse we can do that we are not going to run afoul of state law,of federal law, of the state andfederal constitution? can we still find ways to workon our gun laws so that we canhave an impact?
that's just one piece of thehuge puzzle, though.i know we have to look at all of the other issues that youaddressed as well.>> and then we talked about the blight issue.let's pick apart that.i think there are a lot of questions, and tif wasmentioned.we're going to get into all of those questions next.we had police chief daryl fortecome up with an unauthorized solution for tackling the crimeway, a bulldozer.telling commissioners he would support diverting from his ownbudget for hiring more policeofficers and putting it to demolishing abandoned buildingsin the crime crime ridden partsof east kansas city. >> quinton lucas, councilman,you're head of the housingcommittee s this feasible?
>> you know, i'm sure it'sfeasible.i'm a lawyer. i'll answer one question at atime.yes, it's feasible to spend money on demolishing houses.i'll answer what might be thenext question, which is, well, do i agree with that.short answer is frankly, no.and i'll give the background. >> so my other question is, whynot then, councilman lucas?>> thank you so much. growing up in kansas city, wewere working on the bruce r.watkins freeway project when i was a kid, and what that meantto me or what i saw were justthese vacant tracts of land. they told a lot of us who livein this community, well, justsplit it apart. your community is not thatspecial.if people need it to be
something, we can just bulldozethrough it.so i don't really think a bulldozer, particularly a largescale bulldozing program is theway to do it. now, don't get me wrong, ifthere is a has that's burntdown, that has no use any longer at all, those need to be takendown, true dangerous structures.but in terms of an anticrime approach, a large scaledemolition effort i don't thinkis the wisest and most efficient process.i would say to the chief, giveus money in the land bank pro -- program so we can turn them intouseful neighborhoods.>> councilman canady, you're the head of the safety committee.how effective a strategy wouldthat be, bulldozing those abandoned houses as the policechief recommends?>> as a point of clarification,
the structures he was referringto were the dangerous buildings.we have about 870 currently throughout kansas city, most inthe third and fifth district.when you look at the map at where those structures are, theyalso overlap with the highestcrime zones as well. so part of my understanding isthat we're brooding the elementof crime in our community. everyone i talked to that livein these areas next to one ofthese structures, they want it gone.they're dealing with rats,vagrant living adjacent to their property, unsecured structures.they're dealing withenvironmental issues as a result of the neglect of the adjacentproperties.so it is a responsible approach to take for dangerous buildings.>> pat clarke, when we saw youtalk about blight and the
concerns of blight in thedocumentary, but is removing 100troubled houses in those hot spots more effective than hiringan additional police officer topolice there? >> the chief even discussingthat, that's somebody trying tomake an attempt to do something. his job is to police the city.he shouldn't have to say, hey,look, if i had the money, this is what i'd do.you know.in other words, he's trying to ask those people in citycouncil, the city manager, themayor even, hey, look, we need to start looking at this, but ifi had to really talk aboutwhat's needed, we need more police officers.because, see, as a neighborhoodpresident, i get hit with all kinds of stuff, and the requestlike -- we called the policelast night and it took them 20
minutes to get here, you know.how do you explain to that ladythat maybe her son could have made it if that policeman hadgot there, that ambulance hadgot there, but the fact is that just the chief making anattempt, you know -- like isaid, if we had to do one or the other, i'd say we need morepolice officers, but tearingdown the houses? if we're going to put new onesup, i'm for it.>> major mchale, tearing down 100 houses, is that worth morethan putting another extraofficer on the beat in a really hotspot crime area?>> throwing cops at it isn't thesolution. policing smarter, making arreststhat matter, that's wheag goingto make a difference. how long were we at war, the waron drugs?how long did a police department
get at war with the citizens.it created an us versus themmentality. we're trying to change that.help them.don't just tear them down. that attracts rats, too, andhomelessness.just this week i got called to address homeless camps of campsin vacant lots.>> coming up on the crime caucus, more questions andconcerns from our citizens herein the auditorium at the paseo academy, but first a closer lookat kansas city crime by thenumbers. å›å› .>> we're going to go back to ouraudience. yes, sir, your question.>> yes.my name is bill.
