Red Bridge Shopping Center Redevelopment Pep Rallies for Lane4

Everyone wants Red Bridge Shopping Center to come back to life and there has been a lot of community enthusiasm for how that might look; but let's take a look at the progress so far.

There have been two pep rallies to talk about the redevelopment, March 14th at DeVry and April 20th at St. Catherine's. This is so reminiscent of the process used when the City and politicians wanted to shove a new 4-lane highway bridge down the throats of those neighborhoods surrounding the old red bridge. Meetings are held extolling the great things that will happen if only the community lets them do what they want for their benefit while framing it as our benefit.

Let's look at the cheerleaders for these pep rallies. The head cheerleader at DeVry was none other than Rick Chambers, lead fundraiser for the Center School District Foundation. He is also well connected to Councilman Scott Taylor. At St. Catherine's the head cheerleader was Tim Henry, President of Brichwood Homes Association. Tim Henry is well connected to Councilman Sharp and whenever the councilman needs to orchestrate an event for show Tim Henry is there. They seem to be more concerned about other neighborhoods than their own. How are things at Birchwood Shopping Center? The behind the scenes cheerleader is Larry Marsh, President of Red Bridge Homes Association. Larry Marsh is new to the area and really wants to be part of the in crowd, so he will do anything for their acceptance. Larry Marsh is also the administrator for the Red Bridge NextDoor social media site. That's a good position to have if you want to control any online discussion of the Red Bridge Shopping Center.

Now let's talk about Lane4, the anointed hero. Lane4 previously was involved in the fiasco of Bannister Mall. They followed the same script: having pep rallies or focus groups to let citizens suggest businesses they would like as part of the redevelopment, knowing full well what is economically feasible for that area.

Since the show began at DeVry in March, there has not been any real information given. Lane4 expects to close on this deal by the end of June 2015 and start construction in September 2015. They want no public scrutiny of the welfare they are going to ask for and don't expect to get any. They are betting on the community being blinded by the idea of a revitalized shopping center. They want a 10 to 20 year commitment from the community without any discussion of the impact and may even hint that without it, there will be no redevelopment. That is why their pep rallies have included no information about finances.

Councilman John Sharp sold out the citizens of the Hickman Mills School District when Cerner asked for the 1st Amendment to their original $1 billion TIF. That incentive was meant to be the instrument that would spur economic activity; yet, no construction had begun, in fact, land was still being cleared, when Cerner decided they needed yet more incentive. Councilman Sharp was the most vocal voice in front of the Board of Education insisting Cerner needed more money knowing it would mean even fewer dollars going to the school district. This cannot be allowed to happen to the Center School District.

It is time to stop the pep rallies and have community meetings where some actual details and their impact on the community are presented.

Red Bridge Shopping Center is important but so is the funding of Center School District.

This is John Sharp's Jobs Plan

The "liquor exemption zone" created by John Sharp's recent ordinance was put in place to allow the new Trader Joe's grocery to sell liquor at their store scheduled to open later this year at the Ward Parkway Shopping Center. What escaped the attention of most was that the same ordinance also created a second liquor examption zone around the site of the former Bannister Mall. While the Ward Parkway exemption zone includes only the shopping center, the Bannister Mall zone includes many neighboring areas totaling an area 26 times the size of the zone for Trader Joe's.

Some have wondered why Councilman Sharp made the second zone so large. It happens to extend to the east side of Blue Ridge Boulevard north of Bannister Road, including the gas station that he is so proud of bringing to an intersection already serviced by two other stations. So now with three gas stations at one intersection, one might also wonder if Sharp has ever heard of peak oil, supply and demand, or if he thinks we can go back to the 1960s.

Ten new jobs are supposed to be created by placing another gas station there, and that will allow Mr. Sharp to truthfully state that he has brought jobs to south KC.

The owner of the new station intends to sell liquor at that location, which they can do thanks to Sharp's ordinance passed just two months ago.

And while "synthetic cannabinoids" and "bath salts" are already showing up at gas station convenience stores in the area, the owner of the new Bannister gas station has been found selling crack pipes at their station in the Old Northeast section of KC.

A friend of mine was driving down Blue Ridge Boulevard and saw a Sharp-for-council sign in front of yet another liquor store, and started to wonder what's going on in this area that already has plenty of liquor stores.

She was reminded of the city council redistricting issue where Mr. Sharp was fighting to keep all of his voting base in the sixth district. Gwen Grant, President and CEO of the Urban League, roasted him on Channel 19's "Ruckus" saying that he was all in favor of helping Blacks drink in the Power and Light District, but didn't mind if they couldn't vote.

She might have found an emerging pattern there, and it could lead to harder stuff.

Civility Isn't for Everyone

There were two candidate forums in SKC last week and I attended both. I found it extremely interesting that at both John Sharp complimented the mayoral candidates, saying they’re running a campaign the way a campaign should be run - civilly. Then he turned right around and implied that his opponent wasn’t running a real campaign because he was opposed to the current monster of a bridge and it’s the ‘supposed’ Friends of Red Bridge that are his top advisors.

No matter where you stand on the bridge project, it’s remarkable that Mr. Sharp feels the need to continue marginalizing 500-600 of his constituents. The bridge is being built. The project is moving right along. It should not be brought up as if it’s still a point of contention, and the people who were opposing it shouldn’t be denigrated, even by implication.

