Council Approves Defense Plant Plan

Kansas City, MO – First-stage plans for a new $500 million plant to build non-nuclear parts for America's nuclear weapons cleared the Kansas City city council Thursday afternoon.

The facility, in the Richards-Gebaur area, would replace the Honeywell plant on Bannister road, which the government is abandoning as outmoded. Terry Riley, whose Planning and Zoning committee advanced the measure yesterday said a vote against the plant won't stop the nation from making nuclear weapons, but a vote for it can do a lot for Kansas City.

Riley said building the plant will provide the opportunity for 3,000 construction jobs to be created in Kansas City in addition to 2100 jobs paying over $50,000 a year at the plant.

The plan is for the city to offer incentives to a private developer who will then lease the plant to the government.