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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.

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BOARD OF ALDERMEN

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

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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 15^th. 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

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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.

59^TH 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 59^th Street, East on 59^th Street to Raytown Road and north on Raytown Road from 59^th 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 67^th 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 63^rd 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 63^rd 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 75^th 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 63^rd 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! 

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The Boys (and Girls) of Summer

BY GREG WALTERS

Colman Park is a special place. It is extremely popular with those who like to walk their dogs or just stroll through one of the prettiest parks in Raytown. 

The ballfield on the south part of the park is especially an added plus. 

If you are a fan of the game, and who isn't with the Royals in the hunt for a championship in the American League Central Division, then you need to check out the hitting exhibition going on at Colman Park on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings at 9:30 a.m. 

One of the players is a past member of the Women American Olympic Team. 

If you want to see a hitting exhibition that will keep you glued to your seat for a couple hours, stop by and enjoy the show.

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BY PAUL LIVIUS

Aldermen to Consider 

Sewer Tax Increase

Members of the Board of Aldermen held a first reading on a bill that could increase the Sanitary Sewer Tax on Sewer Bills up to 7%.

Three options were suggested by the City’s Finance Department to increase the sewer tax.

    Option 1 - would be a 7% increase of the sewer tax.

    Option 2 - would be a 5.25% increase of the sewer tax.

    Option 3 - would be a 3.5%% increase of the sewer tax. 

              

Ward 4 Alderman Bill VanBuskirk suggested the city should forgo the 7% increase and instead look at a 5.25% increase (option 2 as provided by city staff).

Ward 3 Alderman Ryan Myers was the only Board member to speak in favor of a 7% increase of the sanitary sewer bills. He suggested the price increase would average about the same as what a Big Mac costs at McDonalds. Myers suggested increasing the sanitary sewer bill by 7% (option number 1 as provided by city staff).

Ward 1 Alderman Greg Walters countered Myers’ McDonalds comparison when he was said he was more concerned by those who cannot afford even a Happy Meal at McDonalds. Walters went on to say the real problem in America is inflation.

Walters said, “Many of our people are hurting. Some have resorted to running up credit card debt just to put food on their table. That credit card debt, if not paid timely, will run 20%. in interest payments.”

Walters said he believes the Board should draw the line at a 3.5% (option number 3 as provided by city staff).

Ward 2 Alderman Jim Aziere did not suggest what the increase should be. However, he did speak to the effect inflation is having on small businesses and families and noted that many small business owners have gone on record that they will not be able to continue to stay in business for the next year due to inflation.

In its report to the Board of Aldermen the City Administration has recommended the 5.25% increase. (option 2, as provided by city staff). The Administrative Review further stated, "Due to the rising cost of treatment, we do not believe there are any alternatives to raising the sewerage rate to cover the increase." 

Our View . . .

We find it interesting the City Administration took the time to offer three suggestions on how much to raise the Sanitary Sewer Tax. They left out an Option No. 4 to NOT raise the tax. Be that as it may, it would a cold day in Hell before we see that option come from City Hall on any tax package. 

Three Aldermen spoke out what they believed was the best course to take. VanBuskirk (who suggested the 5.25% increase, and Walters, who suggested the 3.5% were being pragmatic. After all is said and done, the Little Blue Valley Sewer District was created specifically to treat Eastern Jackson County's sewer treatment needs.

Ward 3 Alderman Ryan Myers suggestion that the Sewer Bills be increased by 7% is way out of order. The City recommended 5.25%. Why on Earth would Myers want to burden taxpayers with a larger increase?

It is a good question. The report from City Hall clearly recommends Option 2 (5.25%). We wonder if Mr. Myers received the memo.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Missouri State Law requires a Public Hearing be held before the Board of Aldermen before they cast their votes. That Public Hearing is tentatively set for September 17th. The Raytown Report will publish information on the rules covering the Public Hearing as the City releases them. 

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Speeding, Side Shows,

BY GREG WALTERS

Reckless Driving

A PLAN TO MAKE OUR STREETS SAFER 

If there is one constant complaint I hear from my Constituents in Raytown it is the need to get a handle on enforcement of our city's traffic violations. 

Like many other small cities is the metropolitan area, Raytown has been struggling with the rebuilding of its police force. This is not the fault of the city not funding the positions. The City has regularly set aside what is needed to hire and pay its officers. What has been difficult is to find people who want to go into law enforcement.

The root of this problem can be traced back to four years ago. During the 2020 elections our nation experienced social unrest. This manifested itself in riots, civil disobedience and a capitulation of many leaders across America of purposely choosing to either stand by, and, in some cases, even cheer on the social disobedience. 

Acknowledgement of that brief bit of history does not solve the problem left in it's wake.

Simply stated, that "problem" is that many people purposely decide to NOT choose a path that leads to law enforcement as a career move. 

The subsequent shortage of those considering entering the business of policing our cities will take some time to heal. The good news is that there has been some improvement in Raytown's situation. According to Raytown Police Chief Robert Kuehl, the number of active officers on the Raytown Police Force has grown. Chief Kuehl is optimistic that trend will continue for Raytown.

TRAFFIC CALMING IS PART OF THE SOLUTION . . . 

Earlier this Summer, the Raytown Board of Aldermen met in its Annual Goal Setting Session for next year. One important result of that meeting was to direct City Staff to explore and use "Traffic Calming" as a tool to slow down speeders, stop the dangerous "side show" events by irresponsible drivers and crack down on dangerous drivers who speed through stop lights, stop signs and ignore speed limits.

Coincidentally, the City of Kansas City, Missouri recently announced plans to create "Speed Humps" in residential neighborhoods to slow down speeders.

One block to the west of 65th and Woodson Road. 

Speed humps are not new. The one pictured at left (located at Woodson and 65th Street, just one block from Raytown) is one of three such humps on a very long residential street. As the pictures shows, the car IS SLOWING DOWN to cross the hump.

Here is why this is such an effective deterrent to speeders.

SPEED HUMPS . . . 

• Are a self-enforcement tool, work non-stop and is a subtle reminder to drivers they will obey traffic laws.
• Work . . . 24/7/365 . . . They are effective at slowing down speeders.
• Literally remind drivers THIS IS A NEIGHBORHOOD. Drive with caution.
• Free up Police Officers for more active patrol duties.
• Slow vehicles down to 15 miles per hour to drive over them.

Other tools are available to the City to stop the dangerous practice of side shows. Side Shows are when drivers drive at recklessly high speeds in intersections and parking lots. This is especially true at two of Raytown's largest city parks . . . Colman Park and Kenagy Park.

The photo on the right shows a solution that is working at Starlight Theatre in Swope Park.

Starlight Theatre / Swope Park

The street is cut in a pattern that breaks the spinning of the wheels on the pavement. This makes the so-called "Side Show" impossible to perform.

Used in combination with "Speed Humps" this "one-two" punch has dramatically reduced the reckless driving at Swope Park in Kansas City.

This important legislation needs the support of the Raytown Board of Aldermen for it to become a reality. Raytowners are urged to contact their Aldermen and Park Board members to ask them to support these important upgrades to our city streets.

For a list of Elected and Appointed official telephone number and address use the following link: ELECTED CITY OFFICIALS

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