RAYTOWN'S LEADING NEWS SOURCE

 
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BY GREG WALTERS

Charter Commission 

to Hold Public Hearings

Last night the Raytown Charter Commission completed its work on a proposed Charter government for the City of Raytown, Missouri.

The Commission has agreed to hold two public hearings on the final draft of the charter.

The two meeting times are to be held at Raytown City Hall in the City Council Chambers (10000 East 59th Street) on the following dates and time:

FRIDAY:  January 9, 2015 at 6:30 p.m.

MONDAY: January 12, 2015 at 6:30 p.m.

The meetings are a public forum. The public is invited to attend and add their input to the public record regarding the proposed Charter document. 

To view a draft of the Charter document please use this link: RAYTOWNCHARTER.COM

-- BREAKING NEWS --

At last night's City Council meeting 7 of the 10 members of the Board of Aldermen rejected a request by representatives of the Charter Commission to allow them to use a city logo on the Charter's final document.

All previous Charter Commissions in Raytown have printed the city’s logo on its finished product.

Ward 2 Alderman Jason Greene made the motion, which was seconded by Ward 3 Alderman Janet Emerson. Charter Commission Chairman Steve Guenther spoke on behalf of the request for the Charter Commission.

Some Board members said they voted against giving permission to use the logo because it would make it appear the City Council supported the Charter. 

Two of the “no” votes were cast by City Councilmen who also have a seat on the Charter Commission. They are Ward 2 Alderman Jim Aziere and Ward 3 Alderman Charlotte Melson. Aziere has filed for re-election next April. Melson has yet to file.

HOW THEY VOTED:         

VOTING FOR APPROVAL (YES):  Jason Green, Janet Emerson, Josh Greene

VOTING IN OPPOSITION (NO):  Steve Mock, Bill VanBuskirk, Michael Lightfoot, Joe Creamer, Jim Aziere, Charlotte Melson, Pat Ertz.

BY GREG WALTERS

Charter Meeting 

Draws Large Crowd 

Charter Commissioners were surprised to find about twenty private Raytown citizens in attendance at their meeting last Monday night. The group of was led by former Commission candidate Witty Whitman.

Whitman and a few other questioned why there had not been any coverage of the Charter Commissions decisions in the local newspapers. They also questioned why the working copy of the Raytown Charter had been removed from the website. 

In response, Charter Commission Secretary Lisa Emerson reported minutes and an updated version of the Charter had been provided to the both the Raytown Eagle and the Raytown Times after every meeting. The guests of the meeting were also told Randy Battagler, owner/publisher of the Raytown Times has been in attendance at most meetings.

Other Commissioners told guests of the meeting the Charter Commission cannot force a private newspaper to print a story. It was also pointed out the Raytown Report has carried many stories on the Charter since last April.

Regarding the webpage of the working document being taken off line, Emerson told Commissioners and guests the site was never down – though she did admit the page under discussion was not functioning for a period of time.

Whitman said she had read a story in the Raytown Report which said the page had been taken down. She asked Commissioner Greg Walters if what he had written was true. Walters responded that he “stood by his story” and that yes, it was true.

Also addressing the Commission that night were Larry Edwards and Dave McCaulley.

Commission Divided Over Initiative Petition Powers

Readers will recall that last April there was an election to elect a Charter Commission. Thirteen of the twenty-two candidates were eventually elected to the Commission. Readers will also remember that there was a sharp divide between candidates who wanted to make substantial changes to the Charter, and candidates who wanted to “keep it simple”.

Eight months later the Charter is near completion. One issue remains to be resolved. The powers of initiative petition – or more plainly stated, the right of the people of Raytown to directly affect their government by gathering a petition to bring issues before the Board of Aldermen, and, if need be, directly to the ballot for a decision.

Initiative Petition, along with Referendum and Recall, was the one issue that bound all the candidates together. With the exception of a very few*, all the candidates spoke of empowering the people by giving them the right to petition their government.

The proposed language for the Charter as it regards the right to petition is far from what was promised. The draft contains a list of “prohibitions” -- those items not allowed to be voted on -- under the draft version before the Charter Commission.

