Adele may have some competition. Check out this young singer from "France Has Got Talent". If anyone out there speaks French . . . I would be interested in knowing what they are saying. Use this link . . . Marina

-- BREAKING NEWS --

$10,000.00 Reward Increase for Information on Homicide of Jogger

Mother’s Day 2012 was a day the Stone family will never forget. Their beloved husband, father and brother was gunned down while jogging in the early morning at 67th Street and Blue Ridge Boulevard in Raytown. There has not been an arrest in his homicide but the Stone family is hoping to change that with raising the reward money.

Family, friends and private donors have contributed an additional $8,500.00 to the reward fund in the case which now stands at up to $10,000.00 for information leading
to an arrest.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers Greater Kansas City TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477), TIPS may also be submitted electronically at KCcrimestoppers.com, or by texting TIP452 and you information to 274-637-(CRIMES).

Information leading to an arrest in the case could be eligible for up to $10,000.00 in reward money. ALL INFORMATION IS ANONYMOUS
 

Super Splash USA

Trouble at Raytown City Hall

That starts with “T” and it rhymes with “P” and that stands for Pool

If we are to believe testimony given at last Tuesday's Board of Aldermen meeting the 2012 Season at Super Splash has been less than a success story.

It appears that the new management which was rushed into place by Park Director Kevin Boji (and unanimously approved by the Raytown Board of Aldermen) has been less than a success story.

Paul Livius has a detailed report on what transpired at last Tuesday’s City Council Meeting. By far, the most riveting part of the meeting was the testimony by Life Guards and the parents of Life Guards from Super Splash USA.

Ward 4 Alderman Pat Ertz specifically requested that there be a whistle-blower protection policy in place to protect city and Super Splash employees from retribution.  

At its next meeting the Board of Aldermen are expecting a report from Boji on the situation. Watch the Raytown Report for more information as it becomes available.

The Super Splash portion of the meeting is in bold face type.

The Paul Livius Report BY PAUL LIVIUS

Raytown Board of Aldermen Meeting – June 19, 2012

The Mayor and Board of Aldermen observed a moment of silence when the meeting had been brought to order.

Please note that there were many residents who addressed the Board of Aldermen at this meeting.  Every effort was made to correctly identify each speaker, but if I misspelled anyone’s name, I apologize in advance.

