RAYTOWN'S LEADING NEWS SOURCE

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BY GREG WALTERS

Mayor's Nomination
Rejected by Board

Many, many years ago former Mayor Sue Frank wanted to make an appointment of a private citizen to a position that would represent the City of Raytown on a metropolitan area Board.

Former Raytown Alderman Jerry Briggs and I were both opposed to the appointment. We did not believe it was in the best interest of the City. We felt so strongly about it that we took our objection (privately) to the Mayor.

At the next meeting, the appointment was on the agenda. We confronted the Mayor and told her we were very serious in our opposition to the appointment. We went so far to say that if she persisted that both of us would speak publicly against the nominee and give very good reason for not approving the appointment.

Mayor Frank removed the nomination from the agenda.

She was right to do so.

Her two senior most Board members were opposed to the choice. She knew we had allies on the Board who may vote with us in opposition to the appointment.

Eventually, Mayor Frank named another nominee. That nominee was approved unanimously.

Mayor Michael McDonough should take a page from Sue Frank’s play book.

I bring this up because the recent brouhaha over the appointment of Melissa Beall seems to have stirred up quite a fuss this past week. For those not familiar with what has transpired. Here is the dirty low down.

Last November, former Ward 5 Alderman Eric Teeman resigned his position on the Raytown Board of Aldermen. The spot has remained vacant these last four months.

McDonough finally decided to make an appointment to fill the vacant position.

Last Tuesday night, by a vote of 6 to 3, the Board refused to seat the Mayor's appointment.

Since that time there have been calls, most notably from social media activists on Facebook, demanding to know why Ms. Beall was not approved.

So here is the answer. She was not approved because she lacked the support on the Board to be seated.

Some would say that answer is insufficient.

I disagree.

What is the goal here? To embarrass a failed candidate even more?

What I cannot understand is why the Mayor pushed for the appointment when it was quite clear the support was not on the Board for the appointment in the first place. From conversations with Board members I can assure you the outcome of the vote was a foregone conclusion.

Make no mistake about it. The Mayor did not have the votes.

I served on the Raytown Board of Aldermen for 27 years. I sat through votes on many appointments. In those 27 years I never saw an appointment by a Mayor publicly refused by the Board of Aldermen. A Mayor has a responsibility to take steps to make certain the support is in place before making the appointment.

Mayor McDonough should find another candidate and soon. The Ward 5 vacancy has gone on far too long.

He should also take care to learn from the mistakes of his last effort. He must reach out to find middle ground if he expects his nominee to be appointed. It is really that simple. He will find that working with people will be much more constructive than working against them.

Truth Watch  RETURNS

TRUTH WATCH was the brainchild of Raytown Fire Board Member Richard Tush. We published Richard’s reports in the early days of the Raytown Report. His goal was to set the record straight on items of interest in Raytown. With his permission, we are continuing the tradition he began years ago.

The following post (reproduced here in part) was published on the Raytown Report  Blog on April 28^th.

. . . As I understand the Mayor gave the Alderman a lengthy time to bring forward any potential candidates who might be interested in filling out the term and NONE were presented. . . .

We wondered if the post was accurate so we contacted all of the members of the Board of Aldermen via email and asked if they had (1) been asked by the Mayor for possible candidates for the Ward 5 position and (2) what their response was.

WARD1 Alderman Karen Black: Alderman Black wrote she was asked by the Mayor for a suggested nominee. She suggested that he appoint former Ward 5 Alderman Candidate Phylis Goforth. Mayor McDonough did offer the position to Goforth. She turned down the offer.

WARD 1 Alderman Frank Hunt: Was not contacted by the Mayor until after McDonough had made his choice for nomination. He told me since the Mayor had already made his choice, there was not any time left for input.

WARD 2 Alderman Jason Greene: Alderman Greene said he was approached by the Mayor for suggestions. He suggested that the Mayor consider suggestions originally made by Ward 4 Alderman Steve Meyers.

WARD 2 Alderman Jim Aziere: Alderman Aziere was not asked for any suggestions of possible nominees. McDonough finally asked for Aziere’s support in late January. Aziere told McDonough that he did not believe the Mayor had the support of six vote on the Board to approve Beale. Aziere said McDonough did not believe him.

