Memorial Day 2010

Catch Of The Day

Saturday morning fishing expedition on the Lake.

What's The Plan?

It's a simple question. What's the plan to protect our City and Lake from filth, debris, siltation, and sewage? Our elected officials, City and WLIC, should have one, don't you think? Ask them. What's the plan?

City Hall 816 741-5545
jbos@cityofweatherbylake-mo.gov
http://www.cityofweatherbylake-mo.gov/pView.aspx?id=532&catid=28
Next Scheduled BOA Meeting, June 1st, 7PM, City Hall

WLIC 816 741-5556
http://www.wlic.org/aboutus.html
Next Scheduled Board Meeting, June 21st, 7PM, City Hall

Jerry says...

From KCTV 5 web site

Weatherby Lake Mayor Jerry Bos said some of the blame for the flooding has to go to Kansas City, Mo. He said he pays a sewage charge to Kansas city and it is supposed to include stormwater work.
"We'd like to see them spend some of that money to the north of us, where the watershed is, between here and the airport, little east, west and due north, spend it on the watershed to slow this water up," Bos said.
Here is the video of his comments...the reporter remarks, in regards to KCMO spending money, "There's no telling when that's gonna happen"

http://www.kctv5.com/video/23695473/?taf=kan


That, my friends says it all. How long can we wait?

FYI
From WDAF

SMITHVILLE, Mo. - The most popular beach at Smithville Lake has been closed just days before the busiest weekend of the summer.Clay County Parks and Rec shut the beach down Tuesday based on a recommendation from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.Human waste from a treatment lagoon was leaking out of its banks and down the hill into the lake. The problem was created by last week's heavy rainfall, with more than five inches in the area.That caused the lagoon to overflow and it's feared that some of the contamination could make the swimming area near Little Platte Park unhealthy.

*****Update*****
KC Star May 28, page A14
Little Platte Park is reopened...however three state park beaches closed to "high levels of E-coli"

• Lake of Ozarks Beach #1
• Mark Twain State Park day-use
• Truman State Park day-use

BP Comes To Weatherby Lake

A BP-like ecological disaster in the making? Not a stretch if you consider the current scenario. Last night's torrential rains yielded again two warnings to the lake community. The pics below shot after the downpour are at U Cove (aka Stinky Cove). The huge influx of debris, including hundreds of plastic bottles, assorted tree bark and limbs and an unknown sludge covered the cove. Where did it come from? Upstream from the County and KCMO of course.

Cub blogger Ace was at U Cove shortly after the storm passed. The alarm siren was blaring from the Pump Station, as well as the warning light flashing. Gates locked at the station and nobody in sight. What happened? It is no coincidence that there seems to be problems that coincide with heavy rains. The massive intrusion of stormwater in the KCMO sewer system overwhelms the Pump Station. This is not a recent situation. When I spoke with Ace he reported a heavy odor (similar to sewage) in the area. Surprising right?

BP is getting hammered (as they deserve) for the disaster in the Gulf. Could you imagine them getting repeated passes and the worst thing they have to do is say "Sorry"? That my friends and blogites is what is happening right here in WL with our "good neighbor", KCMO. Virtually nothing has been done, either by the City or WLIC. I have made appearances at the board meetings of the BOA and the WLIC to advocate for action. What you see is what you get. Crap, literally in the Lake along with all the other flotsam that appeared in U Cove and other coves.

Time for citizens and members to get off the sidelines and into the game. What can you do? Call your elected officials at the City and board members of the WLIC. Ask them what their plan is to avert an ecological and economic disaster for our community. Don't accept obfuscation. Prevention of the coming disaster is the bottom line. Finger pointing after it happens will benefit no one. That's as I see it.

Ask Mike

Received this in email yesterday.

Mike, I know you are an expert of sorts on the City Code, my neighbor just put up this pool. Does it break any City laws?
PeeWee

Dear PeeWee,
This is not an advice column, please consult your chaplain. However, being a neighbor myself, and having some familiarity with the City Codes, I will hazzard a guess.
(Disclaimer, the opinions of this blogger are purely conjecture, do not represent fact or truth, and may be completely wrong. Your results may vary, please consult competent legal advice if necessary).
I see a couple of obvious issues:

• The door stop affixed to the power strip is being used in an out of Code manner (405.112)


• There is no safety fence at least 4' surronding said pool (403.405)


• There is no posting of max numbers of bathers in said pool (402.111)

Other than that, I think your neighbor is good to go. Unless you turn him/her in, they could probably slide through the summer. My advice is get your Speedo, grab a 12ver of Bud Light and be a good neighbor...Life is good at Weatherby Lake.

