Observations
I have been reading over the different postings of the last two weeks. Many interesting comments, some insightful and some are down right nasty. The most important observation I can make is that the number of participants is growing. Keep in mind that there are many who read but do not comment on the many posts on this blog.
I can assure you those numbers are growing. So, if you are sharing your thoughts, the audience is greater than just those who are corresponding via the blog.
A few personal observations:
To the person who believes that I am posting comments anonymously. Not so! That is my picture on the upper left corner of this page. I am not ashamed to plainly state what I have to say publicly. If that were not the case, I would have left any identification of my own responsibility for the Raytown Report.
The Raytown Report’s purpose is very simple. To give those who wish, a forum in which to speak out. I personally know many of those who have shared their thoughts on this page. I can tell you they are speaking from the heart.
It is true that not all Raytowners believe this forum is a good idea. I personally know many of them also.
Those folks should remember that what is written on these pages come from their neighbors and fellow Raytowners. They have as much a right to share their opinion as the next person. To stifle or ignore those with whom we do not agree is the worst kind of bigotry. Such narrow-minded attitudes only serve to create cynicism that eventually stunts the growth of a community.
Reaching for Tomorrow has drawn much attention on these pages.
RRFT was started by the Curt Wenson / Sue Frank political machine as a way to raise taxes. There were many good-intentioned people who participated in it. There were also many who felt they were not welcome within the structure of that organization.
Many of those people have spoken out on this site.
As an organization RRFT is not really in existence anymore. It has morphed into a political organization loosely known as Continue Raytown’s Progress. They have been adept at playing on the hopes and dreams of many voters. They are currently at a high water mark in their existence. The club can honestly claim to have supported all but two of the elected positions in Raytown city government. Time will tell how long their run of domination at City Hall will last.
Finally, I would like to leave my readers with the following observation. Last April, the Mayor, and many of those elected to the Board of Aldermen made pledges to do something about the need for more street lights in Raytown.
On November 1st the Mayor and the Board will vote on a new budget for the upcoming year.
This will be their budget.
They will not be tied by the work of the past Board of Aldermen. They will have six months experience as elected officials under their belt. It will be interesting to see if they carry through on pledges to increase the number of streetlights in Raytown.
Comments
This is Lee Gray and I appreciate the fact that I can point out things to the other readers and learn from them.
Letters to the editor in other places are controlled and contrived to thwart real public discussion.
Good job...good project. Lee
I don't always agree with Greg. In fact, he and I have big differences of opinion on animals. One thing I can say for him is when an issue comes up, he investigates with very pointed questions. I feel that he is looking after the city's best interests on the Board of Alderpeople. I am not in Greg's ward, but I feel he is voting as his people would want since he didn't listen to me about animals.
I, too, question if some of the top jobs are really needed. The Mayor should be handling the City Administrator's job. I thought the job of the Mayor was to manage the city. Does the Mayor really need a high paid assistant to take out of town trips?
Are the other top jobs needed or could they by handled by the Board?
Why do these exhorbitant salaries have to be in line with outer cities? If there was a 25% or 30% pay cut and these "top" people left, I am sure someone under them would step up with the attitude that they are getting a good promotion!
If Ms. Newton if only getting $40,000, that is not a liveable salary in this area. I know other city workers receive much less but they should be paid more.
I know this sounds strange, bit I am in favor of cutting the high paid administators and paying the workers more! The salary disbursement needs to be changed to favor the workers. Yes, I happen to be Union (formarlly CWA, APWU, NALC, and NAPS). If the city workers organized an Union, things might change!
There was a previous comment about hiring more Police. I don't know if this is necessary unless someone can document an uncovered time. Any time I have called the Police for service, I have received a quick response. This applies even to non-emergencies. I don't think that having a large number of patrol vehicles visible will necessarily deter crime. In fact, I see a patrol car more frequently in Raytown than when I lived in Kansas City or Albuquerque. My experience in KCMO is over 10 years old, but for an emergency I waited 60 rings (6 minutes) for 911 to answer and then 30 minutes for 2 officers to respond. Raytown has a top notch Police force. I would like to see the officers receive a raise in pay.
Andy Whiteman
The census in 2000 showed the average family of four in Raytown had an income of $34,000. That is a liveable wage, or was until the past couple of years where gasoline went through the roof along with all the other things (milk, etc.) thanks to the failed federal economic pathways and that stupid war in Iraq.
Ms. Newton would be overpaid at $10 an hour.
I am not misinformed. I know what it takes to live. The average wage in Raytown may have been $34K, and I can tell you that $34K is not liveable. I made much more than that and still had to work at least one day a month overtime to pay the utility bills. The weather is so unbearable that heating and cooling is not affordable.
You must have a grudge against Ms. Newton.
