ONE WEEK TO GO BEFORE THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION!
We normally do not do this, however, since this is one week before the BIG 2024 ELECTION, so we thought . . . why not!
After some conversations with some of our regular contributors we have decided to allow comments about the upcoming Presidential Election.
- - - Here are the Rules - - -
- You may sign your comment, or, if you prefer, leave it anonymous.
- All comments will be fact checked. Any erroneous "facts" will be deleted from comments by the editor.
- You may comment as many times as you wish.
- If you wish to engage in some "give and take" with other writers, we will allow it.
- Finally, all other rules of the Raytown Report Blog section will be followed, (no foul language, no personal attacks, etc.
Increase Fees to Public
The
Raytown Board of Aldermen has approved an increase in a number of fees charged
Raytown citizens for different services.
This
year the following fees have been adjusted.
FINANCE DEPARTMENT: All transactions
using credit cards increase from 2.5% to 2.8% for processing any transaction(s)
using a credit card. Citizens can avoid the charge by paying their transactions
in cash or by check.
POLICE DEPARTMENT / Finger Print Fee. The police
department does not offer fingerprinting for the general public. The fee has
been eliminated since the service is not offered. Anyone needing to have a
finger print created can do so by contacting the Jackson County Sheriff’s
Department.
BUSINESS LICENSE – FIREWORKS: This new Fee would
charge $100 to any business selling fireworks in the City of Raytown. Ward 1
Alderman Greg Walters questioned why the city is charging a fee when the Fire
District handles ALL of the licensing business in Raytown. The Fire District
does the safety inspections and also charges a $1,000 fee for each location
fireworks where fireworks are sold.
Since
the sale of fireworks is limited to non-profit organizations, such as “non-profit”
churches, it is questionable if the city can force them to purchase a “business”
license.
Walters
said, “I ran a fireworks stand for my Church for three years. The only role the
City had in the process was to make sure there was plenty of room between the
firework merchandise for pedestrian traffic. The so-called inspection took
about ten minutes to complete. One hundred dollars is an excessive amount for ten
minutes worth of effort.”
SITE/DEVELOPMENT PLAN: This fee is charged
for Staff Review of a Site/Development Plan – Staff Review (residential or
commercial. The previous fee was $300.00. The new fee is now set at $350.00.
PET
LICENSE: The cost of a pet license in Raytown has been increased:
ONE
YEAR ALTERED $10.00*
ONE
YEAR UNALTERED $30.00
THREE
YEAR ALTERED $10.00*
THREE
YEAR UNALTERED $50.00
LIFETIME
ALTERED $50.00
*No
change from previous year.
PICTURES OF THE WEEK
2014 . . . the Royals defeated the Oakland A's in a one game playoff to advance in the late season epic to face the San Francisco Giants in the World Series.
2014 . . . the Royals lose to the San Francisco Giants in seven games.
2015 . . . the Royals win the World Series against the New York Mets.
2024 . . . the Royals make a remarkable turn-around in a play-off run. Not bad for a team that was dwelling in the cellar of American League standings the year before!
Anyone interested showing off their Halloween spirit?
Send your photo to
gregtwalters@gmail.com
DEADLINE: OCTOBER 20, 2024
USE THIS LINK TO Comment AND VIEW COMMENTS Four Additional Streets
added for Mill and Overlay BY GREG WALTERS
Many years ago I had a conversation with two of my seatmates on the Raytown Board of Aldermen. We were discussing how to aggressively address street maintenance in Raytown's residential neighborhoods. The three of us came to a mutual understanding --- maintaining our residential neighborhood streets would henceforth be our first priority. We all agreed, "this is what the City should be about."
We followed up on our plan. Legislation moving unspent funds from other projects were re-directed to the street overlay program.
The legislation was a success. The public gained improved streets in their neighborhood. Since the funds were not encumbered on other projects, there was not a negative impact on the city budget.
This recent proposal from originally came from Public Works Director, Robinson Camp. A copy of Mr. Camp's proposal and a reply from City Administrator Damon Hodges is shown below. The bill goes before the Board of Aldermen for consideration next Tuesday, October 15, 2024.
The four streets affected by the legislation are:
87th Street - 87th Street to 83rd Terrace.
