RAYTOWN'S LEADING NEWS SOURCE

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Police Remodeling Put on Hold
by Greg Walters

A recent article in the local paper was interesting in what it didn’t report.  The Board of Aldermen refused to sign a lease agreement with Block and Company on June 2.  Aldermen Meyers and Moore both stated the city shouldn’t pay Block’s taxes on a six month lease.  The city attorney assured the Board the lease was a “boiler plate lease document”.  The Board directed the city attorney to go back to Block and renegotiate the lease.  On July 7, the revised lease was presented to the Board and approved.  The Board was told the prior lease document was a sample lease.  There was some confusion because the document appeared to be the same document presented in June.  The city clerk pointed out the document presented to the Board in July was different because the new lease had one extra sentence absolving the city from the tax liability.  On July 15 , Randy Battagler reported in the Raytown Times the building was sold and couldn’t be leased.  The residents of Raytown are fortunate the Board didn’t sign the original lease in June.  How much money would they have spent moving, or partially moving, in the building, only to have it sold out from under them?
DUE TO PROBLEMS WITH OUR SERVER, WE WERE UNABLE TO PUBLISH MORE THAN THE ABOVE STORY THIS WEEK.  WE SHOULD BE UP AND RUNNING NEXT WEEK. - GREG WALTERS

BY GREG WALTERS

How About 

Them Royals!

The Royals are having the last laugh going into the All Star Game. Despite national attention focused solely on the “wrongness” of one team dominating the American League players of the All Star Team, seven of the boys in blue will be on the squad.

Five of those All Stars were chosen directly by the fans themselves.

When you consider that Kansas City is one of the smallest markets in professional baseball, the numbers supporting the Royals speak their loudest. There is no way a city based population of a little more than 2 million people could have swayed the vote without a lot of help from voters all across the nation.

The ones who seem to be complaining the most about the outcome are the same talking heads who picked the Royals to come in fourth in the American League Central Division this year.

Yes, I know there is still half a season left to play. But, all things considered, the Royals are deserving of the accolades they are receiving from the public.

Don’t believe the Royals can meet the challenge? . . .  Just You Watch!

BY PAUL LIVIUS

The Paul Livius Report

Raytown Board of Aldermen Meeting – July 7, 2015

Mayor McDonough said the mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law, and scouts achieve their ranking by fulfilling requirements in areas of leadership, service and outdoor skill. Only 4% of all scouts achieve the highest rank of Eagle Scout.  Devin Cordes has fulfilled all of the requiremnts to complete his Eagle Scout Project which involved planning, designing, presenting his idea to the Raytown Park Board, and acquiring materials for a pathway to Aunt Sophie’s Cabin at the Rice-Tremonti Home.  Devin is a student at Lee’s Summit West and member of Scout Troop #54 of Lee’s Summit.  The City of Raytown, on behalf of all its residents, recognizes this bright and outstanding young man for his accomplishment and specifically his receiving the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America.  Now, the City of Raytown also encourages all residents to congratulate Mr. Cordes for completing an Eagle Scout project which will be enjoyed and utilized by residents for many years.

Mayor McDonough said Maggie Chase has been given the Missouri Municipal League “Person of the Year” award.  She has worked with the Raytown Emergency Assistance Program (REAP) for the past 16 years.

Alderman Steve Mock announced Brewer and Shipley will be at Kenagy Park on August 9 from noon to 7pm, sponsored by the Raytown Arts Council.

The Board passed a resolution approving the expenditure of funds to Watkins Lithographic, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $17,000.00.  Brenda Gustafson told the Board the City of Raytown provides four quarterly newsletters to our residents. The City put out a request for sealed bids for the printing of the newsletter. The lowest bidder was Watkins Lithographic, Inc. for a full-year printing agreement. The staff requested bids for a 16 and 20 page document. Currently, the document is 16 pages; however, the 20 pages would be totally dependent on the amount of advertising received.

The Board passed a resolution approving a 6-month lease with BPS Properties for temporary housing of the Raytown Police Department.  The staff has worked with local realtors to find a location to temporarily house the Raytown Police Department during the remodel of the lower level of City Hall.  The GE building was examined, but was sold. Staff also looked at mobile office space, but renting 7001 Blue Ridge Boulevard is more economical. Approximately 22 Raytown Police Department personnel will need to move during the remodel, and can readily be housed at this location.  The 6-month duration cost would be $21,000.00. Some additional cost would be incurred such as moving expenses and disassembly and assembly of office cubicles; however, those same costs would be incurred with any other facilities.  Alderman Meyers pointed out this is the same lease submitted in the prior packet.  Jim Melvin apologized and said he submitted the new lease and wasn’t sure why it didn’t get in the packet.  He told the Board they renegotiated the lease and no taxes will be included in the lease payments.  City clerk, Teresa Henry, pointed out the packet contained the new lease contract.  It was similar to the original, except the provision for taxes had been removed.

