Jackson County cancels Blue River ‘surplus’ bid request ahead of deadline

Jackson County Executive Phil LeVota announced the county would discontinue its request for bids on “surplus” land along the Blue River ahead of tomorrow’s 1 p.m. deadline, according to a county release. The request for bids and potential sale of public land sparked outcry from local outdoor enthusiasts who use volunteer-constructed trails at the site.

“The County has closed the solicitation process for the Blue River property and will not move forward with the proposed sale,” the release says. “As a result, no legislative action related to the proposed sale of the Blue River property will be considered at today’s Jackson County Legislative meeting.”

The “surplus” parcel would have been reconfigured from three existing parcels along the Blue River just south of Swope Park and east of Hillcrest Golf Course, according to the county. The land is located north of the Blue River Glades Natural Area, which has been protected by the Missouri Department of Conservation. It also lies within the county-protected Blue River Parkway, according to local environmental nonprofits.

“We were never proposing to sell the glades, trails, or the areas we intended to preserve,” LeVota said in Monday’s release. “I want residents to understand that protecting those areas was always part of the plan.”

The retraction announcement by Jackson County comes after disagreement between county officials, nonprofit/outdoors groups, and trail users about which lands were protected, and which areas would have been up for sale. The 2,267-acre Blue River Parkway is the county’s largest park, which is managed by the Blue River Parkway Master Plan passed in 2022. 

Through the bid process, LeVota emphasized there had been no bids and that there was “no sale.” LeVota also said that the county must first go through the proposals and take it to a Legislative vote.

However, at an Aug. 3 meeting of the County Legislature, LeVota said the request for bids came after Hillcrest Golf Course indicated they were interested in the land for an expansion project. Neither Hillcrest Golf Course, nor its developer Robb Heineman of 635 Holdings, responded to requests for comment on this story.

In Monday’s release, LeVota said the county included the land in the surplus process to determine interest from potential buyers and explore opportunities for future use. He added on Monday that there was no reason to move forward with the process.

At a Saturday media event held by local environmental nonprofits and trail users who opposed the RFP, Sixth District County Legislator Sean Smith said that the Legislature had clearly made a mistake and that he expected a retraction announcement soon. 

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

County-elect Stacy Lake asked attendees at Saturday’s event, “Why are we selling all these public-owned lands now?”

Lake also said the recent request for bids on Blue River Road is part of a troubling trend by Jackson County. Lake, who takes the helm as Executive in January, said the legislature passed only three resolutions to sell public land between 2020 and 2025. In 2026, she said eight such resolutions were passed.

LeVota previously told the Telegraph the land being designated as “surplus” had little to no conservation interest. But the land contains miles of natural-surface trails constructed by Urban Trail Company volunteers as early as 2000, according to Scott Capstack, a founding member of Heartland Outside. 

An official trail partnership with Jackson County started in 2006, he said at Saturday’s event, resulting in more than eight miles of natural-surface hiking and mountain biking trails at the site today. Those volunteer trails, which tend to draw more experienced outdoor enthusiasts, are also promoted on Jackson County’s website.

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

However, the county added in the release that people are accessing the property without proper authorization. The release goes on to say people are making trails and cutting down trees in the area without the owner’s consent, which creates a “huge liability.”

“If there have been “volunteers” thinking they are maintaining and changing county land without county authority, that can be problematic on many levels,” the release says. “Jackson County cannot be held responsible for changes made to the land without its consent.”