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| Opening card of the US army WWII short animated films "Private Snafu" (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Monday, April 30, 2012
Red, White...and Blue?
Today is the last day of grace for not having 2012 stickers on your fleet and dock, tomorrow you will be illegal unless you are displaying the red with white lettering sticker for 2012...unless you have a blue and white with 2012...or possibly a red with white saying 2011...huh you say? Apparently there has been a SNAFU with the vendor, not once but twice...better check your stickers...they should be RED with White lettering and say 2012. If not contact the WLIC office.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Good to the Last Roast
KC Folgers ended its run in downtown KC this month, been meaning to comment on it but stuff keeps popping up. There was a concerted effort to keep the plant here and going but it was not to be, Folgers consolidating plants in LA (for those East Siders who might get confused, that is Louisiana, not Los Angeles).
When I first moved to KC, I lived in a top floor apartment in Quality Hill, the old Coates House at 10th and Broadway. One of my memories is the cold winter air in the morning as I walked to may car and smell the roasting beans from the Folgers plant just a few blocks away...would have made Starbucks jealous. Since then, whenever I was in the neighborhood, I would roll down the car window in hope of catching a whiff...sometimes it would happen...nice.
http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2012/03/27/folgers-plant-in-kansas-city-ends.html
When I first moved to KC, I lived in a top floor apartment in Quality Hill, the old Coates House at 10th and Broadway. One of my memories is the cold winter air in the morning as I walked to may car and smell the roasting beans from the Folgers plant just a few blocks away...would have made Starbucks jealous. Since then, whenever I was in the neighborhood, I would roll down the car window in hope of catching a whiff...sometimes it would happen...nice.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Bridge to Nowhere
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| Broadway Bridge over the Missouri river (Photo credit: Lander Photography) |
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Bid
As mentioned yesterday, here is the posting for the Barry/Eastside monument.
http://www.cityofweatherbylake-mo.gov/bidview.aspx?bid=19
http://www.cityofweatherbylake-mo.gov/bidview.aspx?bid=19
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| A sign indicating an entrance to the monument on the Toroweap road (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
EAGC Elevates Discussion
From attendees @ the meeting, I was busy de-linting my belly button.
The full EAGC met last night to discuss a number of issues:
The full EAGC met last night to discuss a number of issues:
- Apparently the elevation behind the monument at the City Hall was misjudged and the ground actually slopes toward the monument, not away as planned. No decision made for the remedy.
- Question regarding what the backside of the monuments @ Hillside and Forest was discussed, will be reviewed further.
- Fundraising continues to be a topic, current funds are about $20,000 short of paying for Barry/Eastside...if the RFP which is to be advertised with a closing date of/about 14 May.
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| Belly button jewels. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Pole Dance
The Official Unofficial Minutes of the WL BOA
April 13
Did they or didn't they? That is the question, with mixed answers. I thought they did, another member of the public at the meeting agreed with me. The City Attorney, who I asked directly after the meeting said "no". Mary in her update said, "We approved the building of a pole barn to store equipment". Who is correct?
The poles were evident, as they were already in the ground behind City Hall, before the meeting. George in his report described the 12 bargain poles obtained from KCPL ( he described them as "donated" at a savings of $600). "We talked about a building about a year ago" George said, and estimated the do it yourself cost of around "$8,000" to $9,000 with and estimate of $19,000 if a contractor was hired to build the pole barn.
No discussion from the Mayor or BOA.
April 13
Did they or didn't they? That is the question, with mixed answers. I thought they did, another member of the public at the meeting agreed with me. The City Attorney, who I asked directly after the meeting said "no". Mary in her update said, "We approved the building of a pole barn to store equipment". Who is correct?
The poles were evident, as they were already in the ground behind City Hall, before the meeting. George in his report described the 12 bargain poles obtained from KCPL ( he described them as "donated" at a savings of $600). "We talked about a building about a year ago" George said, and estimated the do it yourself cost of around "$8,000" to $9,000 with and estimate of $19,000 if a contractor was hired to build the pole barn.
No discussion from the Mayor or BOA.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Couldn't Happen Here...Right?
"It's incredible really. In the last two years we've been really in a financial crunch with the whole thing...The annual audit didn't show anything. Auditors even commented that we were doing fine with our cash controls."
Flashback to Mayor Bos' comments in his recent "Dear Resident" letter:
"The committee (Audit) believes there are many financial controls in place thus reducing the need for an audit."
