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| BY GREG WALTERS |
I was
thinking about writing a story about the private citizens who have come forward
to serve on a Parks Safety Committee. I had put together a short memo to the Mayor
and Board of Aldermen introducing the individuals and thought it would be
appropriate to share the information with the public.
Then I
thought, why re-write what already tells the tale?
I decided
to share the memo sent to the Mayor and Board with the public. Hence, the
title, “Other People’s Mail”.
If
nothing else it will bring our readers up to speed to one of the issues facing
the Board of Aldermen this coming Tuesday night. The Board will hold its
regular Tuesday at Raytown City Hall. The meeting begins at 7:00 p.m. It is a
public meeting with an open invitation to those who may want to comment during
the Public Comments portion of the meeting.
Now,
here is the memo I sent to the Mayor and Board . . . or, as we prefer to call
it . . . “Other People’s Mail.”
To:
Raytown Board of Aldermen
Mayor Michael McDonough
From:
Alderman Greg Walters
Re:
Safe Parks Committee
Date:
June 30, 2019
I have also held discussions with Acting Chief of Police Randy
Hudspeth, Fire District Chief Matt Mace, Park Board Director David Turner, and
City Administrator Damon Hodges. They have all agreed to work with the
Committee should the Board of Aldermen approve its formation.
Following is a list of Raytown citizens who have agreed to serve on a Parks Safety Committee.
DELORIS DEWEY
Deloris and her husband,
Everett, moved to Raytown in 2002. Their home is located at the southwest
corner of Colman Park, the highest point of elevation in the park. From her
back yard deck you can see 90% of the park property stretching north to 59th Street.
She frequently walks her
dog, Ranger, in the park. Deloris is retired from Sears Roebuck where she was
an investigator in background checks of personal accounts for the company.
MINDY McDANIEL
Mindy McDaniel is
retired from FEMA (Homeland Security) after serving over 30 years. At FEMA
Mindy was part of a rapid response team that was deployed during times of
national emergency. She served at the World Trade Center in New York City and
Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Her job was to manage the expense accounts of
federal funds to make certain they were properly spent.
STEPHANIE HOLLO
Stephanie is a school
teacher at an elementary school. Her husband, Steve Hollo is a second
generation owner of Steve’s Auto located at 55thand Raytown Road.
The Hollo’s home is not
located adjacent to Colman Park. But both of the them are well aware of the
danger presented when gunfire is sprayed in any direction. Particularly when
the gunfire is shot in the air, as was the case at Colman.
At 12:34 a.m. they were
awakened by the sound of semi-automatic gunfire. Her first thought was that of
her son, sleeping in the bedroom facing in the direction of the park. She told
him to lie on the floor until the gunfire ended.
JAYNE LOULOS
Jayne Loulos was asleep when
two rounds struck and flew halfway through her house on the night of the gun
battle. The bullets entered her home less than 30 feet from where she was
sleeping.
I visited Jayne this
evening. She showed me where the police found one of the spent bullets. It had
passed through panes of plate glass and two walls to end up just 6’ from the
other end of the house.
Jayne holds a Master’s
and Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work, as well as Bachelor’s Degree in Biology.
She has worked at Trinity and Research Hospitals in Kansas City. Before that,
she was Director of Social Services at a hospital in Garnett, Kansas. She
currently makes her living as the Seretary/Treasurer of Association of
Fundamental Ministeres and Churches (AFMC).
JIM DELONG
Jim DeLong has
volunteered to serve as an ex-officio member of the Committee.
Jim makes his living as
a carpenter. He is a licensed “Certified Lead Carpenter” by NARI (National
Association of Remodeling Industry). He is well-versed in building codes in
Raytown and brings a wealth of knowledge to the table regarding all
construction related items.
OTHER MEMBERS
Ward 4 Alderman Mary
Jane VanBuskirk has been in contact with homeowners surrounding Kenagy Park.
The committee may, at its discretion, call upon those individuals to hear their
stories and thoughts on how park security can be improved.
FOOTNOTE: It is important to note that the Park Safety
Committee does not have the authority to pass laws. All of the information
gathered, and the recommendations made will require the approval of the
majority of the Raytown Board of Aldermen. I am proud of those individuals who
have taken a step forward to address a very dangerous situation in our city. I am
also grateful for the help offered by our various public safety departments and
the management team at Raytown City Hall.
