Mission Accomplished

Brian Stevenson chose not to file for his East side seat, not surprising to many.  He recently succeeded in gaining approval for the building of his new home on NW 74th Street (BTW he has a lot for sale if you desire).  It was a treacherous journey indeed.  Stitching together 3 fishing lots, then applying for a variance, despite not having re-platted the lot,  his request for a variance was denied by the Board of Zoning Adjustment.  Next stop was a request to replat the lots via the Planning Commission, which gained a positive recommendation to the Board of Aldermen...which failed to pass for approval.  Enter the lawyers, another vote by the BOA, and replat approved.  (There was also a lot line dispute with a neighbor that went to court but apparently settled without further action).

Following?
But wait, there is more.

Every May, Board appointments/approvals are usually made by the Mayor and Aldermen, Mayor nominates, Board approves.  There were two no votes at the time of the first Stevenson variance request, Bob Shinogle and me.  Since that vote, Shinogle moved off the lake, and I was not reappointed to the BZA after ten years despite my request to the Mayor and the President of the BZA for reappointment. The two no votes were gone...and Bill McGovern was nominated and appointed to the BZA.  You wouldn't know this but McGovern gave a glowing recommendation for approval at the first BZA hearing for Stevenson when supporters could voice support. There was no doubt how the new Board member would vote. So, two no votes gone, one yes added, variance approved. Odious?  You decide.

It was very likely Stevenson would have faced an opponent for re-election (as you know now that is a fact).  Surely he felt the sting of losing his first race for alderman, maybe he just wasn't into another contested race which would have been competitive.  Besides, he achieved what he wanted in regards to his lots and house.

So as he heads into the sunset we bid him adieu.  A lackluster alderman, who certainly has not provided any kind of leadership as Mayor Pro Tem, especially in light of the lack of communication ongoing between the Mayor and the Board.  I am sure Mayor Botbyl is not happy to see him go. One less FOB (Friend of Botbyl).

  

,

April 4th City Election

The Official Unofficial Minutes of the WL BOA
January 18th

City Clerk Gwen Cenac shared the lineup for the ballot on the 4th of April:

East Ward: Rick Footer
                   Dee Surma

West Ward: Daniel Berglund
                    Doug Richmond

Judge: Debbie Folkedahl

Note:  Larry Maher, the current judge decided not to run again, so Ms Folkedahl is unopposed.  Brian Stevenson, on the East Side,  decided not to run for his current seat on the Council.  My take on that tomorrow.

For Sale/Sold

The Official Unofficial Minutes of the WL BOA
January 18

During Aldermen's Comments, Ms Finn mentioned the following data of interest, shared by a WL realtor:

2016 Homes sales:

• 52 sold

Currently 16 homes for sale, 6 of those in West Ridge, 2 lake front.  George chimed in with the observation that West Ridge is closing in on being fully built out (Something almost unimaginable about 10 years ago....how times/things change).  There are lots here and there around the lake still available but fewer as times go on I assume.

Hide Your Women And Children

The Official Unofficial Minutes of the WL BOA
January 18

During the Police report, Mike O'Neal reported an increase in thefts from cars and one car theft.  Although he did not disclose the numbers, it is clear thefts are on the increase in the Northland and in particular the thieves are "from the south".  Not good news.  Mike mentioned the thefts from open cars are happening when "nobody is around", presumably meaning during the late night, early morning hours.

Word to the wise,  if you leave you vehicle outside at night make sure it is locked.  Make sure your garage is locked, as well as your home...all doors, all windows.  WL is a sitting duck for the bad guys...few street lights, multiple exits, and one patrol car covering the City.  So, in my opinion, time to increase your security measures, it just makes sense.

This just in from the Star...

Article describes an attempted car theft @ I-29 & Praire View this past Wednesday...and the capture aided by Clay County police pooch.  Time of incident?  5AM.

Ruff!

