Plans for a Climate Sustainability Center to possibly be built on UMKC property have been slow-going since the idea was announced in April.
As a part of the Green Impact Zone endorsed by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a $350,000 grant from the Economic Development Administration will fund studying and planning for a $50 to $70 million Climate Center.
Bob Simmons, assistant vice chancellor of Facilities Management, is serving on the planning board as a representative for UMKC.
He said organizing a time for all of the parties involved to meet has been difficult. But the group will meet in September to review 11 planning firms that expressed interest in the project.
They hope to narrow the list down to five firms.
With the proposed site of the Climate Center located where 4825 Troost, 4747 Troost, 4741 Troost and 4743 Troost are now standing, the new facility could displace hundreds of students, staff and faculty if built (also see U-News, vol. 77, issue 1, for more information).
Simmons said the university is assembling a faculty group to review all of the information and assess the needs of the departments located on the site should they have to move.
KCUR, a public radio station, and the UMKC Police Department will likely be the most complex departments to move.
Patty Cahill, general Manager of KCUR, does have some experience moving radio stations.
About 20 years ago, she moved the station she was managing at Wichita State University.
"We moved across an alleyway to another building," she explained. "And it was really fun because the person who was on the air had a rolling chair and so we just rolled him from one studio, down the back alley to the other studio. We put on a long record. We rolled him in and he just made his announcement from the new studio. And that would be ideal, of course. But I suspect that that will not happen here because I don't know where we would roll a person to."
One of the biggest concerns with moving a radio station is a possible interruption in programming.
Cahill said she has been doing some research in case the station is forced to move. After talking to about 20 stations, she determined it would take about two years and $2 million to retrofit a building.
Finding the funds for a move presents another problem since the university only provides a small portion of the station's income.
"Certainly $2 million is something we would have to work on as well," Cahill said. "I would hope the university would help, but you know we have got a lot of listeners and a lot of our funds come from them. So I would expect some listeners to step forward and help."
She said the station has been looking around for alternative locations, but nothing is set in stone or ideal. With the station needing at least 10,000 square feet, Cahill doesn't see building a station as an option.
"Building a new building would be a large capital campaign," she said. "In this economy, I do not feel comfortable taking on something like that if we don't have to."
Although Cahill is not serving on the committee involved in the planning process, she said she is pleased with how concerned the university has been with the complexities of a move.
"I have talked with Bob Simmons and he knows our issues," she said. "I encouraged him to come to the radio station and look around. So he has been here and toured the facilities. I believe he understands our needs."
Since KCUR currently broadcasts in HD1, Cahill said a move could be an opportunity to upgrade to HD2.
"Rather than move, we could just replace," she said.
Although the police department could be another significant move, UMKC Chief of Police Mike Bongartz declined to comment until a decision has been made.
alang@unews.com