Ward 3 Alderman Mark Moore: Alderman Moore did not wait for the Mayor to ask for a nominee. Moore suggested the Mayor call for a special election to fill the vacant seat since it would be one and one half years before the next scheduled election. He made the suggestion in public session shortly after former Alderman Teeman resigned. Missouri State Statutes allows for a special election to be held in April of each year. The Mayor allowed the deadline for holding the election to pass. This effectively closed the window of for a special election in 2018.

WARD 3 Alderman Ryan Myers: Myers says he was not approached by the Mayor on the subject. So he contacted the Mayor and suggested that either Phylis Goforth or Diane Krizek should be asked since they had run in the last election (which was won by Alderman Bonnaye Mims). Goforth declined the opportunity. It is not known if Krizek (who ran second in the race) was asked by the Mayor to fill the position.

WARD 4 Alderman Bill VanBuskirk: Alderman VanBuskirk said the Mayor did not approach him until after he (McDonough) had made his choice for the nominee. He did visit with the candidate and came away from the meeting believing she was not the best candidate for the position. VanBuskirk told the Mayor he could not support his nominee

WARD 4 Alderman Steve Meyers: Alderman Meyers asked the Mayor to consider two individuals from Ward 5. Unfortunately, neither of the two candidates Meyers had in mind agreed to accept the opportunity. Meyers did not share the names of the two candidates he had in mind other than to say both were well qualified.

WARD 5 Alderman Bonnaye Mims: Alderman Mims said she did have a conversation with the Mayor about the vacant position. She suggested approaching both Phylis Goforth and Diane Krizek. Her reasoning was that both had shown they have the desire to serve through their active campaigns for the open seat. She said, “both Goforth and Krizek deserve to be asked before any others”.

So there you have it . . . The Mayor did reach out. And those who were reached out to before he made his choice did respond in a timely manner.  As Ward 4 Alderman Steve Meyers is fond of saying, the post on our blog claiming the Mayor received no responses from the Board is a “Pants on Fire” moment.

Truth Watch  PART TWO

We usually do not cover Facebook news on this blog, But some of the comments published on Raytown Unleashed are so far off base that they should be corrected. We chose the following three as an example.

SUSAN VORBECK BROWN WROTE:

“To add insult to injury, the one alderman they do have cares nothing for Raytown, has never been involved with our community and is just using us as a crutch to prop up her dying career for one more go at getting her state seat back.”

TRUTH WATCH: It is very clear Ms. Vorbeck’s comments were aimed at Ward 5 Alderman Bonnaye Mims. Before being elected to the Raytown Board of Aldermen, Mims served two terms in the Missouri State Legislature. She is one of those rare politicians who will cross party lines for a common goal. Through her efforts, Jackson County was the recipient of over 22 million dollars in support of Children Services, Mental Health, Homeless and Veterans in the Missouri state budget.

Mims has repeatedly stated she has no intention of running for the State Legislature.

Filing for state office opened last Tuesday. We checked. Mims has not filed.

Mims has proven to be an effective voice for the people of Ward 5. She takes pride in public service and has good track record of quick response for constituent needs.

Susan Vorbeck Brown is the founder of Raytown Unleashed. We give her high marks for starting up a successful Facebook page in Raytown. But she needs to get her facts straight. When the founder of a Facebook page begins to dabble in Fake News, the page loses credibility.

Julie Gautreaux Shupe wrote: “Is there a legal recourse for the board just refusing to follow state law? Because if not, I can think of all kinds of state laws we like to not follow. It’s a choice.”

TRUTH WATCH: The Mayor and Board of Aldermen followed the law to the letter in the procedure(s) used on the (failed) nomination of Ms. Beall. The Mayor is required to nominate a person to the vacant position. The Board of Aldermen are required to approve or disapprove of the nomination. Both parties fulfilled their legal obligations.

The accusation is without merit.

Shara Buck wrote: “People in Ward 5 really need to show up to the meeting next Tuesday and take the opportunity of the public comments to ask why they don’t have representation. Not even a whole speech or anything just a question, Why are we being denied the representation when the state defines a process for appointing a replacement alderman?”

TRUTH WATCH:  Miss Buck’s remarks are mis-directed. It is the Mayor who has held up the nomination of a new Board member for Ward 5. The Board of Aldermen voted on his nomination when they received it.

The Board turned down the nomination. Thereby fulfilling their responsibility as defined by State Law.