Begs the question, when was the last time the Audit Committee formally met to review these controls and the city finances?
http://www.inquisitr.com/222444/rita-crundell-illinois-comptroller-allegedly-embezzled-30-million-to-fund-horse-breeding-business/
Friday, April 20, 2012
The Ten Foot Rule
The Official Unofficial Minutes of the WL BOA
13 April
Resident Gary Hayes appeared to express his concerns about parking on the street in the area of Kerns and 75th Terrace. He has talked with the Chief and others about the problem he has seen grow in the last two years. Six to eight cars parked all day long to access J Cove. The cars make it difficult to enter and exit driveways, although the cars are not technically blocking the drive itself. The Chief weighed in saying his ability to deal with the situation is limited by the ordinance which, as long as there is 10 feet of usable street, there is not much he or his officers can do. BOA discussion followed, consideration of no parking signs pretty much discarded, if you start where will it (posting of signs) end. Jerry, "We don't want to get that started". In the words of the Chief, "for every action there is a reaction".
In this case, no action.
It might do good to counsel guests when they come to your house, especially if they park on both sides of the street, to mind the 10 foot rule (my belief it should be more...would you like a fire truck to have to inch along a roadway because of marginal space on the road...if your house was on fire?).
13 April
Resident Gary Hayes appeared to express his concerns about parking on the street in the area of Kerns and 75th Terrace. He has talked with the Chief and others about the problem he has seen grow in the last two years. Six to eight cars parked all day long to access J Cove. The cars make it difficult to enter and exit driveways, although the cars are not technically blocking the drive itself. The Chief weighed in saying his ability to deal with the situation is limited by the ordinance which, as long as there is 10 feet of usable street, there is not much he or his officers can do. BOA discussion followed, consideration of no parking signs pretty much discarded, if you start where will it (posting of signs) end. Jerry, "We don't want to get that started". In the words of the Chief, "for every action there is a reaction".
In this case, no action.
It might do good to counsel guests when they come to your house, especially if they park on both sides of the street, to mind the 10 foot rule (my belief it should be more...would you like a fire truck to have to inch along a roadway because of marginal space on the road...if your house was on fire?).
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| Getty Images via @daylife) |
Thursday, April 19, 2012
The Web We Weave
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| website ideas (Photo credit: Sean MacEntee) |
13 April
Alderman Comments
Tanya groused about the lack of keeping the City web site current. Jerry admitted it could be better (something he mentioned in his op-ed piece in the last WL Living) but is concerned about "paying more money" for Webmaster upkeep.
There might be times when things could be posted in a more timely fashion but overall but in general the web site has quite a bit of information...if people access the site. The last "Dear Resident" letter did give a heads up of the site and it was on the last water bill as I recall.
If you do some surfing you will find our City web site to be better than most for our city size, in fact better than some cities much larger than ours. If you haven't, go check it out.
http://www.cityofweatherbylake-mo.gov/
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
For Sale
Spring has sprung, and so have the For Sale signs around the lake. If you drove around the lake on Sunday you noticed lots of open houses, including one at 7807 NW Westside Drive. That is the current residence of newly re-elected alderman Vic DeJong. Wither thou goest?
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Dirty Dancing
April 13
Jerry recollected it was the "ladies turn" to organize the the City right of way cleanup, the female aldermen acquiesced. Much back and forth on the best date, conflicts abound. The date was finally designated to be April 28th, 9AM, City Hall as the rendezvous point. My assumption is you should wear work clothes, with gloves and contact one of the ladies, Mary or Tanya, if you have more questions.
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| More Dirty Dancing (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Sunday, April 15, 2012
EAGC Meeting
The Official Unofficial Minutes of the WL BOA
April 13
Jim Miller, chair of the EAGC, gave a monument update.
April 13
Jim Miller, chair of the EAGC, gave a monument update.
- Foundation work has started @ City Hall
- Old monuments have been removed
- RFP being prepared for Barry/East Side monument
- Fund raising continues, $24,635 needed to cover Barry/East Side
EAGC meeting has been scheduled for April 24, 6:30 PM @ City Hall. One of the agenda items will be to discuss a "broader fund raising approach".
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Friday the 13th
The Official Unofficial Minutes of the WL BOA
April 13
The 13th proved to be bad luck for our Royals as they got kicked in the first inning by Cleveland for 7 runs, never to recover. To add insult to injury (literally) Hochevar gets knocked out of the game with a hit to the ankle...ouch. But you didn't come here for sports did you, you want all things WL...so here it goes.
