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Bannister Federal Complex Community Advisory Panel Being Formed to Provide Input on Environmental, Redevelopment Issues

Release Date: 06/29/2010
Contact Information: David Bryan, 913-551-7433, [email protected]


Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Kansas City, Kan., June 29, 2010) - EPA and GSA regional administrators have begun forming a community advisory panel whose members will provide independent input to the Inter-agency Environmental Leadership Council (IELC) for the Bannister Federal Complex.

The members of the Environmental Leadership Council are high-level managers from the General Services Administration Heartland Office, Region 7 Environmental Protection Agency, the National Nuclear Security Administration Kansas City Plant and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

In addition to providing independent input on environmental and redevelopment issues, the Community Advisory Panel (CAP) will also act as a communication conduit and forum for stakeholders within the community surrounding the Bannister Federal Complex.

“This community panel will provide an important two-way communication tool regarding environmental issues while being a catalyst for possible future redevelopment,” said Karl Brooks, EPA Region 7 Administrator. “Our long-term objective is for the Bannister Federal Complex to be a viable property for generations to come.”

EPA will fund professional facilitation services and any technical and subject-matter professional assistance needed by the panel. GSA will provide meeting spaces at the Bannister Federal Complex, as well as technical information about historical use and testing at the facility.

“As we look to the future of Bannister and how it can continue to be a valuable asset to South Kansas City, the CAP will play a very important role in helping shape that future,” said Jason Klumb, GSA Regional Administrator.

Brooks sent letters to U.S. Senators Christopher Bond and Claire McCaskill, U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, State Senators Jolie Justus and Yvonne Wilson, State Rep. Jason Holsman, and Kansas City Council members Cathy Jolly and John A. Sharp. Letters were also sent to the GSA Tenant Board, Honeywell and federal union representatives, local neighborhood associations and economic development authorities with a vested interest in the long-term redevelopment of the community.

The letters asked recipients to nominate constituents to serve on the panel. The community group will operate independent of government. Panel members will provide information to their nominators as well as providing input to the IELC.