It is now up to the Mayor to bring another candidate for consideration. Hopefully he has learned the process requires he bring a candidate that is acceptable to the majority of the Board. It is their duty, by state law, to make the final decision on his appointment.

A side note to this conversation. I have seen events that were truly supported by the people of Raytown. Most notably, an application by Walmart to open a mini-market in Downtown Raytown. Those meetings drew so many people that number of attendees exceeded the number of participants allowed in the building by the City Fire Marshall.

Ms. Buck’s post is written like a call to arms. It is interesting to note only three people showed up from the public to support the Mayor’s nominee.

The lack of participants at the meeting speaks volumes of the amount of support for the Mayor's nominee at last Tuesday's meeting.

The Paul Livius Report BY PAUL LIVIUS

Raytown Board of Aldermen Meeting

February 27, 2018

City Clerk Teresa Henry swore in Police Officers Brandon Jeffery, Trevor Shroyer and Shawn Fields.

Mayor McDonough congratulated the Police Department and School District Staff in their handling of the recent threat to the schools.

The Board rejected a resolution appointing Melissa Beall as a member of the Board of Aldermen, to fill the position of former alderman Eric Teeman, until the next regularly scheduled municipal election in April of 2019. Alderman Jason Green said he appreciated Ms. Beall taking the time to talk with him about this appointment.  Alderman Steve Meyers said he asked two other people to serve on the Board and both said no.  Finding someone to serve is difficult.  Alderman Mark Moore said he believed the person should be elected to the seat on the Board, not appointed.

The Board tabled until March 6 an ordinance vacating a portion of 75th Street located between the East right-of-way line of Raytown Road and the West property line.   Mitch DiCarlo, on behalf of Raytown Wash LLC, is requesting approval of a right-of-way vacation. The applicant is requesting to vacate right-of-way on 75th Street between Raytown Road and westbound MO-350 Highway. The request to vacate 75th Street is a condition placed on the Conditional Use Permit for the future Tidal Wave Car Wash located to the north of the existing right-of-way. The right-of-way to be vacated is approximately 232 feet long and 45 feet wide. Written consent to vacate has been received by 2/3 of adjacent property owners. Notices for Consent to Vacate have been provided by the following adjacent property owners: FJM Distributing Company LP, Raytown Wash LLC, and Raytown Auto Developers LLC. Kansas City Power and Light (KCP&L), KC Water, Public Water Supply District #2, AT&T, and Spire (formerly MGE) have all waived objections subject to retaining their utility easements and protection of existing facilities.

The Board heard the first reading of an ordinance granting an amendment to a planned development to allow for an assisted living facility on lot 5 of Blue Ridge Villas in accordance with the provisions of the comprehensive zoning regulations for Raytown.  Ivan Chiang, LIY Financial, is requesting approval of an amendment to the Blue Ridge Villas planned development and a site plan for an assisted living facility on Lot 5. The planned development, located at 59th St. and Hunter Court, was approved in January 2006. To date, approximately eighty percent of the lots remain vacant. The applicant is requesting to make an assisted living facility an allowed use on Lot 5. The building would have almost the same building footprint as the five patio homes intended for this lot. The site plan indicates additional parking to account for the increased demand as well as several site furnishings for the common areas. The assisted living facility will adhere to the requirements of the Design Manual for Blue Ridge Villas to keep a consistent design aesthetic for the neighborhood.

The Board heard the first reading of an ordinance authorizing and approving an intergovernmental agreement for environmental services with Jackson County.   The City has been using the services of Jackson County to provide food service inspections for the various business/concerns located in Raytown that serve/sell food products. Given that Jackson County has the expertise and equipment to conduct such inspections, this relationship has worked out well for the City. Jackson County provides reports on all inspections and those results are incorporated into the appropriate records of the business/concern. Additionally, the inspection results can be viewed on the Jackson County web site (www.jacksongov.org/fsi). There is no cost to the City for the inspection service.

