Reconsidering the Region:
Wyandotte County REBORN
KCPT Documentary on Wyandotte County Premieres at
Kansas City Public Library
(Kansas City, Missouri) -- The Kansas City Public Library and KCPT focus on neighboring Wyandotte County – particularly the changes resulting from unification of its city and county governments – with special guests and a preview documentary screening on Wednesday, January 16, at 6:30 p.m. at the Central Library, 14 W. 10th St.
This is the debut program in an occasional series hosted by the Library throughout 2008 called Reconsidering the Region.
Reconsidering the Region: Wyandotte County REBORN begins with the world-premiere of a KCPT documentary titled REBORN: The Grassroots Campaign to Unify Kansas City, KS and Wyandotte County.
A panel discussion following the screening will address whether the lessons learned from the successful effort to change Wyandotte County government might be applied elsewhere in the Greater Kansas City region. Special guests include Carol Marinovich, who helped spearhead the effort for consolidation as mayor of Kansas City, Kansas – and then served as the first CEO of the Unified Government; Kevin Kelley, an instrumental figure in organizing the grassroots component of the effort; Jack Cashill*, local author and magazine editor who narrates the new documentary; Steve Nicely, the Kansas City Star reporter who covered the consolidation campaign; and Nick Haines, host of KCPT’s “Kansas City Week in Review” and the moderator for this discussion.A 6 p.m. reception precedes the event. Admission is free, but reservations are recommended. Call 816.701.3407 or RSVP online.
Free parking is conveniently located inside the Library District Parking Garage adjacent to the Central Library. Parking tickets will be validated at the event.
Reconsidering the Region offers civic leaders and citizens metro-wide a forum for direct dialogue and debate on a variety of regional issues. Under the direction of Kansas City Public Library CEO Crosby Kemper III with advice from area policymakers, this occasional series focuses on ideas, strategies, and changes intended to improve quality of life across Greater Kansas City.
(*Webmaster's note: Reconsidering the Region: Wyandotte County REBORN was not only narrated by Jack Cashill, it was also written and directed by him.
Also, see Two Guys from KCK
Webmaster's note: Kansas City Kansan review below:
Film highlights decade of consolidation
By SAM HARTLE, Kansan Staff Writer
Monday, January 21, 2008
The 1997 effort to consolidate the governments of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan., was largely attributable to the work of residents and business leaders who didn’t view themselves anywhere near as important as the effort itself.
On Wednesday night, many of those who made consolidation happen gathered at the Kansas City, Mo., Central Public Library to discuss their feelings now that their creation is 10 years in the making.
The group, headlined by former KCK Mayor and Unified Government Mayor/CEO Carol Marinovich, also took in the premiere of the documentary, “Reborn: The Grassroots Campaign to Unify Kansas City, Kan., and Wyandotte County,” a half-hour documentary produced by Jack Cashill and distributed by KCPT-TV.
The documentary already aired this week on KCPT-TV, but the station doesn’t have any plans to re-air the show in the near future.
The documentary focuses on a core group of people associated with the consolidation movement - Marinovich and her chief of staff, Kathy Moore, Kevin Kelley, the effort’s co-founder, Mike Jacobi, campaign coordinators Rev. C.L. Bachus and Dr. J.J. Swanson and neighborhood activist Forrest Rhea.
In the film, still images of KCK in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, shown in black and white, depict what the city had become both economically and in the impressions of the rest of the metropolitan area.
Voices against the consolidation movement aren’t found anywhere in the documentary, but that could be expected given the title and the editorial direction of the film.
To contrast the old KCK and the new KCK, the movie’s first image post consolidation comes from the large central fountain at The Legends at Village West shopping center, and concludes with commentary from the people who made the effort happen.
But the issue of development, principally in the western portion of the county, quickly became the topic for a number of questions, both from KCPT’s Nick Haines and members of the audience.
Haines asked Marinovich how the current crop of casino developments - of which one will be selected - fits into the vision officials had for the area when they consolidated.
“We always wanted to create a destination, and I think the casinos will add to that destination,” Marinovich said.
