KCMO Question 2 asks voters to approve park sale

By John Sharp

KCMO Question 2 on the April 8 ballot will allow the city to sell the 3.4-acre Longfellow Park between 25th & 26th streets and between Gillham Rd. & Cherry St. to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City to expand its current facility located on leased land in the park that provides free housing and supportive services for families with critically ill or injured children while they are undergoing lengthy treatment at Children’s Mercy Hospital which is only blocks away or other nearby pediatric facilities.

The local charity annually has had to turn away hundreds of families seeking a place to stay while their children were undergoing sometimes lengthy treatment for serious – often life-threatening – medical conditions because of a lack of space.

Plans call for the current facility’s footprint expansion on a half-acre of parkland to add at least 40 more bedrooms to the facility’s existing 41 beds and for the charity to maintain at its expense about 1.5 acres of publicly accessible green space in the park that has a walking path and outdoor fitness equipment.

Ronald McDonald House CEO Tami Greenberg said in an interview that the charity will enhance the park’s outdoor amenities, all at no cost to city taxpayers.

If the measure passes, area residents will still have nearby Sheila Kemper Dietrich Park to enjoy which has a playground, shelter and tennis courts.

The measure is on the ballot because the KCMO city charter requires approval by a public vote of the removal of any land from its highly-touted park system. It requires a simple majority to pass and apparently faces no organized opposition.

There will be no cost to city taxpayers if it is approved, and the city will actually gain revenue from the sale of the park.