40,000 Square Foot Store in Downtown Raytown – Bad Idea BY GREG WALTERS

Much has been said, written and discussed about the plans for a new Walmart Grocery Story planned for Downtown Raytown.

It is important to remember that the plans are only that – plans. They are not etched in stone, and most certainly have yet to be discussed by the Raytown Planning and Zoning Commission or the voted on by the Raytown Board of Aldermen.

Opposition to the suggestion of a 40,000 square foot building, with an even larger parking lot dominating the geography of Downtown Raytown appears to be growing.

Consider the following:

• Local business owner, Elisa Breitenbach, has been quietly gathering petitions against the planned development. Her count is not final. But it will be impressive. She has a stack of paper over two inches tall with signatures opposed to a Downtown Raytown  Walmart Grocery Store. That does not include what she has gathered through Facebook! Those interested in signing the petition can do so at Mrs. Breitenbach's donut shop,  Doughboys, in the Woodson Shopping Center, located at 63rd and Woodson Road.

• Last week’s election saw landslide victories by three first time candidates for the Raytown Board of Aldermen. Jason Greene in Ward 2, Janet Emerson in Ward 3, and Josh Greene in Ward 1 all had distinctively different campaigns accept in one respect – none of them campaigned in favor of Downtown Walmart Store. The boundaries of those three wards all meet at the proposed Walmart Store location (the Green Space)

• Imagine a 40,000 square foot building in Downtown Raytown, complete with an even larger parking lot – vacant. Raytowners are well aware from recent events of the uncertain future of businesses run by corporate America. Sav-A-Lot was closed down last summer. The store remains vacant. The YMCA was officially closed last week. In both cases, the operations were shut down because financial targets were not reached.

• The Downtown Raytown Main Street Association, a group that supports the developer design standards for Downtown Raytown already adopted by the city, is said to be preparing a public statement in opposition to the plans for a 40,000 square foot store. The reason, the planned development does not meet design standards set by the group.

• Serious questions are being raised by homeowners in the Downtown area and in those neighborhoods that will bear the brunt of increased traffic of a 24 hour grocery store in Downtown Raytown.

• Crime stats from the Raytown Police Department show that the Walmart located on 350 Highway has the dubious distinction of being the city’s highest crime spot. Fears that those same statistics will be repeated in the Downtown area have put many people on edge. 

• Community leaders have begun to step forward in opposition to a 40,000 square foot building in Downtown Raytown. Most notable have been former Mayor Sue Frank and Mr. Steve Guenther, President of the Raytown Main Street Association. Both of who recently appeared on a newscast by KSHB-TV 41.  

             To view the entire newscast use this link: VIEW NEWSCAST VIDEO

• The most telling weakness of the application is the lack of public support of the planned development. Many City Council Members plead ignorance to knowledge of what is being proposed. There has yet to be one public speaker in support of the development at any Board of Aldermen meetings. Yet those in opposition have been anything but quiet in their opposition to the plan – packing public meetings and speaking out against the plans.

So there you have it. 

The reasons in opposition to the planned development are many. Those in support are very few. In the weeks ahead the City will hold public hearings at Planning and Zoning Commission and Raytown City Council meetings.

The meetings are open to the public and the public is invited to address the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Board of Aldermen.

The Scheduled meeting times are as follows:

PLANNING AND ZONING: (one meeting)

Thursday, April 25, 2013 at Raytown City Hall. The meeting begins at 7:00 p.m.

The Planning and Zoning Commission will make recommendations to the Board of Aldermen. The Board of Aldermen is not bound by those recommendations.

BOARD OF ALDERMEN: (two meetings)

Tuesday, May 7, 2013, Raytown City Hall. The meeting begins at 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013, Raytown City Hall. The meeting begins at 7:00 p.m.

Mayor Makes Changes to BZA

In a surprising move Mayor David Bower made some abrupt changes to the makeup of the Raytown Board of Zoning Adjustment.

In a letter to Steve Guenther, President of the Raytown Main Street Association, Bower informed Guenther that he would not re-nominate him to the Board of Zoning Adjustment.

Mr. Guenther has served on the BZA for over ten years.

Some political watchers of Raytown City Hall claim that Bower made the move in retaliation to Guenther’s opposition to the plans for a 40,000 square foot Walmart Grocery Store in Downtown Raytown.

Guenther is a licensed architect and President of the Raytown Main Street Association.