i'm from manheim park, which ison the troost corridor.the cost of tearing down houses is significant.we don't have in the city budgetright now enough money to tear down as many houses as should betorn down.so diverting money from policing into tearing down houses mightnot be the best economic use ofour resources, but more importantly, there are somesolutions being dealt with rightnow, and it comes via the urban neighborhood initiative chairedby diane cleaver, and they aretrying to get these houses marketed and in the correcthands for people who willstabilize our blighted challenge neighborhoods.now, i'm going to put on mypromotion hat and say that creative people are probably thebest equipped to do this, thecreative artist types are the
ones willing to struggle, alwayshave been.and they are basically the foot soldiers of economicdevelopment.>> councilwoman canady. let's get a response to ourexcellent question.>> well stated observation of what's occurring.i believe there are a muchbroader audience other than creative types that are willingto do that, make that investmentand stabilize the neighborhood, starting with the people wholive there currently.without the access to capital and with the support, i met withcity staff today and we'retalking about identifying a funding source to be able tosupport that.other cities have provided using hud dollars, a forgivable loansfor those willing to live inthose structures.
we're looking at getting alender of some of our localbanks to the table to make that commitment.you know, they all have anobligation with community reinvestment dollars, but we'relooking for one of those banksto come forward to create those opportunities for those thatwant to live in theseproperties. we have about 5,000 propertiesin land bank right now.for that's to don't sell at the tax sale.so there are a number ofopportunities. we want to give the firstopportunity for those that arefrom that community that want to live there and want to add valueto it, not necessarily changethe dynamic and the culture of it.>> michael.>> the problem with land bank
properties, they don't reach theland bank until after four orfive years of the person who owns the property not payingtheir taxes.they're coming to the land bank and they're coming -- theownership of the property isbeing assumed by city hall. after four or five years whereyou haven't had someone livingin the property. that means that the land bank istaking on properties that aregoing to need so much more money to be put into them in order forthem to be rehab'd.city hall needs to start looking at how it can get hold of theseproperties more quickly, quickldcity hall needs to be looking at how it can start to recognizethese properties, these 5,000properties or so, to make up about half of the blight as anasset, as opportunity toredevelopment, and not as a
liability.>> we heard from an earlierquestioner who said a lot of these homes are from these outof state folks not living here.if you saw the letter in the kansas city star, from madelinein kansas city, who writes, howmany of the abandoned buildings are owned by the city,councilwoman justice?how much tax increment financing money, madeline says, which issupposed to benefit blightedareas, have been channeled away from the development of thoseneighborhoods?if tif money were used to genuinely blightedneighborhoods, would the cityhave funds for the maintenance or destruction of thoseproperties?>> so i think one of the great things that's happening rightnow, ongoing discussions, isthat you have a council for the
first time in a long time thatis looking at all of theseissues. and frankly, all of theseoptions are on the table.we heard earlier about the issue of out of state, and absenteelandlords.that is an ongoing issue, and we are working very hard injefferson city to correct statelaws that will give us better tools to get folks into thosehouses quicker.there are also obviously the issues of tax incentives andwhat are we doing, where are weusing them, how are we using them?what ind doo -- kind of skin inthe game are the developers giving us.right now we are having thoseconversations, so this is an excellent time for us to behearing ideas from the public.>> councilman lucas, you
certainly weren't a huge fan ofthe notion of just bulldozingthese dangerous buildings. what do you see as a solution,though?you don't think necessarily the murder rate is going to go downbecause somehow we've solvedthese abandoned housing issues? >> no.i mean, i --.>> so what is it? >> so what is the solution?i will just reaffirm that no, ido not think a lot of empty lots near people's houses solves themurder rate.if that were the case, then in the 1909 -- 1990's, when i wasyounger, going by all of theseempty lots, we would have been great, but the murders were ihere.how can we keep people in their properties, make sure folks areholding on to them within theirfamilies, helping people in a
property now pay their taxes.>> you're on the council.what are you doing to do that? >> thanks for asking.just today we were able to talkabout the disbursement of funds, including home repair funds tohelp people in need to try toretain their house. the problem is, like everythingelse we said, there is notenough. another brief point about out oftown ownership.sometimes when we talk out of town ownership, we think of somecalifornia entity that owns lotsof houses. often it is someone who passedaway's children who may not knowthey have the house or do have the house, that or live in asuburb.sometimes they live here. sometimes people don't know theyreally have the house.sometimes people don't want the
house.it's not quite as broad as youwould think. really what i want to be able todo is invest in keeping peoplein properties and try to make sure that we're holding on tovaluable owners and tenants.>> kcpt, you have another question.>> last year in 2015, we boughta couple of tax houses that were in very poor conditions thatwere in dangerous buildings, andnow we have owners inside of them.4100 is a house that pat wasthinking about destroying until we saw it.it's a six bedroom, one and ahalf bath house. we could not believe that thesetype of houses are sitting inland banks. these houses can be restored,and it does not take a lot ofmoney to do it.