Mr. Sharp likes to brag about his years of service and talk about his knowledge and ability to support SKC; but if that were really the case, why can’t he find a more effective and appropriate argument to build his case? Perhaps it’s a guilty conscience. After all, he went to city hall prior to his election and testified that the huge bridge should not be built. He led the Friends of Red Bridge to believe he supported their stance. Then after his election he changed his tune.

Again, it isn’t important which side of the issue a person was on. The issue is that Mr. Sharp apparently can’t be trusted. Maybe that’s why he can’t seem to put it behind him when others have moved on. It would be laughable if it weren’t so scary. If Mr. Sharp couldn’t be trusted over the last four years, what’s he going to be like as a lame duck?

Much Ado About Nothing (Important)

There seems to be a bit of a kurfluffle in the sixth district. Amongst the myriad of screenings and questionnaires that were overly prevalent during the recent primary season, there was one by a group called Kansas Citians United for Educational Achievement. It was sent out by Airick Leonard West who is president of the KCMSD school board and from what I’ve been told, all the questions pertained to that school district and what the city could do to help them.

First, I find it a little presumptuous to think the city should help them when they’re not the only school district in the City. The City doesn’t have resources enough to provide basic services, let alone help out even one school district.

Secondly, education is a state function and has delegated many responsibilities to a locally elected school board which is then responsible for the district. If Mr. Leonard can’t figure out how to accomplish what needs to be done without involving the City, maybe he’s the wrong person to be leading the district.

Anyway, this all came to my attention because the incumbent, who is running for yet another term on the city council, mailed out a flyer saying his opponent is against education. I’ve talked to his opponent at some length about this and was very heartened by his response. There are 5 school districts at least partially within the sixth district and it would be Mr. Nash’s intent to treat all equally and fairly while being mindful of who actually has the authority to provide for school districts.

Apparently, according to the flyer, Mr. Nash was given the ‘grade’ of an F. While there is no way to tell exactly what this was based on, it tells me that Mr. West might have been more inclined to give a higher score if Mr. Nash had shown a preference for KCMSD. The flyer also says the incumbent was given the ‘grade’ of A+. I’ve checked the website and cannot find the actual responses, though I did find the rather subjecticive rubric used to grade the candidates; but to receive an A+, it seems the answers provided were exactly what Mr. Leonard was looking for. I have to wonder if the same questions were posed by the other districts in Kansas City, if the incumbent would provide the same answers. That would mean using precious city resources for issues which are beyond the City’s pale. The City may as well get into the business of running school districts (even though it doesn’t always do a good job of running itself). If that is not the incumbent’s intent, the only other conclusion I can draw, is that he has a preference for the KCMSD over the others he purportedly represents.

From the investigating I’ve been able to do, it seems there was not just the questionnaire that was sent out. The candidates were also scheduled for interviews; however, the night for in-district candidates was canceled because of weather and never rescheduled. That means Mr. West provided grades solely on written statements and did not have the benefit of examining or questioning the meaning behind those statements. I have to wonder how upset he would be to know that a teacher in his district provided for written and oral questioning of some of her students and only written questions for others; yet, graded them all the same.

It's Time for a Paradigm Shift

Everybody seems to have a solution or someone to blame for the education problems we face. There’s vouchers. There’s charter schools. There’s school choice. We blame parents. We blame teachers. We blame TV and on and on and on. In all the arguments and all the blame games, when do you ever hear the school board mentioned?

A while back one of the cable channels devoted an entire week to education. They talked to experts. They held panels. Not once did they bring up school boards or talk with a school board member.

Educating our children is a state responsibility but states have delegated much of that responsibility to local school boards. School boards are, therefore, state agencies and the school board members provide local citizen control over education. Their most important job is to employ a superintendent and then hold that person responsible for managing the schools and thus hiring the appropriate personnel.

This is an awesome responsibility; yet, it doesn’t seem to be taken seriously by the general public. On a totem pole of elected officials, school board members rank at the bottom. Most generally, in any gathering where elected officials are recognized there is no mention of a school board member being present. Last week I attended a candidate forum at UMKC. One of the last remarks by one of the moderators was to tell everyone to be sure to vote in the primary in February and then the general in March. Also, don’t forget the e-tax election April 5. Well, no. April 5 is a school board election and the e-tax happens to be on the same ballot.

It seems like a simple solution. Let’s take our school boards seriously. Let’s actually give some thought to the qualifications board member candidates have and their reasons for running in the first place. Sometimes school boards seem to be nothing more than stepping stones for higher office. They’re a way to gain name recognition so when the ‘important’ election comes along there will be a greater chance of winning.

I may be jaded but it seems like it doesn’t much matter who’s in office, you can pretty well expect what will happen. If the Republicans are in charge, things will go one way. If the Democrats are in charge, things will go a different way. Sometimes we simply seem to be spinning our wheels.

It’s time for people to wake up and realize we can no longer spin our wheels with education. Our children are our future. Doesn’t that make the people in charge of their education more important than those running our city? Maybe if we took school boards seriously, the people who run for them would, too. Maybe then we’d be able to elect school board members who actually knew something about what their responsibilites are. Maybe then we’d have school boards that actually took responsibility for the children in their districts and held their superintendents accountable. Maybe then we’d actually begin to see our children being educated the way they should be.

What about the others?

