This website is best viewed in a browser that supports web standards.

Skip to content or, if you would rather, Skip to navigation.

Listen Live
Donate
MARYVILLE

KXCV-KRNW


News Brief

April 11, 2024 |  By: Allison Kite - Missouri Independent

After Missouri Senate filibuster, KC landfill critics hope to cut a deal with developers

landfill

By Allison Kite - Missouri Independent

Kansas City-area communities fighting a proposed landfill are hopeful negotiations with the developers will end the controversy and “eliminate” the project.

For more than a year, communities that border south Kansas City have been fighting a proposed 270-acre landfill. They’ve pleaded with state lawmakers to pass legislation to kill the project, hired lobbyists and formed a political action committee. 

The push was stymied last week when a group of state senators outside the Kansas City area used a filibuster to block a vote on legislation meant to kill the landfill project. Now, it appears, the city of Raymore is near a deal with developers that would halt the project in exchange for cash payments. 

Melissa Harmer, a spokeswoman for Raymore, which borders Kansas City at the proposed site, said in an email to The Independent on Wednesday that the city was working toward an agreement with the developers “that would eliminate the landfill,” contingent on the passage of the legislation. She said there was little to share “except that we’re feeling positive.”

She did not answer an email asking follow-up questions.

A day later, the city of Raymore posted on its website an agenda for a special meeting of the City Council to approve legislation establishing an agreement wherein the city would make settlement payments in exchange for restrictive covenants preventing the site from becoming a landfill. According to the agenda, the settlement would also include “mutual support” for state legislation that would prevent the landfill from being built at the proposed site. 

“This is the local step necessary to advance legislative election in Jefferson City to end the threat of a landfill on Raymore’s northern border,” the agenda says. 

Jennifer Monheiser, one of the developers, said in a statement Wednesday that the team is “dedicated to finding a solution that works for everyone.” 

“Our team is focused on conversations that address the region’s waste management needs as well as concerns about the environmental impact of our project,” Monheiser said. A spokeswoman for Monheiser declined to answer follow-up questions about possible negotiations with local municipalities, saying there are “a lot of moving parts.” 

The landfill — proposed by Monheiser’s business, KC Recycle & Waste Solutions — was proposed just south of Missouri Highway 150 in Kansas City. It’s less than a mile from the Creekmoor golf course community, located in Raymore, with homes priced as high as $1 million. 

Under current law, KC Recycle & Waste Solutions’ proposal to place the landfill within a mile of the city’s boundary with a nearby community is permissible — subject to state permitting requirements. If it were within a half mile of city limits, though, it would need the approval of neighboring municipalities.

Critics of the project in nearby Raymore, Lee’s Summit and other suburban Kansas City municipalities want that buffer zone increased to one mile. They have decried the project, saying it will harm their constituents’ property values, health and ability to enjoy their homes.

After legislative efforts to block the project failed last year, area residents launched Kill The Fill, a political action committee that has raised money through small dollar donations, a golf tournament and bourbon tasting. 

The PAC hired a lobbying firm run by Steve Tilley, a veteran Jefferson City lobbyist with ties to Gov. Mike Parson, and has paid $46,500 for lobbying and public relations since October.

Kill The Fill’s treasurer, Jennifer Phanton, said in an interview that she can see the proposed landfill site from her upstairs window. 

“When this becomes a mountain of trash,” he said, “I’ll be able to see it from my house.” 

Phanton said she was hopeful about the negotiations between the developers and opponents like the city of Raymore, which she described as “close-lipped.” 

She argued the municipalities around the landfill deserve a seat at the table because its placement will affect them. The closest fire station, she said, isn’t one of Kansas City’s. And the roads leading to the landfill that will incur heavy truck traffic pass through surrounding cities. 

“You’re putting the onus, you know, on these neighboring municipalities to support this landfill…but you’re not willing to give them a seat at the table,” she said. “That’s insane to me.”

Lawmakers have debated increasing the buffer zones for the past two legislative sessions, but it has yet to clear the Missouri General Assembly.

One of several identical bills to increase the buffer zone cleared the Missouri House in March and has passed a Senate committee. It awaits floor action. Another version came up last week in the Missouri Senate, but lawmakers from other parts of  Missouri launched an hours-long filibuster, shutting down the chamber. 

The same thing happened last year when State Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, a Republican from Arnold, stood opposed to the legislation.

State Sen. Rick Brattin, a Republican from Harrisonville who represents neighbors of the proposed landfill, responded the next day with a filibuster meant to shut down debate of the state budget as a deadline to pass it loomed.

Kansas City-area senators have since criticized colleagues from other parts of the state for fighting on behalf of the landfill, saying they should respect the judgment of senators who represent the area of the proposed project to determine what’s best for their communities.

State Sen. Mike Cierpiot, a Lee’s Summit Republican, said the Senate has a tradition of deferring to senators from the area when considering legislation that affects a particular part of the state. He called it “troubling” that lawmakers who live “nowhere near” the affected communities would fight for the landfill when the senators representing the Kansas City area stand opposed.

Cierpiot said the entire Kansas City delegation — including both Republicans and Democrats — agree the site isn’t appropriate for a landfill. 

“I ask this body to trust those senators that represent this entire area,” Cierpiot said. “We know what is best for our area, as I’m sure each of you do.”