• ANDY WHITEMAN addressed the Board and told them about the tall grass at 350 Highway and Hardy.  He said Block and Company plans to allow the grass to grow, and then bale it for hay.  He asked why the City is allowing a downgrade in zoning.  If this is true, Mr. Whiteman said, then every citizen should let their grass grow beyond the limits set by the city.  They can make money selling the hay and cut down on mowing costs.  He asked that the City inspect this area and cite the property owners for nuisance and tall grass.  He said the bus service is provided to the citizens of Raytown on a limited basis.  It is only available during daytime hours.  If there are approximately 30,000 residents in Raytown and 73 people use the bus service daily, that 2.5% of the population served.  He suggested the contract with ATA not be funded by the City and the bus fares be increased by whatever is necessary to be funded by the users based on operations.
• WILLIAM EARHART showed the Board photos of his two young daughters.  He then showed the Board 46 pages of the criminal record of his neighbor who has an extensive history of exposing himself to children over the past twenty years.  Mr. Earhart said his neighbor has six buildings on his property and reminded the Board residents are only allowed two buildings.  His neighbor has added breezeways between the buildings and is now claiming they are one big building.  Mr. Earhart said there are two junk boats, six unlicensed cars and trucks, and tall grass on the neighbor’s property.  He asked the Board to have someone look into this.  He said one of the buildings has no roof.  He can see rodents running around the neighbor’s yard.  Mr. Earhart said his neighbor buys abandoned storage units and sell the items out of his property.  Mayor Bower asked Mr. Earhart to make sure the Board had his contact information.
• PAMELA BOAG said she is a neighbor of William Earhart.  Their street is only one block long and is a dead end.  She said the neighbor in question has been involved in inappropriate actions with the children and women in the area.  Some neighbors have restraining orders against this man because he is so aggressive.  She said the neighbors have made numerous complaints to the city and this man only gets a slap on the wrist.
• JURITA ESTES said she received a letter on June 11 stating she is banned from Super Splash.  She has been a business owner in Raytown for more than eight years.  She was banned because of false and outrageous lies.  Her daughter, Jasmine Tyler, is a second year life guard at Super Splash.  The first day of the staff cleanup, manager Eric Yuleburg, asked her daughter if “she was freaking two years old” and “if she knew how to use a freaking water hose”.  Ms. Estes said the opening day at Super Splash was May 26.  Her daughter was scheduled to work from 9am to 3pm.  Super Splash was short life guards and her daughter was asked to stay until 5pm.  Jasmine notified her mother she was working late.  After 5pm, Ms. Estes called her daughter’s cell phone, Super Splash, and the Parks and Recreation office.  No one answered any of the phones.  Her daughter finally got home at 8:45 that night.  Jasmine told Ms. Estes she was not allowed to have breaks and hadn’t eaten anything during the 12 hour shift.  Jasmine said during the first day, she and two other girls were sent to the parking lot to clean up without any gloves.  A male manager told the three employees that “if they hear gunshots, hit the ground”.  Ms. Estes went to Super Splash on May 27 and met with Chad and Meredith, managers at the facility.  Ms. Estes explained her concerns to the managers and Chad was very nice and apologized for the problems.  He asked her to call his boss on Tuesday.  On May 28, Ms. Estes took her youngest daughter and her niece to Super Splash.  She was called to the front gate and informed her daughter had been stung by a bee. (Her daughter is allergic to bees).  She was informed that as a life guard parent, she would have to take her daughter for medical treatment, even though the daughter was an employee of Super Splash and on duty at the time.  Before they could leave, however, her daughter had to rescue a mother and son from a blood-spill situation and her daughter did not have gloves or gauze.  All life guards should have gloves available to handle blood spill cases. Ms. Estes called Kevin Boji on May 29 and explained why she was upset with what had been going on at Super Splash. She explained about the lack of breaks and how rude and verbally abusive Eric had been. On June 4, she was asked to pick up another life guard and take him to Super Splash, since they were short of life guards that day.   On June 10, she took a salad to her daughter for her break.  Meredith said they were down eight life guards that day and were using untrained pool attendants for the water slide. 
• SURITA ESTES spoke to the Board on behalf of the Adventure Oasis in Independence.  Adventure Oasis is run by the same management company as Super Splash.  Adventure Oasis life guards are rotated every hour and are required to eat and take breaks.  The life guards at Adventure Oasis know the life guards at Super Splash are not.  Eric, the manager at Adventure Oasis has told the life guards that Super Splash is a ghetto.  The time clock at Adventure Oasis does not work properly and the life guards are regularly shorted on their paychecks.
• JASMINE TYLER told the Board she is a second year life guard at Super Splash.  She was accused of timecard fraud because she wasn’t given enough time to get to the time clock and clock out after swim lesson instructions and clock in as a life guard.  She said she clocked out on paper, but the computer system wasn’t working properly.  She said she is expected to work 8-10 hour shifts and gets only 15 minutes in breaks all day.  On June 18, Super Splash opened with 11 life guards and they were supposed to have 21.  Adventure Oasis life guards came over, but they were two hours late.  Part of the pool had to be shut down because there were not enough life guards.  There have been times when the chemicals in the pool were so messed up that the water was milky.  If a baby fell in the pool, the life guard would not be able to see the child at the bottom of the pool.  On opening day, she and two other employees were sent to the parking lot to clean up trash and dirty diapers without gloves.  There were people outside Super Splash who were drinking and smoking weed.  She said only about half the life guards have passed their certification tests.
• AMY WEAVER said she was concerned about the public safety issues at Super Splash.  Life guards are not fully certified. The life guards were told if they went before the Board, they would be fired.  Her children go to Super Splash and she doesn’t think the pool attendants are qualified to allow patrons to go down the slide.  When Super Splash   opens with only 11 life guards and they should have 21, everyone is at risk.
• JULIE SIVIT read a letter from her son, Collin Sivit, who is a life guard at Super Splash.    He said he arrived at work one day and Eric punched him on the arm.  Collin asked Eric not to touch him.  Eric then poked his knee where it was swollen and later scratched at his sunburn.  Collin said Eric is a bully.
• TRACY COLLINS told the Board she is a teacher at Raytown High School.  She is involved with the summer tutoring program called “Embracing Education”.  This is a free program that gives children personal instructions.  This year’s program will serve 30 children.  Everyone is welcome to stop by and observe the program.  It will be held from July 2 through August 2 at the Raytown Christian Church, across from Raytown High School.

