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RAYTOWN CHARTER FORUM

TUESDAY,   FEBRUARY 24th    7:00 PM

There will be a Public Forum of the Raytown Charter Commission Tuesday, February 24^th at Raytown City Hall. The meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. Raytown Charter Commissioners will be on hand to discuss the proposed Charter to be voted on at the April 7^th Election.

The meeting is a Public Hearing. Members of the audience will be invited to ask questions and give their opinion of the proposed Charter.

One Year Ago . . .

BY GREG WALTERS

I was looking through some old newspaper stories from last Spring’s editions of the Raytown Times and the Raytown Report. My favorite part is reading the old editorials. 

The reason is simple . . . it is in those editorials that you learn the true intentions of the writer. In many cases, the stories told are based purely on opinion and often times, full of hyperbole, exaggeration and overstatement.

It was at about this time one year ago when the Charter Campaign was in its very earliest stages of formation. The Raytown Times came out hitting pretty hard. The editor of the Times waxed rhetorically about the Charter.

He wrote, “I think this is the sixth time we have attempted charter”.

He was wrong. It was, and for that matter, still is the fifth attempt.

He predicted the formation of the Charter Commission and the anticipated year of work on creating the document would probably cost $150,000.

Wrong again.

We checked with the Treasurer of the Charter Commission, Mark Moore, and found the anticipated final figure will probably come in around $16,000.The bulk of which will be spent on legal fees and publication/distribution of the final Charter document.

What does it all mean?

Last year's tactics by the nay-sayers in Raytown did not make much of an impact with the voters. I am inclined to believe it is because the voters made informed decisions despite some of the rumors making the rounds last Spring.

On Tuesday there will be a public hearing on the Charter. It is a good opportunity for Raytowners to come and voice their opinions, ask their questions and come to their own conclusions on the Charter. 

Copies of the Charter will be on hand for all who attend the meeting.

City Rehires Finance Director

It has been a rocky ride for the position of City Finance Director at Raytown City Hall this past year.

On May 21^, 2014 the City Finance Director at the time, Mark Loughry resigned his position. In a memo to the Board of Aldermen City Administrator Mahesh Sharma wrote that Mr. Loughry had decided to go into business in the private sector.

In late August the position was filled when the city hired Martha Munt. When she was hired City Administrator Mahesh Sharma wrote Ms. Munt, “brings a wealth of experience to the position.”

Ms. Munt’s time as City Finance Director was short. In less than a month she announced she would be leaving her job at City Hall.

At last Tuesday’s meeting the Board of Aldermen voted to rehire Mr. Loughry as City Finance Director. Mr. Loughry will be paid the same amount he was paid under his previous contract ($90,409.28 annually).

BY PAUL LIVIUS

The Paul Livius Report

Raytown Board of Aldermen Meeting – February 17, 2015

The Board passed a resolution authorizing an employment agreement with Mark Loughry as Finance Director for the city.  The City shall pay the Employee an initial salary of $90,409.28 annually.

The Board passed a resolution to fund related to Charter Commission expenses in the amount not to exceed $16,000.00.  This is needed to cover the cost of attorney’s fees and other expenses of the Commission.

The Board passed a resolution approving participation in the Missouri Department of Transportation Highway Safety Crash Reduction/Hazardous Moving Enforcement Grant application.  The grant allows for approximately 200 hours of enforcement overtime and to send one person to the annual LETSAC conference. There is no match required by the City for this grant.

The Board passed a resolution approving an agreement for professional consulting services with Pros Consulting, Inc. for a park master plan in an amount not to exceed $50,000.00.  The Park Master Plan is a planning document to guide future park development for the next 10-15 years. The process includes a comprehensive audit of the City’s park facilities, identifying system weaknesses, evaluating recreation programs and exploring new opportunities to generate additional revenue. The plan has the potential to produce positive economic development and become an integral part of the City’s comprehensive plan. Further, a master plan provides direction and public input using statically valid community surveys, assesses citizens’ needs and guides park acquisition and development. The final report will identify future funding sources and guide direction of the City’s resources. Special consideration will be given to the future of Super Splash. The City’s Park Master Plan was last updated in 2001.

Of the nine firms who submitted proposals, PROS Consulting was selected as the finalist following evaluation through a qualification-based weighted scoring process. The fiscal year 2014-2015 budget is $50,000.00. The PROS Consulting contract is $78,275.00 with a 15% contingency for a total project cost of $90,000.00 Since the project exceeds budgeted amounts the total cost will be spread over two fiscal years and will be broken into Phase I and Phase II. Phase I will be completed during fiscal year 2014-2015 and Phase II will be brought back to the Board of Aldermen for funding during fiscal year 2015-2016.

