Clay County Comes of Age
On a pleasant May 15 afternoon, 30 of Clay County’s business and government leaders met with the staff of Ingram’s Magazine to discuss the future of development in Clay County. This assembly, which was held at the North Kansas City Community Center, is part of Ingram’s ongoing effort to explore economic development opportunities throughout the greater Kansas City area.
Chairing the meeting were Clay County’s presiding commissioner, Carol McCaslin, and Tim Kristl, chair of the Clay County Economic Development Council, with an able assist from North Kansas City Mayor Gene Bruns, one of several mayors in attendance. Sponsoring the event was the Clay County Economic Development Council and the City of North Kansas City.
Momentum
Tim Kristl cut right to the chase. He described the county’s essential challenge as the need for added infrastructure. “We have huge development potential,” he observed, “and if we get our infrastructure in place, we’re going to knock the socks off of everybody.”
“The challenges as I see them really do have to do with infrastructure,” agreed John Engelmann with Aquila. He wondered how changes in state regulations would affect the county’s abilities to move. Rick Baier with CB Richard Ellis confirmed that “trying to identify sites that have adequate infrastructure in place” continues to be a pressing issue.
Infrastructure is a concern throughout the county “Liberty needs to have the infrastructure in place,” said Bob Steinkamp, mayor of that city. “It needs to be able to catch up with its neighbor on the west, Kansas City.” Debbie Kimsey, with the City of Excelsior Springs, likewise saw the need for improved infra-structure to maintain momentum.