Mayor Bower told the Board he attended a birthday party for Marthello Parks who turned 100 years old.  He said it was a very enjoyable time and Ms. Parks is a real ball of fire.

Mahesh Sharma told the Board that City Staff, along with Alderman Creamer, Chief Lynch, and the Police Department met with residents of the Gregory Heights Home Owners’ Association on Monday evening, June 11th. Information was provided on the city’s property maintenance codes, animal control regulations, enforcement processes. The Police Departments Neighborhood Watch Program and crime statistics were also discussed.   He invited residents to attend the National Night Out from 5-8 pm on August 7 on the baseball field at the First Baptist Church on 350 Highway.  There will be demonstrations from the Lee’s Summit Bomb Squad, the Raytown Fire Department, the Raytown EMS Service and the Missouri Highway Patrol.  National Night Out is designed to heighten crime and drug abuse prevention awareness.  For more information, residents can call Marilyn Fleming, the Raytown Police Coordinator at 816-737-6018.

Andy Noll told the Board the Raytown Police Department put together a great traffic plan for the Clean Up day.  He said there was a line on Raytown Trafficway until about 10:30, but there was never a long line after that.  Mr. Noll said he talked with Wiley Disposal about having a monthly drop off day at the Wiley facility at 37^th and Manchester.  He said residents could go into City Hall, show proof of residency, and then take their items to the Wiley Transfer Station.

After the Committee Reports, Mayor Bower asked if there were any additions or corrections to last week’s minutes.  Alderman White made a motion to add a discussion item regarding Super Splash.  Mayor Bower said he wanted to be sure the staff had the proper amount of time to prepare a response.  Alderman Creamer said he was comfortable in waiting until the next meeting to address this issue.  Alderman White said she did not wish to withdraw her motion.  She had a list of questions for the staff. She was sure other Board Members had questions as well.  The motion passed and was added as item 6 on the agenda.

Other business heard by the Board:

• The Board heard a resolution authorizing the City Administrator to enter into an agreement with Hosier Construction LLC for the 2012 concrete repair project in an amount not to exceed $105,000.00.  Jason Hanson, the City Engineer, told the Board they received eight sealed bids.  Hosier Constructions had the lowest bid.  The staff checked and this company had very high references.  The resolution passed.
• The Board heard a resolution a resolution authorizing a residential real estate sale contract for the purchase of property located at 7826 Raytown Road in an amount not to exceed $50,000.00, plus closing costs.  Alderman White said she was concerned about buying this property when the Parks and Recreations Master Plan had not been updated.  She was concerned about the buildings.  One is a single family residence which the city will then rent.  She’s not sure if the City wants to go into home rentals.  The second building is a storage building.  She wanted to know how it would be secured.  What will the city’s liability be?  Mr. Willard said the city will have to have insurance to protect itself.  He also pointed out the contract states this is an “as-is” sale and there will not be any inspections.  Mr. Boji plans to store mowers and other park department equipment in the second building and it will be secured to the best of the Park Department’s ability.  Alderman Melson asked how the city can buy a house to be rented and not get any inspections.  Mr. Boji said he had the Community Development Department inspect the building.  They found the electrical may need to be upgraded.  Some wires were in contact with each other in the roof.  Alderman Creamer said it sounds like the city needs Rental Regulations.  He asked if the City will do background checks on the renters.  Mr. Boji assured him there would be criminal and back ground checks on any prospective renters.  Alderman Van Buskirk pointed out the contract says the buyers have 10 days to perform mechanical, termite, building, and structural inspections.  The contract also states the buyer has the right to cancel the sale if the inspections prove to be unsatisfactory.  The Board passed this resolution, with Alderman Melson voting no.
• The Board heard the second reading of an ordinance approving a contract for Transit Service with the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority in an amount not to exceed $60,410.00.  Danny O’Connor, with the ATA, told the Board this is a jointly funded route with Kansas City.  These routes serve all of Raytown and part of Kansas City.  Alderman Creamer asked if the City cuts back to one bus, how many people won’t be able to ride the bus.  Mr. O’Connor said there are currently 75 riders a day with 2 buses.  He estimates ridership will drop to 45 per day. Alderman Melson said the contract originally had a provision for quarterly meetings with Raytown and ATA staff members to report on the service.  She pointed out there haven’t been any meetings for the last two years and asked if there were plans to start having the meetings.  Mr. O’Connor said the ATA does not have these meetings with the cities.  He said the ATA sends monthly billings to each city, along with the tally showing the number of subscription riders (those riders who uses the bus service every other week) or advance reservation riders (those riders who call in 24 hours in advance to get a ride).  Alderman Melson asked if the ATA knew how many riders were Raytown residents.  She was told that if the caller makes a reservation, ATA knows if the original pick up is in Raytown or if the destination address is in Raytown.  Alderman Van Buskirk asked if the City keeps two busses, if it was correct that would add an additional $12,000 to the contract.  Mahesh Sharma told the Board the $60,410 comes from the Transportation Sales Tax fund.  If the Board approves another $12,000 for an additional bus, that money would come out of the fund for the street overlay projects.  The Board passed the ordinance with one bus.
• The Board heard the first reading of an ordinance granting that would grant conditional use permit to Security Finance of Missouri, LLC, located at 7314 Raytown Road.  The Board was told Security Finance of Missouri, LLC was a consumer loan company and would not be offering payday or title loans.  Alderman Ertz asked what interest rates would be offered to consumers and was told the company would be charging between 67% and 152% over 6-12 months with a $1,200 maximum loan amount.
• Mayor Bower opened the discussion for item number six, concerning Super Splash.  Alderman White said this is all about public safety.  She wants answers to the time card issues and to know the employees are being paid properly and fairly.  She has issues with the chemical used at the pool.  There are severe problems if young people are being hurt with chemical burns.  She asked about the training the staff received when dealing with chemicals.  She is concerned about the code of conduct for all employees and the HR policy regarding harassment.  She has questions about general safety, such as the problem in the parking lots.  She asked who was responsible for calling the Raytown Police Department when there are people in the parking lot drinking or using drugs.  She wanted to know who was responsible for basic supplies such as gloves for the employees.  She asked what it would take to cancel the contract.  Alderman Lightfoot asked why the pool was opened when it was understaffed.  He asked if there are state regulations about the number of certified staff on premises when open to the public.  Alderman Melson asked if the employees are given a handbook for training.  She sees many liability issues for the City.  Alderman Mock asked if he understood correctly that a life guard was cleaning the parking lot.  Mr. Boji said it was a pool attendant, and that was part of their job.  Alderman Ertz asked if there was a whistle blower protection policy in place to protect the young people who came before the Board.  Alderman Creamer asked if any disciplinary action was taken against the supervisor.  Mr. Boji stated that it would not be appropriate to discuss disciplinary action against an employee in a public forum.   Mr. Par due stated he was proud of the job that Mr. Boji was doing and looked forward to his responses.  Mr. Van Buskirk said he was concerned the handling of the blood spills went against OSHA guidelines.  Mr. Hamilton said when the Board originally had the discussions about this management company, the Board asked if the Park Board would have staff on site to oversee the operation.  He was assured the Park Board would be there.  Mr. Hamilton asked if this was happening.  Mr. Boji said he has been at Super Splash once or twice a week, and the superintendent of parks has been monitoring the chemical operations.  Mayor Bower closed the discussion and asked Mr. Boji to return on July 3 with responses to the Board’s questions.

