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Good evening. I'd like to call the June 6, 2023, Raytown Board of Aldermen meeting number four to order.

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It is now 7.02 p.m.

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and I will ask who do we have for the invocation.

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Yeah, I'll get that when I find out who the preacher is that's supposed to be here tonight.

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Oh, there you are. Come up and introduce yourself. Everybody, would you please take off your hats,

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Put your phone on silent, remove your hats, as I said, and please stand.

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Introduce yourself right at the bottom of that microphone. There you go. Good to see you.

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Good evening. My name is Brandon Smith. I'm at Graceway. We're going to pray and then do the pledge.

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Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this day. We thank you for the opportunity that we get to come together.

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I'm God with our community, Lord. We just pray that you will just continue to give wisdom and give direction.

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I mean that you will just be in this place during this time, God.

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We pray for things to be done decently and in order, God, in that you will be glorified

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in and through it all as well, Lord.

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So we thank you.

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We give you glory, honor, and praise in Jesus' name.

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I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for

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which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for

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all.

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That's the brand, and it was good to see you. Thank you so very much.

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Ms. Henry, roll call, please. Alderman Mems.

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Alderman Hayden. Here. Alderman Creasek.

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Make sure your light's green.

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Where did Alderman Creasek respond?

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Did you get everybody? Sorry, I was trying to make sure all the microphones were working properly.

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Great. Alderman Creasek.

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Can you hear her?

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Alderman Emerson. Hang on just a second. We're having some kind of difficulty here.

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The

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blue one, or the one with the red is not yet, it's at the bottom of the microphone that turns it green.

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That's the one you need to be pushing.

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Notice this is green.

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There you are.

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There we go.

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There we go.

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All right.

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I think there's someone right there.

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Okay.

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Let's start over again, please, Ms. Henry.

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Alderman Memms.

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Here.

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Alderman Hayden.

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Here.

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Alderman Kreesek.

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Here.

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Alderman Emerson.

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Here.

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Alderman Scott.

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Here. Alderman Dylvan Busker.

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I'm just kidding, I'm here.

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Alderman Walters. Here.

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Alderman Nasir. Here.

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Alderman Myers. Here.

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Alderman Garza. Here.

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All right,

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we have a quorum.

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Okay, we've got a couple of proclamations here.

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George Michel.

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George, are you here tonight?

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All right. There you are. Step up to the podium if you would please.

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Mr. Mitchell has been on the park board for a long time and he served president of the park board numerous times and served there very well.

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This proclamation is simply just a simple token and making public our appreciation, making an appreciation known for his service.

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Whereas George Mitchell began service on the Raytown Park Board in 2008 and has gone on

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to faithfully serve on the Board for the last 15 years.

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And whereas during his time on the Park Board, George Mitchell served as Board President

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in 2014, 2015, and 2023.

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And whereas George Mitchell has been instrumental on multiple committees including the Park

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committee and also served for four years as liaison to the BMX Board and now

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therefore I Michael McDonough mayor of the city of Raytown do hereby recognize

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George Mitchell for his 15 years of service on the Raytown Park Board. From

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myself the board of Alderman and the residents of Raytown extended our

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sincere appreciation for the leadership and experience he has shared for the

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the Betterment of Raytown.

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We really, really appreciate all your hard work.

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And by the way, these folks do this for free.

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So let's give them a round of applause.

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Thank you.

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Woo!

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Those are very kind words I really appreciate.

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The mayor, Alderman, Damon, that we've all worked with,

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but mainly I could not do anything by myself.

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I am blessed to work with a very talented parks department a very talented board who are all

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Back in the back row right now

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So without them, they're the ones that kind of help

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Us get some things done for the city

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So I I'm sitting up here as a give my proclamation, but it's really out to Dave and his crew at the park sport

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So you guys

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So once a year, we have the honor, and when I say we, I'm talking about a group of people,

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including myself, who have been given the honor of the Ray Town, I'm sorry, the Truman

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Harlan Foundation, Toast of the Town, Citizen of the Year.

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This award has to do with all of the things that people have done in charity and in all

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the work they've done for the different organizations in this city helping their fellow man.

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Every year we have a struggle as a group to pick out of so many people that are so deserving.

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So we work at it and we work at it for a while in a day and bring up all these different

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people and finally we bring it down to a point where we pick a person and that

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person doesn't get to know that they've been picked until I give this

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proclamation and then they'll know and very soon in the news media their name

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will be there. It culminates in September in a really wonderful dinner and

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award ceremony downtown Kansas City put on by the Truman Heartland Foundation where a

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lot of people, past recipients and others that do so much for the metropolitan area of Kansas

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City come together to honor all of the people from the different cities who get this.

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So it's going to be my honor to

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read this proclamation, and then I'm going to have that person come forward just for a moment.

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Whereas Martha Cockrell, retired from Raytown Quality Schools, is Deputy Superintendent of Human Resources in 2009.

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Whereas after retirement from Raytown Quality Schools, Martha Cockrell offered her leadership experience

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and talents as executive director of Raytown Educational Foundation under her leadership,

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it has grown to an over one million dollar foundation which helps to ensure the excellence

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of our school district and community. And whereas Martha Cockrell gives countless hours

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to the community through her active membership with the Raytown Quality School District's

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Citizen Advisory Committee, the Raytown Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism,

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the Raytown Kiwanis Club and the Truman Heartland Community Foundation Board on which she served

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as the 2014 Chairman of the Board.

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Now, if you don't think that, it wasn't hard trying to keep that out of her vision when

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she worked with those looks.

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Now therefore, I am Michael McDonough, Mayor of the City of Raytown, do hereby express

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the grateful appreciation of the citizens of the City of Raytown, Missouri to Martha

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Cockrell for her commitment to the Raytown community and her countless efforts to

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supports the success and education of the youth in Raytown.

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We recognize Martha Cockrell as a 2023

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German Heartland Foundation, Raytown citizen of the year,

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for her tireless service and dedication

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to the betterment of our community.

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Signed the 60th of June in the year 2023,

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Michael McDonough, Mayor.

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Let's give her a hand and Mark, I need you up front.

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Because you

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have to say that Shirley Worth is quite

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the pixie because, you know, it was,

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Well, they're having this big meeting and Mike wants to see some friendly faces.

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And so here I am.

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I don't do well with these kinds of things with the script, but if it's something emotional,

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like my son's eighth grade confirmation, the words just don't even come out well.

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So thank you, community. Thank you. Thank you very much.

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And I've got to tell you what, she's not easy to fool.

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And thank you very much guys for playing along and I know, she told me she's going to have

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to go to church numerous times for the lives.

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I told her I'd give her a special dispensation, you know, okay.

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Okay.

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Before we get started with public comments, I want to make sure everybody understands

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that as you came in, if you want to just in general talk about things that are

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before this board, the usual general communication comments, there was one

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sheet. If you want to talk as far as the public hearing, then you should sign

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the other sheet so we can keep them separate. However, let me go over some

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rules and the rules apply to both comments and also the public hearing.

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I want to make sure that everyone understands the rules for the Board of

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All-In meetings. They are different than planning and zoning. I will explain

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them to you. These were passed in 2018 by the way, there wasn't something new.

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They are different than planning zoning as I said and as a presiding

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answer to this board, what I expect from everyone is courtesy, no yelling, screaming, clapping,

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or carrying on from out in the gallery. That's not necessary. I want everybody to have a chance

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to have their say. And we're going to respect each other. And we're going to follow these rules,

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where you won't speak until everybody's calmed down.

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The rules in accordance with Resolution

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R3106-18 which was passed again like I said in 2018 by the Raytown Board of

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Aldermen, states that those allowed to speak will be the following. Raytown

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residents, Raytown business owners. The rest were representatives for

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non-profit service club with the derogation in Raytown and speaking on

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special events, this isn't a special event, special event being held in the

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When you come up, you will have to tell us preferably what your address is, but at least what city you are from.

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And if you're not from Raytown or own a business in Raytown, or at least you are in the school district of Raytown, you won't be speaking.

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That's the rules.

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When you call up to the podium, again you will give your name, the city you live in, and preferably your address so we know what ward you live in too.

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That's the way these aldermen know, in case you want to talk to them later on who they're dealing with.

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Only fair. You will have five minutes, whether you speak for a group or for yourself personally.

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You will not be able to surrender your time to another person, any or any part of it. You get your five minutes.

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If you use two, that's what you get, and you're not making more than one trip to the podium.

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If you wish to speak in regard to the public hearing, please wait and speak then, as I said before, not during the normal comment section.

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Again, I will not tolerate this order in regard to the public hearing especially.

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Please wait and speak.

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Then during the comments section for that, they all have the same rules.

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I just want to make sure everybody understands that so we don't have a problem.

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So I will now open the floor to public comments.

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Each person has five minutes.

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If you're speaking for the group, please identify what group that is and you will

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I have five minutes.

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The public comment section is meant for business

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that this Board of Aldermen has jurisdiction over.

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That being said.

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Mr. Mayor, I have three people signed up

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under the public comment section.

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The first is Morris Malloy.

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Okay.

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I'm back.

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I'm in Raytown, 5816 Manning Avenue.

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I appreciate the comments about respect.

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I started that a few months ago before this board to say that I think that we all need respect,

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whether it's you as a 20-year veteran, whether it's me as a new resident,

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whether it's someone in the audience that's a new resident,

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or whether it's you as a 16-year resident.

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And you have a very difficult issue before you.

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I'm not going to speak about that.

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I want to speak a little bit about the process,

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because we were told to follow the process.

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And that process includes us as residents.

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You as Alderman.

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But what's happened over the last few months

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is a lot of discussions and negotiations

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have occurred without our input.

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Yes, we had planning and zoning.

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Yes, we have this forum,

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but the developer who lives outside of Raytown

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has had countless opportunities to meet with staff,

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countless opportunities to present views,

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And yet none of us as residents had the opportunity to be there.

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And so to stand there and tell us that we have five minutes to say how this or any other proposal before the Board of Aldermen affects the 35 years, 40 years, two years, two months,

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of what's before them just seems strange that that developer who lives in Kansas whose representatives

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live in Kansas have unlimited opportunities to speak not only before you but before the

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staff and generate an approval when we as residents had nothing to say about it and are

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limited to five minutes.

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So I would just say look at your process and recognize why people have concerns about

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what's happening here.

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Not just here tonight, but in the future and in the past.

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Thank you.

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Councillor.

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Jeremy Wisdom.

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Good evening, sir.

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I want to turn that on at the bottom again.

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My name is Jeremy Wisdom.

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I live at 110011020 East 54th Street.

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And ladies and gentlemen of the board,

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I greatly appreciate the five minutes that you're allowing me.

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My issue is unrelated to what everybody else is here.

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I live at 54th and down around Appleton and back around 53rd Terrace.

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And over the last couple of years, there's been some alarming things happening in our neighborhood.

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We saw five or six houses being sold to a real estate investor,

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turned around and rented at a very, very high price

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to where many people have to live in the house in order to afford it,

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which results in people parking in grass and driveways

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and just not caring about the quality of their property at all.

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So that's the first concern.

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The other concern is just overall general maintenance of our street

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and holding homeowners accountable.