>> what line of business are youin, sir?>> well, i'm just an investor. >> we're told that nobody wants>> i've invested $255,000 to get20 houses, and he has my portfolio in fronts of him.>> why are you doing it and somany people aren't? >> i think that they're afraidof the renovation cost thattakes place and the hazardous material.these houses are able to becomefunctional and be able to place a homeowner inside of them.we have done it.we've done 20 houses like that. check our record.>> councilwoman canady, if it'sso easy and this man is having success, why aren't other peopledoing it?>> i'll reiterate, access to capital is one of the primarybarriers to more investors beingable to get into this market.
there is no lack of interest indoing it.those that have the know-how and comfort and familiarity with thecommunity want to do it.it sounds like you you have all of those combinations and moneyto go along with it, so it makeshim a prime person to consider these properties.we had another investor that washeavily bank rolled that looked at some properties in thenortheast.we gave him 99 properties to considered.he went through and evaluatedthem, got down to 20, and they only confirmed six of thoseproperties.the rest were so far beyond repair, it wasn't economicallyfeasible.not only do you have a rehab cost, but to be a good investor,you want to appraise it at acertain amount when it's done.
when you have a rehab house nextto burnt outhouse, you don't getit. you have to take a targetedblock by block to have asignificant impact. someone who has the means to beable to do that, an investmentgroup, and what we've been seeing recently is hedge fundscoming in buying properties inbulk. that's when you end up with outof state investors buying theproperties in the community. >> don't always get entertained,don't get the conversation thatthey need. so when you have people come inand want to develop and putstuff back together, sometimes if you don't have a householdname, you know, you don't getthe look. you know, and a bigggr thing inour community is, it's not justthe houses but the people that
own them.you talked about it.you said it. as i was raising my hand, mostof my investors come fromcalifornia. now, it's funny that i can getticketed for parking on mygrass, but you'll charge me $5 to park at starlight on thegrass, you know.i ain't -- i haven't figured that one out yet.but when you have people thatown properties and they come from california, how easy is itfor them to locate them?i mean, are you taking me to court because you can find me?i mean, what is it?i'm like this. if you don't respond, they takeyour house.how come we can't do the same things with those people incalifornia?>> you've got at the moment, the
first of january this year,you've got 40 code enforcementagents, and they have on their books around 14,000 properties,14,000 properties.so for especially this, it's a case of priorities.who can they reach the quickest?the people who own these llc's can be reached, but it's not asstraight forward as it could be,and it's not as straight forward as the person living there.just one point, as well, weshouldn't forget that the biggest landlord, if you like,the biggest owner of theseblighted properties is one owner.they need to start seeing thoseproperties as an asset, as an opportunity, and they need tostart doing something with themto strengthen the community. when you have strong communitieslike pat talked about, acommunity that polices itself is
the community that will seethose rates come down.>> but do you really think, though, major mchale, that if westart bulldozing abandonedhomes, getting people into these houses that somehow the crimerate goes down?where's the evidence for that? >> i started out when i was 21years old at the old lynwoodstation, lynwood and troost. all up and down troost wasriddled like southern prospectis right now. investment does matter.troost is coming back on thenorth end. it's going to take time.you have to have a long rangeplan. you can't throw cops at it.we're extremely expensive.arrest and prosecution isn't the answer.so it's looking at solutionsthat invest back in troost, put
people back in their homes, makethe school systems more robustand put people back to work. i could go to lynwood andprospect, and i can go for milesaround there, and buy any kind of liquor or beer i can possibleimagine, but i can only go acouple of places and buy a loaf of bread.that's a problem.>> more from the crime caucus in just a moment, but first, whyare grocery stores so hard tocome by on kansas city zaps east side?reporter mike sherry from kcpt'shale center for journalism has been tracking the issue.>> four years ago, trumanmedical center had grand designs for this vacant lot at 27thand troost.this was to be the site where the health system would build agrocery store.people without access to fresh
