Blue River Parkway: Leaders, nonprofits, trail users decry county’s bid request

Stacy Lake, the next Jackson County Executive, was among officials and nonprofit leaders who spoke out against a recent request for bids by the county at an event in the Blue River Glades on Saturday. The RFP has local nonprofits and conservation enthusiasts alarmed that Jackson County wants to sell a high-traffic, protected area along the Blue River.

The media event took place ahead of regularly scheduled restoration efforts by nonprofits at the site. Also in attendance were outgoing County Legislator Sean Smith, Kansas City Councilwoman Melissa Patterson Hazley, and leaders from Heartland Outside, the Urban Trail Company, Bridging the Gap, the Heartland Conservation Alliance, and the UMKC Center for Neighborhoods.

The Blue River Parkway, Jackson County’s largest park, includes athletic fields, paved trails, and protected areas, all along Blue River Road. Most areas are managed by the county’s Department of Parks and Recreation under the Blue River Parkway Master Plan, which was passed in 2022. 

However, current Jackson County Executive Phil Levota told the Telegraph the “surplus” land in question is up for bid because it has little to no conservation interest. 

At an Aug. 3 meeting of the Legislature, LeVota also said the surplus designation came after Hillcrest Golf Course expressed interest in the area for expansion. The Telegraph could not reach Hillcrest Golf Course, its representatives at LinksDAO, or Rob Heineman, the developer behind the golf course redevelopment. 

Lake, the incoming Executive, disagrees that the land has little to no conservation interest. At Saturday’s media event, she asked the public to join her in opposition.

“Once we lose these public-owned lands, we can never get them back,” Lake said. “And so, we have a responsibility to protect these lands, not just for us, but for our children’s future.”

The actual parcel up for bid is still undecided, LeVota said. It will be reconfigured from three existing parcels. He added the land is located just north of the Blue River Glades Natural Area, but he said it is not protected by the Blue River Parkway Master Plan. 

But the land in question is not surplus, and it is actually protected by the Blue River Parkway Master Plan, according to local outdoor enthusiast Sarah Hemme. She said the land contains miles of natural-surface trails that were constructed by the Urban Trail Company and are used regularly by locals.

These volunteer trails, which tend to draw more experienced outdoor enthusiasts, are also promoted on Jackson County’s website.

“How or why the County Executive seems to be unaware, I do not know how that’s possible,” said Hemme. “For him to present it as useless land was really disingenuous of him.”

Proposals for bids were originally due to Jackson County by 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 9, just hours before the next Legislative meeting. Jackson County has now extended the RFP deadline to 1 p.m. on Nov. 10, the following day.

Where is the Blue River land up for bid by Jackson County?

The “surplus” land up for bid is sandwiched between two golf courses and a natural area: the KCMO-owned Heart of America Golf Course in the north, the private Hillcrest Golf Course to the east-southeast, and the long-protected Blue River Glades Natural Area in the south. 

The land up for bid does contain a network of pedestrian and mountain-biking trails maintained by the Urban Trail Company, according to Benton Hunt, its board chair. These trails aren’t managed by the county, but the Urban Trail Company built them in partnership with the county parks department, Hunt said.

“There is a big chunk of land that has been utilized and developed through a number of nonprofit organizations,” Hunt said. “It’s quite concerning. Nobody really did any research whatsoever on what is actually happening with this land and what it means to the community that is around that area.”

The first trail on the land being designated as “surplus” opened in 2000, according to Scott Capstack, a founding member of Heartland Outside and the Urban Trail Company. Today, that land boasts more than eight miles of trails, he said, with another mile-and-a-half extension in the works. 

“That’s used, I would say, every day,” Capstack said.

At the media event, county-elect Lake said she was opposed to a sale of public land, asking attendees, “Why are we selling all these public-owned lands now?” 

Lake also said the recent RFP on Blue River Road is part of a troubling trend by county officials. She reported the legislature passed only three resolutions to sell public land between 2020 and 2025, but in 2026, eight such resolutions were passed.

LeVota emphasized that as of now, “there is no sale,” and the county must first go through proposals. Then, he said, the project would go to a vote in the County Legislature.

Hunt said the county’s decision to request the public for bids related to land on the Blue River, and then report there is “no sale,” is misleading.

“You don’t go out and get bids for land if you don’t intend on even considering the idea of a sale,” Hunt said.

Sean Smith, Sixth District County Legislator, said that Jackson County Legislators clearly made a mistake with the RFP. He added toward the end of the event that he expects a retraction announcement related to the RFP on Monday, Nov. 9, one day before the deadline.

“Not everybody that’s in politics likes to admit when a mistake was made. I would say the first mistake was trusting what we were told,” Smith said.