A Quandry

Unnofficial Minutes of the Infrastructure SubComittee of the Entrance Advisory Group Committee
May 26th

Attended the meeting this morning which lasted about an hour and forty minutes. Some highlights:

• General disappointment about the lone bid for hardscape ($600,000 for two entrances) and the lack of bidders (1 for hardscape, none for landscape)
• Major components of cost, the stone itself and prevailing wage.
• Conjecture that "risk" scared off some potential bidders and the fact that they had to conform to predetermined plans may have taken away possibility of creativity to achieve same results with lower cost.
• Much discussion on ways to address costs...possibility of "value engineering".
• Did the community/committee publicize the availability of the opportunity to bid? Alderman DeJong said he called nine firms listed in the phone book.
• Discussion about design built basis bid might encourage lower cost.
• Decision by the SubCommittee to have Messrs. Cantwell, Schlagge, Dabner, Miller to approach the lone bidder MTS, have a meeting with MTS and get a better understanding of the components of the bid and feedback to bring the project in at a lower cost.
• Potential for another meeting of the SubCommittee on June 7/8 to discuss results of the meeting.

El Sol

Yep, got it from reliable sources that big thing in the sky is the SUN! Was beginning to wonder.

Dumb and/or Dumber

KC Star, May 21, Page A10

Closed Northland Bridge to Open This Summer

The WatchDog

Reader Bob Ashcroft noted the construction on the new Christopher Bond Bridge (Paseo) started later but is progressing more quickly than the Barry Road Culvert (BRC). When Sean Demory of the KCMO Capital Projects Office was posed the question his response was, "Construction can't be blamed for the entire delay...structural instability forced the bridge to close sooner. Now with a slight construction delay, the bridge is expected to open late this summer".

Compared to a light year, it has been slight.

Summer ends September 21st, stay tuned.

Do As I Say...

Not As I Do.

Picture from the "front yard" of City Hall taken yesterday. An open pit, ostensibly was to become a rain garden. A bunch of volunteers, including the Mayor himself, dug the hole on October 10th. Since then nothing...except erosion of the hole by rain water. Erosion control? Not a chance, what you see is what you get.

Maybe an Arch?

thanks to anonymous

Plan B

The cold shower the EAG Committee received last Friday at the bid opening might be just the thing to bring, as one person called it "Jerry's Folly" down to earth. Replacement of the entrance monuments on Barry Road are certainly in order, not sure we need them on every street corner. A more modest plan may be able to salvage the pledged money. Maintenance free or close to it is just as important, the City simply doesn't have staff to maintain landscaping around monuments and I don't think we should count on volunteers to carry the load.

$600,000

The bid(s) were opened Friday for the Entrance Monuments for Eastside @ City Hall and Kerns. An email from Jim Miller is bouncing around the net announcing the results...one bid was received and the bid was for $600,000 without landscaping. You might recall estimates given by the Entrance Advisory Group Committee originally were in the $600, 000 for the entire project, all monuments including landscaping.

To quote committee chairman Miller, "The results are disappointing".
"So we did not get the result we hoped for and need to figure out why not! It has been suggested that when we started our project, the severe downturn in the economy had caused many firms to be hungry for projects to keep their employees working. Since then most firms have cut back and now there is a shortage of resources to do projects. So the terrific result we had with the original RFP---9' qualified firms formally responding----was just not going to happen. We all know some contractors who do this type of work in and around the Northland, and we probably fell short in not informally asking them to take a look at our project. The bidding process may have been too cumbersome for them at this time."

There will be a meeting of the Infrastructure sub-committee on Wednesday May 26 at 8AM @ City Hall.

"Although this is a setback, it can be a positive for us as we increase our flexibility in rethinking how to get this work done. We have a terrific project and just need to collectively figure out the best way to get it completed!"
Jim Miller

Sign Seen While Cruising the Lake

To Answer Your Question

SECTION 215.030: WEEDS, HIGH GRASS OR OTHER VEGETATION

A. Failure To Keep Weeds, High Grass And Other Vegetation Cut And Removed, A Nuisance. All persons owning or occupying any lot or tract of land in the City shall keep the weeds, high grass and other vegetation growing on such property cut and removed. Whenever such weeds, high grass or other vegetation shall attain the height of eight (8) inches, it shall be deemed a public nuisance. The word "weeds", as used herein, shall be held to include all vegetable growths except cultivated plants, trees and shrubs.

B. Unlawful To Maintain Such Nuisance. It shall be unlawful for any person to create or maintain a nuisance as defined in Subsection (A) and violation hereof is punishable as set forth in Section 100.230 of this Code.

C. Liability. Whenever weeds, high grass or other vegetation in violation of Subsection (A) of this Section are allowed to grow on any part of any lot or ground within the City, the owner of the ground or, in case of joint tenancy, tenancy by entireties or tenancy in common, each owner thereof shall be liable.