The City elections were certified and the newly elected were sworn in, results were:
Mayor
Jerry Bos-160
Write In-6 (make that Mike Moratz 1, other Write In 5...no I didn't vote for myself, I was told at a cocktail party somebody had voted for me, I am waiting in the wings should the Mayor skip town)
Alderman Eastside
Tanya Finn-71
Write In-0
Alderman Westside
Vic DeJong-87
Write In-2
Municipal Judge
Beverlee Roper-153
Write In-2
(Judge Roper was AWOL, I presume she was sworn in at Court on Thursday)
Next agenda item, vote for Mayor Pro Tem. Tanya nominates Vic, second by Mary, nominations closed, Vic is the President of the Board and Mayor Pro Tem for the year.
April 13
The 13th proved to be bad luck for our Royals as they got kicked in the first inning by Cleveland for 7 runs, never to recover. To add insult to injury (literally) Hochevar gets knocked out of the game with a hit to the ankle...ouch. But you didn't come here for sports did you, you want all things WL...so here it goes.
The City elections were certified and the newly elected were sworn in, results were:
Mayor
Jerry Bos-160
Write In-6 (make that Mike Moratz 1, other Write In 5...no I didn't vote for myself, I was told at a cocktail party somebody had voted for me, I am waiting in the wings should the Mayor skip town)
Alderman Eastside
Tanya Finn-71
Write In-0
Alderman Westside
Vic DeJong-87
Write In-2
Municipal Judge
Beverlee Roper-153
Write In-2
(Judge Roper was AWOL, I presume she was sworn in at Court on Thursday)
Next agenda item, vote for Mayor Pro Tem. Tanya nominates Vic, second by Mary, nominations closed, Vic is the President of the Board and Mayor Pro Tem for the year.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Friday Night Lights
- Construction of a storage "pole barn" (not in City budget)
- Review of water and sewer budget.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
City Makes Money on Recycling
Don't know if you saw Jerry's comments on recycling in his letter. Currently the City is netting $500 a month from proceeds of the City recycling program, splitting the profits with Republic. Residents pay $6 per quarter for the service. Arithmetic seems to work out to be $6000 profit for the City a year...Republic seems to be doing well making money both ways.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Audit
Re: Jerry's "Dear Resident"letter
One of the committees Jerry reviews is the Audit Committee...no openings available. What you may not know is when it last met...I'm not sure either Jerry or the aldermen could tell you. He says the committee believes "several levels of review" is sufficient for financial controls. What he doesn't say all these levels are internal...and to my knowledge the Audit Committee does not formally review anything.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
One of the committees Jerry reviews is the Audit Committee...no openings available. What you may not know is when it last met...I'm not sure either Jerry or the aldermen could tell you. He says the committee believes "several levels of review" is sufficient for financial controls. What he doesn't say all these levels are internal...and to my knowledge the Audit Committee does not formally review anything.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Monday, April 9, 2012
You Are Welcome
You might have received a "Dear Fellow Resident" letter from the City this Saturday (some folks didn't, might be in the mail today). Authored by Mayor Bos, it is a chatty update on City Committees and Boards as well as updates on a couple of items. You might reflect, Gee, we haven't heard from the City in a while, your reflection is correct. With the exception of Mary and her monthly BOA notes, this group at City Hall is satisfied with little or no information being disseminated to residents (okay there is a City web site which according to the Mayor "needs improvement" and he mentions Weatherby Lake Living, a private concern, which Jerry cites as being "excellent" for finding "what is going on in the community").
I'll take credit/blame for the letter, let me explain. At the last BOA meeting (March 6) Jerry mentioned the need for volunteers to fill openings on various boards and committees. He asked the aldermen to be on the lookout for volunteers. My public comments pointed out there are probably many residents who aren't asked and/or don't know exactly what the various boards and committees do in the City. Rather than ask the same old network of friends and acquaintances...why not expand the potential by sending a letter to all residents. There was a bit of a back and forth between the Mayor and me, with his final word being his concern of the appearance of "electioneering" by such a letter. (Indeed, this was pre-election, but I am pretty confident a letter could be crafted to pass the "smell test"...BTW, as you recall, all elected officials were running unopposed). In any event, now that all involved beat back Write-Ins, the letter was sent out.
Enjoy...and volunteer.
http://www.cityofweatherbylake-mo.gov/
I'll take credit/blame for the letter, let me explain. At the last BOA meeting (March 6) Jerry mentioned the need for volunteers to fill openings on various boards and committees. He asked the aldermen to be on the lookout for volunteers. My public comments pointed out there are probably many residents who aren't asked and/or don't know exactly what the various boards and committees do in the City. Rather than ask the same old network of friends and acquaintances...why not expand the potential by sending a letter to all residents. There was a bit of a back and forth between the Mayor and me, with his final word being his concern of the appearance of "electioneering" by such a letter. (Indeed, this was pre-election, but I am pretty confident a letter could be crafted to pass the "smell test"...BTW, as you recall, all elected officials were running unopposed). In any event, now that all involved beat back Write-Ins, the letter was sent out.