A group calling themselves Kansas Citians United for Educational Achievement is hosting candidate forums for council and mayoral candidates. There will be no endorsements but candidates will be graded based on a rubric to be revealed next week. The topic for questions will be education and city government. Airick Leonard West, president of the KCMO School District school board has said, “This is about the next mayor and city council endorsing public education -- and by extension our shared economic future.” A flier about the forums states: Mayoral and city council candidates will show how much consideration they will give education when making citywide decisions.

At first glance this sounds like a very good idea. While government entities should be working together, school districts generally have had to pretty much go it alone. When I first heard about these forums I applauded this group for trying to figure out what could be done to help support education in this city. After all, everyone knows about how ‘it takes a village’. Then I had an opportunity to actually read the questions to be posed to the candidates. They’re not about what KCMO can do to support education, but about what KCMO can do to support KCMSD.

Kansas Citians United includes many city-wide organizations such as CCO, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Freedom, Inc., Greater Kansas City Women’s Political Caucus, and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City, so I’m not sure why the focus is on only one district when there are 14 partly or entirely within Kansas City.

I thought I’d just list a few of the ideas Mr. West has suggested as possible responses to their questions:

Help fundraise for the KCMSD Education Foundation.

I think almost every school district has an education foundation and would love to have the city help them with fundraising.

Offer bonus RFP points to businesses where 100% of employees have volunteered at a KCMSD school at least 4 hrs per month for more than 12 months.

There was a time when schools had plenty of room mothers and other volunteers, but times and issues change. Now volunteers are needed to be ‘fill-in’ grandparents or to help kids with reading or do other tutoring; and that’s most of the KC school districts not just KCMSD.

Provide internships for KCMSD scholars.

Don’t students from all of our school districts deserve internships?

Allocate parking ticket revenue back to “night hoops” style program with KCMSD.

I can remember several years ago when Hickman Mills opened Ruskin High School for the night hoops program. If they were to do that again, I’m sure they would be greatful for some of the parking ticket revenue.

Provide trash removal services and archiving district documents and artifacts.

This would help the bottom line of all school district budgets; however, not just anyone can archive district documents due to student privacy laws.

Assist with building demolition where necessary.

This is a possible response to “things KCMO can do to assist with KCMSD’s building surplus”. Currently, the city can’t even afford to demolish vacant houses which only serve to drive down neighborhood property values.

Identify functions that both KCMO and KCMSD perform that could benefit from collaborations or placed under consolidated contracts.

Wow. I bet a lot of the districts would like in on this one.

Organize ATA bus lines such that they conveniently serve the before/after school needs of KCMSD high scholars.

This is a real problem for south KC. There have been programs at both schools and the community center, but no way for a lot of the students to get there. There are very few buses that even run out here and the routes are only on a couple of streets.

Organize twice per year gatherings between KCMO city councilpersons and KCMSD board members.

Let’s see. There are 14 school districts. That would be 28 (or almost a month’s worth) of additional meetings for the councilpersons. Even if the meetings only entailed each councilperson to meet with school board members in their respective district that would be an additional 8 meetings for the sixth district alone.

Send school info home via utility bills.

This could be helpful from several standpoints but I’m not sure how practical it would be with so many school districts, some of which are in other towns.

Many of these, as well as others, are good suggestions and would help any school district. They’re just impractical for a city like Kansas City. KCMSD certainly gets the most attention but that doesn’t mean it’s the only district that needs help. It would be unfair to provide many of these services for one district and leave the rest to struggle on their own.

One suggestion offered by Mr. West was especially good for all. That was for the city to pass a truancy ordinance. Right now everyone’s hands are tied. I know several police officers who would love to help when they see kids out and about during school hours, but legally there’s nothing they can do.

Another suggestion I didn’t see would be to change the representation on the TIF commission. I know the current council fooled around with that but that’s all they did. The majority representation should be by the majority affected and that’s the school districts.

All of the school districts partly or entirely within Kansas City have needs that should or could be helped by the city. Those who live outside of the KCMSD are still a part of KCMO and they pay their taxes. It would be unjust to use those tax dollars for only one school district. It is also not feasible for the city to undertake so many of these suggestions for all the school districts.

The premiss of these forums is good. The city should pay more attention to and be more supportive of its school districts, but everyone needs to remember that there is more to KCMO than just KCMSD.

What's Going On Here?

There are some interesting happenings in the Ruskin Heights neighborhood, though many who live there aren’t sure exactly what’s going on. It seems that recently the board asked those attending a monthly Home Owners meeting to approve a special assessment raising home owners' dues by $4.00. While this passed, there is some doubt as to whether the number of members required in the by-laws

for this action was actually present.

When this incident was brought to my attention I decided to peruse the association’s bylaws. Accordingly, the assessed amount can be raised if “the owners of two-thirds of the lots herein specified consent in writing by an instrument to be recorded in the office of the Recorder of Deeds, Jackson County, Missouri, to an annual rate in excess of that herein specified.” It’s been reported that there were only about 20 members at the meeting and it is unclear whether both husband and wife votes were counted or if it was one vote per household. Either way, given that Ruskin Heights is comprised of 1875 lots, it doesn’t seem like that was a legal vote.

An article in the Jackson County Advocate said the special assessment of $4.00 would be used for legal fees to fight the vacant house problem, but that’s a city responsibility, not the homes association's.