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I go to walk my dog every night,

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and at the corner of 54th and Appleton,

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there is a house that's for sale.

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It was a rental, but now it's back for sale.

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00:21:00,920 --> 00:21:08,060
There's a sewage leak and wastewater that runs down the sidewalk and it smells gross.

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00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:17,820
Myself, my girlfriend, several of our neighbors have called to try to address the issue.

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It's just fallen on deaf ears.

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00:21:20,460 --> 00:21:28,980
So I would very much invite my alderman to contact me or come visit my neighborhood

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00:21:29,500 --> 00:21:31,740
to try to address some of these issues.

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00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:37,100
Overall, my ask is, I know that everybody is here with an agenda,

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00:21:37,460 --> 00:21:41,680
but let's treat all of our issues the same, you know,

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00:21:42,220 --> 00:21:44,160
whether it be a liquor store going in

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00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:46,540
or the quality of our streets that we live in.

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00:21:47,220 --> 00:21:48,840
So that's all I have to say. Thank you.

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00:21:49,060 --> 00:21:49,600
Thank you, sir.

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00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:51,080
Number three?

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00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:52,640
Jeanette Gentry.

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00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:54,160
I'm sorry?

250
00:21:54,740 --> 00:21:55,700
Jeanette Gentry.

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00:21:57,160 --> 00:21:58,260
Good evening, Jeanette.

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00:21:58,260 --> 00:21:58,260
Thank

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00:22:01,490 --> 00:22:02,310
you.

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00:22:03,150 --> 00:22:08,650
Jeanette Gentry, 11,000 East 57th Street, Raytown, Missouri, Raytown resident Ward 3.

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00:22:10,550 --> 00:22:15,950
I noticed that today I believe it was posted that Charles going on retreat for goal setting

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00:22:15,950 --> 00:22:16,850
this weekend.

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00:22:17,350 --> 00:22:17,690
Is that correct?

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00:22:19,050 --> 00:22:24,690
I hope some of those topics that are talked about in your goal setting session are

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00:22:24,690 --> 00:22:27,550
communication, consistent communication.

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00:22:30,780 --> 00:22:33,560
Several of you know some issues that I've had with that.

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00:22:34,020 --> 00:22:39,060
I sent you all an email on Friday night about this particular public hearing.

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00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:43,820
By the way, that was posted on social media Sunday at 1 p.m.

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00:22:44,180 --> 00:22:46,500
So I hope that you discussed communication.

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00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:50,720
I hope you discussed how to engage the residents of Raytown.

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00:22:52,620 --> 00:22:57,760
We deserve to be engaged with and that has to start from leadership and move forward.

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00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:05,720
I hope that that engagement includes the necessary changes coming before a comprehensive plan.

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00:23:06,540 --> 00:23:10,060
I have no doubt that that will be in the 2023 budget.

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00:23:10,900 --> 00:23:20,980
But don't – these people all of Raytown, all 30,219 of us need to be engaged in that comprehensive plan

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00:23:20,980 --> 00:23:27,420
because it dictates our quality of life and how you get money for grants.

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00:23:27,980 --> 00:23:34,320
So that's what I would like to encourage you to discuss in your goal-setting session this weekend. Thank you.

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00:23:36,340 --> 00:23:37,680
Anyone else, Councilor?

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00:23:39,180 --> 00:23:40,020
No one else.

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00:23:43,010 --> 00:23:44,550
Ms. Henry, do you have anyone electronically?

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00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:52,560
I am not showing anyone, sir.

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00:23:52,980 --> 00:23:53,700
All right. Thank you.

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00:23:54,440 --> 00:23:56,240
Okay. I'll now close public comments.

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00:23:57,020 --> 00:23:58,780
We'll move on now to Communication Mayor.

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00:23:58,780 --> 00:24:04,460
to keep this short and simple. Please attend the Raytown Live concert this

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00:24:04,460 --> 00:24:11,560
Saturday, June 10th from 7 to 9 p.m. on the green space. The band will be

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00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:17,680
packaged band. They play Motown, they play disco, they play lots of different kinds

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00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:19,960
of music. They're really good. We've had them once before.

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00:24:22,460 --> 00:24:23,480
All these concerts

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00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:26,200
sponsors that we have all summer long or family-oriented.

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00:24:26,900 --> 00:24:32,060
You can bring your lawn chairs, your coolers, your favorite drinks, water.

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00:24:34,350 --> 00:24:40,150
We will have food trucks at each one of the events for you to buy stuff from if you wish.

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00:24:40,710 --> 00:24:42,230
You can bring your own food if you wish.

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00:24:43,210 --> 00:24:45,050
Really love to have more people.

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00:24:45,210 --> 00:24:46,810
This is not paid for by you taxpayers.

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00:24:47,230 --> 00:24:54,010
It's paid for by myself and many other sponsors that put money into this so we can hire

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00:24:54,010 --> 00:24:58,830
these bands and get the stage and all those kind of things and several of

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00:24:58,830 --> 00:25:05,510
people back there in the parks including me, a few others in Main Street and the

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00:25:05,510 --> 00:25:12,750
Chamber get that set up and take it down every second Saturday from May

293
00:25:12,750 --> 00:25:18,030
through September. The only difference is in September it's from six to eight

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00:25:18,030 --> 00:25:22,150
instead of seven and nine because it gets a little dark that time of year so

295
00:25:22,150 --> 00:25:25,330
it's a little harder to see when you're getting ready to take stuff down.

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00:25:25,970 --> 00:25:28,210
We've got a full slate of really good music.

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00:25:29,070 --> 00:25:35,970
Love to have you bring your kids, your grandkids, neighbors, family members,

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00:25:36,210 --> 00:25:40,470
and encourage you to be there for your community, get to know your neighbors.

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00:25:41,330 --> 00:25:44,210
We usually have quite a few people, but I'd like to see even more.

300
00:25:44,850 --> 00:25:46,110
Again, it's on the green space.

301
00:25:46,330 --> 00:25:48,110
It's about 60-second in Raytown Road.

302
00:25:48,650 --> 00:25:50,250
You can't miss it. You'll see the stage.

303
00:25:50,250 --> 00:25:52,790
If you get there a little bit late, you'll hear the music.

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00:25:53,410 --> 00:25:56,630
With that, I'll turn it over to the City Administrator Damon Hodges.

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00:25:56,990 --> 00:25:57,470
What do you have for us?

306
00:25:57,610 --> 00:25:57,890
Good evening.

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00:25:58,730 --> 00:26:05,510
A couple of weeks ago, the Public Works Department crews challenged our citizens to report potholes,

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00:26:05,690 --> 00:26:07,610
which I think a lot of us probably did.

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00:26:07,850 --> 00:26:09,330
So about 150 people responded.

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00:26:10,470 --> 00:26:13,990
And in two weeks, crews filled over 450 potholes.

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00:26:14,890 --> 00:26:15,570
I say that.

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00:26:19,690 --> 00:26:21,930
That's good and bad, but that's a good thing.

313
00:26:23,610 --> 00:26:29,790
Also, the city participated in Chambers National Trials Day celebration for Rock Island Trials

314
00:26:29,790 --> 00:26:34,870
Saturday and then next Thursday, the 15th, we have our farmers market held at Rice

315
00:26:34,870 --> 00:26:36,410
Tremonti from 4 to 7 p.m.

316
00:26:36,850 --> 00:26:37,910
Thank you and that'd be it for me.

317
00:26:38,150 --> 00:26:38,570
All right.

318
00:26:38,790 --> 00:26:39,190
Very good.

319
00:26:39,790 --> 00:26:41,010
Anything from the aldermen?

320
00:26:46,710 --> 00:26:47,490
I should have known.

321
00:26:47,990 --> 00:26:49,050
Right at the last minute.

322
00:26:49,550 --> 00:26:50,190
Go ahead.

323
00:26:50,950 --> 00:26:51,590
Thank you, sir.

324
00:26:51,590 --> 00:26:57,790
I just wanted to mention that tomorrow morning at 8 a.m.

325
00:26:58,470 --> 00:27:03,590
We'll be having the meeting of the Raytown Police Pension Board.

326
00:27:05,270 --> 00:27:13,190
I will be there, Mayor McDonough and Chief Kuhl and all of the board members that belong to the board.

327
00:27:13,290 --> 00:27:17,550
So I just wanted to make you aware that that meeting is taking place tomorrow morning. Thank you.

328
00:27:17,810 --> 00:27:18,350
Thank you, Bill.

329
00:27:18,350 --> 00:27:25,530
All right, before we go any further, we've got a study session with Parks and Recreation

330
00:27:25,530 --> 00:27:26,230
Annual Report.

331
00:27:26,510 --> 00:27:28,030
Dave Turner, Parks and Recreation Director.

332
00:27:30,390 --> 00:27:31,610
Come give us your report.

333
00:27:32,810 --> 00:27:33,330
Oh, there you are.

334
00:27:33,730 --> 00:27:34,510
Good to see you.

335
00:27:34,510 --> 00:27:34,930
Move over there.

336
00:27:36,270 --> 00:27:38,530
Yeah, I'm trying to share screen here.

337
00:28:17,260 --> 00:28:17,740
Okay.

338
00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:19,140
All right.

339
00:28:19,260 --> 00:28:19,980
Thank you, everyone.

340
00:28:20,220 --> 00:28:20,960
Sorry about that.

341
00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:24,480
Just, this is a state statute.

342
00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:31,660
it's state statute 90.560 that the park board gives an annual review at the end

343
00:28:31,660 --> 00:28:34,640
of May before the second Saturday in June.

344
00:28:40,100 --> 00:28:42,660
All right, here is the Ray Tom

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00:28:42,660 --> 00:28:49,220
Parks organizational chart. The park board is appointed by the mayor approved

346
00:28:49,220 --> 00:28:53,720
by the Board of Aldermen and then they go on and are over the staff of the

347
00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:58,060
Parks Department. We do have the Rice-Tramani Board that reports to

348
00:28:58,060 --> 00:29:04,800
us. We run programs, our Raytown BMX, and our administrative services are all staff

349
00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:08,540
at the Parks Department. We have nine full-time staff employees and we have one

350
00:29:08,540 --> 00:29:13,020
seasonal that works maintenance there at the Parks Department doing mostly

351
00:29:13,020 --> 00:29:18,480
horticulture work. The BMX board is a five-member board of volunteers right

352
00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:22,840
now and they do a lot of extra work. They bring a lot of people into

353
00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:24,060
right now and we're real proud of that.

354
00:29:27,620 --> 00:29:31,460
Okay, here's our financial report. This is

355
00:29:31,460 --> 00:29:37,340
again not the fiscal year. This goes from June to May. As you can see, our

356
00:29:37,860 --> 00:29:42,540
property tax comes in in December and January. That's a big spike in revenue

357
00:29:42,540 --> 00:29:48,840
for us. This particular year we had a grant reimbursement in September. That's

358
00:29:48,840 --> 00:29:53,620
where you see that big spike in September. That was a $448,000

359
00:29:53,620 --> 00:29:59,900
dollar project and we were reimbursed $224,000 on that. We also received a trim

360
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:06,060
We did $13,000 worth of work and got $10,000 back from the Missouri Department of Conservation.