The Devil Is In The Details

The Official Unofficial Minutes of the WL BOA
January 18

The Public Works report was given by George, followed by the Police report (Gary is on medical leave, so the report was given by Mike O'Neal).  Sitting in the audience, all 5 of us, it was difficult to understand details of a $5,000 deductible (or more) the City may have to pay for an accident. Nothing more.  As noted previously, Alderman Clark had mentioned the accident on Forest, so intuition said the deductible discussion referred to that accident.  It was only during Public Comments that more details came to light because of a question from the public ( ok, it was me).  Between George and Mike more information was given, although not completely.  Apparently the part-time officer who was supposed to cover the midnight shift could not appear.  The condition of the City streets worsened due to the wet and freezing conditions.  It is not clear why road treatments were not being applied to the streets, possibly because there was no patrol at the time to report conditions.  A car slid off the road on Forest and ended up on private property.  Although the timeline was not made clear during the discussion the street crew was called in and Chief Gary responded to the accident call.  The City salt/sander, slid on Forest similar to the car and ended up on the property, striking a van and garage door, which in turned damaged the vehicle in the garage.  (the exact timeline was difficult to determine based on the dialog between Gary and Mike, and the absence of Gary, who was at the scene at the time).

Was it an unfortunate succession of bad luck events?  Can't tell you, but I suspect there are more details to come.

Part II, What We've Got Here is Failure to Communicate...

The Official Unofficial Minutes of the WL BOA
January 18

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=So9iCqdfUF4


After the Mayor's Comments at the beginning of the Board meeting, each Alderman has the opportunity for his/her comments.  Nothing mentioned of significance until it was Alderman Clark's turn.  He began by mentioning he had three points to make.

1. The "redo" announcement of the evening's BOA meeting was not on  the city website.  It was not on the Calendar or Events sections...it was on the Agendas and Minutes section.  Keeping the website up to date has been one of Alderman's pet peeves.
2. The Mayor continues to not notify the Board when he is out of town (I believe a recent trip to Branson is what Clark was referring).  The Mayor did not notify the absence of Mayor Pro Tem Stevenson prior to the meeting (turns out the City Clerk did not know either).
3. Two significant situations involving the Police Department went unreported to the Aldermen.  The first "Handcuffed suspect jumps out of squad car..." was reported in the Kansas City Star on December 23rd.  It involved a stop, realizing the subject gave a false name, and then transport to Platte County when it was determined the subject had violated probation.  Reading about it in the Star was the first time Clark knew of the event which took place four days previously.  The second incident involved a series of accidents that included one of the City salt trucks.  This happened early the morning of the 17th in icy conditions on NW Forest Drive.  Luckily there were no injuries, but there was property and vehicle damage.  Again, no information regarding the accident was shared with the Aldermen.

Alderman Clark's complaint of the lack of communication coming from the Mayor to the Board is not new.  Clark mentioned, "this is the fifth time in the last six months I have brought this up" in regard to the poor communication from the Mayor.  Oversight by Botbyl?  Hard to believe because of the continual barrage from Clark.  The Mayor had what I would describe as a pained look on his face, surely he could not wait for Clark to finish.  In that light, Botbyl chose not to respond and continued without comment.  Awkward...and astonishing.

What We've Got Here is Failure to Communicate...Part I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=So9iCqdfUF4

The Official Unofficial Minutes of the Weatherby Lake BOA
January 18th

The regularly scheduled BOA meeting on January 11th was not held because of a lack of quorum.  A number of citizens were in the audience as well as a representative of Republic Services (trash provider) and an auditor from Accounting Solutions.  What was the problem?  Alderman/Mayor ProTem Stevenson was on vacation and Alderman Richmond was suffering a flu attack.  Only Aldermen Clark and Finn were present along with the Mayor...a quorum needed 3 aldermen. Apparently the Mayor knew about the Stevenson absence, Clark, Finn and City Clerk did not. Another example of lack of communication from the Mayor's office.

After a ten minute wait or so, those in attendance were discharged with the promise of a reschedule...which happened on the 18th, still minus Stevenson.

Fear, Loathing and Dread

No, this is not a post about President Trump (I personally like the sound) but rather a reinvigoration of the blog to address current and future news here @ WL.  Tomorrow I will post some of the tidbits from last night's Board of Alderman (BOA) meeting.  The meeting itself was a replay of a regularly scheduled meeting last week that did not happen...I will get to that tomorrow.  In any event, once again, I have returned to give you behind the scenes commentary/insights as to what makes our City tick.

BTW, the winds of change have already begun regarding the leadership of our City.  Come on back to see who...and why.

As always your comments are welcome and uncensored.

Mike