In perusing the by-laws I noticed another interesting fact. The stated officers are the usual: president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer; however, the association does not have a secretary. The person everyone seems to assume is the secretary is actually an office manager. There’s probably a good reason for the distinction. The by-laws state that “no officer shall receive any compensation for his services”, but as office manager this restriction does not apply. The current office manager not only receives a salary but is also paid mileage for attending such events as ribbon cuttings, chamber of commerce luncheons and events, city hall meetings, including a redistricting meeting where John Sharp accused the city of splitting the Ruskin Heights neighborhood (which in fact was not the case). It seems strange to me that an office manager would be representing a homes association in this way, but then this office manager is married to the president of the association. He lives in Ruskin Village which is considered part of the association, but she lives in Ruskin Hills which is not. I guess that’s another reason she’s the office manager rather than association secretary.

The homes association used to hire a security company so they could have roving security throughout the area but that has been discontinued. While no one is exactly sure why, there are those that say it was soon after that the office manager began receiving mileage compensation. Also discontinued was the extra weekly trash pickup that was paid for out of association dues. Now Ruskin Heights is just like other areas that don’t have official associations. They have no extra security and only the city-paid trash pickup. About the only thing they get for their dues now is a weekly subscription to the Jackson County Advocate.

It’s been rumored that Bonnaye Mims, President of the Hickman Mills School Board, spends a lot of time in the association’s office. No one knows exactly what she does or whether she’s being paid, though she and the office manager, who is also on the School Board, are very good friends, so at least it’s a friendly work environment. It may be that someone was needed in the office while the office manager is out ‘representing’ the association.

It would seem that this homes association is no more than a microcosm of the larger political world. Whatever the little guy doesn’t know won’t hurt him and those in charge can bend the rules to suit whatever enterprise they wish.

No Time for Heritage

The city held workshops for Neighborhood Tourism Development Fund grant applications. They need to have a workshop for the commissioners so they’ll know what a worthy project looks like. The Hickman Mills School District’s annual 3 Trails Day uses city funds to help defray costs. That may have been a good idea in the beginning, but no more and it shouldn’t continue to receive funds.

A bit of background: The school district was certified in 2002 by the National Park Service as being on the actual alignment of the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California Trails. It is the first, and perhaps still the only, public school district to have received that recognition. As many may know, there is a plan to physically lay the trail on the ground across the entire KC area and the school district laid the first leg. To celebrate the certification and to get the trail construction underway a groundbreaking was held complete with two oxen to literally break the ground and a group of Native American dancers who consecrated it. A number of city and state officials were present. Because of the Hispanic connection, the consulate here in town was contacted. Unfortunately, no one from there was able to attend. Everybody had a good time and it was decided that the district should continue to celebrate its heritage by hosting a 3 Trails Day every year. Not only would it be good for our community, but it could be an event that would draw ‘tourists’ from other areas of KC and the surrounding area.

The first year was great. I was on the planning committee and we really had some big ideas. In the end we decided the first year should be a bit smaller and then each year it could continue to expand until it became a two-day event. The event was held from 10-5. We had a Native American actually camp out, teepee and all, in front of Hickman Mills High School. He was a great source to provide a true history lesson for all who would listen. The area was decorated with pumpkins and hay bales. There was a hay-wagon ride and a place to have your picture taken. The gym was filled with crafters. The police department was there with their helicopter and there were several emergency vehicles for demonstrations. There was a clown and even an ‘antiques roadshow’. All in all it was a great day; but, people leave, new people take over, and the focus changes.

It wasn’t too many years before the time was shortened an hour or so until last year when it was only 11-4. This past year it didn’t even rate its own day. It was held the same day as the back to school rally. That meant there was a parade which was great because we had always talked about having a parade; however, since both functions were held at the former Hickman Mills High School, it also meant nothing could even be set up until about noon. That’s not a good way to encourage crafters unless you’re only interested in home-made jewelry or maybe soaps or candles. You’re also not going to get any re-enactors to participate.

It’s a sad commentary on the school district when they turn their backs on their African American and Hispanic heritage and turn a true celebration into a simple community day that provides a few of the usual carnival type rides for the local children. Not only has it become something of little interest for the older members of our community; but it is certainly nothing worthy of much sought after tourism funds.

It's a Sad Tale

One has to feel for the students in Hickman Mills. The school district says its mission is to educate its students for a lifetime of success; yet, sadly, that doesn’t seem to be happening. On their annual performance report they only met 6 out of 14 standards, the same score they made last year; and didn’t meet the standards set for either reading or math, despite the fact that they are spending money for reading and math specialists. ACT scores increased from 16.6 to 17.0 which is nothing to be proud of when the state average is 21.6. In fact, the scores for kids at the former Hickman Mills High School actually decreased. In my book it all gets back to the leadership.

It’s the superintendent who is responsible for putting the right people in place; which makes her the most accountable employee. It would seem that if scores aren’t measurably improved, the superintendent’s neck contract would be on the line; yet, last year only 3 school board members voted to not extend her contract. (Most superintendents in Missouri have 3 year contracts, so each year they simply request a 1 year extension.) Once she was safely secure in her position and after 2 new board members had been elected, she decided to hire back the chief curriculum officer (who had retired) on a part time basis. First, given the poor test scores, it doesn’t seem like this should be a part time job. Secondly, this person hadn’t been able to get test scores up prior to retirement, so I’m not sure what reasoning would think she would now. Still, the board agreed on 6-1 vote.