361
00:30:06,580 --> 00:30:12,080
So we're doing everything we can to maximize our dollars, get 50% to 75% back every time

362
00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:24,080
we take on a major project if that is possible. Over this time, revenue was $1,333,000,

363
00:30:29,500 --> 00:30:29,620
and

364
00:30:29,620 --> 00:30:31,760
though this is not the exact fiscal year,

365
00:30:31,900 --> 00:30:34,780
this is a point of year that the state

366
00:30:34,780 --> 00:30:35,800
would like us to report on.

367
00:30:37,660 --> 00:30:45,320
All right, the end of year actuals, our revenue was,

368
00:30:47,540 --> 00:30:52,240
again, $1 million.3, and our expenses was $1.6 million.

369
00:30:52,420 --> 00:30:54,380
And again, that was due, a large part

370
00:30:54,380 --> 00:30:57,300
to that $448,000 project.

371
00:30:57,300 --> 00:31:03,460
We had a $90,000 playground that we installed and then the trim grant over $13,000.

372
00:31:04,020 --> 00:31:09,560
Just about all of that other is contractual work and maintenance of the parks department.

373
00:31:11,800 --> 00:31:17,540
Our revenue sources, property taxes, the vast majority at 46%, sales tax makes up about

374
00:31:17,540 --> 00:31:24,080
a quarter of our percent, fees and charges, a small portion, and then grants last

375
00:31:24,080 --> 00:31:26,940
year were almost 25% of our revenue.

376
00:31:26,940 --> 00:31:31,580
That's an outstanding number that's much more than the parks department has ever

377
00:31:31,580 --> 00:31:32,400
reached before.

378
00:31:34,590 --> 00:31:38,350
Our budgeted expenses, staffing is a very large part. Our

379
00:31:38,350 --> 00:31:43,610
maintenance, because we have 170 acres under our control, taking care of all

380
00:31:43,610 --> 00:31:48,250
that, the infrastructure there, the pipes, the electricity, lights, as well as

381
00:31:48,250 --> 00:31:53,610
mowing. Programs and events, they're $50,000 and then our capital

382
00:31:53,610 --> 00:32:01,470
improvements in our 2023 budget is a very large number, and that is another grant project

383
00:32:02,530 --> 00:32:07,170
that will be a 50-50 sponsoring grant project for a $1 million total project.

384
00:32:08,350 --> 00:32:14,690
Our accomplishments this year, we have been offered to be awarded the Land Water Conservation

385
00:32:14,690 --> 00:32:15,490
Fund Grant.

386
00:32:15,710 --> 00:32:20,410
That is the $1 million project I was just speaking about, and we will recover $500,000

387
00:32:20,410 --> 00:32:21,670
once that is complete.

388
00:32:22,510 --> 00:32:25,530
We were awarded an omnibus grant for $3 million.

389
00:32:26,270 --> 00:32:28,330
This is a very non-typical grant.

390
00:32:28,730 --> 00:32:29,770
This is fully funded.

391
00:32:29,970 --> 00:32:30,650
100 percent.

392
00:32:30,830 --> 00:32:36,810
That's $3 million from the federal government coming into Raytown with no capital from the

393
00:32:36,810 --> 00:32:37,650
citizens of Raytown.

394
00:32:37,730 --> 00:32:40,690
That was just a gift from the federal government that we applied for.

395
00:32:41,470 --> 00:32:45,730
We did some asphalt work trail at Critzer Park at the end of 2002.

396
00:32:46,050 --> 00:32:49,190
We put in, like I said, the playground and a tennis court at Kanaggy Park.

397
00:32:49,750 --> 00:32:55,270
2022, we coordinated those, so those operations would be going together at the same time,

398
00:32:55,290 --> 00:32:58,570
so our park was not down for more construction than absolutely necessary.

399
00:33:00,310 --> 00:33:03,590
We had some donated property expanding Kanegi Park.

400
00:33:03,850 --> 00:33:07,470
We've been using solar LED lights at Coleman, Kanegi, and Critter Park.

401
00:33:07,550 --> 00:33:08,430
That helps with security.

402
00:33:08,990 --> 00:33:13,750
That also gives us no additional fees as far as utility bills.

403
00:33:13,750 --> 00:33:17,870
Once those are in, they just work at no further costs.

404
00:33:18,890 --> 00:33:29,650
We do have a security contractor that goes to all of our park properties twice after curfew of 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.

405
00:33:29,790 --> 00:33:32,250
We get checked, like I said, twice at every location.

406
00:33:33,670 --> 00:33:36,470
We did get two sculptures in 2022.

407
00:33:36,810 --> 00:33:37,710
One is in front of City Hall.

408
00:33:37,830 --> 00:33:39,250
One is at Coleman Park.

409
00:33:39,250 --> 00:33:42,990
that is a program, Creative Community Alliance.

410
00:33:43,730 --> 00:33:47,630
It's an art sharing program where we borrow those for two years

411
00:33:47,630 --> 00:33:51,570
and then we put them back and then we do have one that will be going back at the pocket park.

412
00:33:51,950 --> 00:33:54,570
And the duration on that one will be 2023 to 2025.

413
00:33:55,610 --> 00:33:58,950
We're hosting the Raytown High Tennis Team at Coleman Park.

414
00:33:59,370 --> 00:34:02,850
Very happy to do that. The Boys and Girls Tennis Team.

415
00:34:03,330 --> 00:34:07,130
We have a national race for the BMX coming up in July of 2023.

416
00:34:07,890 --> 00:34:13,570
And also, in this last year, the Ray Tom BMX Association has taken a step toward being

417
00:34:13,570 --> 00:34:16,050
more independent, and they are a 501C3.

418
00:34:16,530 --> 00:34:20,230
We did give them a grant instead of covering their operating expenses.

419
00:34:20,870 --> 00:34:24,530
We gave them a smaller portion of that grant that they are going to be holding onto and

420
00:34:24,530 --> 00:34:24,930
operating.

421
00:34:25,310 --> 00:34:26,650
We'll still monitor them.

422
00:34:26,930 --> 00:34:31,890
They are still using part of our properties that we allow them to use.

423
00:34:32,630 --> 00:34:36,290
and we hope to continue that partnership even though we are now more

424
00:34:36,290 --> 00:34:39,670
separate financially. And we have a new Little League Baseball down at Little

425
00:34:39,670 --> 00:34:44,430
Blue Trace. We're very excited about that. Here is the project at Critzer Park.

426
00:34:44,770 --> 00:34:48,430
We added some drainage. We were having some issues out there. It was under

427
00:34:48,430 --> 00:34:53,290
cutting a trail and creating an unsafe situation. So we did that and brought

428
00:34:53,290 --> 00:34:56,970
came back with Asphalt over the top. There's a new playground at

429
00:34:56,970 --> 00:35:00,330
Kanegi Park. That's our main playground right in the middle of that

430
00:35:00,330 --> 00:35:05,430
18-acre property. And then our tennis court, that was our big project of last year. That

431
00:35:05,430 --> 00:35:11,350
was the $448,000 that was dedicated in July before we got our full reimbursements, I believe

432
00:35:11,350 --> 00:35:17,730
right around September. Our ongoing duties maintenance, we have 176 acres that we maintain.

433
00:35:18,170 --> 00:35:23,250
We do a lot of beautification on 63rd Street and Raytown Road, Highway 50, 63rd Street

434
00:35:23,250 --> 00:35:28,610
Blue Ridge Cut-Off, Gregory and Raytown Road. We do the front of City Hall. All

435
00:35:28,610 --> 00:35:32,590
the streetscapes and there are 10 welcome to Raytown signs that we maintain. We did

436
00:35:32,590 --> 00:35:37,650
have to replace one at 53rd and Blue Ridge cutoff if anybody has noticed that

437
00:35:37,650 --> 00:35:41,310
that has the new City logo and as we replace those we'll be replacing the

438
00:35:41,310 --> 00:35:44,070
old City logo with the new City logo instead of doing that all at once.

439
00:35:46,090 --> 00:35:46,730
We do

440
00:35:46,730 --> 00:35:52,770
monitor the budget and expenditures for the fiscal year 2023. We do always

441
00:35:52,770 --> 00:35:59,030
seek out extra funding alternatives for maintenance and redevelopment. We do

442
00:35:59,030 --> 00:36:04,890
constantly are planning to implement park events and programs. We do support the

443
00:36:04,890 --> 00:36:12,150
city with snow removal, helping public works. We maintain the parking lot here

444
00:36:12,150 --> 00:36:17,510
and down at the police department to maintain those areas stay open and snow

445
00:36:17,510 --> 00:36:22,390
events. And then we the park board has been working on plans for our sales

446
00:36:22,390 --> 00:36:28,330
tax will sunset here in a couple years and we need to make plans on how to keep that stream

447
00:36:28,330 --> 00:36:28,730
of revenue.

448
00:36:30,330 --> 00:36:35,030
Our most popular events, we have a Raytown Youth Basketball League that's been going

449
00:36:35,030 --> 00:36:36,730
since I believe 2016.

450
00:36:37,570 --> 00:36:41,630
We have 50-plus softball leagues, we have tennis leagues and lessons for adults and

451
00:36:41,630 --> 00:36:46,710
kids, fishing derby, Kids Day at Kanagi that will be coming up next week on Thursday,

452
00:36:47,250 --> 00:36:48,710
June 15th.

453
00:36:49,950 --> 00:36:52,930
Raytown Live concerts that the mayor discussed earlier,

454
00:36:53,750 --> 00:36:54,950
and then our BMX racing.

455
00:36:55,310 --> 00:36:57,610
We had a big state race June 5th of last year,

456
00:36:57,750 --> 00:36:59,150
and then in July of this year,

457
00:36:59,490 --> 00:37:01,070
we will have a national race.

458
00:37:01,550 --> 00:37:03,530
Typically brings in over 3,000 people.

459
00:37:04,070 --> 00:37:05,850
Our Festival of Trails, it'll be the third annual.

460
00:37:06,130 --> 00:37:07,470
That'll be at the Rice Tremonti home

461
00:37:07,470 --> 00:37:09,450
on September 9th, 2023.

462
00:37:10,570 --> 00:37:12,410
Some of the major challenges that we have

463
00:37:12,410 --> 00:37:13,290
is our staffing level.

464
00:37:13,390 --> 00:37:14,890
Again, with nine full-time staff,

465
00:37:15,350 --> 00:37:17,990
we get a couple of people sick or a couple of vacations

466
00:37:17,990 --> 00:37:23,570
and we are severely limited, you know, we are then down 33 percent on our capacity.

467
00:37:24,330 --> 00:37:29,710
So with a staff that small, we really have to stay on our toes to keep things on top of our duties.

468
00:37:31,130 --> 00:37:33,850
Keeping horticultural staff on board is also very difficult.

469
00:37:34,470 --> 00:37:38,710
They seem like they get paid higher in other states than they do in Missouri,

470
00:37:39,270 --> 00:37:42,950
but we're hoping we have a good couple of staff members here now.