66th Street - Overton to Raytown Road
Westridge Road - 87th Street to City Limits
Norwood Court - Little Blue Road to Cul-de-sac
From: Damon Hodges
Date: Fri, Oct 4, 2024 at 3:57 PM
Subject: Emergency Roadway work
To: Governing Body
Attached is an emergency repair for mill and overlay in various areas. The project is expected to begin next week 10/7 – 10/11. Due to the time of the season for asphalt paving and ability to leverage the opportunity of utilizing the existing mill and overlay contract. The additional work needed to begin before the next meeting on October 15th. A couple of the locations were developed where utilities had recently completed one half of the street. The attached memo will provide additional information. Let me know if you have any questions.
Respectfully,
Damon Hodges
City Administrator
 |
| BY GREG WALTERS |
Board of Aldermen
increase Sanitary Sewer Tax by 7%
Last
Tuesday night the Raytown Board of Aldermen voted to increase the Sanitary
Sewer Tax by 7% by a vote of 7 yes to 3 no.
The
following table* illustrates the cost of the proposed rate increase in
comparison to other cities. Raytown residents will pay the third highest rate
when compared to the 15 cities listed below.
CITY TOTAL SEWER BILL*
Gardner,
KS $43.05
Blue
Springs, MO $46.05
Liberty,
MO $46.64
Independence,
MO $48.26
Prairie
Village, KS $48.96
Kansas
City, MO $51.72
Lee’s
Summit, MO $52.01
Kansas
City, KS $63.13
Smithville,
MO $65.39
Raymore,
MO $66.16
Leawood,
KS $68.66
Lenexa,
KS $68.66
Overland
Park, KS $68.66
Raytown, MO $76.06
Gladstone,
MO $78.15
Belton,
MO $86.38
*SOURCE: STATISTICS PROVIDED BY WARD 3 ALDERMAN RYAN MYERS.
Sanitary sewer taxes are based on water consumption as shown in property owners water bills. Mr. Myers did not provide the base rate he used in his examples. However, he did indicate the cost figures he arrived at were accurate.
Ward 1
Alderman Greg Walters and Ward 4 Alderman Bill VanBuskirk said they support an increase
of 5.25% recommended by City Staff. The 5.25% increase is based on a study
Raytown paid Burns and McDonald (a Kansas City based engineering firm) on how
best to increase rates to keep the city in line with costs of sewage treatment.
Walters said, “There is a “let the public be
damned” attitude by some members of the Board of Aldermen when it comes to tax
increases.”
"The
5.25% increase recommended by the City Administrator is a reasonable increase
to maintain our debt service to the Little Blue Valley Sewer District and the Kansas
City, Missouri," continued Walters. "the 7% increase is uncalled for and places an unnecessary tax burden on Raytown homeowners."
Judging
from some of the comments by members of the Board there seems to be some who
are confusing storm water maintenance with sanitary sewer lines. The end result
is Raytown taxpayers will be paying more in sewer taxes than is necessary to
maintain debt service to Kansas City Sewer Department and the Little Blue Valley Sewer District.
HOW THEY VOTED:
Motion by
Ward 3 Alderman Ryan Myers (second by Ward 1 Alderman Ian Scott)
to increase the monthly Sanitary Sewer Bill by
7%.
YES: Myers,
Scott, Garza, Mims, Krizek, Hayden, Aziere
NO: VanBuskirk,
Walters, Emerson
USE THIS LINK TO Comment AND VIEW COMMENTS
Street
Improvement Update
 |
| BY GREG WALTERS |
Anyone
driving just about anywhere in Raytown can tell there are many street
improvements under construction. The following information will let you know
what is currently under construction and plans for additional projects in the future.
HIGHWAY 350: East city limits to West
city limits
Missouri
State 350 Highway is receiving much needed upgrades by the Missouri Department
of Transportation (MODOT). Funding for the improvements is provided by the
State of Missouri. Improvements include re-surfacing of the entire highway
through Raytown. Expansion of turning lanes, exits, and traffic
signals improvements are under construction.
59TH STREET STORM SEWER PROJECT:
This is
actually a major storm sewer project so large in its scope that it
requires the re-construction of a major intersection, at Raytown Trafficway and
59th Street, East on 59th Street to Raytown Road and
north on Raytown Road from 59th Street to the Public Library. Though
funded as a storm water run-off project, the improvements are such that the
street, curbs and sidewalks will be replaced as well.
