ABC's Opportunity Knocks-Thursday Sept 4th

New ABC game show coming to Weatherby Lake...in fact it is coming to our house!

In August our family was selected to host the game show set as a neighborhood block party. There are fifteen cities across the country that are hosting local metro versions as part of the promo for the new network show premier on Sept 23rd.

KMBC TV along with radio Mix 93.3 are sponsoring the event which promises to be fun-filled with food and prizes for many. We'll be up on stage competing for prizes as well. Time of the event is from 4PM to 7PM

The NBRB (New Barry Road Bridge)

Hard not to trip over a dignitary at yesterday's press conference at the BRB. I was able to obtain (the source asked to remain anonymous) drawings of the proposed NBRB, one posted here. News to me, apparently there is going to be a condo development on the bean field which will have access to the lake via gondola...go figure. When asked about the rumor of His Holiness the Pope coming for the bridge dedication in one year, Crispen Rea of the Mayor's Communication Team replied, "No comment".

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

And a great day for a photo op, especially if you are a politician. Mayor Funkhouser hosted a press conference today regarding the Barry Road Bridge, his second visit to the site visit within two weeks. Abundant news coverage by the local TV networks, radio and press. Many elected officials. One TV station already had a snippet on the air @ 11AM.

Funkhouser said all the right things for the crowd of about 75 folks. “This problem had been developing for years and years” “Two and a half years to replace the bridge is too long” “We want to be a good neighbor” “Routing (traffic) through a residential area is not good” We need to pay attention…city staff should talk and listen”

Julie Floyd of the Coalition to Fix Barry Road mentioned the 4 plus years the Coalition has been toiling to get the improvements of Barry Road in place. A great quote…”The road that time has forgotten”.

WL Mayor Jerry Bos pointed out this was not a Weatherby Lake problem, cited the earnings tax and sales tax WL citizens pay to KCMO. Mentioned our relationship with KCMO because of water and sewer.

Doug Hooten of MAST, Kathy Dusenberry and Bill Quitmeier, candidates for Platte County Commisioner all made brief remarks, nothing earth shattering.

Q & A from those in the crowd
“What is a realistic timeframe for the bridge replacement?” Funkhouser mentioned the I-35 bridge in MN…if they could do it in a year we could do this too.

“What happened to the payment from the State to KCMO when the bridge was deeded to KCMO. Wasn’t this for replacement of the bridge?” Funkhouser, “I know nothing.

Curiously AWOL. Councilmen Johnson and Ford. Of course City Manager Cauthen, or any other KCMO bureaucrat. County Commissioners Plunkett, Pryor and Knight. Possibly heading out early for a long weekend on the Lake?

So, the Funk has put, as he says, “the flag in the ground”. For those of you who use Outlook/Outlook Express make a date with me on the BRB for one year from today, 2009. Ribbon cutting?

BOA votes to increase taxes

Last night the Board of Aldermen voted to increase your taxes for 2009. I'll have a detailed analysis and what it means to you on another post.

Meeting of the Minds

Thanks to the Anonymous heads up..There will be a press conference on/at the BRB tomorrow (Friday). Those attending will be Mayors Funkhouser and Bos, as well as others. If you have the time and interest it might be worth attending. Wonder if Mayor Bos will bring up the poo spill (by KCMO) in North Cove? They might even be able to get a whiff. Between the BRB closing and the spill we have taken our ration of excrement for the month...right?

What the heck is Cowboy Up...you ask?

To answer your questons:

Basically, another way of saying "Shut up and take it like a man" or "Quit your whining." The term is derived from the popular image of cowboys being tough, unflinching, uncomplaining, and hard-working.
"Cowboy up, man. What would John Wayne say if he heard you complaining over a little hard work?" From Google search

NYPD already using Segways for police work, see below. I understand Chief McMullin will submit a line item for purchase of a Segway in 09 budget process.

But Don't Drink the Water

"From: WLIC Office [mailto:wlicoffice@sbcglobal.net] Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2008 1:45 PMTo: office@wlic.orgSubject: E-Coli Testing, North End of Lake

WLIC Members-

We had a sewage spill for a short length of time at the North end of the lake. The problem has been corrected, and we have performed fecal coliform (e-coli) testing. Our readings indicate that no one should swim at the North end of the lake. With the weekend approaching, we are continuing to do testing daily, and will keep you informed of the results.

