Kansas City’s plan to build a temporary municipal “trailer” jail ahead of the World Cup is getting complicated as the full scope emerges, and questions remain about the final price tag, where the jail would be built and what the city would do with it in a few years after the permanent jail is constructed.
The Kansas City Council voted last week to put out a call for proposals from companies who could build a “modular” jail that would use prefabricated structures, similar to classroom trailers, with up to 130 beds for holding detainees on city-level offenses and providing them with services. People charged with felonies wouldn’t use the municipal jail, as they would be detained at the Jackson, Platte and Clay county jails.
The city manager’s office has about a month to present a plan for the facility, which could cost upwards of $30 million…