RAYTOWN ROAD: 350
Highway north to 67th Street.
The project
includes a complete upgrade of the roadway – including curbs, sidewalks and
storm drainage repair as needed. This project is funded by the City of Raytown.
STERLING: North city limits to Blue
Ridge Boulevard.
Sterling Street has been resurfaced with improvements to storm drainage infrastructure as needed. This is project is funded by a grant from metropolitan Kansas City area resources.
BLUE RIDGE CUTOFF / 350 HIGHWAY BRIDGE:
Earlier this
year the Blue Ridge Bridge over 350 Highway was damaged in a vehicle accident. The outside south bound lane of Blue Ridge Cutoff has been closed to vehicular traffic. MODOT has released information
stating the bridge will be repaired late this year.
OUR VIEW: Most taxpayers are pleased with the street improvements under construction. As one local observer shared, “It
is certainly an improvement over the re-building of an alley (two years ago)
behind the buildings on the north side of 63rd Street at the cost of
$100,000.”
Many others
we spoke with shared their belief that it is time for the city to start paying
attention to the needs of residential neighborhood streets.
Next April
the City will hold elections for one half of the Board of Aldermen. Though political attention is currently on the Presidential Election, the attention will quickly
turn to local politics before the end of the year. The next city election will be in early April, 2015.
Raytown
voters should take the opportunity to let candidates no where there priorities
should be focused, particularly when comes to issues (such as neighborhood
street improvements) that affect us all.
It is about time!
A drought that has plagued Eastern Missouri was finally broken last night. The street in front of our home was turned into a small river from over four inches of rain that fell yesterday and this morning. This section of Hunter Street between 63rd Street and 59th Street drains over one-half mile of pavement as the street drops in elevation from one of the high points along the Blue Ridge on its way to 59th Street.
A Story's End . . .
 |
| BY GREG WALTERS |
A little over a month ago we published a story about a homeless
encampment located under the 63rd Street Bridge (just East of
Raytown Trafficway). Readers will recall the photo we published showing the
encampment.
The photo on the left is how encampment looked when we first broke the story back in July of 2024. The camp, located across from the Rock Island Bicycle / Walking Trail, became more noticeable by those using the trail as the weather became warmer.
Reaction by City Hall was slow at first, but in response to a public outcry for a cleanup of what was truly a dangerous situation, the city took action.
Those living under the bridge were told they could not do so. As the picture on the right shows, cleanup of the sight has begun and should be finished soon.
There is also evidence of illegal dumping going on under the bridge as well. The city's intention is to block off the entrance used by homeless and others to enter under the east side of the bridge.
As you can see, the encampment is in the process of being
cleaned up. Another encampment located near the Raytown Emergency Assistance
Program (located at 9300 East 75th Street) has also been removed
from the Raytown area.
Curiouser and Curiouser!
While riding my bike
last weekend I came upon the Downtown Raytown Pocket Park located at the
intersection of Raytown Road and 63rd Street.
The intersection is
one of three locations in Raytown used the Raytown Park Department to display monument
sized artwork. The picture shown on the left is a photo of the park. You will
notice there are three randomly placed stones located near the monument.
On each of the three
stones someone has placed books. These are "real" books with pages that will open and everything you would expect from a book!
I checked with the
Park Department and who put the books on the large stones. I checked with the
Park Department. They were aware of the books being left at the location but
were not certain who was responsible for leaving them at the site.
As Alice in Wonderland
was fond of saying, “Curiouser and Curiouser!”
If anyone can
enlighten us as to significance of the books drop us a note on Comments
Section* of the Raytown Report.
*Or, as Paul Livius has named the Comment's Section . . . “The Back Pages.”
Speaking of Libraries
Many people know the Raytown Parks Department maintains a
"Little Library" at Colman Park. What many may not know is that there
are also similar "Little Libraries at Kenagy Park and Kritser Park as
well.
The books are available any time the parks are open. So, if you are looking for a good read, stop by and go through the library while at the park!
USE THIS LINK TO Comment AND VIEW COMMENTS
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