Thank you, WLIC"

My guess is you have the same question...what is the "North end of the lake"? and where is it safe to swim? I know it is early on in the incident, but are WLIC or the affected property owners considering a complaint against KCMO, who is responsible for the lake contamination? Recently enacted City law would seem to apply in this case. Being a lake community we are aware that "Silt Happens". In this situation the more crude version of the slogan seems to be appropriate.

According to an email sent by Mary Hoy this afternoon, George Lohman, WL Director of Public Works, estimated the spill of 30,000 to 40,000 gallons of sewage overflowed the manhole(s). To make the math easy, take 40,000 gallons divided by 2000 WL residents that equals 20 gallons of "stuff " per resident. Ugh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XZOUTXKDgk&feature=related

Wake Up and Smell The...Sewage

There was a sewage overflow Monday night in the vicinity of 83rd and Forest, raw sewage coming out one if not two manholes. A pump failure at the U Cove lift station coupled with an alarm failure led to two hours or so of overflow, the estimated total amount running thousands of gallons. Not good. It is not known if the lake is contaminated, apparently test samples have been drawn, awaiting results.

Last week on Monday the 18 I posted "Dirty Water, Raw Sewage Fouls Lake of the Ozark" If you didn't read it, take a look. I asked the question, Are we vulnerable? I guess we got the answer one week later.

Cowboy Up

The BOA meetings almost always have light moments, last meeting was no exception (sorry, this light moment got pushed to the back of the stack because of all the "heavy" stuff. MARCIT is the company that provides insurance for the City. Two of their representatives gave an overview of their company and their coverage. I found the presentation to be thorough. They asked for questions after their presentation. From the audience George Regan asked if they would cover a hybrid police vehicle (stemming from a previous suggestion from Mr Regan). Without skipping a beat the MARCIT rep replied, yes and if we had a horse they would cover that as well! Lots of chuckles from the "peanut gallery". Mastercard "priceless" moment of Chief McMullin. Hmmm, mounted patrol. Nah. But what about something in between? Harley, baby. Our own version of CHIPS. Now that's the ticket.

Public Hearing August 28th, City Hall, 6:30 PM

Each year the Board of Aldermen conduct a public hearing to discuss the proposed property tax levy for the next budget year. The hearing will set in motion the process to finalize the levy for 2009 which determines your property tax bill for 2009. The City has a fairly narrow range for operational revenue and income, don't expect any tax relief from the City's part of your 2009 taxes.

According to Alderman Hoy in a recent email the proposed levy for 09 " will generate less than $5,000 additional revenue for the city".

"Stupid is as stupid does"

Forrest Gump

Parkville Luminary, August 22nd edition (you might want to get a copy)

"In a perfect world, Weatherby Lake would be paying for (the repair) since they're the ones who use it" KCMO Councilman Ford said of the bridge which lies in Kansas City's jurisdiction.

Democratic County Commissioner candidate (and Weatherby Lake resident) Bill Quitmeier said the bridges deterioration was easy to predict and that Kansas City had no one to blame but themselves. In regards to paying for the bridge repairs remarks by Ford, Quitmeier said, "As are many area residents, while I am not a Kansas City resident, I pay earnings tax to Kansas City every year." I have personally paid earnings tax for 32 years."

Full text of Luminary article available at outlets like the Conoco Fast Stop at Blair and 45, the Phillips 66 at 9 and 45 and other Parkville establishments.

Airplane Noise

Article in the Sun Gazette 21 August (the free paper that lands in your driveway in the yellow bag) about "Weatherby Lake committee combats airplane noise". It quotes committee member Lynn Hinkle, resident Mary Florence and airport officials. FAA spokesperson Elizabeth Cory says "We haven't had any jets stray off course there (Weatherby Lake)...the FAA isn't aware of a problem with jet traffic". Joe McBride, spokesman for the Kansas City Aviation Department reports "complaints had been sparse" in commenting on complaints from individuals about airplane noise. Interesting 15 paragraph article on page A3.