food could now have this optionand learn how to prepare it.truman disappointed neighbors when it pulled the plug on theproject in june.>> it was a really bitter pill to swallow.primarily not only because itwas the grocery store but what they were trying to do with thisparticular grocery store.it was creative. it was outside of the box of thestandard grocery store model,and i thought that it could be a real model for the types ofthings that we do need to do inthe urban setting. >> truman has acknowledged thelagging fundraising helped killthe project, but ceo charlie shields recently shed more lighton that issue.donors questioned truman's ability to run an inner citygrocery store.leaders of the organization
ultimately agreed.>> to run a grocery store in theurban core is a challenging business and would require acertain amount of risk thatcould have fallen back on the hospital.>> neighbors were upset thattruman did not want to -- but truman did not want to interferewith the sun fresh.city councilman jermaine reed was equally miffed.>> the reality of it is, when wehad the conversation some four years ago about the grocerystore with the oldadministration at truman was there with john, theconversation about lynwood wasalways on the table. so this wasn't a surprise.this isn't a competition.we looked at this. we understood that the marketwould support both grocerystores, full service grocery
stores, and this is somethingthat the community certainly hasbeen looking forward to. >> truman hopes to officeservices at the sun fleash --sun fresh that are similar to those on troost.reed welcomed that plan.some east side residents still feel short changed.they see stores like save a lotand allegedy as insufficient substitutes for the fullystalked markets in suburb --fully stocked markets in suburbia.>> i know a lot of people thatwould never step foot in a save a lot, never step foot in aldi.our communities are varied justlike every other community. >> save a lot did not respond torequest for comment, but an aldiexecutive said such perceptions were misguided.mark, vice president of aldi'solathe division, said its stores
carry a full line of freshproduce and satisfy customers'every day needs. >> we are considered a limitedassortment, but we don't carry10 or 12 ketchup items, as an example.we carry two.we carry our exclusive brand and an organic exclusive brand.so we satisfy that need for3ketchup without having 8 feet of shelving for 12 different typesof kevinups or sizes when it's>> the company passes those savings on to consumers.>> kcpt visited nearly a dozenmetro markets and aldi was the lowest priced option.items we priced included bread,milk and baby carrots. convenience stores are often theonly place to shop in poorneighborhoods, but shields thinks truman can help drawgrocers to the urban core.>> i think our opportunity is to
help create demand for freshfruits and vegetables, and thatopportunity will come through education.>> bookart agrees with thatapproach. >> we have to change behavior.you know, we have to change ourfood choices. we have to stop eating anoverabundance of things that areterrible for us and start to transfer our diet to one that ismore conducive to our long-termhealth. >> i want to move back to ouraudience.madam, you've been very patient. your question, please.>> where do we move forward withunderstanding that, yes, these houses are an issue, but theyare not murdering our childrenand our fathers and our mothers and grandmothers.so that murdering that iscontinuing to happen is at a
high rate, because we're notaddressing the substance abuseissues and we're not addressing the mental health issues, whichleads to murder, so i just wouldlike to know, how are we doing to address those issues in thecommunity?>> thank you very much. pat.>> we have excuses for this andthat, but a lot of folks say we're dealing with depression orwe have mental issues, but a lotof those things come from what we don't have.it's funny.i listen to alicia. i don't want anybody to thinkthat because she's acouncilwoman she's blowing smoke, because she's not.she's a product of what she'stalking about and that's what helped her actually get inthere.you need to have people that
come from a place, that know aplace, that's talking about aplace. that's the same thing with ourchief of police.he knows exactly what he needs, because he comes from theenvironment that he serves.so go back to what she was saying, the only way we can moveforward is we've got to keeptalking to people. all the things we're discussingtonight, this place should havebeen standing room only. and when i talk to you -- excuseme, ma'am, excuse me.when i talk to you, i said a lot of folks probably won't comebecause of the weather and theway the streets are, but these are the same people that willcall me tonight or tomorrow andsay, how did it go? how did it go?did y'all talk about this.did you tell them about that?