The Board approved a resolution approving the purchase of salt for the purpose of treating roads and bridges in inclement weather from Independent Salt Company in an amount not to exceed $52,000.00.  The Public Works Department received three bids in response to the invitation and has determined the bid submitted by Independent Salt Company in the amount of $63.99 per ton was the most advantageous bid received.

The Board passed a resolution declaring certain property owned by Raytown as surplus and authorized disposition.  Jim Melvin told the Board a skid loader replacement vehicle has been leased this year and the new vehicle will be placed in service soon. Public Works has evaluated the vehicles and has determined that the vehicles are not well-suited for continued use by the City and should be deemed surplus and disposed of in accordance with the purchasing policy. The S220 Skid Loader has safety issues with its lift arms. The MT55 is not used often enough to warrant its continued ownership and it is cheaper to rent a walk behind when needed rather than maintaining the current MT55.  The City would dispose of the 2005 S220 skid loader for a trade-in price of $18,000.00. The City would also dispose of a 2005 MT55 walk behind loader for an additional $12,000.00 trade-in.  The vehicles are proposed to be sold as trade-ins during the purchase of a sweeper and planer or alternatively sold at on-line auction via “Purple Wave”. The sweeper and planer are within the City Administrator’s purchasing authority. The revenue generated from these surplus items is Blue Book or better, and the fact that the City does not incur a cost to dispose of the items is an additional bonus. The unused portion of the proceeds would be deposited back to the Capital Improvement Sales Tax fund.

The Board heard the first reading of an ordinance establishing a procedure to disclose potential conflicts of interest and substantial interests for certain municipal officials in the city of Raytown.  Teresa Henry, City Clerk, told the Board in 1991, the Missouri General Assembly adopted an ethics and personal financial disclosure law, which applied to all municipalities with an annual operating budget in excess of $1 million. Under the law, municipalities were allowed to adopt their own simplified personal financial disclosure requirements by ordinance (commonly known as “short form” reporting). The financial disclosure reporting requirements apply to each elected official, the City Administrator (as the Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Purchasing Officer), the Director of Finance (as the Chief Financial Officer), the City Clerk, the full-time General Counsel, the Park Board, and the Parks and Recreation Director.  Each political subdivision desiring to use the “short form” is required to readopt the ordinance authorizing “short form” reporting every two years. However, in order to avoid the significant consequences of the failure to readopt the ordinance the recommended best practice is to adopt the ordinance annually.  The ordinance must be adopted by September 15 and a copy must be provided to the Missouri Ethics Commission.

Paul's Rant BY PAUL LIVIUS

THE LAST WORD . . . Those members of the Raytown Board of Aldermen who stood their ground on the rent ceiling of a temporary home for the Raytown Police Department have been proven correct in their action.

This past week they agreed to enter into a contract with BPS Properties to lease space at a vacant building located next to Our Lady of Lourdes Church at Gregory Boulevard and Blue Ridge for six months to house the police department while renovations are made at City Hall.

The original contract called for the city to pay the property taxes on the building over the life of the lease. The majority of the Board said “no” in the face of criticism by city staff who insisted the taxes had to be paid by the city. The Board of Aldermen clearly won this round. Since the criticisms of the Board's action came during a public session of the City Council it would be appropriate for those staff members who mistakenly tried to lead the Board astray to make a statement correcting the error.

DAVID BOWER LEGACY?

Greg sent me a text while reviewing the Board of Aldermen meeting this week. He wrote (in part) “I’ve been watching the meeting. Tom Cole gave an economic report. He said over the course of the 23 year TIF for Walmart, the initial bonds were $35 million.  The total cost of the payback by Raytown will cost $90 million. Thank you David Bower.”

BY JENN

Easy Weeknight 

Meal Ideas

As I wrote about on Fit Bottomed Mamas recently, making dinner with a new baby can be daunting. But, I also realize that getting healthy eats on the table every night — whether you have a newborn at home or not — can also be tough. Whether you’re working long hours, taking care of loved ones, training for a big race or simply have a lot of to-dos on your list, I can see how “making dinner” can be replaced by something more convenient like, say, take-out. BUT! In the first few months with my little girl, I learned a number of tricks and tips to make dinner a breeze. Or, at least, more doable. From really delicious and stupidly easy slow cooker meals to what freezes well to recipes to make with minimal prep (and, even, one-handed!), I wanted to share what I learned the hard way. That way you don’t have to! READ MORE

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