The Board heard the first reading of an ordinance authorizing an interlocal agreement with the Missouri cities of Blue Springs, Buckner, Grain Valley, Grandview, Greenwood, Independence, Lake Lotawana, Lake Tapawingo, Lee’s Summit, Lone Jack, Oak Grove and Sugar Creek, as well as the State Highway Patrol and Jackson County, including the Jackson County Sherriff’s office and the Jackson County Drug Task Force for law enforcement services. The Jackson County Drug Task Force is a multi-jurisdictional enforcement group pursuant to a cooperative Memorandum of Understanding between many participating Law Enforcement entities, including Raytown. The current MOU went into effect in 1998 and the new MOU will commence on April 1, 2018 and will continue as long as the COMBAT, Community Backed Anti-Crime Tax, is in effect. The changes from the existing MOU and the updated MOU reflect the current operating procedures of the Jackson County Task Force in which Chief Jim Lynch serves on the Board of Directors.

The Board heard the first reading of an ordinance approving the second amendment to the second amended and restated tax increment financing redevelopment agreement Raytown, Missouri and Raytown 350 INV Group LLC On December 7, 2010, the Board of Alderman executed the First Amendment to the Second Amended and Restated Tax Increment Financing Redevelopment Agreement. Project 2 Deferred Improvements within Section b (2) (A) and (B) of this agreement required the Developer, Raytown 350 INV Group (Block and Company), to construct a series of public improvements along Raytown Road and eastbound Highway 350 per Missouri Department of Transportation and City of Raytown’s design standards. Since the execution of the First Amendment to the Second Amended and Restated Tax Increment Financing Redevelopment Agreement, Missouri Department of Transportation and the City of Raytown have determined the public improvements identified in Section b (2) (B) of the Agreement are no longer required to be constructed along eastbound Highway 350. The Second Amendment to the Second Amended and Restated eliminates the requirement of the Developer to construct a “proposed future entrance”, “future curb”, and the “future shared access” along eastbound Highway 350. Missouri Department of Transportation and the City of Raytown are still requiring to be constructed a “Proposed 10’ Wide Bike & Pedestrian Path” along eastbound Highway 350 and a “5’ sidewalk” along Raytown Road in front of IHOP. The Second Amendment provides for the Developer to, in lieu of construction, pay the City of Raytown’s Public Works Department to cause the construction of a “Proposed 10’ Wide Bike & Pedestrian Path” along eastbound Highway 350 and a “5’ sidewalk” along Raytown Road in front of IHOP. City Staff and legal counsel have aggressively negotiated with the developer on the terms of the proposed amended and restated development agreement.

The Board heard the first reading an ordinance approving the final plat of Lourdes subdivision.  Sam DePriest, Continental Consulting Engineers Inc., is requesting approval of a final plat for the Lourdes Subdivision. Mr. DePriest is working on behalf of the Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church and the Raytown C-2 School District to plat the church’s property. As the old parochial school is now being used by the Raytown C-2 School District, both parties would like to redraw property lines to place the school on a separate lot. Additionally, Our Lady of Lourdes Church decided to separate the remaining buildings into separate lots that aligned with their individual uses. The proposed subdivision has four lots. The church, sisters’ home, rectory and public pre-school will all be on separate lots. Utility services are already established, and no public improvements will be necessary. Utility easements will be dedicated with this final plat. The public school and the church will share existing drives and will have joint ingress and egress for vehicular and pedestrian access over all of the existing parking lots and walkways.

The Board passed a resolution approving the purchase of 2019 International 4300 series and a Schwarze industries regenerative air sweeper from Elliott equipment off the Missouri Department of Transportation cooperative purchasing contract in an amount not to exceed $220,885.25. Street sweeping is an integral part of storm water management and provides a cleaner environment that is readily visible to the public. Public Works staff have reviewed many options for providing street sweeping services including, but not limited to, outsourcing the program. Staff determined during the process that in-house street sweeping is the most cost-effective way to provide the service for the residents of Raytown. Staff began the process of selecting a new street sweeper through a number of on-site tests involving several manufacturers. The on-site testing revolved around the real-world conditions observed in the neighborhoods of Raytown and the ability of the sweeper to perform in those conditions. Staff evaluated the sweepers based on cost, performance, warranty and service. Staff recommends the purchase of a Schwarze A-7 regenerative air street sweeper from Elliott equipment of Grandview, MO. For an amount of $220,885.25, based on the Mo DOT cooperative contract. The Public Works Dept. has budgeted $250,000.00 for the street sweeper purchase in FY2018.

The Board passed a resolution authorizing the purchase of tires and supplies from Sumner Tire off the State of Missouri cooperative purchase contract in an amount not to exceed $22,000.