how about that hole.i have to say this all the time.what about that hole in the middle of the street in front ofmy house?water is coming out of it. why didn't you do anything aboutit?>> i said, well, did you vote tuesday?>> no, i didn't vote.>> there it was. that's what you were voting for.those are the things that weneed to say when we're knocking on the door.>> lots of kcpt viewers who arenot here also called us about this event and had their ownquestions, like allen in kansascity who says these discussions about crime fail to mention thefact that over 70% of blackbirths are illegitimate. a one-parent home leads topoverty and no male authorityfigure, which often leads to
crime.why is this crucial fact notdiscussed? are we too politically correctto point out this fact andopenly discuss it? >> i reject that.>> you're rejecting that?i'm tossing it to the ground here.>> ad hoc has recently started aprogram called quenching a father's 30s, and he --father's thirst, and what it'sabout is making sure that that male is in his rightful place inthe home and building arelationship with the child regardless of the relationshipsthey may have or may not havewith the mother of the child. and we think that that's reallyimportant, especially for thosewho are reentering society from being incarcerated.>> are we being too politicallycorrect by not mentioning that
topic?councilwoman canady?>> i would say so, for a couple of different reasons, no. 1, itis a factor.when you look at the individuals who are incarcerated, i'd sayover 80% of them didn't have afather at home. that's not a coincidence.but what that says is that notnecessarily that that is -- because you don't have a dad athome that you're going to end upin prison, but you do have a -- you're more likely to.there is a higher probability insome instances but for having a community in environment.i grew up, i didn't have a dadin the home. my mom raised three kids as asingle parent, parent and i'm msyoungest child. neither of my brothers have beenin prison, and i'm an attorneytoday.
i grew up in the sameenvironment we're talking about,and so that's not always the outcome.i think that this individualsaid what most people think. well, these people, if thee madebetter choices, but it's easy tocriticize the person's choices. you don't know what they had tochoose from.>> councilman lucas. >> i don't think it's apolitical correctness problem.it's just that you're talking about something kind of useless.the reason i say this is becausecouncilman kennedy, myself, frankly a lot of black peopleyou bump into of our age thesedays grew up in similar circumstances, and we're not allshooting at each other.70% black illegitimacy, there aren't 70% of black peoplemurdering each other every day.i'm not trying to sugarcoat
anything, but at the same time,to focus on that and thensuggest there is some broader social thing, which gets into meinto more deeper racial views.look, we're all sitting here now trying to make our communitiesas good and strong as possible.i think if you want to actually address real solutions, you canlook at the solutions we canhave today. how can we get people into jobs,good schools, good houses?if you want to talk about generations of black life andculture, i guess get a ph.d. andsociology and talk about it, but i want to think about solutionsthat are current for us now.maybe it's a fascinating point. >> thank you.yes, sir.>> yes. i'm with the blue hillsneighborhood association, whichis the neighborhood where paseo
high school is.i think when we talk aboutthings that coincide and cause ccime, i'm not sure that it'sthe housing issue that's thecause of crime. when i think of the cause ofcrime, i think of theindividuals that get into criminal life.what can we do to help themdevelop as people so they don't get into committing crimes.think what has happened to thisperson. and i think we kind ofalready --.>> who can answer that question. major mchale?>> neighborhoods aren'tdangerous. there is a small amount ofpeople that i have will in theneighborhood that's dangerous. in nova, we identified less thana thousand people driving themajority of violence in kansas
city.the good citizens in theneighborhood want them out just as bad as we do.that's how i would answer that.>> madam, you have spoken, we've got other people ns askingquestions.madam, stop. madam.madam, you do not have themicrophone. we're not recording you.we're not listening.thank you. thank you.>> okay.i haven't finished over here. okay.can i continue on?madam, thank you. thank you.okay.>> it has something to do with individual characteristics.it has to do with family.it has to do with community.