471
00:37:42,950 --> 00:37:48,110
getting sponsorships and donations for public events that is always a difficult

472
00:37:48,110 --> 00:37:53,970
task but we do the majority of our special events are fully funded by

473
00:37:53,970 --> 00:37:59,350
sponsorships and donations by businesses that local businesses the

474
00:37:59,350 --> 00:38:02,570
storage of park vehicles and our maintenance equipment we again have a

475
00:38:02,570 --> 00:38:07,670
small building for our maintenance building we do end up storing city

476
00:38:07,670 --> 00:38:12,370
trucks city-owned trucks outdoors it's not an ideal situation we have had

477
00:38:12,370 --> 00:38:18,270
some things stolen in the past, but we keep moving with our updated lights and security

478
00:38:18,270 --> 00:38:24,570
systems to try to keep that at bay while we struggle on how to store our equipment during

479
00:38:24,570 --> 00:38:25,090
off hours.

480
00:38:26,600 --> 00:38:31,350
We did have limited capital improvement capability with our current level of revenue, which

481
00:38:31,350 --> 00:38:34,930
is why we are always seeking grants and other funding opportunities.

482
00:38:36,170 --> 00:38:38,270
And then we just have a lot of aging structures.

483
00:38:38,670 --> 00:38:40,970
We have trouble keeping up with our facilities.

484
00:38:40,970 --> 00:38:45,270
We have playgrounds at Coleman Park that are over 20 years old.

485
00:38:45,890 --> 00:38:50,190
Kritzer Park, which was brand new when I got hired here, that was developed in 2020.

486
00:38:50,830 --> 00:38:56,130
I'm sorry, 2000, year 2000, all that equipment out there is now going to be 23 years old.

487
00:38:56,610 --> 00:39:03,390
So that stuff keeps aging and it's our duty to keep replacing it and keep that in the safest condition that we can.

488
00:39:03,810 --> 00:39:09,610
And then our ongoing security issues with after hours activity and then side shows in a couple of our parks

489
00:39:09,610 --> 00:39:13,870
that we've been taking steps to try to find cures for that.

490
00:39:16,280 --> 00:39:22,940
Our future plans, our land water conservation fund is going to do a demolition on our 53rd

491
00:39:22,940 --> 00:39:28,880
Street property that's a million dollars to demo that and then the redevelopment of

492
00:39:28,880 --> 00:39:32,120
the Super Splash property with the omnibus funding grant.

493
00:39:32,400 --> 00:39:33,160
We will come back.

494
00:39:33,400 --> 00:39:38,240
That'll be basically a phase two to put back a community park where there was a water

495
00:39:38,240 --> 00:39:39,580
park that is no longer in use.

496
00:39:40,320 --> 00:39:43,960
We are going to redevelop Kanagi Park with some ADA compliance.

497
00:39:44,460 --> 00:39:45,920
Our restrooms are not great out there.

498
00:39:46,060 --> 00:39:48,820
Our trail surfaces are not great out there.

499
00:39:49,420 --> 00:39:53,260
And while we're doing some work out there, that skate park is 20 years old.

500
00:39:53,300 --> 00:39:56,760
Like I had said, we're going to replace some items out there for the skate park and just

501
00:39:56,760 --> 00:40:02,500
try to make more ADA compliant since we are doing so much work out at that location.

502
00:40:03,980 --> 00:40:09,260
We also need to redevelop some aging structures at Coleman Park, again, the playgrounds

503
00:40:09,260 --> 00:40:11,300
and the restroom, shelter houses out there

504
00:40:11,300 --> 00:40:13,500
are 1970s construction.

505
00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:15,720
You know, we've got a full life out of those

506
00:40:15,720 --> 00:40:19,880
and we need to bring better infrastructure

507
00:40:19,880 --> 00:40:20,740
to our citizens.

508
00:40:22,740 --> 00:40:24,740
Park Board does have a five year schedule

509
00:40:24,740 --> 00:40:26,700
for capital improvements, infrastructure,

510
00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:29,800
vehicle replacement, so we do have a map

511
00:40:29,800 --> 00:40:32,320
for the next five years on where our money is gonna go.

512
00:40:32,780 --> 00:40:34,220
We need to add to our trail system

513
00:40:34,220 --> 00:40:35,720
and connect to the larger trails

514
00:40:35,720 --> 00:40:37,720
that are available in the area

515
00:40:37,720 --> 00:40:43,860
and always keep and hire great, as good a staff as we could possibly get.

516
00:40:44,560 --> 00:40:49,560
It's our staff that take these tasks seriously and get our work done.

517
00:40:51,760 --> 00:40:56,500
Our budget concerns over on the left column, you can see that our personnel is a large number.

518
00:40:57,680 --> 00:41:05,330
Supplies and services, repairs and maintenance, utilities, asset management, those are all fixed costs.

519
00:41:05,330 --> 00:41:08,410
We're at $1.1 million with our fixed costs.

520
00:41:08,850 --> 00:41:12,430
And then as you can see in our parks revenue in 2022,

521
00:41:13,030 --> 00:41:14,790
we were $1.3 million,

522
00:41:15,170 --> 00:41:20,610
but we had almost $230,000 in reimbursement from grants.

523
00:41:21,510 --> 00:41:25,970
So a lot of that revenue, that $230,000 of that revenue

524
00:41:26,500 --> 00:41:28,190
was reimbursement from grant work.

525
00:41:28,650 --> 00:41:32,790
So we are just at the very edge of our capacity

526
00:41:32,790 --> 00:41:35,150
on what we can do with the funds that we do receive.

527
00:41:37,310 --> 00:41:41,130
And then I do want to – would be remiss if I didn't reach out to – and recognize

528
00:41:41,130 --> 00:41:43,470
some of the people in the city that are very helpful.

529
00:41:43,910 --> 00:41:45,790
Of course, the city administration is great.

530
00:41:46,570 --> 00:41:51,550
Tony Alexander, our public information officer, has taken on a lot of tasks and helped us

531
00:41:51,550 --> 00:41:55,170
get the word out and made media contacts that we would never have been able to

532
00:41:55,170 --> 00:41:55,750
made without her.

533
00:41:56,330 --> 00:41:58,570
The Rayton Police have been giving us support.

534
00:41:59,170 --> 00:42:00,930
Public Works is an unsung hero.

535
00:42:00,930 --> 00:42:07,610
They're always loaning us equipment, sharing their expertise, and again, just today we

536
00:42:07,610 --> 00:42:11,090
loaned them a piece of equipment that they didn't have, so that's a great, great working

537
00:42:11,090 --> 00:42:14,570
relationship with the Public Works Department, and we really appreciate that.

538
00:42:15,150 --> 00:42:21,410
The finance and administration help us in our long-range goals on what we're trying

539
00:42:21,410 --> 00:42:27,070
to accomplish, how to get there, and it's great to bounce ideas off of the professionals

540
00:42:27,070 --> 00:42:29,370
that the city have at their disposal.

541
00:42:29,370 --> 00:42:31,650
So I want to thank them for that.

542
00:42:32,830 --> 00:42:37,070
We have just a ton of volunteers that we work with, the BMX Board, the Bryce Tremonti Board,

543
00:42:37,670 --> 00:42:41,990
Qantas, they were a big sponsor for our fishing derby just this past weekend.

544
00:42:42,630 --> 00:42:46,950
Connection Point Church has always been great, Chamber of Commerce, Raytown Rotary.

545
00:42:47,570 --> 00:42:51,110
We have tons of scouts and Eagle Scout projects in our parks if you want to come

546
00:42:51,110 --> 00:42:51,670
and see some.

547
00:42:52,810 --> 00:42:56,730
The River Church, Graceway Church is helping us this coming weekend, they're having

548
00:42:56,730 --> 00:43:00,390
a big served day. I think they'll bring out 40 volunteers. They're going to help paint

549
00:43:00,390 --> 00:43:07,210
some of our shelter houses. So that's just wonderful. The Honor Society provide a lot

550
00:43:07,210 --> 00:43:14,770
of volunteer hours and just want to appreciate that. That is basically the end of my presentation.

551
00:43:15,410 --> 00:43:21,430
I did have a big packet that I sent. I wanted to bring this to your attention. This is

552
00:43:21,430 --> 00:43:25,550
a report from the City Works, the City Asset Management Program.

553
00:43:26,530 --> 00:43:30,070
We start, this went live in August, that's why we started in August with this report.

554
00:43:30,790 --> 00:43:34,610
I don't know if anybody has any specifics on this, I found very interesting the very

555
00:43:34,610 --> 00:43:35,130
last page.

556
00:43:35,250 --> 00:43:40,970
If you want to turn that just to the very last page, it lists all the people, all

557
00:43:40,970 --> 00:43:45,370
the different tasks that we do, and the very last report is on trash services.

558
00:43:46,290 --> 00:43:56,970
Just paying our staff hourly rate for yearly trash service, that is $25,357 of staff time

559
00:43:56,970 --> 00:44:02,430
that we put towards emptying our trash cans, picking up litter, cleaning up our parks.

560
00:44:03,070 --> 00:44:06,430
And so I have said it before, this is not our equipment.

561
00:44:07,810 --> 00:44:10,150
Actually, this document was almost twice as long.

562
00:44:10,250 --> 00:44:12,010
I left all the equipment expenses out of it.

563
00:44:15,290 --> 00:44:19,270
So, it is a real thing when somebody says, oh, just take a couple guys, go over there,

564
00:44:19,330 --> 00:44:24,090
it'll take you a couple hours, we're talking hundreds of dollars of staff time and equipment

565
00:44:24,090 --> 00:44:24,770
to do that.

566
00:44:24,970 --> 00:44:29,090
And it may need to be done, but sometimes we can have a volunteer do that at a different

567
00:44:29,090 --> 00:44:33,490
time and it's at no cost and the volunteer gets the benefit of doing what they're doing

568
00:44:33,490 --> 00:44:34,570
to help the city.

569
00:44:34,810 --> 00:44:40,370
So, at any rate, I just wanted to put that perspective out there that a couple hours

570
00:44:40,370 --> 00:44:45,410
of city staff time with the equipment it adds up and with this new asset

571
00:44:45,410 --> 00:44:48,950
management program we can print out these reports to see exactly on what day

572
00:44:48,950 --> 00:44:54,810
what we accomplished and what the cost of the citizens of Raytown was. Very good.

573
00:44:54,810 --> 00:44:55,510
Open the door.

574
00:44:56,170 --> 00:44:56,890
Great presentations.

575
00:44:58,890 --> 00:44:59,910
Anybody have any questions?

576
00:45:02,650 --> 00:45:06,110
Yes, I have a couple questions. You said how many people come in for the BMX?

577
00:45:06,790 --> 00:45:12,750
Oh, we have a few thousand people come in. That's a very family-oriented experience.

578
00:45:13,170 --> 00:45:17,510
So a lot of them come in with campers, and they'll bring the whole family, you know,

579
00:45:18,150 --> 00:45:19,630
three or four kids and mom and dad.

580
00:45:20,450 --> 00:45:21,170
They're coming from all over.

581
00:45:21,230 --> 00:45:24,170
Yeah, and these are the types that travel down to Oklahoma.