D. Daily Violation. Each day that a nuisance shall be maintained is a separate offense.

E. Abatement Procedure. In addition to the ordinance violation punishable as set forth in Section 100.230 of this Code, the City may also abate the nuisance by the following procedure:

1. Notice. The Chief of Police shall give a hearing after ten (10) days' notice thereof either personally or by United States mail to the owner or owners, or his/her or their agents, or by posting such notice on the premises; thereupon, the Chief of Police may declare the weeds, high grass or other vegetation to be a nuisance and order the same to be abated within five (5) days.

2. Disposition. In case the weeds, high grass or other vegetation are not cut down and removed within the five (5) days, the Chief of Police shall have the weeds, high grass or other vegetation cut down and removed and shall certify the costs of same to the City Clerk.

3. Tax Bill. The City Clerk shall cause a special tax bill therefor against the property to be prepared and to be collected by the Collector with other taxes assessed against the property; and the tax bill from the date of its issuance shall be a first (1st) lien on the property until paid and shall be prima facie evidence of the recitals therein and of its validity, and no mere clerical error or informality in the same, or in the proceedings leading up to the issuance, shall be a defense thereto. Each special tax bill shall be issued by the City Clerk and delivered to the Collector on or before the first (1st) day of June of each year. Such tax bills if not paid when due shall bear interest at the rate of eight percent (8%) per annum. (CC 1984 §14.060; Ord. No. 267, 7-17-84; Ord. No. 1049, 12-2-08)

Hay

How would you like to live next to this jungle (7910 Potomac)? Been this way for weeks and way beyond city code, which was changed not that long ago. BOA was very concerned over maintenance of property...well maybe not that concerned. The property wouldn't be "on the way" for either West Ward aldermen, so this would escape them. But then again the Police and Public Works do occasionally motor down the Potomac. Gives a new meaning to the phrase, "Going Green", doesn't it?

Clean Up Your Act

If you are disposed, tomorrow (Saturday) you can join some of your favorite friends and Aldermen for a City CleanUp...picking up trash and stuff on the city right-of-way. Report for duty @ 9AM, @ City Hall in your work duds, work gloves. What to you get for the effort? A cleaner city and the Mayor will give you a dog...hot dog that is.

I Can't Get No...

Citizen Satisfaction
(From the "Funk's" Blog in 08 )
"On Aug. 29, I was joined by Julie Floyd and other representatives of the Community Coalition to Fix Barry Road and Mayor Jerry Boss of Weatherby Lake in pushing for the City to take action on an unfinished project at Barry Road and Rush Creek. The coalition was formed after a deadly accident that occurred on April 10, 2004. Since then, they have gathered 10,000 signatures from residents urging action to be taken on this unsafe section of Barry Road.

That is more than four years ago, and the bridge remains unrepaired. I have been told this will take another two years to fix. That is unacceptable. It took about that long to build the Sprint Center.
Surely we can do better.
I pledge to work with City staff, the City of Weatherby Lake and residents to make the repairs in a timely manner.
We are continuing to expose our residents to unsafe conditions and making life much harder for the residents of Weatherby Lake. We need to be a better regional neighbor"
Mayor Mark Funkhouser

According to Mayor Jerry in the latest issue of WLL "There is progress happening" Best I can tell the progress is double the budget (payment to KCMO) for "texturing" the walls at the BRB and after last evenings downpour, substantial progress in the runnoff coming down what used to be Barry Road west of the bridge...the ground has been laid bare and the rains transported sediment to...the Lake. Now that's progress. Satisfaction? You make the call.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL9Wu2kWwSYW

Barely Road Improvements

Shirley BarberCity Clerk's OfficeCity Hall, 25th Floor-----CONTACT: City Communications Office 816-513-1349
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 3, 2010Barry Road improvement work to start May 10The City of Kansas City, Mo., Public Works Department is advising motorists that a project to improve traffic flow on NW Barry Road, east of I-29, will begin on May 10. The project includes improvements to the intersections of NW Barry Road and Boardwalk Avenue/Roanridge Road and NW Barry Road and Ambassador/Barrybrooke Drives. It is anticipated that work will be complete by Thanksgiving. During construction, motorists should anticipate temporary lane closures and use the following alternate routes: I-29 and NW 72nd Street interchange to access AMC Movie Theaters, Barrywoods. Congress and Tiffany Springs Road to access the Marketcenter (Target/Best Buy/JC Penney/Home Depot/Sports Authority.) Tiffany Springs Road to access Zona Rosa. St. Clair (behind St. Luke's Hospital) to access Wal-Mart and Lowe's.These improvements are designed to improve traffic flow, reduce congestion, and enhance safety. Since 1996, traffic on this section of NW Barry Road has increased from 27,000 to 42,000 cars per day. It is anticipated that traffic will increase to 57,500 cars per day by the year 2030. This section of Barry Road services a major Kansas City Area Transit Authority, KCATA station. Improvements should reduce travel delays for both automobile and bus traffic. Media inquiries and other requests for more information about this closure should be directed to Dennis Gagnon, public information officer for the Public Works Department, 816-513-2659.