If you are on Mary Hoy's email list she forwarded an email from Carol Hornung of the Weatherby Lake Airport Information Committee (aka The Noise Committee). Although Weatherby Lake does not have an airport I believe the focus is KCI. They have a form to document noise complaints. There is a public meeting on Sept 4th at the Ambassador Building for the KCI Airport Studies Plan. There are two proposed developments in and around the Airport, an off high-vehicle course near Tiffany Springs Park and the race track west of the runways.

Glance over to page A2 of the Gazette, you'll see a 4 paragraph note about the BRB "Rush Creek bridge closed". Repeats the KCMO perspective on "overweight loads".

Details

For those Inquiring Minds:
Edited Summary of Southern Platte County Ambulance District 09 Budget with comparison to 07 and 08
Ambulance Contract
07=$325,251
08=$438,717
09=$459,588 (CPI adjustment per contract)

Total Budget
07=$348,506
08=$462,189
09=$499,838

Current projected surplus @92% collections of taxes = $26,965. President of the district Bobby Kincaid said collections for 08 were almost 98%. When asked what contingencies may cause use of the surplus, Mr Kincaid said "legal".

The large surplus from the initial levy in 07 of 14cents per $100 has dwindled, assisted by the levy reduction to 8 cents last year. The current contract has a CPI cap of 5%. Anticipate a renegotiation based on current costs for MAST.

Who has benefited from the formation of the District? Parkville, and some of the unincorporated areas of the County. Weatherby Lake? Not so much. Big supporters and promoters of the District = Betty Knight, Kathy Dusenbery, Mike Henderson, Paul Gross. Why did they need WL to be included in the District? Simple. Your $.

Your sub-district representative is Ron Wheeler 816 741-8194.

Death and Taxes

Attended the South Platte Ambulance District meeting last night. They set the levy (which determines their part of your property tax) last night The verdict? Taxes for the the 09 budget year are going up. The levy is currently 8 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, it is being set at 9 cents per $100 for 09. What does that really mean? For each $100,000 of assessed value you will be paying an extra $17, many homes in WL are of higher value, so just do the math. It doesn't seem like much more, or as President Bobby Kincaid says, our service is cheap, a real bargain.

Let's take a closer look. I asked Jason White, a Director for MAST ambulance service about the response times for emergencies at WL. The gold standard is 9 minutes or less for a major emergency. He said although he didn't have the statistics with him, he believed the response times for WL have not changed since inception of the District. Paying more and enjoying it less? It gets worse. Mr White said during the meeting "the bridge (BRB) out is a significant issue" and could adversely affect response times. He said their guess is they used the bridge on 10 calls a week, because it is a "major east/west artery". They are still trying to determine the best work around, but their calculations indicates it adds at least three miles to responses in some cases. Of course this is just not a Westside issue, because depending on where their equipment is located it could affect the East side of WL as well. Alderman Hoy mentioned in her email to constituents about the "inconvenience" of the bridge closing. Waiting precious minutes could be a matter of life or death.

Sorry for your inconvenience.

Improve Your Driving Skills!

I've had at least one resident in Wildwood comment on the driving skills of cars bearing the WL sticker. I had film footage of the last 4th of July WL parade which I post here to confirm to our friends in Wildwood we indeed know how to handle our vehicles. Enough said.
http://www.flixxy.com/hyundai-driving-skills.htm

Thanks to B.K. for film/link.

Funkadelic

Mayor Jerry Bos met Mayor Funkhouser last Saturday on the bridge. Don't expect anything but 2 and half (or more) years of detour through Wildwood. My guess is KCMO expects the uproar to die down and all of us west of the BRB to take our medicine as good boys and girls. I have talked to Jerry and Aldermen Mary and Vic about the situation. Underwhelming. Have you called your Mayor and Aldermen? Have you asked them what the plan is?


Meanwhile:

NEXT?

I’m sure on your new commute route via Amity Road you have crossed this bridge right? You might not have noticed it with the overgrowth of vegetation, but it is there, next to the Brittany Woodcastle entrance (86th street). It appears to be an old concrete bridge, I didn’t go down into the ditch/stream to look further. As you recall from previous posts and TV news pieces, the Barry Road Bridge was closed due to overweight loads on the bridge. The Barry Road Bridge is posted for 15 tons…Amity is 13 tons. Could this be the next target for Councilmen Ford and Johnson and the KCMO Department of Public Works?

