Amaryllis
One of our neighbors, Amanda (aka "The Plant Lady"), gave the plant shown in the photo to Mecee and me just after New Year.

It is called an Amaryllis.

Native to Africa, the genus Amaryllis comes from the Greek word amarysso, which means "to sparkle."

Bulbs were brought to Europe in the 1700s and have been known to bloom for up to 75 years.

The plant was less than half this size when Amanda gave it to us on January 2nd. It is now over 2' tall!

Amanda is a gifted gardener. She is slowly turning her yard into pathways of trees, shrubberies and flowers that are delight to walk through.

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BY GREG WALTERS

Massive
Project Planned
SANITARY SEWER LINES
TO BE UPGRADED 

The Raytown Board of Aldermen has approved a massive sanitary sewer project to be constructed this summer. The project is expected to be started in February, 2023 (weather permitting). 

The project will cost $1,541,502.00 (million dollars) and is expected to take nine months to complete. 

The photo shows the properties that will be affected by the work. The work will consist of installing 18,200 feet of "cured in place pipe liner" (CIPP), 390 feet of total sewer line removal & replacement, manhole repairs, and repairing 11 private sewer service line connections to the City main.

The new sewer lines will add an additional life of 50 years to the sanitary sewers in the targeted area.

Walters told the Raytown Report, “The project is a continuing effort to upgrade or replace sanitary sewer lines that are nearing the end of their serviceable life. The tax dollars that pay for the project come from a reserve fund paid for by home and business owners when sanitary sewer tax bills are paid. Part of that tax is set aside in a reserve fund to upgrade sanitary sewer lines when needed.”

Homes and business affected by the project include those located on the following streets. Sanitary lines do not always run parallel to established streets. The areas affected by the improvements are approximate.

FROM EAST TO EAST TO WEST :
69^th Terrace from Raytown Road to Blue Ridge Boulevard
69^th Street from Raytown Road to Blue Ridge Boulevard
69^th Terrace from Arlington to Blue Ridge Boulevard
70^th Terrace from Evanston to Blue Ridge Boulevard
Gregory Boulevard from Raytown Road to Hunter
Hunter from 68^th Terrace to 350 Highway
Kentucky from Gregory Boulevard to 350 Highway
Lane from 68^th Terrace to 350 Highway
Laurel from 68^th Terrace to 350 Highway
Elm Street from 68^th Terrace to Gregory Boulevard

FROM NORTH TO SOUTH:
Raytown Road from 68th Terrace to Gregory Boulevard
Hawthorne from 69^th Street to Raytown Road
Brooklane from 69^th Street to to Hawthorne
Evanston from 70^th Terrace to Gregory Boulevard
Rice from Hawthorne to 70^th Terrace
Arlington from Gregory Boulevard to 70^th Terrace
Hunter from 68^th Terrace to 350 Highway
Kentucky from Gregory Boulevard to 350 Highway
Lane from 68^th Terrace to 350 Highway
Laurel from 68^th Terrace to 350 Highway
Elm Street from 68^th Terrace to Gregory Boulevard

59th Street
Raytown Road
Intersection
to be rebuilt

The intersection of Raytown Road and 59^th Street will be rebuilt to accommodate new storm sewer lines to abate flooding of the intersection during heavy rains. 

Water lines will be replaced by the Raytown Water Company during the project as well. The Raytown Water Company portion of the project is not funded by tax dollars.

A GEYSER IN RAYTOWN!
 If the manhole cover were removed it is estimated
the water would shoot six feet into the air.

The picture at left  shows how much water pressure is built up under the intersection during heavy rains. The manhole cover is bolted to the storm sewer pipe. The water pressure is so strong it forces the manhole cover to rise to release water from under the street.

The increased water pressure undermines the substructure that supports the street. The manhole cover pictured is located at 59^th and Raytown Trafficway next to the Chamber of Commerce headquarters.

The four way intersection has commercial curbs on both 59th Street and Raytown Trafficway. The streets collect the water so efficiently that if overwhelms the storm drainage system under the street. 

The plan is to re-direct the flow of water under the street to another storm sewer at a lower elevation to release the excess water before it can flood the intersection.

If not corrected, this constant flow of water from heavy rains will undermine the substructure under the intersection, eventually leading to large voids under the intersection subject to collapse from the weight of traffic on the street surface.

The project is funded by a Grant through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources of the State of Missouri. Part of the money funding the grant originally came from unspent funds originally set aside to combat the Covid 19 Virus Pandemic.  

The project is expected to begin later this summer. A timeline for the construction period of this project has not yet been released by the City.

Paul's Rant! BY PAUL LIVIUS

The two projects reported above reminded me of something a former newspaper owner in Raytown once opined in an editorial.

The City had just gone through a bruising campaign on some tax increases. The tax proposals had failed by a landslide vote.

This caused some on the "yes" side of the question to run around manically complaining how all was over . . . those who opposed the tax question had doomed the City of Raytown to a future of failure.

Lee Gray was owner of the Raytown Post. He did something somewhat out of character. Rather than simply writing an editorial in his paper, he went before the City Council and spoke to them.

The theme of his short but very effective speech was that despite the failure of the tax increase, he assured everyone that the sun would still rise the next day. 

He suggested the two sides set their differences aside and reach out to work together to find common ground to move Raytown forward.

It looks like Greg's two articles are on that path. I wish him well and hope that others running for public office will step up and join him in working together for the common good. 

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