582
00:45:24,950 --> 00:45:30,210
We got people the last time we ran one, and I think it was 2023, 2021.

583
00:45:30,950 --> 00:45:36,110
We had license plates from New Jersey, we had license plates from California, you know Colorado out there

584
00:45:36,110 --> 00:45:41,690
So it was a great event and it's not very often that Raytown is a draw for the entire nation

585
00:45:41,690 --> 00:45:45,970
And so that is a very special thing to be able to promote that sport

586
00:45:45,970 --> 00:45:49,890
It's a unique sport and it helps for us to find our niches

587
00:45:49,890 --> 00:45:54,030
You know find where we could be the most effective and not in competition with bigger cities

588
00:45:54,810 --> 00:45:55,890
That can outspend us

589
00:45:56,830 --> 00:45:58,950
Yeah, if you've never been there, it's pretty amazing.

590
00:45:59,190 --> 00:45:59,530
It is amazing.

591
00:45:59,530 --> 00:46:00,930
I've been there numerous times to watch it.

592
00:46:01,150 --> 00:46:02,290
It's unbelievable.

593
00:46:02,910 --> 00:46:04,590
Can I have one more question?

594
00:46:04,670 --> 00:46:05,130
Yes, go ahead.

595
00:46:07,050 --> 00:46:12,070
So also, with our parks, you had mentioned the ongoing security issues.

596
00:46:12,750 --> 00:46:14,390
Can you mention that you're taking steps?

597
00:46:14,890 --> 00:46:16,610
I know I've had several people ask me.

598
00:46:16,910 --> 00:46:19,870
Can you kind of just let people know what their steps are?

599
00:46:20,330 --> 00:46:21,130
I appreciate the question.

600
00:46:21,270 --> 00:46:21,530
Thank you.

601
00:46:21,530 --> 00:46:26,530
Okay, out of Kanagi Park, people that have been out there have noticed we've had some

602
00:46:26,530 --> 00:46:28,730
problems with side shows, some car activity out there.

603
00:46:29,150 --> 00:46:31,810
We have put down some bots dots, they are traffic dots.

604
00:46:32,350 --> 00:46:33,410
That was a first effort.

605
00:46:33,610 --> 00:46:36,690
I don't know that we're completely done with those, or we're going to come back with

606
00:46:36,690 --> 00:46:38,890
a different effort altogether.

607
00:46:39,830 --> 00:46:44,390
But those are many speed bumps that we place out to try to prevent people from speeding,

608
00:46:44,630 --> 00:46:47,230
from sliding, from doing donuts, and things like that.

609
00:46:47,990 --> 00:46:55,490
So I don't know that it has been as effective as we hoped, but it was the first step in making

610
00:46:55,490 --> 00:46:57,770
an effort towards addressing that situation.

611
00:46:58,970 --> 00:47:04,390
And then we do had Homeland Security, the same security company, the school district

612
00:47:04,390 --> 00:47:04,810
hires.

613
00:47:05,310 --> 00:47:09,710
They were already driving around checking 13 school locations, so we added about seven

614
00:47:09,710 --> 00:47:10,570
park locations.

615
00:47:11,230 --> 00:47:15,830
We get a very reasonable rate with those, since that company is already very active

616
00:47:15,830 --> 00:47:22,430
in the area. And the other benefit is that when we have activities on school property,

617
00:47:22,550 --> 00:47:27,690
school has activities on our property, it's the same security staff that is familiar with

618
00:47:27,690 --> 00:47:33,870
the area and familiar with the situation. So again, they are doing curfew checks after

619
00:47:33,870 --> 00:47:36,750
hours. They stop by twice a night at all properties.

620
00:47:38,330 --> 00:47:39,490
Thank you very much.

621
00:47:39,870 --> 00:47:40,390
Brian Myers.

622
00:47:41,610 --> 00:47:45,330
Thank you. I'll make sure and take my bike to the BMX track.

623
00:47:47,090 --> 00:47:51,890
I don't land as soft as I used to when I was younger.

624
00:47:54,130 --> 00:48:00,970
So looking at the 22 revenue versus expenses, I know those numbers are skewed for grant

625
00:48:00,970 --> 00:48:01,690
income.

626
00:48:02,830 --> 00:48:06,930
With the implementation of our salary study, I'm looking forward.

627
00:48:07,990 --> 00:48:12,290
Are we thinking we're going to end up in the red for next year?

628
00:48:13,530 --> 00:48:18,270
We've been operating in the red kind of you know we've been our expenses have

629
00:48:18,270 --> 00:48:23,370
been higher than our net revenue for quite a while but we did have have a park

630
00:48:23,370 --> 00:48:30,670
reserve there to help fund those those overages but yes you know with the the

631
00:48:30,670 --> 00:48:34,030
step increase the bit you know fairly large step increase that we had during

632
00:48:34,030 --> 00:48:38,150
for the salary survey in comparison to what other cities are paying in the

633
00:48:38,150 --> 00:48:46,630
metro area. We are going to take a $60,000, $70,000 step up in salaries. That money has

634
00:48:46,630 --> 00:48:51,530
to come from somewhere. So we are looking at what we can do to still maintain our parks,

635
00:48:51,790 --> 00:48:58,170
still keep our parks mowed with our contractors that we need to have, and still pay for our

636
00:48:58,170 --> 00:49:02,930
utilities and all the other expenses that we have. So we just had our very first

637
00:49:02,930 --> 00:49:06,510
budget meeting this morning, so I haven't had a lot of time to look at that, but

638
00:49:06,510 --> 00:49:08,870
But that was one of the first things that jumped into my mind, yes.

639
00:49:09,090 --> 00:49:09,330
Gotcha.

640
00:49:09,550 --> 00:49:12,090
And then August 2024 is obviously with the sales tax.

641
00:49:12,890 --> 00:49:13,790
That's an important tax.

642
00:49:15,050 --> 00:49:19,990
We would like to have a date on when we're going to go to go on the ballot.

643
00:49:20,470 --> 00:49:25,550
That's basically our cut off on if we're, you know, we must have a plan to be on the

644
00:49:25,550 --> 00:49:26,690
ballot by August 2024.

645
00:49:27,330 --> 00:49:27,450
Okay.

646
00:49:27,650 --> 00:49:27,950
Thank you, Dave.

647
00:49:28,290 --> 00:49:28,650
Thank you.

648
00:49:31,480 --> 00:49:32,400
I have a question.

649
00:49:32,400 --> 00:49:33,640
Ms. Bill, did you want to speak?

650
00:49:33,860 --> 00:49:34,060
Yes.

651
00:49:34,240 --> 00:49:34,420
Okay.

652
00:49:34,420 --> 00:49:39,900
The part of the day that you have when you're talking about going on a 2024 ballot in August,

653
00:49:41,160 --> 00:49:46,640
do you know what percentage we're looking at asking for so that we can start planning?

654
00:49:47,060 --> 00:49:47,220
Sure.

655
00:49:48,380 --> 00:49:54,960
We actually talked about this with City Admins a little bit today about do we want to go

656
00:49:54,960 --> 00:49:56,300
with this all with sales tax?

657
00:49:56,500 --> 00:49:58,700
We want to consider property tax.

658
00:49:59,260 --> 00:50:04,820
You know, just basically exploring the ideas, exploring the different avenues that are out

659
00:50:04,820 --> 00:50:06,480
there to help fund the parks department.

660
00:50:07,340 --> 00:50:11,540
So we've begun those talks when we need to start talking to the citizens about that,

661
00:50:11,640 --> 00:50:15,560
when we can start getting citizen input on what they would like to see with their money,

662
00:50:16,120 --> 00:50:21,100
what they would like to see accomplished, and definitely what direction we shouldn't

663
00:50:21,100 --> 00:50:21,560
be going in.

664
00:50:21,820 --> 00:50:24,320
You know, I mean, that's as important as what direction we should be going in.

665
00:50:24,360 --> 00:50:26,580
It's just to keep that communication open.

666
00:50:26,580 --> 00:50:30,080
This is tax dollars and it needs to have that oversight.

667
00:50:30,400 --> 00:50:36,060
Okay, because I was wondering when we wanted to start so that we can put the information out to the people

668
00:50:36,680 --> 00:50:41,300
as they keep saying that they don't get the information and that it's not out there.

669
00:50:41,440 --> 00:50:44,440
And I know before we started on this like a year out.

670
00:50:45,000 --> 00:50:48,080
So I just want to make sure so we can start getting that out there.

671
00:50:49,100 --> 00:50:52,320
And then later on you can tell us about what it was.

672
00:50:52,320 --> 00:50:54,680
because did we do 70-30 last time?

673
00:50:54,980 --> 00:50:56,260
It was 75-25.

674
00:50:56,800 --> 00:50:59,020
It was 75-25 with the stormwater.

675
00:50:59,320 --> 00:51:03,020
Stormwater got 25% of the park's sales tax.

676
00:51:04,140 --> 00:51:08,620
And I would have liked to have been on the ballot

677
00:51:08,620 --> 00:51:11,300
on November of 23 this year,

678
00:51:11,640 --> 00:51:13,880
but I think we need to have a little bit more discussion

679
00:51:13,880 --> 00:51:14,280
than that.

680
00:51:14,480 --> 00:51:16,120
I think we need to bring more people aboard

681
00:51:17,080 --> 00:51:21,680
and really look at what projects we need to accomplish.

682
00:51:22,920 --> 00:51:26,600
before we started talking about what revenue level we need to be at.

683
00:51:27,380 --> 00:51:32,100
So, again, the Parks Department has not had an increase since our very first

684
00:51:32,100 --> 00:51:35,800
one-eighth cent sales tax in 2003.

685
00:51:36,400 --> 00:51:40,080
So we're going on the exact same funding level that we have been for the last 20 years

686
00:51:40,080 --> 00:51:42,360
and it's just not sustainable.

687
00:51:42,720 --> 00:51:47,120
We are underwater, basically, on our revenues versus our expenses.

688
00:51:47,940 --> 00:51:49,960
Thank you, Mr. Walbert.

689
00:51:51,180 --> 00:51:55,680
yes I was just going to suggest looking at I agree with you November would be

690
00:51:55,680 --> 00:51:59,100
preferred and I believe from what I understand there's going to be stuff

691
00:51:59,100 --> 00:52:03,480
from the state on the ballot which would cut your cost down considerably yeah so

692
00:52:03,480 --> 00:52:07,360
you may want to be looking at that thank you thank you Mr.

693
00:52:10,390 --> 00:52:11,830
Mayor when was the

694
00:52:11,830 --> 00:52:17,750
last levy increase on property tax when did that occur oh my goodness I that

695
00:52:17,750 --> 00:52:19,490
That was before me, honestly.

696
00:52:20,570 --> 00:52:23,190
The Parks Department, I don't remember when that was.

697
00:52:23,430 --> 00:52:27,610
I was hired in 1999, and that was before that.

698
00:52:28,210 --> 00:52:31,410
I was here for when we had our first sales tax in 2003.

699
00:52:31,630 --> 00:52:32,270
That was a big push.

700
00:52:32,410 --> 00:52:32,930
I remember that.

701
00:52:34,130 --> 00:52:39,390
I don't know when the park's property tax was initiated.