The Raytown Main Street Association has been recognized by the National Historic Trust for its work in revitalizing Downtown.

Guenther said he had “no comment” on the Mayor’s letter. He did say that he had called the Mayor but had yet to receive a return phone call on the matter.

On the issue of design standards, Mr. Guenther said the Main Street Association, had “fought hard” in support of a workable plan for a pedestrian friendly Downtown. He went on to say that he could not support changes to those plans that would “lower the standards” for Downtown Raytown.

FORMER MAYOR SPEAKS OUT . . .

Former Mayor Sue Frank is Downtown Raytown Business owner. A member of the Downtown Raytown Main Street Association, and a personal friend of Steve Guenther. She had the following to say about Mr. Guenther's removal from the Board of Zoning Adjustment.

"Steve Guenther has been a very qualified and dedicated citizen volunteer, missing one meeting in 10 years. The mayor simply sending Mr. Guenther a letter terminating his position is cowardly. This exemplifies the mayors pattern of not tolerating any opinion other than his own. A citizen review board is for various ideas to be vetted for the benefit of the community as a whole. It's sad the animosity has reached this level, Raytown will suffer the loss." 

 
Bower Nominates Defeated Alderman for the BZA

In an equally surprising move Mayor Bower has nominated recently defeated Ward 3 Alderman Christine White for a spot on the Raytown Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA).

White ran third in a four way race in her attempt at re-election. The winner of the race in Ward 3, Janet Emerson, won the contest with 219 votes. White had 48 votes.

The Mayor nominates the candidate for the Board. However, a majority of the Board of Aldermen (at least six of ten votes) must approve the nomination in a public vote for the appointment to take place.

The vote on the Mrs. White’s nomination is scheduled on the April 16^th Agenda of the Raytown Board of Aldermen. It will be one of the first items the new Board will address.

New Board to Take Office on Tuesday, April 16

New members to the Raytown Board of Aldermen will take their Oath of Office next Tuesday (April 16^th) at the regular Raytown Board of Aldermen meeting. A reception will follow immediately after the swearing in.

The public is invited to attend.

The Paul Livius Report BY PAUL LIVIUS

Raytown Board of Aldermen Meeting – April 9, 2013

Mayor Bower proclaimed April 8-13, 2013 Public Safety Telecommunicator week.

Blake Shepherd and Jason Porter told the Board that on April 19, Relay for Life, a part of the American Cancer Society, will have a dinner and program for cancer care-givers and survivors.  It will be at Raytown High School, starting at 6:00pm For more information, visit www.relayforlife.org.  

Jacob Porter told the Board he was speaking on behalf of a friend who was involved in a motorcycle accident at Gregory and 350 Highway on March 29.  It occurred when someone trying to enter Walgreen’s pulled in front of the motorcycle.  Mr. Porter did some research and found the Missouri Engineering policy chapter 940.15.  That stretch of Gregory Blvd does not comply with state regulations, and he asked the Board to fix the problem before someone else got hurt.

Andy Noll told the Board about the upcoming changes to Raytown Clean-up.  He said the purpose of the community cleanup day event is to provide the residents of Raytown an option to dispose of unwanted items and debris.  Staff has proposed changes to make the event more targeted, productive, and efficient.

Currently, the current one day event has problems, including the fact it is only a one day event lasting 7 hours, the traffic congestion along Raytown Road has been a problem for several years, the cost of overtime expenses for staff, the potential for injuries, and utilization by non-Raytown residents.

The staff proposes to change from a one-day event to a coupon system.  The coupon system would provide a $25 coupon valid at participating vendors.  The coupon would

cost Raytown residents $5 and they would be limited to 2 coupons per 2 year period.

Benefits from the changes will include 305 days available for disposal, • 2448 hours available for disposal, more days available for community groups to organize and

participate, lower cost per participating resident, ability to serve more residents, more avenues for code enforcement department to be proactive in solving issues, and less non-resident utilization.

For more information about these changes, and the proposed rules, please visit the City’s website at http://www.raytown.mo.us/vertical/sites/%7B418C71C3-E397-4C87-B464-C498EC8900F9%7D/uploads/04-09-13_Web_Packet.pdf.