The Board then moved to a closed session meeting.

Opening Prayer a Thing of the Past? BY GREG WALTERS

Raytown has always had a good tradition of opening its public meetings with a prayer. The responsibility has been shared by nearly every church in Raytown. Not unlike the United States Congress, it is a tradition that is a small matter, but in the eyes of many, an important statement.

Two meetings ago the practice came to a screeching halt. Mayor David Bower has asked for a “moment of silence” at the beginning of each meeting.

Why?

Sources at City Hall who have asked not to be identified have told us that the city has received communications from parties outside of Raytown demanding that the city stop the practice of opening a meeting with a prayer or face a lawsuit on the matter.

The City’s immediate response has apparently been to buckle under the pressure and stop praying . . . which is the Mayor and Board’s prerogative.

What we cannot understand is why it is being treated as a secret. Why has the Mayor called executive sessions for discussion of the matter without allowing the public to at least know why he has had stopped the practice of opening Board meetings with a prayer.

If the city has not been sued over the question, then the need for calling executive sessions begins to appear as unnecessary and possibly only an excuse to hide the news from the public. 

We have formally asked for copies of any electronic correspondence on the matter from City Clerk Teresa Henry. In response she sent us a page long form entitled Public Records Request Form. One would have thought that asking for a copy of an email would have required marking the "forward" button and typing in an address. 


That was until we saw the form with language authorizing fees by local government(s) for information. We have been down this road before with City Hall. They (usually) base their charge on a minimum of $15 for what should be given out as public information.

So, we will make it simple. Forget the emails. Just let the public know why the Mayor has changed from a prayer at the beginning of the meeting to a "moment of silence".


An interesting footnote to this story is that while the prayer at the begnning of Board of Aldermen meetings is gone -- other official business matters are begin treated differently. A regular reader informed us that at a recent prayer service for Harry Stone, Mayor Bower not only prayed, but made up his own prayer in memory of the slain Raytowner.


In that case the Mayor's action was appropriate. 


The veil of secrecy over the change in policy at City Hall is not appropriate.

 

FIT BOTTOMED GIRLS

Dream Realized by Jenn Walters

I used to have two best days of my life: the day I was born (pretty life changing, that one) and the day I got married (just a huge celebration of love). But now I can add a third to the list: the day I spent with Mr. Bob Harper. Seriously. (And, yes, my husband is okay with this.) So here’s how the whole crazy shebang came about.... Continue reading

A Message from Marilyn Fleming

Community Services Unit Coordinator / Raytown Police Department

For more information call: 816-875-6568

I am forwarding a website with an opportunity to pull your neighbors together to help form your NCW.  This is a free service to the neighborhoods provided through the National Association of Town Watch.  Please read and forward to your neighbors or even others in the city.  It is a great way to meet your neighbors.

www.whitepages.com/NNO

Also we hope to see you August 7^th, at our citywide National Night Out.   It will be informative and worth the time to come out and see what services are available and other exhibits.

Downing's Certificate of Tax Lien

Raytown Candidate for Public Office Found Delinquent in Paying Taxes BY PAUL LIVIUS

The Missouri Legislature spent countless hours and thousands of dollars rewriting Missouri Election Law and they still don’t have it right.

Missouri state law requires that candidates for public office have all of their taxes paid in full to appear on an election ballot. However, candidates for party townships are exempted from this rule. 

Michael Downing, candidate for Jackson County Democrat Committeeman for Brooking Township has had a Certificate of Tax Lien for non-payment of taxes in 2007 placed on his property.

Because of the loopholes in the law, Mr. Downing will remain on the August 7^th ballot.  

The tax lien was placed on his property May 11, 2012 by the Missouri Department of Revenue and filed in the Jackson County, Missouri Circuit Court, Honorable James Kanatazar presiding.

 

Due to his failure to pay his taxes, his name should be removed from the ballot. 

When will Jefferson City get it right?

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