it has to do with economics.it has to do with the schoolsystem. all of these factors play somerole, and this is where i thinknova and strategies like this are advantageous, that it bringsmultiple groups to the table toengage in strategic problem-solving related to allof these issues and more.part of the idea of nova is to identify those individuals andthose groups who are most proneto violence and most prone to be victimized by violence to givethe community a little bit ofbreathing room so that we can have the conversation abouteconomic development and landbank and things like this. >> you have a question.yes, sir.>> i have to agree with major mchale.we have more liquor stores onevery corner.
if you go west of troost, youmay find six.if you go east of troost, you have 30.when people get to the pointwhere they have no hope, we try to police our way out of thisand send people to jail.and now they're coming back, convicted felons, can't findjobs, so the only thing do isbreak in places, steal things and go to the corner liquorstore.so until we begin to, one, get away -- have a way ofemployment, and two, reduce thenumber of liquor stores, because itself medication, and we can'tbegin to fix our community untilwe can unify, help those people that are already there and needhelp.>> are you ready to enact an ordinance in kansas city torestrict liquor stores,councilwoman justus?
>> we cannot have a conversationabout how to end violence if wedon't talk about every single issue that has been discussedhere tonight.>> with the murder rate rising, the mayor puts together anantiviolence task force, putsyou in charge. there is a lot of cynicism,because there are lots of blueribbon panels and task forces in this community.is this just going to be anotherreport put out that gathers dust on a chef, councilwoman, justus?>> first and foremost, we saidwe're not putting out a report. the eality is we have anemergency we're talking about,and another report is not going @o solve any problems.what we're going to do is havethese conversations, these hard conversations like we're havinghere tonight to see if there areincremental changes that we can
make that when we pull themaltogether, it will start tomake a difference. >> if there is a sense ofurgency, why is it that thefindings of the task force don't become available until november?>> we are going to be everymonth, every step of the way, letting folks know what ourideas are.if we see something on january 20th that we think isa great idea and we can moveforward with that, we will move forward with that.>> hi.earlier, when we were beginning the conversation, michaelmentioned that he was veryshocked by the type of disinvestment that exists in oneof the country's wealthiestcities, and i generally think that there's a lot of wealth inthe area, but some of that mightexist across the state line.
so i was wondering what thepanel or perhaps specificallythe councilmen and women think about -- does the existence ofthe state line and the abilityfor companies, families, communities, impact thisconversation of economicinvestment and the tax base that exists for investing in ourcity.>> michael. >> the issue has been raised,% in four years, nearly$400 million went to taxincentives. that's money that's not makingits way into the public purse.for kansas city, about $280 million.now, add into the mix these taxincentives for the most part that are supposed to help withplight, and can yourself, whereis the blight?
we know where it is.the blight is east of troost.where are they being offered? massively so, where are theybeing offered, the vastmajority? it's west of troost.go to the plaza, go downtown,this ii where the tax incentives that are supposed to be helpingblight are, in fact, beingoffered. and then you ask the mayor, as idid, why are these taxincentives going west of troost? it comes to your point.because if we don't offer them,these companies will hop over state line and go into kansas.who is being played here and whois losing out? >> they would go to the otherside of state line, wouldn'tthey? >> that is always a possibility.we're a bi-state area, regionalarea.