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18 comments:
I am glad to see that both Aldermen Walters, Alderman Ward and Mayor McDonough are stepping up to handle some of the problems we have in Raytown. Crime is definitely a problem that concerns all of us. I find it disheartening that some sectors in our city are trying to drive a wedge between the different efforts to clean up Raytown. I wish there were more people taking the proactive approach all three of them have taken.
Keep up the good work!
Well said 7:21. I’m happy to see some positivity on this blog as well! Whining and finger pointing will get us nowhere.
I just read the last comment. Then I scrolled through the comments ahead of it, with the exception of an occasional grumpy person post, most of the comments on this blog are very positive. After all, this is not Raytown Unhinged! (thank goodness)
What about the fireworks? The tents are open so we can buy but we can't use?
I'm loving the involvement and proactivity, and definitely appreciate having this blog to read (thank you for doing it). I hope we see more and more people getting involved in all needed areas. I'm doing what I can although it's hard finding time after work (engineering firm) and being a caretaker. I'm working on getting a Raytown Neighborhood Association started (group on Facebook) to support the positve efforts of our community. It all helps right?
I had a chance to go to the ribbon cutting ceremony at Southwood Park this afternoon. Congratulations to the Park Department for getting the job done and doing it $4,000 under-budget. It's nice to see a department being responsible with taxpayers'' money.
The city meeting they said they had over 800,000 dollars left last year?
I want to know why that money wasn't used for more police and is it going to happen this year? That's a lot of money to have left over.
Thank You Greg for stepping up and addressing one of the many problems facing Raytown. Another HUGE problem is the underfunded Police Department. Two years ago the City made a BIG mistake and drasticly cut the Polce Dept, now Raytown is paying the price for that foolish decision. There was a time when trouble makers knew to avoid Raytown.
"...with the exception of an occasional grumpy person post, most of the comments on this blog are very positive. After all, this is not Raytown Unhinged! (thank goodness)"
I think that we all should agree to not even mention that dumpster fire...or at least not until they have another eruption that needs to be dealt with. Too much good work going on here. Very happy to see it all.
Last night the Raytown Board of Aldermen approved the formation of a Parks Improvement Committee. The vote was close, 6 yes / 4 no.
It was an interesting debate. You can view the webcam of the meeting by going to the following address.
https://raytownmo.swagit.com/play/07022019-1468
9:11 You concern me that you still don't understand the city had to cut those positions as we didn't have the money.
In fact the city didn't have the money for several years and if you took the time to look at the budgets would see the money was coming from the extra bond money that was to have been spent for things related to the Walmart TIF. When it was not used for that it should have been put right back towards the principle of the bonds.
When you and others get your facts straight our city will be able to move forward until that time we will remain in the mess we are in as we must start talking facts.
You might want to note the number of officers are the street has not changed. That is a fact as it is a fact all the lies about the cuts is what got a lot of people to sign the state audit request.
Please stop watching fox news and listing to the those on unleashed.
As tony pointed out...the city had 800k left over. I suspect those projections that made the reduction in police “necessary” were grossly inaccurate. I hope the auditors look into that matter since that is the time period they’re examining.
Also the tax money received each year is different as are expenses. Some years there will be no
surplus. Also I think that the surplus was spent down somewhat that is not a good practice as the
city is required to have a certain amount in surplus.
Also we have to figure out how to do some repair work on our roads that are literally fallling apart.
Spend more of your money in Raytown so that we have more sales tax money to use.
July 3, 2019 at 5:26 PM
In case you didn't know, the current mayor was NOT in office when the TIF originally passed.
And he can't get a replacement. But didn't he campaign on the idea that he "worked with a diverse group of people" to refinance the bonds? Another lie. But hey, at least he smiles.
Jason said we used 100,000 on salt. Why wasn't that reported? Maybe he's confusing fiscal years. Either way, weird how there would still be 700,000 dollars. Even if it's only half that 350,000 is more than 6 police officers. Maybe if we didn't have to pay so many fines for violating the sunshine law and lawsuits and actually refinanced the Tif and many other promises we would have money for cops.
Maybe of they started writing tickets or arresting warrants...
Wasn't there a surplus last year's too and the year before that?
Didn't the last 2 financial heads say they were being conservative on revenues purposefully? That means we are being safe which can be good but also means surplus is likely.
But close friend Sue Frank was, and hasn't she been advising him? Aren't the connected through VIPS and still go to dinner together?
Didn't Mike defend the TIF his first campaign?
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