Dirty Water, Raw Sewage Fouls Lake of the Ozarks

Couldn't happen here, right?

Saturday, August 16th KC Star, page 1 story. Thousands of gallons of raw sewage spilled from a waste water system into the Lake of the Ozarks in an incident last year. Are we vulnerable?

That depends. How could Weatherby Lake be affected? There are a number of potential points of entry for sewage to our lake. Theoretically, the homes that border Rush Creek could have a sewer break which could migrate into the Creek and North Cove. Same could be said for the other tributaries that lead to the lake...wherever storm water drains to the lake, sewage could be carried. Lake front homes could be another source. A sewer break leading to a grinder pump or an untended grinder failure could cause a spill in the lake.

Our biggest potential problem? Lift stations at U Cove and at Westside Drive. Thousands of gallons of sewage and not all ours. U Cove flow includes sewage from Zona Rosa. You've driven past the lift station, sitting right next to U Cove. If you look closely in the far right corner you will see a mobile generator...why is that there? The last major incident (a few years ago) showed what could happen. A lightning strike knocked out the power to the station, including the system that warns of a failure. Sewage began to back up. There was a minor spill and in the meantime, tanker trucks had to be called in to transport sewage from the station to prevent more sewage from spilling and fouling the lake. City and WLIC officials were on the scene. The outcome was a permanent stationing of the generator as a stop gap in the event of a power failure. The generator has to be started manually. There is no containment surrounding either lift station. Is it needed?

Leadership at both WLIC and the City has changed since then. We don't often think about worst case scenarios...but. Might be a good time to dust off policies and procedures. Oh, who is responsible for operation of the lift stations? Yep, our friends @ KC MO.

Bait and Switch

Remember the trespassers who had the 200+ horsepower bass boat? The got their day (it was actually evening) in City court this past week. The verdict? If you are a trespasser using bait on our lake...you are going to get the switch! $500 fine, the max, and 90 days in jail, suspended. Safe to say you won't see those boys in these parts anymore. 7 trespassers fined in all, some unaccompanied guests. One nuisance fine=max. Court watchers do not recall anything like the get tough attitude of Judge Roper, certainly not from the previous judge who ran a very lenient court. Roper promised to be fair but tough...wow, an elected official who actually delivers. WLIC members can help...be vigilant on the lake, access areas and obey the rules, it's that simple.

You might have noticed my blog to the left http://www.barryroadbridge.blogspot.com/ I didn't want to absorb space daily to the BRB here, plus I have a number of readers from Wildwood and beyond who wanted to see news on the BRB. Just click over there, I have been posting daily. I will on occasion do BRB stuff here as well. By the way, if you are using the Unofficial Detour Route through Wildwood, the speed limit is 25MPH just like here in WL.

The Answer Is...

$404,055

A very conservative estimate on how much extra out of pocket it will cost motorists collectively to detour rather than use the BRB. Looking at the glass half full, various governmental bodies will benefit from the extra revenue generated by the taxes on gasoline...and you do get to see new scenery in Wildwood.

Half empty...Mother earth doesn't need the extra emissions, your trip to Starbucks becomes a little more expensive and you can add an extra 4 minutes (or more) to each round trip to Waly World.

Just for fun (I know this is sick) how much extra driving time collectively is this? Using the math for previous problem, at 30 mph (it makes the math easier) that calculates to 4,380,000 minutes or 73,000 hours or 3,041 days or 434 weeks, or 108 months or 9 years. Ouch.

Do the Math

Ok class, here is a math problem, who would like to go to the board and solve it?
Terrific Mary, here is the chalk, go to it...Here is the problem.

How much money will it cost motorists to navigate the BRB detour in the coming two and a half years? Here are some hints:

Average daily cars crossing bridge=24oo (conservative)
x 365
x 2.5
x 1 (mile detour from Potomac to Amity&Barry, your results may vary)
Divided by 20 (swag for average mileage of vehicles)
x 3.69 a gallon

And the answer is?