The Board heard a resolution amending the schedule of fees and charges for the City of Raytown, The complete schedule of fees can be found at http://www.raytown.mo.us/vertical/sites/%7B418C71C3-E397-4C87-B464-C498EC8900F9%7D/uploads/04-09-13_Web_Packet.pdf.  Alderman Van Buskirk said there are some huge increases ranging from 38% to 63%.  Others are 500%, such as getting a copy of the Jackson County paid property tax receipt (current cost is $1.00, proposed cost is $5.00) Mahesh Sharma said the proposed fee schedule is an effort to recoup the actual costs.  Several Aldermen said the rate increases for Emergency Medical services were excessively high, especially for residents.  Mr. Pardue said it wasn’t prudent to look at the fee schedule line by line.  The Board should just approve the schedule because the staff knew what they were doing.  It didn’t make sense to quibble about whether a copy costs $1 or $5.

The Board heard the first reading of an ordinance granting a conditional use to operate a Pawn shop at 8834 East Highway 350.  Jon Michael Tyson on behalf of the property owner Marilyn Kay Green is seeking approval of a conditional use permit application.  The planning and Zoning Commission recommended issuing a permit for this business.  The Commission said there is an existing retail business on the same property.  The nature of a pawn shop business is to purchase or provide loans for material items that individuals bring in, which could involve the stolen items.  Therefore, it is the recommendation of staff that if approved, the conditional use permit be approved subject to the business maintaining and providing to the City of Raytown Police Department on Tuesday of every week, a legible and correct copy of the register of all property received, deposited, or purchased during the previous week.  In addition, the register shall be kept for a minimum period of two years and shall be open to inspection by the Raytown Police Department, Jackson County Sheriff’s Department and other law enforcement authorities upon their request. Some pawn shop businesses also wish to operate financial loan services without material.  The Board was told the owner of the pawn shop will not trade in guns and will not make payday or title loans.

The Board heard the first reading of an ordinance granting a conditional use permit to operate a Tattoo business on property located at 8910 East 63rd.  Kimberly & Edward Steffan on behalf of the property owner Neal Clevenger are seeking approval of a conditional use permit application.

The Board heard the first reading of an ordinance amending the city code relating to the licensing of dogs, cats, ferrets, and pot-bellied pigs.  In order to obtain a pet license the pet owner must provide to the Development & Public Affairs Department a copy of rabbi’s (sic) certificate for the applicable pet being licensed.  When the current code language was adopted a rabbi’s (sic) vaccination was good for one year.  However, due to advances in science, rabbi’s (sic) vaccinations can now last for more than one year.  Therefore staff is proposing Section 4-43(d) of the city code be amended to allow a pet license to be valid for the length of the rabbi’s (sic) vaccination, which could at this time could be up to three years.

Paul's Rants! BY PAUL LIVIUS 

The Board heard the first reading to change the ordinance pertaining to pet licenses.  This is a good idea, but I feel the need to point out to the Board that my dog had his rabies shots, not rabbis shot.  For those on the Board who don’t know the difference, one is a medical vaccination and one is a man.   I have to ask myself, if Mr. Sharma doesn’t know the difference, why in the world did the Board give him a $30,000 pay raise?  My eight-year-old niece knows the difference, for crying out loud!

Second, Mr. Pardue basically told the rest of his Board members to shut up and vote for whatever the staff wants.  Don’t think for themselves, don’t ask questions, or try to understand what the staff is trying to accomplish.  And for heaven’s sake, don’t even think about what is best for the residents.  This arrogance has been evident from the beginning and was a big reason the residents in Ward 1 heaved a huge sigh of relief when he decided not to run.  Next week, he will be gone, and he will soon be forgotten.  Goodbye and good riddance!

Paul's Rants! (PART TWO)
We check local news sources constantly for items of interest to Raytowners. Those sources include area television stations, radio stations and newspapers – plus the tips we receive from readers.

W even check the Raytown Times once a week.

Last week we were surprised to see that the recent city election results did not even make the front page. It was as if the owner of the paper, Randy Battagler, was saying, “Oh, was there an election?”

Yes, Randy there was an election. And the results were pretty earth shattering by Raytown standards. Three incumbent Aldermen will not be returning this year. Certainly that rates at least as much coverage as the Raytown Arts Festival!

We also noticed in the weeks coming up to the election that you were not shy about taking candidate’s money for advertising.

We realize that your paper has become the mouth piece of Raytown City Hall. But you should still cover newsworthy items even when you do not like the results.

In our view, a local election held every two years rates as “newsworthy”.


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