The Board passed a resolution approving participation by the city in the Missouri Department of Transportation Highway Safety Crash reduction/hazardous moving enforcement project and an application for grant funding in connection with the highway safety crash reduction/hazardous moving enforcement grant for such purposes Resolution approving the Hazardous Moving Grant application from the Missouri Department of Transportation Highway Safety Division for the 2019 Fiscal Year. If awarded, the billed hours worked by officers of the Raytown, Missouri Police Department will be reimbursed at the rate of 100%. The Raytown Police Department intends to utilize these funds to decrease hazardous driving related offenses and crashes within the Raytown City limits. The grant, if awarded, allows for $7,169.05 dollars to be used for overtime assignments, and the purchase of an additional Stalker brand, handheld radar instrument and will be reimbursed at 100% to the City. In addition, the grant will reimburse the cost of sending one officer to the annual LETSAC conference for additional training. There is no match required by the City for this grant. Alderman Ryan Myers asked if the report stating the police department only writes two traffic tickets a day is correct.  Chief Jim Lynch said that is probably correct, but there has been a reduction in the force.

The Board passed a resolution authorizing the continuation of an agreement with Infinity Building Services for mowing services in an amount not to exceed $28,000 but within budgeted amounts for fiscal year 2017-2018. The Public Works Department received 3 sealed bids that were opened on Tuesday, February 6 at 2:00pm. Infinity Building Services is the lowest, responsive, responsible bidder with a base bid of $22,100 and is being recommended for approval. The Public Works Department will have the contractor mow 34 areas throughout the City. Each location will be paid per the contract unit costs. The number of times each area is mowed will depend on the weather.

During Fiscal Year 2013-14, $18,913.00 was spent by the Public Works Dept.

During Fiscal Year 2014-15, $15,440.00 was spent by the Public Works Dept.

During Fiscal Year 2015-16, $13,974.00 was spent by the Public Works Dept.

During Fiscal Year 2016-17, $15,615.00 was spent by the Public Works Dept.

City staff is requesting an increase in the approved amount for possible expenses with our annual mowing project. Our request is to make an approved amount to spend of $28,000, which is equal to our budgeted amount.

The Board passed a resolution approving the expenditure of funds with Stantec Consulting Services. Utilizing the Mid-America Council of Public Purchasing cooperative contract for a pavement analysis and condition report in an amount not to exceed $35,850 for fiscal year 2017-2018. The City of Raytown last received a comprehensive pavement analysis and condition report in 2002. This proposed update will allow staff to establish a more comprehensive plan for street maintenance, with a variety of recommended treatments from chip seal, to different types of micro-surfacing, to mill and overlay, etc. Staff is recommending BOA approval to be 20% higher than this estimate, to cover unforeseen circumstances that may arise with this work. $29,875 + 20% = $35,850. If another nearby community uses Stantec, then this could possibly lower our cost.

The Board passed a resolution approving the professional services of storm water infrastructure repair in the city from Wiedenmann Inc.  Utilizing Lee’s Summit cooperative purchase contract and approving project expenses for 10901 E. 75th Street in an amount not to exceed $49,960. On Tuesday, January 30, 2018 the City of Raytown was informed of a sinkhole in the roadway in front of 10901 E. 75th Street. Later this same day, the Public Works Department (PWD) crews barricaded the area and then placed steel road plates to open the road back up to traffic. PWD reached out to Jerry Wiedenmann of Wiedenmann Inc. to make a site visit and begin the process of writing an estimate for the repairs. PWD received the attached proposal from Wiedenmann Inc. on Thursday, February 1st for $39,960. This is not a proposal or a not to exceed amount but, is a construction estimate based on a time and materials cooperative agreement being utilized through the City of Lee’s Summit. The attached emergency memo approved by Tom Cole adds a $10,000 contingency amount to cover unforeseen circumstances that may arise with this work. The Fiscal Year 2017-2018 Storm Sewer Fund, Repair and Maintenance Services, Emergency Storm Water Repairs, is budgeted with $125,000.00. Of the budgeted amount, $19,579.96 has been spent on the repairs at 8609 E. 84th Terr and $48,045.00 was spent on the repairs at 5520 Crescent. These previous projects total $67,625.00, leaving $57,375.00 available.

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