Then there are the rumors, which are rampant in the district, that the Superintendent is hiring her friends in many positions. Whether true or not, it doesn’t make for good morale. One possible example was last week’s board meeting which was depressing to attend. The Board approved the hiring of a(nother) reading consultant at a cost of $1,000/day. When board member Debbie Aiman asked about the person’s qualifications, she didn’t get an answer; yet, the other 5 board members voted in favor. I would hope this person has more qualifications than a friendship but the process didn’t look good. There was also the re-classification of a special education secretary to special education ‘analyst’ at a considerable increase in salary. This, of course, took this person off the secretarial salary chart and thus raised some questions among the secretarial union group as to motives.

These votes, though, get to another major problem of leadership: the Board itself. It seems board members, except for Ms. Aiman, don’t ask questions. Even though the district is in dire financial straights, they hired yet another consultant, for mediation and counseling services, without knowing the total cost. When Ms. Aiman inquired as to the fiscal note, board president Bonnaye Mims told her she was micromanaging. If a school board does not question but simply rubber stamps the Superintendent’s recommendations, it is not only not doing its job, but is doing a disservice to those who elected them as representatives of the community.

Of course, Ms. Mims could simply have been flustered. Having arrived late, she seemed to have difficulty working her computer and also had considerable difficulty in figuring out where they were on the agenda. From what I understand, she often has trouble keeping her place on the agenda. She has also been known to call for a vote on a question before an answer has been given to that question. Whether this is a matter of being too hasty or simply inattention, neither is the mark of a good leader.

Towards the end of that same meeting the Board needed to find an alternate date for their October meeting and looked at several. One the Superintendent couldn’t attend, so they ruled that one out. Another, Ms. Mims friend and fellow board member, Darrell Curls, could not attend so they ruled that one out, too. A third date was thrown out, but Ms. Aiman was going to be out of town. Ms. Mims decided that would be the date for the meeting because, after all, they needed to go with the majority. It’s hard to figure why no other board member came to Ms. Aiman’s defense, but that is indicative of the current Board; and makes a sad comment on the state of the school district.

It’s also sad to realize that politics still plays a large part in Board processes even though John Sharp is no longer there. Since a board member recently moved out of town, the Board will be interviewing candidates for his replacement. Ms. Mims was overheard telling one of her fellow board members that they need to come up with a fourth vote. I think I know which candidate she favors and would love to tell the other 3 to not bother; but will just let this hand play out.

Once upon a time the Hickman Mills School Board was a professional group of people who really seemed to care about the kids and put their interests first. Now it seems, Ms. Aiman excepted, the Board is more concerned about their own interests and promoting themselves, or possibly their own kids, than they are about the overall good. They don’t seem to take school board leadership seriously or for that matter even know what it means. They don’t seem to understand that it is the School Board that sets the tone for the entire district and it is they that need to set an example. The community has entrusted them with making hard decisions to ensure the best possible education for all students; and the state has charged them with being fiscally responsible.

A friend told me once that you have to hit bottom before things get better. On the one hand, I fear we’re almost there. On the other hand, to switch metaphors, perhaps that means the pendulum is about to swing back. If only we didn’t need to wait for next April’s election when Ms. Mims will be seeking another term.

Sharp Politics - it's Everywhere

The Freda Markley Early Childhood Center in Hickman Mills had a ribbon cutting this evening. Since it’s the first building to be built in the district in something like 30 years, it seemed like a pretty big deal so I went. There were all the usual speakers: school board president, superintendent, principal, namesake Freda Markley, architect. Everyone said how exciting the new building is and how they’ll now be able to offer services to more kids. They even thanked the community for passing the bonds that paid to build the facility. Then there was Councilman Sharp.

Of course he, too, said how great this is for the community. He said it would provide an anchor for the Bannister Road redevelopment; leaving me to wonder what development he was talking about. The only major redevelopment to have been brought before the community was the Wizards/retail/office building debacle and we all know how that turned out. He then went on to say the City is in the process of adjusting the city council district boundaries and there are those that want to divide the Hickman Mills School District in half. (If, indeed, that is true, someone must have come up with a new map since Saturday because there wasn’t a map there that took half of the school district. Far from it.) Of course we can’t have that.

It wasn’t enough that the Councilman called his groupies and asked them to attend the redistricting meeting Saturday. He had to take advantage of the crowd at a purely non-political event. All this because he is afraid that losing part of the sixth district will mean losing part of his base. It’s sad that he needs to be that worried. If he were confident that he has served his district well, there would be no need for such concern.

It’s also said that he seems to care more about preserving his political home territory than he is about the Voting Rights Act.

Method to His Madness

I attended the redistricting meeting yesterday morning at Hillcrest Community Center. From the beginning it wasn’t pretty.

It was supposed to start at 9. When I arrived some minutes before that time, there were already a number of people there wanting to take a look at the proposed maps, but they were all waiting outside. It seems the building doesn’t open until 9. You would think whoever scheduled the meeting would have made allowances for that.