I have a grudge against any administrator who is making $90K-$100K for warming a chair and taking trips on the taxpayer's money. It is not personal but I just think the job, which could be done by others, is paying too much. This city is TOP HEAVY! I had a 3rd level at Mountain Bell who said that when there are cuts, the come from the top down. In my opinion, that is they way it should be in Raytown.
What is worse, they have chosen an individual (Al Maddox) who is so politically divisive that his role serves no purpose other than to remind people of their differences. Not to mention how many others it will only piss off!
What on earth is the Chamber thinking of when it does these things?
You would swear by the reaction of some of the posters on this blog that the city clerk has committed some terrible crime to someone??? Just exactly what happened that you are so mad with Mrs Newton? Noone is perfect, and I am sure that you are not either. I really hate to see someone being persecuted for just doing their job. A really good outlet for all of the negativity perhaps would be better directed towards the city administrator, community development director, and the finance director. Better yet, eliminate those three positions alltogether.
Again, way back when... we did not have a city administrator like previously stated because it was the Mayor's job. the other positions were part time like stated before. We had a population that was upwards around 45,000 people at one time, now it is only around 30,000 people. Granted the tax base has shrunk because of the decline in population. What we need are businesses and resturaunts, good publicity about the city, good roads, infrastructure, good public servants, good schools, etc... we have a great start with police, fire and ems, and the schools, but the rest needs work. If this city is to thrive, you have to have things to draw the people with the money to the city. If there is nothing here, why bother with it at all? I know that I get very tired of having to try to find places close to home here to go out to eat, to take care of normal errands, clothing, supplies etc. becuase it is always a challenge anymore. The businesses are in Lees Summit, Independence, Blue Springs, and Overland Park. Everyone talks about saving gasoline, how can you if there aren't any places close to home and everything is 30 minutes away from home? I myself try to patronize businesses if they are located close to home in Raytown, and if they are not here, again, 20 or 30 minutes away from here. I am really at a point where I am wanting to move away from Raytown because of the trend that is and has been happening here even though it is home to me. It is like a slow, agonizing death to a loved one. This town looks like Ruskin and South Kansas City in places.... there are empty stores, loan places, pawn shops, now all we need are some tattoo parlors and a few XXX dance clubs...
One other thing that might help, as someone else noted in another post is if any new businesses did come here that they need to stay open past 5pm... that has always been a problem in Raytown, and some of that may have been attributed to the Baptists that used to run this town, or maybe they still do. Pull in the rug early.
If you walk around or drive slowly through the neighborhoods you see more vacant houses, some with deffenbaugh dumpsters in their dribeways filled with trash and debris, delapidated houses that the people who live there cant afford to keep up because of fixed incomes, burglar bars on doors and windows, alarm company signs in front yards, houses with 6 to 8 dogs and the stench that hovers from the lack of picking up after them, sidewalks that once were level that are buckled like a seismic disturbance shifted it around, trash piled in piles in front of houses or duplexes. This is not the Raytown that I remember as a youth.
Andy Whiteman
Actually I rather see a new coffee shop compared to a bar. I did say that the city needs to welcome ALL businesses. At least a bar generates tax $$$$$. That is what we want, isn't it? What I don't understand is the city grants permits to a new bar and then an alderperson questioned when approving the color of Raytown Plaza, "What control do we have over the types of businesses that rent space?" I wonder why is this being asked? Is there an ordinance as to what type of business is acceptable? We need businesses. What criteria must a new business meet?
Andy Whiteman
My parents were in control when I was the child, but the school still had a dress code. I couldn't understand why because the way I was brought up already complied with the dress code. I assumed the code was intended for the slobs.
Andy Whiteman
Just drive down Raytown Blvd. There are Chinese, Mexican and seafood restaurants plus a coffee shop that are not the fast food type. They are not the type and quality that would make Raytown a destination point.
When we lived in KC Sonic Burger and Shanghi Express were destination points for us. Raytown lost us when the Sonic Burger opened on Bannister and a fast food Chinese with better food opened on Wornall.
Someone from the Chamber or the City needs to make a presentation to a 4 star or 5 star restaurant of the benefits of why they should move to Raytown or open a branch here.
Andy Whiteman
According to City Hall officials, the median age in Raytown is lowering. Senior citizens are selling their homes and downsizing. Younger people are buying these homes for starter or second homes and relocating to Raytown. Supposedly the median age for Raytown is supposed to drop by 10 years by 2010.
I have noticed that as they pass on, their children do not move back (unlike other areas of KC for instance Brookside, Waldo or Red Bridge) but instead decide to either sell the house for their inheritance (can't blame them) or rent it out for a monthly inheritance (can't blame them again but I do not like this option).
Question is, how do you get people to want to move to Raytown...maybe a more of an aggresive Marketing campaign?
Justin Tomac
Find a microtrend and encourage like businesses to set up here.
I don't think only restaurants are the answer, although it would be nice to have more of a variety here.