Here is the list under the proposed language:

Petitions will not be accepted that . . .
. . . affect the City Budget
. . . affect a capital program
. . . any ordinance relating to the levy of taxes

. . . any ordinance relating to zoning

. . . any ordinance affecting the salary of employees

. . . any ordinance affecting the appropriation of city funds

There is, however, a split on the Commission. Many Commissioners believe strongly in the right to petition and have spoken against creating a document that, in effect, makes a farce of the Initiative Petition process.

An amendment, drafted by the Charter Commission attorney, guarantees the initiative process would be an effective tool. That amendment reads:

“The initiative process shall be available to propose the adoption or termination of taxes and fees.”

The question of how much power the initiative process will grant the people of Raytown is expected to be resolved at the next meeting of the Raytown Charter Commission.

*Charter Commission candidate Witty Whitman campaigned against creating the Charter Commission. There were other candidates who filed but did not campaign or take a position on any issues.

Paul’s Rant!

Walmart, Walmart, 
wherefore art thou Walmart?

There has been a story in Raytown about a Walmart Grocery Store to be built on 63rd Street and Raytown Trafficway. It has had plenty of rumors about it . . . here are a few:

Tenants of the strip mall on the west side of Raytown Trafficway were told their leases would not be renewed to make way for a new Walmart in Downtown Raytown.

Tenants are told the deal is dead. Their leases will be renewed.

Walmart officials had a falling out with the real estate agent – the deal is dead.

Walmart decided to pull the plug – the deal is dead.

I am sure there is more to the list. But, quite frankly, my fingers are getting tired from typing. Fortunately I have enough strength left in them to add one more “rumor” to the list. Except this one is not really a rumor. Greg deserves credit for unearthing this one. His source is good and we believe it to be the official position of Walmart.

There has been a change at the management level at Walmart. The corporate giant has placed a 180 day moratorium on development. The purpose is said to be to re-address priorities in said developments, assuming the one at 63rd Street and Raytown Trafficway is one of them on the table. That does not mean the deal is on. It does not mean the deal is dead.

About all we can say is to stay tuned folks – we’ll keep you informed here at the Raytown Report.

FIT BOTTOMED GIRLS

Bragging Rights! BY GREG WALTERS

Jennipher Walters is a co-founder of Fit Bottomed Girls. She is also the publisher of Fit Bottomed Eats and  Fit Bottomed Babies,  which we link to on a weekly basis at the Raytown Reporter.

Many readers know, or, have probably figured out, that Jenn and I are related. She is my daughter-in-law, married to my son, Ryan. She is also soon to have their first baby, which, coincidentally is our first  (Mecee’s and mine) grandchild.  We have a lot to celebrate in the coming months at the Walters household.

Jenn is also an astute businesswoman who has taken a simple thought, an idea for a website promoting healthy living for young women, to the second largest website of that genre in less than ten years. She has also authored a very successful book which received favorable reviews on Good Morning America.

“Her Life Magazine” has featured Jenn this month as its cover story. Find out more about a unique individual who is making her mark not only in Kansas City but also in nation. Use this link . . . . READ MORE

  

List of Candidates Grows

The list of candidates for City, School Board and Fire District has grown over the Christmas/New Year Holiday. Filing closes for all offices on January 20^th.

RAYTOWN CITY OFFICES FOUR YEAR TERM

Mayor

Pat Ertz

Michael McDonough

Alderman Ward I  
Joe Creamer
Karen Black
Alderman Ward 2 
Jim Aziere  
Chris Rathbone
Steve Guenther

Alderman Ward 3

Lisa Emerson
Mark Moore
Ryan Myers
Alderman Ward 4

Mary Jane VanBuskirk
Steve Meyers
Alderman Ward 5

Barry Park
Eric Teeman

City Collector

Kathie Schutte

RAYTOWN SCHOOL BOARD THREE YEAR TERM

Kristie Lynn Collins-Delarber

Amy Beth Tittle

RAYTOWN FIRE BOARD SIX YEAR TERM

Richard Tush

Willard Ross

 
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