KANSAS CITY, Mo. — City leaders are reviewing local building safety inspections in the wake of the condo collapse in the Miami, Florida, area.
The south plaza of city hall has been closed because, just like in Florida, this is an area where waterproofing has failed, and city officials say water and ice melting chemicals have worked their way into the parking garage below, deteriorating the concrete and rebar.
City leaders are considering three potential fixes for the parking garage:
- Spending $5 million to repair the waterproofing on the south plaza, which will make the garage safe for 25 years.
- Or taxpayers could spend $17 million to do that waterproofing and add new access for Americans with disabilities through the south entrance of city hall.
- The last option is to spend $39 million to entirely rebuild the parking garage and south plaza entrance, which would extend the life of the garage for at least another 60 years.
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“I think it’s very important for us, if we have millions of dollars of things like this at city hall, they be somewhat accelerated too, to make sure we get those things done,” Mayor Quinton Lucas said.
Council members were distressed to learn that 21 of the 29 floors at city hall do not have sprinkler systems or fire suppression systems of any kind.
The city needs to spend $10.5 million to address that important safety issue.
The city also is forming a panel of experts to discuss improving its structural inspections for private property.
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