Put your thinking caps on - with all the creative minds here there could be some great ideas thrown around about how to build Raytown rather than just discuss how it is falling apart.
If there were good jobs in Raytown people would have a reason to move here. I moved here because of a job in Lees Summit and it was a close drive as well as the amenities (auto repair, vet, Post Office within walking distance).
I agree with Anomymous007 restaurants alone aren't the answer. A marketplace i.e. specialty independent shops, international markets, movies, and theatre would draw people. Restaurants would help make the shopping a destination point. But we must be a destination point for some reason so people will say, "Lets go to Raytown for dinner and a movie, dinner and shopping" or whatever. By the way the DMV license office also made Raytown a destination point for us when we lived in KC because the only option was Downtown!
We need good jobs and don't mean the $36K per year jobs. We need jobs that pay well. The problem is that the good gobs have gone to India or other countries because of cheap labor. I think many cities other than Raytown are facing that issue.
A local business person told me research shows that almost .50 of every dollar spent at a locally owned store stays in the city, vs. less than .20 if it is a corporate store.
I can remember when there were specialty clothing, toy, book stores, etc. WalMart has wiped most of them out but there is a resurgence. The current generation of teens do not remember and think it is cool to go to a specialty store.
Someone mentioned microtrends. I heard a segment about that on the radio the other day and did a search. I found this on msnbc.com:
"Over the past two generations, the number of left-handed Americans has nearly doubled. Between 2004 and 2005, the purchase of fashion yarn increased 56 percent. The fastest growing group of knitters are teens and twentysomethings. The fastest growing group of videogamers? Moms over the age of 45. People making more than $75,000 a year are much more likely to be among the 30 million Americans with tattoos than members of lower-income groups. No longer the mark of sailors and ex-cons, one in three Americans between the ages of 25-29 now sports body ink."
There we go, someone needs to open a store with specialty items for left handed people, knitting supplies, video games and a high end tattoo parlor. (I know - many of you think tattoo parlors are trashy.)
I don't know the actual procedure that City Hall uses to encourage businesses to open up in Raytown. They may do no more than let you know what permits are required if you call them. This needs to change. The city needs to be proactive in enticing new businesses to come here, make it simple to open their doors and then promote them once they do.
I've heard that there is action to start a "buy local" program in Raytown. I think it is a good idea. We need to encourage residents to buy local and let them know which businesses are locally owned.
There is a possibility that what we think are corporately owned may actually be a franchise with a local owner. We will never know unless there are signs or advertisements. This brings up who owns Westlake, Sonic Burger, Wendy's, etc?
Walmart may be a destination but it does not creat a destination area. People will come a distance for Walmart but that is probably the only place they are shopping. Hopefully they will stop for gas, or a bite to eat on the way.
Andy Whiteman
Bringing big businesses, not necessarily retail, to Raytown will help the local economy.
Now, I think, it would be difficult to identify Raytown "local" businesses -- especially in the retail and restaurant areas. As others have pointed out, Wal-Mart pretty much killed the "mom and pop" local businesses and "chains" dominate the restaurants and groceries.
When I moved to Raytown (20 yrs ago), the Chamber had 650 members. What's it down to now...even after changing its name to "Crossroads" and including outside banks, etc.
A sense of community is needed. And the public, which is largely "commuter" dwellers will have to realize if they want the convenience of local business...they'll have to support it.
Best wishes/Lee Gray
but it's going to be hard to talk any business to come here because of Wal-Mart.
But that's not the whole problem.
City codes people have to work with prospective new businesses. The city elected officials have to get the big sales tax income addictions out of their thoughts and recognize there are actually other types of businesses out there that need their help.
When a new small business does get through all the hoops they have to get around they have to be supported by the town.
Please don't think I'm complaining but I have yet to do much for our school district. I only see them when they are in a hurry or hurting for something.
A while back I was doing starters and alternators for Lee's Summit school dist. but I got a call from the garage, they said that their city told them use the local rebuilder. I understood. As I said I'm not complaining I gotten along for twenty seven years without doing much for them but, my point is maybe other local businesses might not be as lucky as I am. They will need local support.
Here's another thought. Everybody is talking about who is living here and who is moving in and out of here. I truly don't have an answer but I will say this, If and when Wal-Mart builds their big store on 350 hwy. our city officials better focus on the downtown because if it isn't handled right it will be a ghost town with a few exceptions
and nobody will want to move here. They don't want to be around Wal-Mart and they won't want to be near a dead downtown. You can look and the housing project at 59th and Raytown tfyw. to see this.
Independent stores are a good idea, the plaza owner will have to have them, but finding something or someone that sells something that Wal-Mart doesn't and wants to come here and fight the codes people is a nearly impossible task.
Again this is why we need to organize a group of business and property owners to try and come up with some ideas that might help.........all of us.