The BRB

Take a Walk on the Wildside

Many apologies to our neighbors in the Wildwood subdivision, but man's got to do what he's got to do. You can take the prescribed detour by KCMO..."west on Barry to Hampton/K to 152 and back east"...or you could take Barry west to Childress (just past Grass Pad) to Tiffany Springs to Amity or wind your way through Wildwood, at your choice of entrance and end up on Amity. (Crawford or Beech off of Barry to Wayland to 87th Terrace, past vet office to Amity)

Duck and Cover

A maneuver used defensively by boxers...now adopted by local politicians and bureaucrats in explaining/defending the closing of the BRB. Add the school district to the list, with their email yesterday describing "safety reasons" for closing the BRB. Telephone conversations with Mayor Bos and Alderman Hoy haven't yielded any specifics. Makes you wonder...is the bridge structurally unsafe? Could it be repaired to continue service until the Barry road construction approaches? Just two weeks ago at the BOA it was reported that between acquiring right of way and ATT relocating lines, there would be a delay of up to one year...what happened to that? Who made the decision to close the bridge and when? You recall during the past election two of the candidates (Bos/Dejong) pointed out their negotiating skills with KCMO in regards to the road work on their church property. They were going to use their contacts to keep on top of the Barry Road project...how could we be blindsided?

Where is the outrage? I don't get a sense of that with Jerry and Mary. Mary mentions the "inconvenience" of the bridge closing...huh? Remember this is part of the same crew who was outraged over the closing of the Community Center...maybe we should have a spaghetti dinner?

Who is going to step up for you?

Trespassers Continue Assault on Lake

Well, if the bridge closing wasn't enough...check this out, from an email bouncing around the lake.

It takes all kinds...you recall the bass boat with 200+ horsepower caught earlier this summer, well this less conspicuous boat was recently caught as well. Tipoff? No lot & block numbers and no current sticker. If you see a suspicious boat call a WLIC board member, www.wlic.org/ Lake patrol on weekends 807-6700 or non-emergency police # 741-8111.

Speaking of no ID...I was crossing the dam and saw this... before I could grab my binocs to check lot/block/sticker it submerged. I ask my fellow members to keep a sharp eye out. There is nothing more effective than a good Neighborhood Watch!

The BRB = Done

Alderman Mary Hoy just confirmed a rumor heard today, the Barry Road Bridge will be closed this Friday...for a projected two and a half years (no kidding). I just talked with Leon, the station manager for First Student, the company that provides buses for Park Hill School District. He said they were notified a "couple of days ago" and they are completing the rerouting of buses and stop times. There are some concerns regarding routes after school because the Congress buses have to circle back to make pickups at the elementary schools. School starts tomorrow (Wednesday) on regular schedule. UPDATE-Actually your results may vary...I talked with Transportation @ PH, the new schedule will start tomorrow...and times, possibly pick up points may be different...how you will find out is a mystery.

Look for a couple of weeks of confusion, hopefully mininmal, more gas costs to the district and an interesting commute for all of us. We ride bike in Wildwood and although I am told the official detour will be Barry to K to 152, most of us will take in the sights in Wildwood on our way east.

I left a message with Kathy Drake, the Transportation contact at Park Hill. I will update if she passes along anything meaningful.

This should be a reality check for those who have to deal with KCMO. They will do what they want, when they want to. I do not know if Mayor Bos (or Aldermen) have had any meaningful interaction with KCMO on Barry Road. I do know a meeting scheduled for last Wednesday was cancelled by KCMO. KCMO our Good Neighbors? Forgeddaboutit! What are we (the City) going to do? Hopefully just not shrug our shoulders and say, "Nothing we can do...it's Kansas City".

Talkin Trash

The Official Unofficial Board of Aldermen Meeting Notes


The Board approved a new contract with Allied Waste Services for the next three years. Allied will provide both trash and yard waste pickup on continuing on the Friday schedule. Some of the particulars:

• Trash, 8 bags per household and one bulky item per week



• Yard Waste, 12 bags/containers per week, tree trimmings and brush in bundles 4ft or less. Pickup will begin in March and continue through December.

FYI, about 622 residences use the trash service (we have 700+ homes) and 220 use yard waste services.

Allied provides "free" to the City, containers (dumpsters) at City Hall, Community Center and C Point.

Basic Service Fees through July 31,2009

Trash = $26.58 quarterly

Yard Waste = 24.36 quarterly

Cart Rental (about 75 residents use this) = $10.50 quarterly

There were a number of positive comments about the Allied crew at the BOA meeting. I'd have to agree...they keep on schedule, don't leave a mess. Give them a wave, tell them thanks, my bet they don't get a lot of either.

