RAYTOWN'S LEADING NEWS SOURCE

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. . . BREAKING NEWS . . . 

RAYTOWN, MO (KCTV) Homicide probe underway after person found dead in Raytown. A man has died in a Raytown neighborhood in what police are calling a homicide. Police responded about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday to the 6900 block of Hunter Avenue a reported man unconscious in the street.

When officers arrived it was determined the man, in his 30s was dead and the cause was suspicious.  Investigators are still working to gather information and do not have any suspects at this time.

If you have any information, please call 816-747-TIPS.

For more information use this link:KCTV LINK

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Sources at Raytown City Hall say that Raytown’s Public Works Director, Andy Noll, has tendered his resignation from the City of Raytown. Details of the announcement are few. Only that Mr. Noll met with City Administrator Mahesh Sharma, who, in turn, shared the information with the Raytown Board of Aldermen.

The Paul Livius Report

Paul Livius is away on personal business this week so he asked me to step up and give the report on last Tuesday’s Raytown City Council meeting.

So, without any further ado, here is what took place last Tuesday night at Raytown City Hall:

Item 1: The city has a new Finance Director. Her name is Martha Mundt. Ms. Mundt will be relocating to the Raytown area from Springfield, Missouri to take on the duties as the leader of the Raytown City Hall’s Finance Department. Since she is new to the area, we hope she decides to make Raytown her home, not only as a professional businesswoman but also as a resident.

ITEM 2: A resolution asking Governor Jay Nixon to veto a bill passed by the Missouri House and Senate which exempted certain items from sales tax. There was ample debate on this resolution. After all the noise and smoke had subsided the Board voted by a 6-3-1 margin to approve the resolution.

Voting Yes (in favor of the Resolution): Melson, Josh Greene, Lightfoot, Aziere, Mock, Ertz

Voting No (in opposition to the resolution): Jason Greene, VanBuskirk, Creamer

Absent: Emerson

ITEM 3: A resolution authorizing the sale of surplus city equipment by auction. The resolution passed unanimously.

ITEM 4: A resolution approving the contract for one year with Infinity Building Services, LLC for the cutting of noxious and overgrown weeds and lawns in the City of Raytown. This is the final year of a three year contract. The resolution passed unanimously.

ITEM 5: A resolution approving the contract for one year with Raytown Animal Hospital, Inc. for veterinary services associated with animal control. Mayor Bower expressed concerns with this final year of a three year contract with Raytown Animal Hospital. However, he did not elaborate what those concerns were. The resolution was approved unanimously.

ITEM 6 and 6A: This Public Hearing for the consideration of the mechanics of how nuisance ordinances are enforced made some minor changes in the time line for repeat offenders of the city’s nuisance ordinance as regards overgrown laws and weeds. In effect, it shortens the time period for approximately one day given for property owners to cut noxious weeds and overgrown lawns in compliance with city code. The ordinance passed unanimously.

ITEM 7 and 8: These two ordinances granted acceptance of a Family Dollar Store to be built in Downtown Raytown on 63^rd Street. Residents to the south of the proposed development had expressed concerns about the impact on their neighborhoods due to traffic and possible security of their homes so close to a major retail outlet. One local resident, Julie Wishy, told the Board that while not all of the concerns had not been met, that she felt comfortable with changes to the plan which protected the privacy of their neighborhood. The developer promised to include a PVC privacy fence between homeowners and the Family Dollar Store. The bill passed unanimously.

ITEM 9: An ordinance establishing a procedure for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest and substantial interests for certain municipal officials. This ordinance was written to bring the city into compliance with state law. The bill passed unanimously.

ITEM 10: This bill, which was approved as an emergency ordinance, granted at conditional use permit subject to certain conditions to operate a car dealership at 11900 East Highway 350. The application had been held up by the Planning and Zoning Commission because they were unable to field a quorum to consider the application.

Greg’s Rant

Typing Paul’s report for him has been a humbling experience for me. It takes a lot of patience to weed through what was said at a City Council Meeting. Paul is the pro when it comes to that – I hope my message in his place is enough to keep the reader up to speed on what is happening at City Hall.

