For the first time, Independence residents will vote on GO Bonds next year
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (KCTV) – This week, the Independence City Council approved to place three general obligation bonds, better known as GO bonds totaling around $197 million, on the April 2025 ballot. It’s the first time in the city’s history that residents will be voting on them.
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“Other municipalities around us have done multiple general obligation bonds for years and Independence has never taken the step to move our city forward and we are seeing the results of that,” said Jared Fears, an Independence At-Large Councilmember. “This discussion has been going on for a long time among the council and staff. We have been exploring what the needs were for the city. The city has identified about a billion dollars worth of deferred maintenance. We asked the city staff to pull together a list of things they saw as the highest priorities. They brought that forward to us as a council.”
Through the process, the city says it was important to include residents in the conversation. The city council created a 21-person ‘Citizens General Obligation Bond Advisory Committee’ earlier this year. Doug Cowan was selected to be the chair.
“We were tasked to answer a few questions: evaluate the projects that city staff brought forward to us, evaluate the need and how important they would be to the citizens of Independence,” said Cowan. “Looking at making some broad guidance and advisory recommendations to the council about the total dollars that would be part of the bond obligation presented to the citizens and then finally looking at specific cost estimates within the proposed projects.”
The committee reviewed what was in the proposals and reported back on particular projects; the council ultimately made the decision on how to put it on the ballot. It was ultimately decided to create three GO bonds.
“The reason we have to have three is because according to the law, we have to divide it according to the primary purposes,” said Fears. “To make sure citizens know exactly what they are approving for those bonds.”
The first GO bond, worth $130 million, is geared toward public safety. It would go toward a new consolidated Justice Center, remediation of the ground where the current Independence Police Department is located, and to purchase the Jackson County Regional Animal Shelter.
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Cowan said the citizens advisory committee was able to take a tour inside the current police headquarters.
“It is literally falling down,” said Cowan. “There is sewage leaking. We are not able to attract and attain the number of officers that we would like and part of that is the state of the facilities. The facility was built more than 50 years ago and does not have adequate space. It doesn’t have adequate locker rooms. When potential officers come in, it is not the most attractive facility to get them to come and work in the City of Independence.
“We really need a facility that builds for the future and allows a great place to attract our public safety officials in this community. That was clearly the identified priority of the citizens advisory committee.”
The second GO bond focuses on infrastructure and includes $55 million for street reconstruction and overlay, bridges, and school sidewalks.
“For me, the top priority is bridges, streets, and roads,” said Fears. “That impacts everybody almost every day. We have bridges that we haven’t been able to repair that are closed. We have roads that need serious maintenance. We have seven schools in Independence that do not have adequate sidewalks to the schools.”
$10 million in the second bond would be used to fix or create sidewalks for seven schools in the Independence and Fort Osage school districts: Blackburn Elementary School, Cassel Park Elementary School, Christian Ott Elementary School, Fairmount Elementary School, Mill Creek Elementary School, Cler-Mont Elementary School, and Elm Grove Elementary School.
The third GO bond would see $12 million go toward historic sites in the city and the Independence Athletic Complex.
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“Independence was the jumping point in our country for westward expansion,” said Cowan. “There are so many historic sites, so we clearly saw the value there and knew that would resonate well with the public to make these long-term investments into these sites that will carry forward our community’s history and culture for years to come.”
The third bond has $5 million going toward upgrades at the Independence Athletic Complex and $7 million going toward repairs and improvements to the Vaile Mansion, Bingham-Waggoner Estate, and the Truman Memorial Building.
“Independence has 120,000 people and while 21 people cannot be the exact voice, we represented a cross-section of the community,” said Cowan. “Different backgrounds and experiences, and some people, like myself, have lived here for a long time and others were newer to the community. We tried to give a real cross-section of opinions back to the council. Different perspectives, different neighborhoods, different parts of the city to try and give some good, thoughtful guidance.
“At this point, we have made our recommendations, and the council has put three items up. It’s incumbent upon the community to hopefully come together and learn, dig into the information on why these projects are important. We would encourage people to lean in and learn why these projects are so important.”
All three GO bonds will be on the April 2025 ballot.
“Independence has never asked the citizens to approve a general obligation bond,” said Fears. “It’s just never been something the city has brought forward. This is a real generation change, generational possibility that is going to come before the voters in April to make a huge difference in our city. Waiting will cost more money and will be even more expensive to improve our city like it needs to be.”
You can read more about the three GO bonds on the City of Independence’s website.
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