RAYTOWN REPORT

By Richard Tush Postings started appearing Sunday questioning if the city is truly doing all that they could to ensure the community is aware of meetings held by the city. I am sure the city will state they have the meetings posted on their web-site calendar and that the meeting notices have appeared in the "The Raytown Post". However, they quickly forget that not everyone has access to a computer or has the time to check for daily event postings. Even more alarming is the number of individuals who actually still receive "The Raytown Post". I have had individuals ask me where they can go to obtain the paper and I have only been able to find it at Fox Drugs or the Shell Gas Station at 87th & James A Reed. This quickly makes it clear the great percentage of residences are not being keep informed. Therefore let me offer some suggestion to improve the process using technology available to get the word out. Using the sewer billing for providing a comprehensive ...

By Richard Tush contributing editor The big catch phrase this past city election cycle was "Public Safety" rather it was directly related to the "Public Safety Sales Tax" or something the alderman candidates wanted to achieve as one stated "Keeping Raytown safe is absolutely necessary". However, it seems now that the election cycle is over these where just attempts that paid off to reach deeper into our pockets. Many of us might feel different if we could see the city as a whole providing us acceptable service across all departments. But the service provided by public service remain questionable. 1.) Our streets are in worse shape that I can ever recall. The budget amount for overlay has been on a decrease over the last several years while the cost for asphalt has increased. Street in the condition that ours have become presents a hazard to those who use them as well as increase the wear and tear on vehicles. 2.) Non-functioning or miss-functioning t...

Richard Tush, Contributing Editor It has come to our attention that last Friday the chamber was telling local business that they couldn’t park on their own property. If this was not going too far in itself, defiantly attempting to place potties and trash dumpsters on the private property was way over the line. Like many of you it is joyful to see our community gather together at events like "SummerFest". However, those sponsoring events like this should be mindful of the business owners they impact and never attempt to place things on private property without first getting permission from the property owners. While the chamber will surely be calling the event a success others will be setting back and see how long it takes for the tent to come down as well as the damaged sod to be replaced. It seems a true sign of success for the chamber would be to start filing the vacate spaces throughout our city rather then place all of their focus on their annual fundraiser. Do...

Greg Walters, Contributing Editor Richard Tush, Contributing Editor DAY 11 - 67TH and BLUE RIDGE CUTOFF: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!! The grating over the storm drainage of 67th Street) at 67th Street and Blue Ridge has been replaced. DAY 8 – 84th Street Sanitary Sewer Project:The mess left behind by the city after sanitary sewer improvements remains. No official word has been received as to a plan for resolution of the problem. A copy of the original article (posted on June 1, 2009) has been sent to Mayor David Bower and Aldermen Lightfoot and Mock. DAY 1 - Time to Get Serious About Cleaning up Raytown Cutline --- Vehicle parked in retirement home development between Hunter and Kentucky Streets, just north of 59th Street. Many of our leaders at Raytown City Hall spend a lot of time giving lip service to efforts to clean up the town. Some want to crack down on rental property. Others want to remove large billboards. What is interesting is that there is hardly ever any talk o...

Greg Walters, Contributing Editor Richard Tush, Contributing Editor Fix This Eyesore NOW! Is a weekly column of the Raytown Report featuring citizen complaints where the City of Raytown should step up and take care of business. The red “Day #” indicates how long it has been since we first sent the complaint to the attention of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen representing the area that needs attention. Last week, we carried the picture of the pothole at 67th and Blue Ridge at the entrance to the BP gasoline station at that intersection. We drove by the station today. The only change we noted was that the hazard signal is now standing upright in the hole rather than laying on its side as pictured. DAY 7 - 67TH and BLUE RIDGE CUTOFF: BP Gasoline station located between Commerce Bank and 67th Street (on the south side of 67th Street). The picture speaks for itself. The grating over the storm drainage cut has been missing for over one year. A copy of this page has been forwarded to...