Enjoy...and volunteer.
http://www.cityofweatherbylake-mo.gov/
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Neglect, BOAs Reflection
The Official Unofficial Minutes of the WL BOA
6 March
The Bud Flaherty letter was discussed at the meeting, Jerry mentioning that Bud "feels strongly about this". Apparently in addition to the letter there have been discussions between Flaherty and the Mayor as well as some of the aldermen. Mary added she has been "concerned about this for a long time". Are vehicles properly licensed...cars parking on the grass. (Interestingly, city stickers or lack of them, never came up in the discussion, seems to me it would be pretty easy with the city database to ID who is naughty and nice)
Mary: "I don't know what we can do...we should keep it as a discussion item"
Final word: "If you see something, talk to the chief (Gary that is)". I am sure he appreciated that.
Not sure Gary is the place to start...more likely the Mayor who is Gary's boss. If you drive around the Lake it is easy to ID code violations...if you are not sure what is or what isn't go directly below to the link to our ordinances. You will find a number of the pics in Mr Flaherty's montage, while possibly unsightly, are not code violations.
The issue of boats and trailers is not new, ask anyone who has lived here for any amount of time. It almost always comes down to the fact we are a true lake community (ok, Riss Lake technically has a lake, but I don't think they have a beach or a Noodle record.).
http://codes.sullivanpublications.com/weatherbylake-slp/
6 March
The Bud Flaherty letter was discussed at the meeting, Jerry mentioning that Bud "feels strongly about this". Apparently in addition to the letter there have been discussions between Flaherty and the Mayor as well as some of the aldermen. Mary added she has been "concerned about this for a long time". Are vehicles properly licensed...cars parking on the grass. (Interestingly, city stickers or lack of them, never came up in the discussion, seems to me it would be pretty easy with the city database to ID who is naughty and nice)
Mary: "I don't know what we can do...we should keep it as a discussion item"
Final word: "If you see something, talk to the chief (Gary that is)". I am sure he appreciated that.
Not sure Gary is the place to start...more likely the Mayor who is Gary's boss. If you drive around the Lake it is easy to ID code violations...if you are not sure what is or what isn't go directly below to the link to our ordinances. You will find a number of the pics in Mr Flaherty's montage, while possibly unsightly, are not code violations.
The issue of boats and trailers is not new, ask anyone who has lived here for any amount of time. It almost always comes down to the fact we are a true lake community (ok, Riss Lake technically has a lake, but I don't think they have a beach or a Noodle record.).
http://codes.sullivanpublications.com/weatherbylake-slp/
Friday, April 6, 2012
More Neglect
Work and travel, but back home...one more montage of pics submitted to the BOA as examples of "neglect".
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Election Day-Hotly Contested City Races
The polls will be packed, give yourself plenty of time, here is how the races stack up:
Mayor: Bos vs Write-In
East: Finn vs Write-In
West: DeJong vs Write-In
Judge: Roper vs Write-In
I know, I know, tough decisions, but that is democracy. While there you will have to pick two for School Board. No particular thoughts there other than Sanchez lost last time and is already a board member of the Ambulance District, that is probably as much as we deserve. There is also a race for the Metro College board.
So, off to the CC with you.
French political philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) said “In democracy we get the government we deserve”
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Mayor: Bos vs Write-In
East: Finn vs Write-In
West: DeJong vs Write-In
Judge: Roper vs Write-In
I know, I know, tough decisions, but that is democracy. While there you will have to pick two for School Board. No particular thoughts there other than Sanchez lost last time and is already a board member of the Ambulance District, that is probably as much as we deserve. There is also a race for the Metro College board.
So, off to the CC with you.
French political philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) said “In democracy we get the government we deserve”
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Sunday, April 1, 2012
"Neglect By The Owners of Vacant Lots"
A letter by resident Bud Flaherty was in the packets for the last BOA and discussed for some time. He attached two pages of pictures of his concerns taken during "a short trip in my neighborhood". He points out the "increase in the number of boats, trailers and other items home owners are parking in various states of condition and length of time in their driveways, yards and on vacant lots." Bud believes it is a cause of "devaluation to our homes and community".
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