That being said, there are some things in the report that deserve a good “rant”. So sit back and consider the following:

I was pleasantly surprised to hear the Mayor speak in favor of placing a privacy fence between the new Dollar General and the neighborhood just south of the development. A 12,000 sq. ft. footprint of a store with adjoining parking lot creates problems for neighbors that are unique to the operation of a large retail outlet.

One is obvious, trash and debris. Sad to say, some people think that parking lot is where they dump the junk and trash out of their cars. A privacy fence will keep it on retailer’s side so it can easily be picked up. The other is something that the Mayor did not say, but should have, about why you need a fixed wall or fence between large retail and residential areas.

It has to do with crime. Any large retailer is going to have shoplifters. It comes with the territory. When they bolt out of the store, it is highly unlikely the will run across 63^rd Street. No, the fastest get away is to cut through neighboring yards – that was a major problem at the old Walmart Store on 67^th Street years ago – unfortunately it will probably be a problem on 63^rd Street as well. 

The privacy fence creates an impregnable barrier for such escape routes – making the policeman’s job a little easier, but more importantly, maintaining the security of home surrounding the development. The reverse is true as well. A good barrier,  be it a concrete wall or a PVC fence (as required by the city in this case) also keeps burglars from plying their trade and blending in to the parking lot of a large retail establishment.

Here is what bothers me about all of the above. The Mayor asked for a fence. The representative of the Dollar General said it would be done -- not the developer. There was not a formal motion by any Board member requiring the barrier in the agreement. 

The fence or wall will probably be built. After all, the representative from Dollar General publicly agreed to the stipulation. Still, it would probably set better with homeowners if the Board had formally included the fence as a requirement for approval of the developer's plans.

BAD IDEA JOE . . . The meeting ended with a discussion item offered by Ward 1 Alderman Joe Creamer. Creamer introduced Lisa Saparno (if the spelling is wrong, our apologies, none was given at the meeting) and Anthony Carpino. Both of who say they grew up in Raytown. Lisa, who deals in real estate, now lives in Lee’s Summit and Anthony, who deals in home loans, lives in Kansas City. 

Lisa and Anthony want to offer and educational program to potential Raytwon area  homebuyers of the opportunities for first time and second time buyers of homes in the Raytown area. Alderman Joe Creamer wants the city to “partner” with Lisa and Anthony to make this happen.

Creamer told the Board, Raytown  . . .  “has not done a very good job of marketing our community”.

He believes that Anthony and Lisa can help in that regard. All he wants is for the city to allow them to use City Hall for meetings and to have city staff help in promoting the program.

As it turns out, the program already exists, and is free for use by the public . . . as was pointed out by Ward 5 Alderman Michael Lightfoot.  Lightfoot explained that he used the program when he purchased his first home in Raytown.

Ward 4 Alderman Bill VanBuskirk was skeptical of the program as well, he told the Board “that putting people in houses they cannot afford” is not really a good idea.

Ward 5 Alderman Steve Mock also had comments. Mock, who is in the business of building new homes, said that it is really not proper for the City to endorse one realtor or loan company over another. He wondered out loud if the City would officially endorse him as a builder if he put together and educational program. His conclusion was that they probably would not.

Mayor Bower, ever the diplomat, said he was all for the plan if it was feasible. He suggested that Creamer put together a committee to study the question. From the sounds of the comments of his seatmates on the Board . . . he may have trouble finding those willing to serve.

FIT BOTTOMED EATS

Greek Yogurt Cheesecake Cups

Today, for Guest Bloggers’ Week, reader Kristi — a weight-loss blogger in the Boston area who is a newly licensed Zumba instructor, current Weight Watchers member, taco lover and Jillian Michaels superfan — is sharing a delicious sweet treat with us! They’re creamy, delicious and can be served chilled or frozen, with fruit or graham cracker crumbs. We’re already sold!  READ MORE

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