Waldo residents see other uses for Bingham school than Walmart

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A group of Kansas City residents gathered Thursday night to brainstorm ways to keep a Walmart Neighborhood Market out of their community.

The group started as six people and quickly grew to about 50 residents. They met at the Keystone United Methodist Church to discuss other ideas for the old Bingham Middle School site in Waldo, which the Kansas City school district is selling.

Walmart has expressed interest in buying the property, but community members and small business owners in the area don’t think a large retailer is the best use of the land.

“It affects us all in every way,” small business owner Melissa Saubers said. “Whether it’s traffic, or taking away from our small business, it affects us all.”

The community group says they would rather see a community center, neighborhood pool or athletic fields.