Once the meeting started and comments from the community began, it was obvious that it was simply the John Sharp Show. Patron after patron stood up to say how the Hickman Mills School District should not be split up. Many even threw in comments about what a good councilman Mr. Sharp has been. While I hate to jump to conclusions, I have to wonder how many of the commenters received the email from Mr. Sharp’s office stating “One proposal being considered by the panel would drastically alter the boundaries of the 6th district putting much of the 6th district northeastern portion in the 5th district. This would split up the Hickman Mill School District (which is now currently in the 6th district).” Actually providing talking points is always a good way to insure that your message gets out there.

The majority of the those not wishing to see the school district divided between council districts were the usual suspects; those who openly and somewhat nauseously support Mr. Sharp and who have used the public platform in the past to promote his issues. Sadly, all but three of the speakers live east of 71 Highway. That’s not very representative of the sixth district; however, it is representative of Mr. Sharp’s base.

Other than the obvious patronage that was demonstrated, there are other issues that need to be explored.

None of the these speakers seemed to care that Center School District is in more than one councilmanic district or that, at one time, so was the Hickman Mills School District. They also didn’t seem to consider that being in more than one district might give the schools more representation at the City level. What is truly more detrimental to Hickman Mills is that it’s in two different cities.

Only one person spoke who was from the west side of the district which begs the question of how well the meeting was even publicized. Personally, I only happened to hear about it from a friend who has been attending the meetings at city hall.

It was interesting that Bonnaye Mims actually admitted that she didn’t know what she was doing. That proves just how well the sixth district was represented in this process and seems to verify what many believe: that Councilman Sharp appointed her simply to draw the sixth district lines to suit his interest; that the whole process has been orchestrated in such a manner as to help ensure his job security.

It’s all very sad because Mr. Sharp could probably be a very effective council member if he would only put the interests of those he represents ahead of his own. There was a time when many felt the sixth district had to fare better under anyone other than Chuck Eddy. How wrong that was.

The Power of the Self-deluded

Some years ago I had a friend who had been a school board member for over two decades. Through several conversations with her, I learned that school board presidents don’t have any more power than any other board member. Their duties are to sign checks so district bills can be paid, set the agenda, and run the meetings. Unfortunately, the Hickman Mills school board president believes her powers are far greater. For the first meeting of the new board, she tried to assign seats, like the board members are kindergarten students.

What she didn’t realize is that Debbie Aiman, who has been on the board for two years, didn’t want to sit in her ‘assigned’ seat. Instead, she wanted to sit in the seat ‘assigned’ to Darrell Curls, who was elected to the board last year. Mr. Curls didn’t appreciate that. He parked himself in the seats reserved for the audience and kept yelling that he wanted to sit in his assigned seat and Ms. Aiman had better move.

George Flesher, who has been on the board forever, offered to trade seats, but Ms. Mims, the board president, said he couldn’t do that, Ms. Aiman would have to go to whatever seat she had been assigned. With leadership like that, it’s no wonder the Hickman Mills School district isn’t doing any better than it is.

As hard as it is to believe, I’m told this arguing over who would sit where went on for almost 30 minutes with Mr. Curls sitting in the audience seats the whole time and Ms. Mims asking for a ruling from the school district’s attorney, as if where board members sit were a legal matter. I have to wonder why Ms. Mims believes she can or should treat the rest of the board members like kindergarteners and why she believes that is more important than actually being a good role model for the rest of the district. I also have to wonder if Mr. Curls, who wants to be elected to the house of representatives, would represent his district by acting as childishly as he did over where he would sit.

A tiger doesn't change its stripes - neither does a politician

Wow. It’s been several days now since I read Puck’s accounting of Councilman Sharp’s antics as reported at Tony’sKansasCity. Not that it took me that long to process what he was saying; but the it took me that long to realize somebody else has actually caught on to Mr. Sharp. Apparently, his activities at City Hall mirror his activities in Hickman Mills. For many employees in the administration center there, his three year tenure on the school board seemed like an eternity. From what I understand, things reached a point where anyone seeing him pull into the parking lot would spread the word and many then shut their office doors. He might tell you that people were supportive of him and his campaign for city council; but that was simply to get him out of the district. From what I’ve been told several actually feared for their jobs as long as he was on the Board. He actually completed the state mandated training sessions; but it somehow didn’t stick that a board member alone has no authority. I’ve heard stories that he was in the office of the Associate Superintendent for Business almost everyday – to the point that the Assoc. Super. couldn’t get his work done.

He talked the Board into forming a financial committee which reviewed district expenditures. Naturally, he got himself appointed chair because he thought he was so financially astute. Of course we all know what shape MAST was in when he left and now he doesn’t seem to care what happens to the City’s bond rating. As Chair of the Finance Committee he could make recommendations for expenditures. Since the district has been on a tight budget for several years, it had to dip into its reserves for big expenditures like weight room equipment. Now that he’s gone, the district is feeling the pinch of those dips and had to freeze salaries last year. Of course, like I said, he’s gone now.

Back when he was running for a seat on the school board, the district tried to consolidate schools. It was both a financially and educationally sound idea. Mr. Sharp didn’t like it, though, and was able to stir up the community in protest. For year’s Ruskin High School has held their graduation ceremonies at the Community of Christ auditorium in Independence. The year Mr. Sharp’s son was to graduate, the Ruskin administration wanted to hold the ceremony at the school in an effort to save money. Again, Mr. Sharp was able to stir up the community in protest.

Sometimes it’s just so much easier to put your own needs first and not worry about the dollars, especially when you don’t think of those dollars as your own. That’s what’s good about elective office. So many times when the fallout hits, the person responsible has moved on.