702
00:52:39,670 --> 00:52:41,290
Honestly, I'd have to go do some research on that.

703
00:52:41,770 --> 00:52:42,190
Okay.

704
00:52:42,310 --> 00:52:46,250
And that's 46% of the revenue, right?

705
00:52:46,290 --> 00:52:46,470
Yeah.

706
00:52:46,470 --> 00:52:47,730
comes from property tax.

707
00:52:50,210 --> 00:52:58,050
When is the exact date that the current sales tax sunsets?

708
00:52:58,390 --> 00:53:05,730
Okay, that was last past November of 2019. That was overwhelmingly supported. It was a renewal.

709
00:53:07,790 --> 00:53:15,790
And when we string all those together, they keep adding on when the last one ends and the last

710
00:53:15,790 --> 00:53:17,430
I believe it is 2026.

711
00:53:17,690 --> 00:53:24,870
If we do not get something passed before, what would the last be, November 25, we would

712
00:53:24,870 --> 00:53:30,150
probably have a gap in funding where our sales tax would run out before we would be able to

713
00:53:30,150 --> 00:53:32,030
go on, get it in April.

714
00:53:32,150 --> 00:53:34,290
I think it's March 31, 2026.

715
00:53:34,850 --> 00:53:38,010
Sales tax is 24% of our revenue.

716
00:53:38,230 --> 00:53:39,690
Yes, that's 24% of our revenue.

717
00:53:39,950 --> 00:53:40,310
Thank you.

718
00:53:40,650 --> 00:53:40,950
Thank you.

719
00:53:41,210 --> 00:53:42,430
Thank you, Mr. Van Boesker.

720
00:53:42,430 --> 00:53:44,530
Mr. Hayden, do you have anything?

721
00:53:46,230 --> 00:53:46,630
Okay.

722
00:53:47,350 --> 00:53:47,670
All right.

723
00:53:48,550 --> 00:53:49,530
Dave, excellent.

724
00:53:49,790 --> 00:53:51,430
Thank you for the presentation.

725
00:53:51,830 --> 00:53:52,290
Thank you all.

726
00:53:52,370 --> 00:53:52,930
Have a good meeting.

727
00:53:53,430 --> 00:53:53,770
All right.

728
00:53:55,010 --> 00:53:55,550
Okay.

729
00:53:56,610 --> 00:53:58,390
We want to legislate your session.

730
00:53:58,630 --> 00:54:01,560
We have before us consent agenda approval of the main 15th,

731
00:54:02,490 --> 00:54:05,530
2023, greater Board of Aldermen meeting minutes and two

732
00:54:05,530 --> 00:54:07,270
resolutions for the appointment of Brett Hughes,

733
00:54:07,470 --> 00:54:10,650
reappointment of Brett Hughes Park Board and appointment of

734
00:54:10,650 --> 00:54:12,370
Rhonda Herring to the Park Board.

735
00:54:13,070 --> 00:54:13,950
Do I hear a motion?

736
00:54:14,130 --> 00:54:14,650
Mr. Mayor?

737
00:54:15,110 --> 00:54:16,590
Mr. Asia has a motion.

738
00:54:17,550 --> 00:54:18,910
Ms. Memms, is that you?

739
00:54:19,910 --> 00:54:20,950
Ms. Memms has a second.

740
00:54:22,290 --> 00:54:23,170
Any discussion?

741
00:54:23,730 --> 00:54:24,250
Any discussion?

742
00:54:24,650 --> 00:54:25,270
Call the roll, please.

743
00:54:26,170 --> 00:54:27,050
Who was the first, Mayor?

744
00:54:29,400 --> 00:54:30,040
Mr. Asia.

745
00:54:30,900 --> 00:54:34,100
I really did say the first, and then he said it at the same time.

746
00:54:34,240 --> 00:54:34,780
Come and be happy.

747
00:54:35,000 --> 00:54:35,540
But that's okay.

748
00:54:37,020 --> 00:54:37,320
Okay.

749
00:54:38,480 --> 00:54:39,180
Alderman Asia?

750
00:54:39,840 --> 00:54:40,060
Yes.

751
00:54:40,940 --> 00:54:41,820
Alderman Memms?

752
00:54:42,840 --> 00:55:03,220
Alderman Walters. Yes. Alderman Scott. Yes. Alderman Hayden. Yes. Alderman Myers. Yes. Alderman Emerson. Yes. Alderman Garza. Yes. Alderman Phil van Busker. Yes. Alderman Crescent. Yes. Yes.

753
00:55:12,650 --> 00:55:13,410
Microphones.

754
00:55:17,100 --> 00:55:18,460
Motion passes unanimously.

755
00:55:19,720 --> 00:55:21,720
Ms. Herring, where are you at?

756
00:55:22,540 --> 00:55:23,580
Could you step up here, please?

757
00:55:24,860 --> 00:55:25,700
I'm here tonight.

758
00:55:27,660 --> 00:55:28,040
Where are you at?

759
00:55:32,960 --> 00:55:33,800
Mr. Hue, are you here?

760
00:55:34,140 --> 00:55:34,380
Just

761
00:55:37,450 --> 00:55:41,670
for the appointment on him, so I think he was out of town on business with a bicycle group.

762
00:55:43,430 --> 00:55:43,790
Hi.

763
00:55:44,090 --> 00:55:45,270
Hello, good evening, everyone.

764
00:55:45,670 --> 00:55:51,210
Introduce yourself just a little bit in a little short speech of what your background is real quick

765
00:55:51,210 --> 00:56:00,330
and what you. My name is Rhonda Herring. I've been a resident of Ray Town since 1997. Two

766
00:56:00,330 --> 00:56:04,930
children went through the school district. I come from Transportation UPS,

767
00:56:05,290 --> 00:56:10,470
moving freight. I own a 24-hour daycare out here, so I'm just really going to be

768
00:56:10,470 --> 00:56:13,550
a part to help build into what we need done.

769
00:56:16,570 --> 00:56:18,510
Welcome aboard. Thank you. Thank

770
00:56:18,510 --> 00:56:19,230
Thank you.

771
00:56:19,530 --> 00:56:25,110
And now you've met the park director and then you've got some fellow park board members back

772
00:56:25,110 --> 00:56:25,270
there.

773
00:56:25,590 --> 00:56:26,170
And thank you.

774
00:56:27,650 --> 00:56:30,330
Thank you very much for offering to serve.

775
00:56:30,750 --> 00:56:32,210
We appreciate it very, very much.

776
00:56:41,360 --> 00:56:43,420
Okay, we're going to move on to old business.

777
00:56:44,140 --> 00:56:44,740
Ms. Mims,

778
00:56:48,540 --> 00:56:49,580
microphone please.

779
00:56:50,800 --> 00:56:51,820
I'm going to hold it.

780
00:56:52,340 --> 00:56:59,800
I'd like to make a motion to continue the second reading of bill number 6635-23.

781
00:57:00,280 --> 00:57:03,760
to the July 11, 2023 meeting, 2023 meeting.

782
00:57:03,940 --> 00:57:04,360
All second.

783
00:57:05,780 --> 00:57:09,300
Okay, Ms. Mim has had the first, second by Ms. Garza.

784
00:57:14,270 --> 00:57:15,570
This is the second reading, so,

785
00:57:15,770 --> 00:57:17,010
but we're going to move it to,

786
00:57:17,730 --> 00:57:18,590
do you want to explain that?

787
00:57:21,590 --> 00:57:22,250
Microphone, please.

788
00:57:23,030 --> 00:57:25,610
In another world today, I just ran the twins.

789
00:57:26,190 --> 00:57:26,890
I'm sorry, y'all,

790
00:57:27,010 --> 00:57:29,370
and they've got me discombobulated for a minute.

791
00:57:30,110 --> 00:57:32,370
The reason for this is I wanted to make sure

792
00:57:32,370 --> 00:57:35,150
that we were all in consistency

793
00:57:35,150 --> 00:57:41,250
with the two from Kansas City and what Raytown's information was so that it

794
00:57:41,250 --> 00:57:44,870
wasn't like one is doing more than the other. So if they get together and they

795
00:57:44,870 --> 00:57:49,270
do it and nobody has gotten to that point yet, so I want to make sure that

796
00:57:49,270 --> 00:57:53,670
in fairness to both Kansas City and Raytown because this property is split

797
00:57:53,670 --> 00:57:57,270
between both of us. Right. I appreciate that very much because we had that

798
00:57:57,270 --> 00:58:02,130
situation a long time ago on that same property. If I remember right. So all

799
00:58:02,130 --> 00:58:04,270
All right, Mr. Van Bosker.

800
00:58:05,390 --> 00:58:13,350
All right, from the last meeting when we heard the first reading of this, it was my understanding

801
00:58:13,350 --> 00:58:21,990
that they really wanted to get the Raytown portion of this first before going to Kansas

802
00:58:21,990 --> 00:58:27,210
City with it to make sure this is in place, because it's a small portion of it that's

803
00:58:27,210 --> 00:58:35,370
in Raytown and it's going to involve our sewer system and the building itself, I believe,

804
00:58:35,730 --> 00:58:43,010
or at least most of it, I believe all of it, would be in Kansas City, but maybe a portion

805
00:58:43,010 --> 00:58:44,830
of it could be in Raytown.

806
00:58:45,090 --> 00:58:53,870
But we have a lot of properties around Raytown that are split between the cities, personal

807
00:58:53,870 --> 00:59:02,510
properties and businesses and you know so it's something we deal with a lot. I

808
00:59:02,510 --> 00:59:06,750
don't know that I would be in favor of delaying this I think it's something that

809
00:59:06,750 --> 00:59:13,290
would be unfair to the people who have asked for this I don't believe I would

810
00:59:13,290 --> 00:59:20,170
be in favor of delaying it so I will vote against it. Okay anyone else call

811
00:59:20,170 --> 00:59:30,370
Roll roll please. Alderman Memms. Yes. Alderman Garza. Yes. Alderman Hayden. Yes. Alderman

812
00:59:30,370 --> 00:59:40,270
Creasek. Yes. Alderman Emerson. Yes. Alderman Scott. Yes. Alderman Van Busker. No.

813
00:59:48,850 --> 00:59:49,850
Alderman

814
00:59:49,850 --> 00:59:53,410
carries nine to one. Thank you everybody for your comments on that.

815
00:59:56,330 --> 00:59:57,710
Before we...

816
01:00:00,000 --> 01:00:02,000
Move on to number three.

817
01:00:04,200 --> 01:00:08,620
I'm going to ask the attorney to give us some information about a petition.

818
01:00:10,420 --> 01:00:15,800
Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So the next item on the agenda is going to be the public hearing

819
01:00:16,420 --> 01:00:21,960
to consider rezoning. You will notice in your packet there was a protest petition that was filed.

820
01:00:22,680 --> 01:00:28,860
So just wanted to kind of explain what that means. So the protest petition

821
01:00:29,580 --> 01:00:35,640
by state statute and by city code needed to be verified and needed to be signed by at

822
01:00:35,640 --> 01:00:41,760
least 30% of the property owners within 185 feet of the proposed rezoning.