The Board passed a resolution approving the expenditure of funds with Splashtacular for waterslide maintenance and repair in an amount not to exceed $88,700.00.  Super Splash water slide maintenance is required to ensure rider safety and extend the equipment’s useful life. Fiberglass water slides are durable but weather conditions, heavy use and aging can cause exposed laminate, leaks and water loss at flume joints. Two of the three slides were installed in 1993 and have developed cracks, gel coat chips, oxidation and rusted hardware. In 2014, the Jackson Hole slide was partially closed due to structural issues.

This work will repair the damage. The scope of work involves a visual inspection report, slide joint leak repair, gel coat repair, removal and replacement of damaged or rusted hardware, buffing and cleaning of slide riding surfaces, and recoating the slide’s interior and exterior. Aldermen Jason Greene and Janet Emerson voted against the repair work. They stated they prefered to wait until recommendations were made by PROS Consulting (the city has hired the consulting firm for $90,000) before spending more money on SuperSplash.

RDA Meeting Attracts

Large Crowd of Candidates

The Raytown Democratic Association (RDA) drew a large crowd of candidates to its monthly meeting last Thursday night. Candidates for Mayor, City Council, Fire District and the Raytown School Board were in attendance at the monthly meeting held at Las Chiles Restaurant in the Center 63 Shopping Center.

Mayoral candidate Mike McDonough was the guest speaker at the February meeting. The other candidate for Mayor, Pat Ertz, had been the guest speaker at the January meeting of the organization.

The Raytown Democratic Association is one of the few organizations in Raytown that consistently holds meetings in which candidates can meet the public in an informal setting.
The next meeting of the Raytown Democratic Association is scheduled for Thursday, March 19^th at 7:00 p.m. at Las Chiles Restaurant.

Other candidates in attendance at last Thursday meeting included:

ALDERMAN:  Greg Walters (Ward 1), Steve Meyers (Ward 4), Mary Jane VanBuskirk (Ward 4), Eric Teeman (Ward 5), Ryan Myers (Ward 3)

SCHOOL BOARD:  Thomas Granger Estlund

FIRE BOARD:  Richard Tush

The following guest article is by Mary Jane VanBuskirk, candidate for Alderman in Ward 4. All Raytown candidates are invited to send an article to the Raytown Report for publication. Candidate reports will be posted in the order of which they are received.

 

Ward 4 Alderman Race

BY MARY JANE VanBUSKIRK  (737-2799)

I am Mary Jane Van Buskirk and I am running for Alderman in Ward 4. I'm a 42 year resident of Raytown. We have a great city and we need to market it as such.

We do have problems but working together we can fix these problems and make Raytown better than its ever been. I am not saying I can fix all the problems but I promise I will give it 100%. In order to fix our problems we must find ways to expand our economic base by attracting new business, because all of this comes with a cost.

I do have concerns and here is a list of them:

1. I feel very strongly that we need more police patrol in our neighborhoods, crime in the neighborhoods is on the increase.  We have 56 full time police officers and a budget of $7,839,664.00 (47% of our city's budget).  We had 7,221 outstanding warrants in the month of December. I believe we should look at the possibility of restructuring our police department so as to better utilize the personnel and the tax dollars that fund it. As a strong supporter of our police department it is not my intent to bash the police department but to make it more efficient. 

2. Code enforcement needs to be done on a daily basis not just when citizens or elected officials complain, it should be proactive. The codes department employees are on the streets daily and if they are doing their job properly they see violations and that is when they need to be handled. Enforced codes benefit all home owners and businesses in our city.

3. Street in many areas of our city are not well lit and this Invites crime. The taxpayers deserve to have their neighborhoods well lighted to allow them to feel safe and secure in their homes.

4. Street maintenance is also an area I feel needs to be reviewed. Good streets, like codes, are essential to make Raytown more attractive to potential home buyers and prospective businesses.

I would appreciate your support on April 7th to give me an opportunity to serve you for the next four years. My promise is that I will take the job seriously and work hard for those I represent.

BY JENN

Nine Amazing Healthy

Comfort Food Recipes

Comfort food. We all love it. And for good reason. It’s warm, filling and just fills your belly with joy. Hence the name “comfort food.” But not all comfort food has to be bad for you. Nope, not at all. In fact, we’ve rounded up nine of our favorite healthy comfort food recipes so that you can get your happy nom-nom on, minus the food coma! READ MORE

 
 
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