Red Light Cathy's Struck Again

For several years now there has been a push to get a clinic in south KC. Then the city got involved and it actually looked like it might happen. This last week there was a meeting to talk about it. Some people who attended that meeting were quite excited because Councilwoman Cathy Jolly had told them there only needed to be one central clinic for the area south of 75th Street. That led some community activists to an investigation into possible sites around the Bannister Mall area not owned by Lane 4. Several possibilities were found and they seemed like the perfect location since they would have good transportation access.

Then the news hit. MARC, that organization staffed with people totally unaccountable to the public but which makes decisions on behalf of the public, has done a study (though only the health department has seen the data) and decided the people in Marlborough were in more need than the people in Ruskin and other areas. Because of that decision, the clinic would be placed somewhere in the Center School District. I guess it doesn't matter that those people are also closer to St. Joseph’s Hospital and I'm sure the fact that Councilwoman Jolly's husband, Scott Taylor, sits on the Center School Board had nothing to do with it.

The good news is that the city has decided there would be a phase 2 which would bring a second clinic to south KC. Of course, before that happens the City will have to find some money since it already has a $60M shortfall. Also, the crux of this week's meeting was that there needs to be more meetings to get a handle on what the need is; as if anybody but the City doesn't already know that answer.

It looks like Red Light Cathy has become the representative for the sixth district and turned the light green for her side of it.

Musings

Sometimes I drive Longview Road just to avoid Cathy Jolly’s red light cameras on Red Bridge. Except for the massive amounts of concrete, driving around the roundabouts actually makes me think for a minute that I’m living in a progressive city. Then there was the day I was sitting at the yield sign waiting for a car in the circle when the driver politely stopped and waved me in. I could only sigh and proceed.

One particular day I actually needed to travel Longview Road and happened to pass John Sharp’s spray pool. Interestingly, workers appeared to be installing a chain link fence. I couldn’t help but wonder about the message to be sent. It was only a year ago that Mr. Sharp convinced many that the chain link fence around Ruskin High School looked like a prison fence. He even diverted PIAC funds to pay for a wrought iron fence around the school. It seems like those funds would more appropriately be spent for a nice fence around something more public like the spray pool.

That seems, sadly, to be typical of how this city operates. Recently, there were new sidewalks installed along Blue Ridge Boulevard from 470 to Bannister. Even after the construction was complete the ‘right lane closed’ signs remained. The new city slogan is A City That Works. I could suggest a couple of better ones. A City That Operates the Same Old Way or maybe A City That Does Things Half Way.

Then there are all those COMBAT signs. Somehow it doesn’t seem quite kosher that COMBAT funds are being used to fund this ‘campaign’. The tax isn’t even up until next year, so it would be cheaper for the County to hold this election next year when other issues will be on the ballot. I guess that’s just our tax dollars at work.

Speaking of which, why is it CID’s can contribute to campaign funds? It doesn’t seem fair that they can use our tax dollars to fund campaigns we may not favor. Councilman Sharp, who bills himself as being pro-community, says he doesn’t like CID’s. Then he goes to City Hall and votes for them.

Just a Few More Words

Hope is an illusive thing. So is change. Three years ago south K.C. was full of hope and looking for change. City council candidates made promises; then they were elected and the promises and hope turned into empty dreams. The orange revolution was nothing more than an election gimmick.

Friends of Red Bridge had hopes of building an environmentally and neighborhood friendly bridge. John Sharp even testified at council committee hearings that a big bridge wasn’t necessary. Then he got himself elected and played god with the outcome.

Around about that time, the Wizards were looking for their own stadium and hired Lane 4 to get it for them. That’s all they wanted – their own stadium. The old Bannister Mall site seemed like a good place. Sadly for them, EDC said they would need to do retail and office, also. When Kansas came a-courtin’ who could blame Lane 4? Here was their chance to do only what they wanted, get the Wizards their own stadium.

Once again, south K.C. has had their hopes shattered. John Sharp was going to be their savior and bring much wanted retail back to the area. Now he’s just another politician looking for the elusive colossus of a development. He has not, as he said he would, see that all of Hickman Mills is included in the Hickman Mills Area Plan. That leaves the entire area west of 71 Highway, soon to be I-49, without a plan. How convenient for the powers that be.

Now, if local political insiders are to be believed, Bannister Mall will become a warehouse/distribution center. That will encourage the city to widen the already too big bridge they are planning for Red Bridge Road which in turn will lead to the further widening of the rest of the road. MoDOT has already said south K.C. should have expected this when they pushed to have the interchange at Red Bridge rather than Longview Road.

While the west side of Hickman Mills has no official plan, officials have their own plan for the area. I have no doubt that John Sharp will do his best Harold Hill impression and convince the community that this type of development with its increase in truck traffic is just what they need.

Future of South Kansas City: Big Trucks As Far As The Eye Can See

Back when MoDOT was making presentations about untangling the triangle, the community was fairly upset. There were visions of trucks carrying sealed containers coming through the community from Mexico. Whether the fears expressed then were actually allayed or whether that future seemed too far away, we’ll probably never know. What we do know is that people stopped talking about it.