Mayor's Updated 2008 Budget Forecast

The Official Unofficial Board of Alderman Meeting Notes

More detailed information as presented at the Tuesday night BOA meeting by Mayor Jerry Bos.


Mayor Bos took the opportunity to give an update on the 2008 budget based on the Revenue and Expense Report generated by the City accounting software (Incode). FYI...the 2008 budget was crafted and passed late last fall by the Board (Roberts,White,Hoy,Finn) and Mayor (York).


The good news is the City is projected to have a surplus of over $200,000 at the finish of 2008, barring unforeseen events. The major contributor to the surplus is a windfall in the telephone franchise fees per State of MO legislation. Not all of the fees that are a part of the windfall have been collected due to legal challenges. A few revenue categories are forecasted to fall short of budget, Building Fees -$25,000 and Interest -$14,000. Storage Lot rental could be as much as -$35,000 depending on rental renewals due in September.


Although budgeted, Jerry proposes to withhold City Hall repairs $30,000 and repairs/upgrades to the Maintenance Shop $40,000.


You might be curious on the expense to revenue forecast for the Community Center. The revenue was increased $1,000 for a total revenue of $17,000 for the year. Expenditures were increased by $6,000 to $36,000.


Jerry discussed the potential uses of the budget surplus. He sees the need to improve reserves while addressing needs in the City. No specific recommendations were made, I assume this will be part of the budget discussions for 2009.

My view is this...we could be worse off for sure, but the windfall this year won't happen again next year. We have two sources of revenue basically for the general fund, property taxes and franchise fees. I think 2009, and beyond, will be challenging to balance the budget, rebuild reserves and deliver the services we have all come to expect.

Next Up: Talkin Trash

Disturbing Findings of the 2007 External City Audit

The city undergoes an audit performed by an external audit firm each year. The fiscal year 2007 was no exception and an audit was completed by Miller Management Systems. The summary of the audit was presented to the BOA this past Tuesday by Harold Spinner, a member of the appointed (by the Board and Mayor) Audit Committee. Mr Spinner reported Miller Management Systems had conducted a 2 hour session to present, in detail, the findings of the audit.


(An aside...you might recall insinuations/rumors/questions during the city campaigns this past Spring. In particular, some of this stemmed from comments/remarks made by Aldermen Hoy and White during BOA meetings leading up to the election. Like other situations (WLIC) in the recent past the insinuations/rumors/questions took on a life of their own. This spawned the post election appointment of the Audit Committee, one mandate being a possible recommendation for a more extensive/expensive financial audit of the City. This in turn propagated the belief that the City was not complying with state law by not conducting a financial audit. Got it?)


Now to the bottom line, disturbing as it might be, to those who believe there were financial "issues" in the City. Miller Management Systems found the financial management of the City, in 2007, to be surprisingly good in spite of the small size of the operation. In fact, of all the small government entities and non-profits it has audited, they rank WL in the top 5%. If anything, they noted, WL might be too conservative in the budget process. The Audit Committee upon reviewing the results, believed the administrative audit was sufficient and further (expensive) audits were not warranted.


Brian Stevenson asked at the BOA meeting about the requirement for a financial audit by the State of Missouri. Answer by Mayor Bos - The State does not require a financial audit and the City has complied with financial statements as required.


Approval of the 2007 audit was tabled by the BOA on a motion by Alderman Hoy, with White and DeJong in favor of tabling, Finn Nay. Apparently Alderman Hoy did not get a copy of the audit to review prior to the BOA meeting.


A Point of Order. In the past (I can speak for the last 5 years) the audit was presented to the BOA by the audit firm. The aldermen and mayor were able to question the firm regarding the findings and results (some years it has been lively) . This year the Audit Committee received the report instead, giving the BOA no opportunity to interact with Miller and the final report. I pointed out to the Mayor and the Board this usurped the authority and responsibility of the elected officials of the City. There is nothing in the City Code that gives that authority and responsibility to the Audit Committee.