but big business does business,and they're going to go wherethey're going to get the best bang for their buck.we've got tif over here, and wewant to make sure we retain jobs for our residents.that's sometimes how this comesinto play. but what other point i wouldlike to clarify, theseincentives are offered throughout the city, not onlywest of troost.if there are developers that want to develop east of troost,we welcome them.i have a site at 63rd and prospect i'd like todevelopment.we have the largest economic development project in thehistory of the state happeningin the fifth district at the old bannister complex.so when you look at thosethings, does development occur
organically?>> show me the blight on theplaza. when you go downtown, where isthe blight?>> i'm not arguing for the plaza.i made a point.people look at the city, but there is also the businesscommunity that has a role toplay in this, as well. we can't make them develop eastof troost, but we make itavailable to make it attractive as well.there is a current argument thatsays if you you take it away, they'll have to come east oftroost.but no, they don't have to. they can go to kansas kansas, ssor omaha, if they want.>> still to come on the crime academy, but first, so manyquestions about tif.it keeps coming up in the
conversation, but are you anythe wiser on kansas city'sbiggest tax incentive program? here's tif in a jif. .>>> as councilman justus said,it's a much broader discussion, but what's very important and weare having it.we start with crime and children and now we're talking aboutincentives and developmentprojects. this is a comprehensiveconversation that's goingsomewhere. >> yes, sir.>> first of all, i would like tosay how encouraged i am about this type of dialogue.i like to use the termownership. we keep deferring all of theseproblems and ailments that wehave to somebody else.
the police department has got tofix it.the school district has got to fix it.somebody else has got to fix itwhen it's -- we've got to take ownership of all of thesethings, and it's looking in themirror, and then there was another question, and i'mthrough.there's always going to be a criminal mind.but if you give a guy anopportunity to earn a decent living, a liveable salary, 30,40, $50,000, i guarantee you hewill choose that over violence or crime.but where is the opportunity?>> but where are those 30, 4,050,000 jobs?are we going to be seeing thosein the next year, two years, three years, four years of yourcity council term on the eastside of troost avenue,
councilwoman canady?>> i'm working with a group ofpeople right now on that very issue that's tied to theincentives.in many major cities, any time any public dollars are put intoa project, there is a commitmentof a number of jobs that go to residents of that city.so the conversation about wherethey should go, that's still to be determined, but when thereare issues, my number i put up,my benchmark, that at least 30% of those jobs should go to sczworkers, and in san francisco,who has probably one of the best programs, they also have anotherbenchmark for those that comefrom disadvantaged communities, and that's not for -- federalsection 3 funds.this is for any type of tax incentive, public dollar.30% of those workers, new jobs,go to people from that city.
and when you look at kansas cityand the projection over the next10 years, we're going to be doing a lot of building.building a new airport, we'vehad streetcar in here. a convention hotel that may becoming in.those are jobs that people are going to be making between 30and $50,000 a year if they knowupfront that this project is going to take three years and weneed 100 new workers, and thenso that's 30 new kansas city residents are going to beworking on that job taking, youknow, whatever the prevailing wage is for their trade.that's opportunity.that's how you make these incentives mart.>> terry writes, a kcpt viewer,the problem is when people are shooting, stabbing and beatingothers over arguments overproperty, facebook and other
things, that is a major issue.you can blame drugs.you can blame alcohol or drugs and guns, but the real guiltlies with our failure toproperty educate people in one basic problem solving.is terry on to something?what are we doing to ffx it, day monday?>> i talked -- damon?>> i talked about that earlier. conflict resolution is somethingwe've got to be teaching ourchildren through a very early age and carry it throughout theschools.adults have to model it. at the 27 vigils that i've donefor ad hoc this year, every timei do a vigil, i always ask to have the kids in the center.what i tell the folks is, us onthe outer ring, we have to be the models for those kids toshow them right from wrong, toshow them how to resolve do
conflict without a gun.in a recent one, i asked folksto raise your hand if you want to break the cycle of violence.not every hand rose.i asked why? those of you who are here, whodon't know -- those of you herewho did not raise your hand, why didn't you?one person honestly said, idon't know how. i don't know how.>> in the neighborhood, in thecommunity that i live in, you have to be real with the kids-@that you deal with.yeah, they don't have fathers around, but when we came up,there was always a daddy around,whether it was your neighbor, the man at the store, yourpastor or your coach.we had one. we have to go back to being thatperson again instead of showingthese kids fear.