Time passed and conversations turned to the possibility of a Wizards stadium and the attendant retail establishments. The community had something positive to look forward to. Then the deal fell through and our council people seemed totally amazed. While the community still wants to see retail – shops and eateries – they are most likely in for a big disappointment. The game has changed and that once so distant future is looming much closer. The difference is trucks won’t be coming from Mexico, but from Louisiana.

Trucking is already a big part of development in the Southland (CenterPoint), but some recent developments indicate that it could be the only game in town -- in effect betting everything on the insatiable demand of American consumers for goods manufactured overseas (China).

U.S. 71, already built to Interstate Highway standards in the Hickman Mills area and south, is to be re-designated I-49, and will connect south K.C. with ports in Louisiana. While the justification for this project is entirely freight-based; the more likely reason is that there are people who make a lot of money building roads whether we need them or not and they have tremendous political influence, even at the local level. (It might be interesting to look at campaign finance reports and see who is contributing to our local representatives.)

A local government official has indicated not only his support, but his enthusiasm, for the idea of a warehousing/distribution center to replace the pile of rubble formerly known as Bannister Mall. To some this seems the perfect solution for a multi-hundred acre space right next to an interstate. It also fits a pattern of large-scale solutions that involve lots of money and the need for political wheel-greasing with all the usual suspects and campaign contributions to make everyone happy (except the people trapped in their homes by falling real estate values).

Things Change but Stay the Same

Lost returned to television tonight. From a write-up in the paper, all the cast is full of hope for the coming season. In an interesting dichotomy, many in the sixth district are feeling lost and without hope. A lot of promises were made by city council candidates last spring and there was a feeling that we would finally have representation at city hall. The reality is, things couldn’t be farther from the truth.
An email to Cathy Jolly’s office elicits a message that she doesn’t have access to her email. WHAT? She’s been there nine months and can’t access her email? One of her platforms was accessibility, but we’re not sure she understands what that means. She doesn’t answer emails, she doesn’t attend meetings, or else shows up late and leaves early; whatever it takes so she doesn’t have one on one time with her constituents. City hall insiders say she’s never at city hall. It’s hard to understand how she can represent anyone when she never has contact with them to know what they want.
While everyone is rightly attacking Jolly for her absences, John Sharp’s record isn’t much better. He was seemingly everywhere before he was elected, making promises to just about everyone. Now he seems to be incommunicado. Not only did he not show up for his regular Second Friday meeting this month, but he didn’t even care enough about his constituents to send his aide to represent him.
Not long after he was elected he was collecting email addresses so he could keep south Kansas Citians informed about what was happening at city hall and in the community. If anyone’s received one, I’d like to hear about it. He also said he would reinstitute quarterly meetings. Hhmmmm. He didn’t actually say WHEN he would do that.
Of course, he got a lot of face time on television as he was promoting his Bannister Mall Plan. You know the plan to build a Wizards stadium on the old Bannister Mall site. Under that same plan, the old Wal-Mart area will become office buildings. Apparently, a lot of fill will be needed for that because they’re going to close the unique and historic Benjamin Ranch in order to use the dirt for fill. You never hear Mr. Sharp mentioning that.
Apparently he's not good at multi-tasking because he doesn’t seem to be doing much besides promoting the Wizards deal. He made several promises during his campaign, but now has seemingly turned his back on a lot of people.
Many in the sixth district couldn’t wait for the end of the Chuck and Alvin era. The problem is, it’s still with us.

The True Paranoids

An anonymous commenter to this blog’s previous post said “you guys are paranoid” when we reported to you on the City Manager’s plan to “put lipstick on the corpse”(Bridge-Zilla) and ram it through while making a pretense of public involvement and consensus.

Last Tuesday evening, Mayor Funkhouser held a Town Hall meeting at Avila University where several members of Friends of Red Bridge spoke about exactly how the City had hired BWR, an engineering firm, to put on a mock public-involvement exercise while remaining in total control. The firm has even conducted a survey that was carefully created to get exactly the result they wanted. (The survey results are being advertised as a consensus for a bridge over the railroad and river valley.)

That’s the background. Now, here’s the story:

Not long before the Town Hall, the Mayor was briefed by BWR on the status of the project. City Hall employees—presumably in the Public Works department—objected, saying that BWR should not speak directly to the Mayor; only City staff should do that.

Sounds pretty darned “paranoid” to Fearless Leader.

And so, too, to Councilman Sharp, who was heard to make similar comments to a number of people after the Town Hall meeting was over.

Is Bridge-Zilla Dead?

As connected as Friends of Red Bridge are, I have to wonder if they’ve heard about the nasty rumor going around. Word among some of the local engineering companies is that the City Manager has gotten the word to CIMO that the only reason the viaduct style bridge isn’t already in the works, is because Chuck Eddy handled it poorly. The strategy now is to put up a front of meeting with the public and taking input, then ‘put lipstick on the corpse’ and build the original bridge. This rumor seems to be supported by the fact that engineering firms only had two weeks to respond to the RFP, the absolute minimum required. A former employee of an engineering firm here in town said it takes at least that long just to get a proposal put together.
John Sharp and Cathy Jolly are to be commended for doing the right thing for neighborhoods. Obviously, the rest of the council and the new mayor felt the same since the ordinance to repeal Chuck’s condemnation ordinance passed unanimously. Now they need to keep their eyes on city staff and CIMO to ensure whatever procedure is followed is done so in good faith. Right now the rumor mill says that isn't happening.