823
01:00:42,260 --> 01:00:44,320
City staff did confirm that.

824
01:00:44,720 --> 01:00:46,680
It was signed by the requisite number.

825
01:00:47,340 --> 01:00:54,440
So what that means is that in order to approve the rezoning, it will require a two-third

826
01:00:55,180 --> 01:00:58,620
supermajority vote which is in this case would be seven out of the ten

827
01:00:58,620 --> 01:01:04,260
members and have to answer any questions. Anybody have any questions about that

828
01:01:04,260 --> 01:01:05,020
before we get started?

829
01:01:07,660 --> 01:01:12,640
Okay. So here's just a little bit further folks for those

830
01:01:12,640 --> 01:01:17,580
that are going to come up and speak. Okay. The comments must be directed to the

831
01:01:17,580 --> 01:01:21,580
mayor and the Board of Aldermen not to any one individual on the staff or any

832
01:01:21,580 --> 01:01:26,280
other individual. You need to address them to us and there will be no

833
01:01:26,280 --> 01:01:32,040
personal attacks being permitted. If you do, I'll ask you to sit down and your time will

834
01:01:32,040 --> 01:01:41,040
be up. Other than that, you can know what the rest of the rules are. So I will first

835
01:01:41,040 --> 01:01:43,960
have Ms. Henry do the first reading. Ms. Henry?

836
01:01:44,900 --> 01:01:50,040
In order to approve an amendment to the official zoning map of the City of Raytown for District

837
01:01:50,040 --> 01:01:56,460
R1 low density residential to District NC neighborhood commercial filed by the property

838
01:01:56,460 --> 01:02:03,660
owner Nazrudin Bamami, member Raytown Real Estate Development LLC of Olathe, Kansas, affecting

839
01:02:03,660 --> 01:02:11,580
the southeastern approximately 2.5 acres of a 5.29-acre parcel of land located at 5348

840
01:02:11,580 --> 01:02:15,220
Blue Ridge Boulevard within the city of Raytown, Jackson County, Missouri.

841
01:02:16,000 --> 01:02:19,740
Okay, and I will now open the public hearing to consider an amendment that she just

842
01:02:19,740 --> 01:02:20,000
read.

843
01:02:20,720 --> 01:02:21,440
Mr. Van Busker.

844
01:02:22,120 --> 01:02:23,060
Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

845
01:02:23,060 --> 01:02:29,740
I just want to make everyone aware that I have had ex parte communication related to this

846
01:02:29,740 --> 01:02:30,060
matter.

847
01:02:30,380 --> 01:02:38,300
I've had a number of emails, calls, and personal contacts from people expressing their opinion

848
01:02:38,300 --> 01:02:43,000
related to this, and I do not have an opinion on it.

849
01:02:43,420 --> 01:02:49,820
I will reserve that until I hear all the evidence and information presented to us

850
01:02:49,820 --> 01:02:52,440
before I make any decisions, so I want to make you aware of that.

851
01:02:52,440 --> 01:02:58,060
Thank you. Now that you've got that started before we have anybody come up to the podium,

852
01:02:58,620 --> 01:03:05,720
do we have anyone else on the board that has had ex parte, Ms. Crazy, to give you any ex

853
01:03:05,720 --> 01:03:10,640
parte communication? Yes. Go ahead and get your mic and you start off since you're down there.

854
01:03:12,640 --> 01:03:19,480
Just at the Beniz town hall, people made me aware of the situation and that's yeah.

855
01:03:19,480 --> 01:03:20,780
Nobody's contacted you, so.

856
01:03:21,100 --> 01:03:21,620
Knock knock.

857
01:03:22,340 --> 01:03:23,020
Miss Phimps.

858
01:03:23,340 --> 01:03:27,340
I've only had one person that called me, but I only listened.

859
01:03:27,940 --> 01:03:30,560
And I wanted to make sure I was being fair at the time.

860
01:03:30,720 --> 01:03:32,400
Like I told him, we didn't have any information.

861
01:03:32,700 --> 01:03:34,080
Didn't know anything about it.

862
01:03:34,160 --> 01:03:36,080
And I wanted to be fair to both sides.

863
01:03:36,800 --> 01:03:37,080
So, yes.

864
01:03:37,660 --> 01:03:38,440
Thank you, Bill.

865
01:03:39,020 --> 01:03:39,340
Garza.

866
01:03:39,880 --> 01:03:40,880
Yes, I have received.

867
01:03:40,940 --> 01:03:41,580
Microphone, please.

868
01:03:43,260 --> 01:03:46,360
I have received emails, but I have not responded back

869
01:03:46,360 --> 01:03:47,200
to them at this point.

870
01:03:47,200 --> 01:03:56,380
And then also at the town hall meeting, I've had several conversations with individuals around this particular subject when I was actually running for office before I came on board.

871
01:03:56,680 --> 01:03:58,280
Okay, thank you. Mr. Maher.

872
01:03:58,620 --> 01:04:08,900
I received emails and phone calls. I've indicated in both formats that I have no opinion on it yet, and I'm open to listening to both sides of the argument.

873
01:04:09,820 --> 01:04:10,420
Ms. Semerson.

874
01:04:11,520 --> 01:04:12,200
Thank you.

875
01:04:12,920 --> 01:04:19,360
I have had emails, phone calls, individual people that talked with me, and I have not.

876
01:04:19,780 --> 01:04:22,260
I want to hear everything before I make a decision.

877
01:04:22,900 --> 01:04:23,420
Mr. Ager.

878
01:04:24,160 --> 01:04:26,220
Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

879
01:04:27,340 --> 01:04:30,960
Actually, when I was running for office, I had seven different constituents at the

880
01:04:30,960 --> 01:04:34,980
door telling me that they were against this and didn't want to talk about it.

881
01:04:35,540 --> 01:04:39,120
And I did talk to them about it since I was running for office at that time.

882
01:04:39,660 --> 01:04:41,520
I didn't know if I would even be re-elected.

883
01:04:42,440 --> 01:04:49,580
Since that time, since re-election, I have not had any communication.

884
01:04:50,560 --> 01:04:56,540
I have done some research on my own, but I've not had any communication since re-election.

885
01:04:57,220 --> 01:04:57,700
Ms. Hayden?

886
01:04:58,900 --> 01:05:02,760
I have had some export to a communication with people on both sides of the aisle.

887
01:05:02,880 --> 01:05:04,200
It will not affect my decision.

888
01:05:04,200 --> 01:05:09,540
And I explained to them that I was, would make a final decision after it's been presented

889
01:05:09,540 --> 01:05:10,480
to the Board of Aldermen.

890
01:05:10,980 --> 01:05:11,580
Thank you.

891
01:05:11,880 --> 01:05:12,340
Mr. Scott?

892
01:05:12,960 --> 01:05:17,160
I've had a couple of people come up to me personally asking what my position is and

893
01:05:17,160 --> 01:05:21,300
I just told them no, I don't have a position until I get all the information and none

894
01:05:21,300 --> 01:05:26,200
of the conversations involved any particular information just to quick, what do you think

895
01:05:26,200 --> 01:05:26,600
about this?

896
01:05:26,800 --> 01:05:27,840
I don't think anything yet.

897
01:05:28,360 --> 01:05:32,400
I don't believe I've had any emails or phone calls on it though.

898
01:05:33,320 --> 01:05:34,240
Mr. Walters.

899
01:05:34,640 --> 01:05:38,200
I've had going back to what Mr. Asier did during the campaign.

900
01:05:38,620 --> 01:05:40,340
A lot of people talked to me about it.

901
01:05:40,820 --> 01:05:43,460
And I attended both the planning and zoning commission meetings.

902
01:05:43,680 --> 01:05:45,480
There were people there who talked to people about it.

903
01:05:46,120 --> 01:05:50,180
Talked to people on the board, talked to Mr. Hodges about it.

904
01:05:51,840 --> 01:05:53,980
Without going through it, just a lot of conversations.

905
01:05:54,580 --> 01:05:56,940
And I'm always open to hear new information.

906
01:05:57,420 --> 01:06:01,180
And I find everything that everybody tells me to be very enlightening.

907
01:06:01,180 --> 01:06:04,840
and I thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me.

908
01:06:05,180 --> 01:06:05,740
Thank you much.

909
01:06:07,060 --> 01:06:10,380
Okay, and I'm going to mention that I, too, have had people walk up to me

910
01:06:10,380 --> 01:06:14,500
and want to drug over from another business by one of the employees

911
01:06:14,500 --> 01:06:17,660
to where I was eating breakfast to ask me a question,

912
01:06:17,740 --> 01:06:20,380
which I gladly told her I don't have an opinion.

913
01:06:21,060 --> 01:06:24,120
As much as other people try to pretend like I do, I don't.

914
01:06:24,580 --> 01:06:26,980
I've not heard all the information. I don't even have a vote.

915
01:06:27,860 --> 01:06:30,440
But I do not have an opinion at this time.

916
01:06:30,440 --> 01:06:34,840
I if I had a vote if there was a tie, I don't have all the information either

917
01:06:35,620 --> 01:06:41,640
So we want to make sure everybody's heard and this board is really good about making sure overall

918
01:06:41,640 --> 01:06:44,380
Making sure that all the information is in

919
01:06:45,320 --> 01:06:46,680
Before we make a decision

920
01:06:47,520 --> 01:06:50,640
So with that I'm going to open up the floor

921
01:06:51,680 --> 01:06:58,620
Mr. Walters just real briefly. I'm looking through our packets and I notice all the information the city has provided us

922
01:06:59,620 --> 01:07:03,680
which is helpful and enlightening, but I also know that there was also a lot of

923
01:07:04,520 --> 01:07:07,820
information that was offered into evidence during the planning zoning commissions.

924
01:07:07,980 --> 01:07:09,900
I don't know if that's been made available to the board.

925
01:07:10,840 --> 01:07:13,060
I don't have it here in front of me in this packet.

926
01:07:13,560 --> 01:07:17,180
I think it would be enlightening for the board to have that information shared with them

927
01:07:17,180 --> 01:07:23,360
because it is written documents that were signed in by the city attorney during the hearing

928
01:07:24,160 --> 01:07:26,680
so that everybody would have a chance to see it.

929
01:07:26,680 --> 01:07:28,480
but we could have that added to our packet.

930
01:07:28,600 --> 01:07:30,020
We're going to have another meeting after this one.

931
01:07:30,140 --> 01:07:30,260
I see.

932
01:07:30,660 --> 01:07:30,980
We will.

933
01:07:31,240 --> 01:07:33,980
OK, so we've got another two weeks to review that.

934
01:07:34,560 --> 01:07:36,660
We'll see if that's what the board wants.

935
01:07:37,080 --> 01:07:37,880
Do you need a motion?

936
01:07:38,820 --> 01:07:39,700
I'll write this minute.

937
01:07:39,880 --> 01:07:40,520
OK, thank you.

938
01:07:41,680 --> 01:07:45,780
Mr. Chris Gilbert, would you give us the presentation, please?

939
01:07:49,290 --> 01:07:50,170
Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

940
01:07:50,490 --> 01:07:50,570
Members.

941
01:07:50,750 --> 01:07:51,330
Hang on just a second.