Next Post: The Mayor's Updated Forecast for 2008 Budget

The War on Error

Driver error, that is. KCMO has upped the ante on traffic control over the BRB. Dutifully replaced another platoon of Cones today (looks like lifetime employment to me), many already dead along side the road. New to the fray...large flashing signboards at Potomac and Barry and Mace and Barry (what about the Amity artery?). This should do the trick, motorists just didn't know it was one lane...gotta spell it out for em. A little bit late for my East side friends who braved the BRB to vote yesterday...thanks for your valor...you didn't bump any of our soldiers on the way, did ya?

Last night at the BOA, Mayor Bos said he has been told it will be 6 months until the bridge problem can be remedied...but then KCMO has said purchase of the right of way to do the work could take a year. Hmmm, us Westsiders better be prepared for the long haul. Hey don't shoot me, I'm just the messenger!

You know there is more to come.

Tomorrow: The Disturbing Findings from the City External audit and 2008 Budget Forecast

Stiffed

Attended last night's monthly Board of Aldermen meeting. Lots to comment on, I'll have to break it up in bits and pieces (the meeting went almost three hours) with your permission.



In what has become an all too familiar pattern by KCMO city functionaries, two meetings scheduled with WeatherbyLakeans have been cancelled with little or no explanation. Mayor Bos was supposed to meet with KCMO regarding Barry Rd issues today (I think he was going to meet the commander of the soldiers on the Barry Road Bridge BRB) but the meeting was cancelled due to an employee vacation...huh? My guess is KCMO has received a fair amount of feedback regarding the bridge, maybe they felt they didn't need anymore...I did send a digital pic last weekend to the KCMO Director of Public Works of the fallen soldiers on the BRB, imploring him for reinforcements. KCMO has a history of indifference to WL, ask WLIC folks about the permit process for Peret, ask former Mayor York about his frustrations in dealing with different departments. Fact is we don't have much leverage. We're not voters or constituents of KCMO, we don't have deep pockets to peddle influence or lobby, we're basically gnats. (We might want to adopt it as the City insect?). Not very comforting when you think about the serious issues that need to be discussed regarding The Road and impact on our Community and Lake.




Carol Hornung gave an update from the Noise Reduction Committee, apparently they have renamed themselves the Airport Information Committee. They had a meeting scheduled on 25 July with airport officials to discuss concerns regarding, as she put it "violations of airspace". This meeting was cancelled without explanation. Carol mentioned the Committee was going to seek alternate opportunities for meetings with KCMO/Airport officials. Some mention of what is acceptable noise "65 decibels" as recognized by airport planners. The Committee slogs on. See this NYT story on noise... http://nymag.com/nymetro/urban/features/noise/9456/

Next post: Money, Money, Money, Disturbing findings from the External Audit of the City and the 2008 Forecast for the City.

August 5th, 7PM, BOA Agenda

To be discussed this evening at City Hall:

• Barry Road Update
• Audit Report
• Noise Reduction Committee Report
• Recycling
• Marcit Representatives (Insurance)
• Sonoma Ridge update
• Approval of Bill Payments
• Healthcare coverage for employees
• Hiring of part time officers
• Planning Commission recommendations
• Water Purchase Agreement with KCMO
• Allied Waste Contract

And any other business as brought by the pleasure of the board and public.

6000 and Counting

I started the blog in March, I had been wanting to get into blogging for about a year...I just couldn't think of a topic or perspective that would be fun and interesting. The spring elections were upon us, I thought comments and perspectives about the various races would be a good way to start. Here I am 6,000 hits later. (No I do not check the blog 200x a day). Actually the count is higher, I didn't install the counter for a couple of weeks.

I enjoy comments, and so far, have not altered or prevented a comment from being published. I think it is good to see what some of your neighbors think...unvarnished. I tend not to respond to comments, not really interested in getting in a back and forth, although I have made some exceptions. I do use satire and humor on occasion, sometimes this is not detected by the readers. That's ok.

Lots of things to blog about coming down the pike, I expect to hit 10,000 by years end. Crazy.

Neighbors Against Noise

Received a forwarded email concerning the upcoming Noise Compatibility meeting. Had to smile at the title, maybe it should have been titled Noise Incompatibility. After all, isn't the point to address concerns over noise that just might not be "music to our ears"? With all due respect to our fellow WeatherbyLakeans who are on the Airport Noise committee, I think the scope of their concern should be much broader. An explanation.