show them how to live.>> well, the gentleman earliersaid, you know, we need to look in the mirror, and what can weactually do.what one thing could we do, big or small, that could have anactual practical dent in thehomicide rate in 2016 in kansas city?>> talk to these kids, talk tothem. don't talk at them, talk tothem.every kid out there selling drugs is not a drug dealer, am iright?>> every kid is out there because you don't know what thatkid's past is unless you go intoit. a lot of officers -- and i cansay this.a lot of police officers that we deal with now, they talk tothese kids.i can say that because the chief
put people in the places theyneeded to be in.you know, there used to be a time when kids wouldn't approachpolice officers n myneighborhood, i tell the kids, hey, when the cops roll up onyou, don't run.run to them. i'm john johnson.i live right there.that right there, communication, that's what we need and that'swhat we're lacking.>> what solution big or small could kansas city employ in 2016that would in your judgment havea dent in the homicide rate in this brand new year.>> the one thing you could do ismake it easier for someone to purchase a land owned propertyand then be able to do somethingwith it. at the moment, the insurance --it comes with a corrupt title, ,and insurance companies don't
like that.that's a small thing they couldresolve. it's not glamorous, won't getyou a headline, no soundbite.it's about roling up your sleeves as an administration,getting that right, and thengradually over time, as you covr these different angles, thehomicide rate should improve.>> one practical solution. >> a line in our budget with thearea of priority that theseresidents in high crime areas have expressed.we have tons of data that says,these are the high crime areas. here are the deficiencies in theareas.but when you look at the budget in kansas city, our spendingdoes not reflect those areas aspriorities. >> david daniel over at ad hocgroup against crime, onesolution big or small that you
think would make a difference.>> teach our children and ourneighbors the value of forgiveness, the value offorgiveness.it can go a long way. it's one of the keys toresolving conflict.>> jolie justus. >> continue this dialogue.don't wait until the murder onyour block before you show up for the neighborhood meeting.keep talking.it's the only way we're going to fix this and listen.>> and you're giving people theopportunity all yearlong. these meetings take place once amonth on the second tuesday ofeach month, and they're available to the public.>> absolutely, and we're alsoadding a series of listening sessions, recognizing thatpeople's schedules varyy and wewant to make sure that everybody
has an opportunity to be heard.>> thank you very much.major joe mchale. >> i know this is going to beseen by a lot of people, so iwould say if you are not affected by it, you are.volunteer in your community,teach your child to read, boys and girls clubs, big brothers,big sisters, get involved.it is your problem. >> quinton lucas.>> tutor a 15-year-old.>> over at the atf, jon ham. >> work with us.let us know.you've always got information we don't have.we oftentimes take the blame fornot being as reactive as what people think we should.if you've got the information,get it to us. >> but i'm not really quite sureif i've got all the facts right.>> it doesn't matter.
the smallest piece ofinformation.if you know somebody has a gun that shouldn't have one, or ifyou know somebody bought a gunfor somebody who is going to do something illegal with it, pickup tte phone, call the police,call the atf. let us know about it.let us get out there andproactively help you in your community.>> and in crunching all of thosenumbers, a solution that you feel could make a dent, kennovak, over at umkc.>> i'm going to suggest a piece of inaction.i'm going to say don't panic.i'm going to say that the evidence suggests very stronglythat focused did deterrence andstype of collaboration occurs both with the community andvarious different lawenforcement and prosecution
partners has demonstrated longmaterial effect in multiplecities, and so the homicide rate is not what we would want it tobe right now today, but i thinka problem would be if we are reactionary and panic and goback to doing things the way itused to be done because we know exactly what's going to happenif that happens.>> thank you. we have an audience filled withpeople who haven't panicked,because even on this snow-filled night, you felt enough about thecrime issue that you wanted tocome out here to the paseo academy and make sure we hadthis engaging conversation oncrime. captioning provided bycaption associates, llcwww.captionassociates.com
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