Controversial $40,000 Price Tag for Electronic Bill Board at City Hall

SOME QUESTION CITY'S PRIORITIES

RAYTOWN CITY HALL

A proposed Electronic Messaging Billboard at Raytown City Hall has kicked a hornet’s nest of questions as to prioritization of where and how city money is spent.

The billboard would be placed where a traditional (non-electronic) monument sign once stood in front of City Hall. That sign was demolished when a car drove through it years ago. 

The original reading and vote to authorize the expenditure has been carried over from last week's meeting to a date certain of December 3, 2019.

OUR VIEW . . .

BY GREG WALTERS

The $40,000 expenditure to place an electronic sign at a low traffic volume intersection simply does not make sense. Still, the topic deserves discussion. One Alderman took the time to conduct a poll of constituents to see how they felt about the $40,000 price tag.

All of those who responded said they were opposed to the $40,000 expenditure for one sign.

There are bad ideas . . . and then there are really bad ideas. This waste of $40,000 of taxpayer money on an electronic messaging sign few people will drive drive by to see is an example of a really bad idea. Please read on.

THE LOCATION: Raytown Road and 59^th Street is a “T Intersection” where Old Raytown Road ends at 59^th Street. There is so little traffic at the intersection that it does not even merit a traffic signal.

THE SIGN IS NOT NEEDED: Raytown City Hall is a building with a unique architecture. It dominates the hill at the confluence of the Raytown Road /59^th Street Intersection. It has a large letters designating it as Raytown City Hall / Municipal Court. The words on the building are easily seen from the south, east and west identifying the building as Raytown City Hall.

THERE IS BETTER USE FOR THE MONEY: How many people reading this page have been told “we don’t have the money” by someone at City Hall as an excuse for not making improvements to the city’s infrastructure?

I would venture to say it is nearly every one reading this page has heard those words at one time or another.

Here is a chance to correct that perception. Following is a list of improvements on which the money could be used.

STREET STRIPING: Street striping is badly needed all over Raytown. The lack of this important maintenance item is a public safety issue that is long overdue of being addressed.

EXTEND THE CURB REPAIR ON RAYTOWN TRAFFICWAY:

     The city is in the process of repairing curbs on Raytown Trafficway from 63^rd Street to 59^th Street. Everyone who has seen this work agrees it is a needed improvement. The same damaged curbs exist from 59^th Street to 55^th Street on Raytown Trafficway. The city could extend the project to at least cover the entrances to businesses along that stretch of roadway.

     The entrances to ALL of the business on Raytown Trafficway look like miniature Grand Canyons due to erosion of the curb and adjoining street surface. The only ones who would not benefit from this would be the auto repair shops that turn a tidy profit putting the front ends of cars back in alignment.

REPAIR RESIDENTIAL DRIVEWAY ENTRANCES: The same damage from the lack of maintenance on curbs and business entrances on Raytown Trafficway has plagued many residential driveway entrances in our neighborhoods. The $40,000 would go a long way for this basic improvement for homeowners in Raytown.

HIRE MORE POLICE PERSONNEL: The Raytown City Jail is back in business because the Board of Aldermen decided to fund positions to man the jail full time. There are police related positions that can still be filled. Forty thousand dollars would go a long way in expanding the Police Department’s reserve force. This move would put more officers on the street.

SPEAKING OF THE POLICE: One thing I have notice at City Hall is the number of people who show up and ask “where is the Police Department?” There is not any signage pointing out the location of the entrance to the Police Department. An inexpensive sign with the word POLICE DEPARTMENT and an arrow point the direction would probably help the situation.*

*For those who do not know. The Police Department entrance is located in the basement of City Hall on the north side of the building. There is a short short driveway along the west side of City Hall. A simple sign with the words POLICE DEPARTMENT followed by an arrow pointing the way would solve the problem. It would also be a good idea to place a sign marking the entrance door to the department that reads POLICE DEPARTMENT ENTRANCE.

STORM WATER PROJECTS: Raytown has a huge backlog of storm water improvements in need of attention. The $40,000, when added to the recently approved Park/Storm Water  Sales Tax could be used to resolve storm water runoff problems throughout the city.

PICKLE BALL: Forty thousand dollars could be used to create a Pickle Ball Court at one of our city parks. People literally wait in line to play this popular game in other cities. This is a sport that people of all ages enjoy. From pre-teens to senior citizens. It would be a unique opportunity to provide new recreational facilities for all of Raytown.

The list could go on for many pages. If you have any ideas of where the $40,000 could be spent feel free to share them with us on the blog portion of the Raytown Report.