Before I moved to WL, I lived at three different locations in KCMO. My bachelor pad was at 10th and Broadway. Lots of noise, heart of the city, the Quaff with a 3AM close right across the street. Bought my first house in KC at 3oth and Grand in Union Hill. Again, heart of the city, on the "flight path" for ambulances going to Trinity Hospital via 31st street. When one lives in the city the seemingly constant blare of ambulance/fire/police vehicles becomes almost unnoticed...hard to believe. Finally we moved to Brookside, 61st and Morningside, a great neighborhood. Not really in the heart of the city but still close enough. Same as previous home, on the route (63rd street) for emergency vehicles to Baptist and Research Hospitals. I guess we could have been upset by the racket, maybe even called the ambulance/fire/police to suggest they take a route that wasn't quite so close to our neighborhood. But then again, we liked the fact that if we needed an ER, a hospital was nearby. And, most of the time ironically, we didn't hear the noise at all, I guess our brains were on override.




It is all relative, right? This week a vintage 4 propeller aircraft was certainly "out of the box" and flew over WL. Now that was noise. The roar of those engines was something. It made me smile. A reminder of what modern air travel used to be. I thought about all the folks who work hard to keep the old bucket flying. Not sure why the tower allowed them to stray, but I was glad to get a glimpse. Didn't think about grabbing the phone and calling in the nuisance.




Now to the real noise problem as I see it. It happens every night without fail, starts near sundown and becomes almost deafening, in every part of the City, west and east. Where is the outrage? I think the disruption is certainly incompatible with living here at WL. You know what I'm talking about...Cicadia!

Replacement Platoon

6PM and the new platoon of Cones on the BRB are taking their place. Late this afternoon there were none standing, a tribute to the aim and daring of drivers on Barry Road. Two different close call tales were related t0 me today by two different drivers.

Different subject, same theme...the East Side Drive Bridge is now open and the detour is over, to cheers from our East side pals.

Speaking of detour, I guess now that the detour does not lead past the 9/11 house, the fun is over. My swing past the house this afternoon revealed no signs...just another WL sleepy neighborhood...

And all is well with the world.

Mark Your Calendars

This coming Tuesday is shaping up to be a busy day/night.

• Primary races to vote on (Community Center, 6AM to 7PM), if you would like to preview the ballot http://www.co.platte.mo.us/docs/elections/aug_2008_web_ballot.html
• KCI Noise Compatibility Program Public Workshop/Hearing from 5 to 7PM at 12200 Ambassador
• Monthly Board of Alderman meeting which begins at 7PM at City Hall.

As Sister Camiona put it, "An idle mind is the devils' workshop."

16 tons whadaya get? Another day older...

Tennessee Ernie Ford, right?

You won't read about the following anyplace else but here.

Today, returning from errands via BRB, turned onto Potomac to see a Northland Redi-Mix cement mixer (truck) pulled over by an umarked enforcement vehicle (van, no it wasn't WL). Lights flashing, the uniformed enforcement officer had pen and pad in hand...looks to me like he was handing out "green stamps" as they say in old trucker vernacular. Truck was labeled as having a max gross weight of 66,000 lbs, if my math is right, a bit over the maximum weight of 15 tons for the BRB which I assumed he crossed. Yipes! About a half an hour later he (truck) went past my house, I assume to drop his cargo of cement.

Yep, had to run another errand, and as I traversed Potomac had to take a detour as said truck was spilling his cargo as part of a patch job being done by...the Weatherby Lake Street Department. It is my understanding the truck was even heavier than the 66,000 lbs. Ouch!

By 8AM this morning more than half of the Orange Cones on the BRB were knocked down, some had been launched upstream in the creek. At 1:30 PM, KCMO Streets had fully repaired the cones to do more battle...at 3:30 PM, four had already been mowed down...how long can the casualty rate go?...{Late update: 5PM - More than 3/4 of the Cones have been laid low)

Quite the mess right? Here is a quiz for loyal readers: How many tons does a fully loaded (with water) Fire Dept Pumper from KC MO or South Platte weigh? Bonus question: How many tons does a fully loaded (with salt) Snow Plow from KC MO or Platte County weigh?

Tie Braker: How much does a fully loaded Park Hill School District Bus weigh?

Inquiring minds want to know.

One last news item, today marks the first anniversary of the bridge disaster in Minneapolis.