Downtown Ambassadors
The Downtown and River Market Community Improvement Districts have helped transform Downtown Kansas City with a simple but ambitious mission: clean, safe, and attractive.
Downtown & River Market CIDs
The Downtown & River Market Community Improvement Districts’ (CIDs) mission is to keep Downtown Kansas City clean, safe, beautiful and fun. We provide security, cleaning and promotional services that supplement, but do not replace, basic services provided by the City of Kansas City and the fundamental responsibilities of property owners.
Public Safety Services
Our public safety officers patrol the streets 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to ensure that Downtown continues to be a safe and welcoming place. Known commonly as the “bumblebees”, they are the ambassadors for the neighborhood and are constantly on alert to help deter crime and assist our community.
The CIDs public safety ambassadors encourage and assist homeless individuals to get into appropriate facilities where they can find shelter and necessary social services. Ambassadors respond to calls from retail businesses and building managers and patrol Downtown on a daily basis. The CID ambassadors are trained to engage our homeless clients and offer them assistance in receiving services.
The public safety ambassadors work closely with the Kansas City Police Department. Our public safety staff are trained by the KCPD and assist the local precinct in dealing with thefts and the prevention of other crimes.
Through a partnership with the CIDs and the KC Streetcar Authority, public safety ambassadors play leadership roles in safety and way-finding services aboard the KC Streetcar since it started operations in 2016.
Through a partnership with the Kansas City Central Public Library, CID public safety ambassadors provide safety services, keeping the Libary safe during hours of operation and at special events.
The CIDs are committed to the development of its ambassadors through year-round training through numerous programs and classes provided by our partners.
Clean Services
Downtown & River Market CID ambassadors crews ensure that sidewalks are clean and graffiti-free seven days a week. Our cleaning crews supplement the City of Kansas City’s sanitation services and the obligations of property owners.
Clean Services
The CIDs deploy uniformed workers who manually clean sidewalks and parks on two overlapping shifts, seven days a week so that Downtown opens clean and remains clean throughout the day. The CID’s maintenance ambassadors manually sweep all sidewalks at least twice a day. All sidewalks also get a monthly power washing in warm weather months to remove accumulated stains and grime.
The CIDs have zero tolerance for graffiti. Specially trained teams use solvents and high-pressure washers to blast graffiti from the ground floor of building walls, light poles, signs and street furniture while protecting architectural surfaces.
Following snowfall, CID maintenance staff gets to work clearing bus stops, fire hydrants, all corner caps, sidewalks, and crosswalks to create clear and accessible pathways. In addition to coordinating with the City, our crews prioritize areas by taking into account pedestrian traffic and the entrance/egress of public transportation nodes.
The CID maintenance ambassadors maintain a variety of street furniture throughout the district. Our crews are responsible for cleaning and repairing these elements as needed, and repainting them seasonally to keep them looking fresh and clean.
Landscaping Services
Making the streets of the Central Business District and River Market more attractive and convenient for pedestrians is a top priority for the CID landscape ambassadors.
Landscaping Services
The CID landscape ambassadors are always working on improving the health and vitality of its street tree collection. We have studied the effects of different soil types within our tree trenches in order to determine a Best Management Practice for maintenance of existing trees as well as for future plantings. Last year, the CIDs planted 40 new trees throughout both districts.
The CIDs plant and maintain street planters with seasonal plantings throughout the Central Business District and River Market neighborhoods.
Our landscape ambassadors partner with the City of Kansas City’s Parks Department and Neighborhood and Housing Services Department. Through those agreements, our ambassadors provide prune trees, maintain tree grates and landscape select areas throughout the Central Business District.
Our landscape ambassadors engage in additional special projects such as landscaping the Muse Island at 9th and Main Streets and overhauling the planters along 12th Street with Bridging the Gap.
Downtown CID
The creation of the Downtown Community Improvement District (DCID) proved to be a pivotal moment in Downtown’s revival. Since the formation of the DCID in 2003, more than $8.8 billion has been invested in Downtown Kansas City.
- Citizen Assists, Directions, Special Events4,481May 2018 – April 2019
- Trespass, Drug Activity, Public Drinking Interventions3,626May 2018 – April 2019
- Homeless Contacts & Referrals1,046May 2018 – April 2019
- Citizen & Merchant Introductions193May 2018 – April 2019
- Aggressive Panhandler Interventions184May 2018 – April 2019
- Safety Escorts129May 2018 – April 2019
- Police Arrests/Assistance & Medical Assistance65May 2018 – April 2019
River Market CID
The River Market Community Improvement District (RMCID) manages a 35 square block area in Kansas City’s oldest neighborhood. The RMCID was established by property owners within the neighborhood to provide enhanced services and programs to make the district cleaner, safer and more vibrant.
- Homeless Contacts & Referrals1,513May 2018 – April 2019
- Trespass, Drug Activity, Public Drinking Interventions1,149May 2018 – April 2019
- Citizen Assists, Directions, Special Events497May 2018 – April 2019
- Aggressive Panhandler Interventions291May 2018 – April 2019
- Citizen & Merchant Introductions54May 2018 – April 2019
- Safety Escorts16May 2018 – April 2019
CID Leadership
Back row, from left: Marvin Williams, Mark Rowlands, Frank Jackson, Art Chatman, Ronell Bailey, Sheila Tatum, Daniel Moon. Front row, from left: Sean O’Byrne, Justin Tatum, Santos Ramirez.
CID Leadership
Director of Operations, Community Improvement Districts
santos@downtownkc.org
Director of Contracts, Community Improvement Districts
mark@downtownkc.org
Internal Communications Manager
justin@downtownkc.org
Safety Supervisor
ronell@downtownkc.org
Safety Supervisor
daniel@downtownkc.org
Maintenance Supervisor
sheila@downtownkc.org
Safety Supervisor
art@downtownkc.org
Contact Us
To request a CID service such as power-washing, removal of graffiti tags or to express any questions or concerns, please contact us using the form below.