942
01:07:51,450 --> 01:07:52,630
Yes, Mr. Van Busker.

943
01:07:53,610 --> 01:07:57,010
Was there additional information in the electronic packet

944
01:07:57,010 --> 01:08:02,450
that's not in the paper packet. I believe there is. Is that correct?

945
01:08:03,590 --> 01:08:06,170
Yeah, everybody was given the electronic one also.

946
01:08:07,090 --> 01:08:07,950
Everybody's got it.

947
01:08:07,970 --> 01:08:09,330
If we have that, that's what I'm asking.

948
01:08:11,890 --> 01:08:17,690
All the documents were in an electronic packet that was sent by e-mail.

949
01:08:18,010 --> 01:08:18,630
Dropbox file.

950
01:08:18,770 --> 01:08:19,550
Dropbox file.

951
01:08:23,440 --> 01:08:26,680
Okay, well, there's one that was sent out and everybody's been able to see it.

952
01:08:26,680 --> 01:08:33,600
So, as Mr. Van Busker said, it's a very large file, and some of the people out here have

953
01:08:33,600 --> 01:08:37,320
seen it too, so, again, you got it?

954
01:08:38,140 --> 01:08:40,260
Chris Gilbert, will you do your presentation, please?

955
01:08:42,060 --> 01:08:43,180
Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

956
01:08:43,700 --> 01:08:48,680
In relation to the documents referring to, that's the exhibits that were submitted during

957
01:08:48,680 --> 01:08:55,680
the nine hours of testimony taken before the Planning Commission on April 6th and May 11th.

958
01:08:55,680 --> 01:09:00,080
Those documents were referred to as being available at the Office of City Clerk

959
01:09:00,080 --> 01:09:03,160
for review for the benefit of public and they're still out there on the counter

960
01:09:03,160 --> 01:09:05,640
right now just where they were placed last week.

961
01:09:08,020 --> 01:09:12,160
Hundreds, approximately 400 pages of documents so it was not something

962
01:09:12,160 --> 01:09:18,680
that we could feasibly include in the paper copies without killing a lot

963
01:09:18,680 --> 01:09:22,240
of trees and publishing essentially dictionaries.

964
01:09:22,240 --> 01:09:28,520
trees. So using the Dropbox, I believe, was what the City Clerk did. I wasn't involved

965
01:09:28,520 --> 01:09:33,520
in that, but I believe that saves a lot of paper and a lot of trees and was very beneficial.

966
01:09:33,840 --> 01:09:41,540
So that's what that refers to. Again, before I start with the presentation, I do want

967
01:09:41,540 --> 01:09:47,900
to state that, again, there was nine hours of testimony taken, lots of—dozens of

968
01:09:47,900 --> 01:09:53,280
exhibits, probably about two dozen exhibits accepted into the record at those two meetings,

969
01:09:53,780 --> 01:10:01,180
which were both in drawbacks and on display, and in addition to that, I do want to mention

970
01:10:01,180 --> 01:10:09,200
also that there were personal tax on staff that occurred during those meetings. I do

971
01:10:09,200 --> 01:10:18,220
feel there's a need to state that because this board is tasked with running all

972
01:10:18,220 --> 01:10:22,720
the operations of the city and balancing a lot of different needs. Those needs

973
01:10:22,720 --> 01:10:27,760
include neighborhood development, those needs include economic development and

974
01:10:27,760 --> 01:10:32,360
this balancing act and you guys hire staff and the Planning Commission to

975
01:10:32,360 --> 01:10:36,740
help you make those decisions. So we look at available facts, documents,

976
01:10:37,580 --> 01:10:43,360
ordinance's general plan when we're crafting our decision and when we make a recommendation

977
01:10:43,360 --> 01:10:46,040
that's based upon an analysis that we do.

978
01:10:48,910 --> 01:10:56,120
It's important to point out also that making blatant statements, which we've heard during

979
01:10:56,120 --> 01:11:02,100
these nine hours of testimony, that the city has not followed its notice procedures

980
01:11:02,770 --> 01:11:06,360
is not appropriate either and I did state at the last planning commission, I believe

981
01:11:06,360 --> 01:11:11,280
the first one as well, that we have all the necessary documents showing that the required

982
01:11:11,280 --> 01:11:15,320
statutory and ordinance requirements regarding notice were met.

983
01:11:18,220 --> 01:11:23,360
Neighborhood meetings do not have a specific noticing requirement prior to the neighborhood

984
01:11:23,360 --> 01:11:28,120
meeting, so the process that was used is the one that's been used even prior to the

985
01:11:28,120 --> 01:11:28,980
time I got here.

986
01:11:30,700 --> 01:11:35,800
All of the notice requirements related to public hearings, actual official public

987
01:11:35,800 --> 01:11:40,580
here in Spline Commission City Council. Those all met the required 15-day notice, letters to

988
01:11:40,580 --> 01:11:47,880
neighbors with 105 feet, public hearing publications, which the City Clerk handles all 15 days prior.

989
01:11:48,460 --> 01:11:52,900
Everything was done. We have all the documentation. We have photos of the signs being posted on the

990
01:11:52,900 --> 01:11:57,620
property. Those are only required for Planning Commission by Code, which I have in front of me,

991
01:11:57,960 --> 01:12:02,600
does not require the Board of Aldermen to be on those signs for their meeting date and time.

992
01:12:02,600 --> 01:12:08,120
These are all issues that have been brought to our attention as violations of notice procedure.

993
01:12:08,760 --> 01:12:15,720
Again, I challenge anyone to point out where we have failed to properly follow notice procedure.

994
01:12:15,880 --> 01:12:21,560
It's very important because that's basically the crux of the whole democratic process involves notice.

995
01:12:22,340 --> 01:12:25,960
So, now that said, let me move on with the presentation.

996
01:12:28,140 --> 01:12:34,000
What this hearing is regarding is amending the city's official zoning map on a portion

997
01:12:34,000 --> 01:12:39,760
of a 5.2 acre tract in this very quiescent portion located at 5348 Blue Ridge Boulevard

998
01:12:39,760 --> 01:12:43,480
from District R1, Low Density Residential District, NC Neighborhood Commercial.

999
01:12:44,200 --> 01:12:49,740
The applicant who is here tonight with this team is Nazruddin Bamanee and he's got

1000
01:12:49,740 --> 01:12:50,960
his full team right over here.

1001
01:12:52,440 --> 01:12:56,860
Dana Blay from DBL Architecture is acting as agent also as architect.

1002
01:12:57,500 --> 01:12:58,160
So let me move forward.

1003
01:13:00,860 --> 01:13:02,040
Location Zoning Map.

1004
01:13:02,600 --> 01:13:05,900
And this will make a lot more sense when I get later in the presentation

1005
01:13:06,460 --> 01:13:08,960
to show you when you can see the boundaries.

1006
01:13:09,140 --> 01:13:14,120
But this is the whole 5.2 acre of the Fannie DeHonio State Tract A,

1007
01:13:14,220 --> 01:13:18,900
I believe it is, almost untouched in 100 years since it was subdivided.

1008
01:13:19,040 --> 01:13:21,860
There's one little piece on the very southwest corner

1009
01:13:22,380 --> 01:13:26,920
adjacent to Mr. Moore's property, which was carved off at some point and added to his lot.

1010
01:13:27,380 --> 01:13:29,740
But aside from that, it's the original track from that day.

1011
01:13:31,240 --> 01:13:34,720
Fifty-third street on the north, on the east, is Woodson,

1012
01:13:35,020 --> 01:13:39,920
and with the CVS you can see on there directly to the east of the marked green property,

1013
01:13:40,640 --> 01:13:42,340
and to the south is Blue Ridge Boulevard.

1014
01:13:43,800 --> 01:13:47,880
All of the properties on the south and the west are residential zones.

1015
01:13:47,880 --> 01:13:53,080
To the north, you have the R3 components all related to the Hidden Lake facility.

1016
01:13:54,260 --> 01:13:57,980
The former fitness center, which you can see in the very south end of the blue,

1017
01:13:58,240 --> 01:14:02,100
across 53rd Street, is now a church, been repurposed.

1018
01:14:02,740 --> 01:14:07,720
There are duplex zoning to the east of that and to the west,

1019
01:14:08,260 --> 01:14:11,260
and there's neighborhood commercial zoning north of that,

1020
01:14:11,440 --> 01:14:14,560
and then on the west side of the Hidden Lake, there's more neighborhood commercial.

1021
01:14:15,240 --> 01:14:25,860
On the east side of the subject tract where the CVS is and then all the way north through the Blue Ridge Shopping Center, the McDonald's, the auto repair shops, the car wash, that is all neighborhood commercial as well.

1022
01:14:26,940 --> 01:14:35,720
And then on the south side of the CVS, wrapping all the way around up Blue Ridge, almost to 51st Street, is more R2 duplex zoning.

1023
01:14:36,240 --> 01:14:42,700
So this is a very mixed use area. There's R1, there's R2, there's R3, and there's neighborhood commercial.

1024
01:14:42,700 --> 01:14:48,760
So there's a lot of different uses that come together at 53rd and Woodson, as you can see

1025
01:14:48,760 --> 01:14:49,100
on this.

1026
01:14:51,260 --> 01:14:59,060
There was also some statements made during the months that went on regarding what actually

1027
01:14:59,060 --> 01:14:59,880
happened on the program.

1028
01:15:00,000 --> 01:15:07,760
Property. This was not an old couple selling flowers from their house. This is the 2012 aerial

1029
01:15:07,760 --> 01:15:16,660
photo. This was a major landscape, not landscape, but tree nursery operation, as you can see by

1030
01:15:16,660 --> 01:15:23,440
all the warehouses, greenhouses, warehousing facilities, storage facilities. There's even

1031
01:15:23,440 --> 01:15:27,500
a contractor access off of Whitson Road. You can see the vehicles there loading up.

1032
01:15:28,800 --> 01:15:38,480
This was a major commercial operation, so much so that in the existing land use map done by a third party consultant in 1996,

1033
01:15:39,240 --> 01:15:43,300
they identified the existing land use at that time as red commercial.

1034
01:15:44,340 --> 01:15:48,600
It was so extensive they didn't look at it and say, oh, that's residential. They identify as commercial.

1035
01:15:48,600 --> 01:15:54,140
commercial. And that was not the city doing that as a third party consultant. And here

1036
01:15:54,140 --> 01:15:55,820
you see the Zoom in commercial.

1037
01:15:58,500 --> 01:16:01,280
Now, that being said, coming out of the comprehensive

1038
01:16:01,280 --> 01:16:07,620
plan process in 1996, which when I was here the first time I was not a part of, unfortunately

1039
01:16:07,620 --> 01:16:11,620
I missed that. I was later in the zoning development phase after this was completed.

1040
01:16:13,520 --> 01:16:15,120
The property was R1.

1041
01:16:17,140 --> 01:16:22,320
It's what is sewn today, and if you look, it's yellow for future land use, which is single-family residential.

1042
01:16:23,060 --> 01:16:26,160
Now I'm going to zoom in on it, and you can see it right there outlined in black.

1043
01:16:27,220 --> 01:16:32,180
So at the time the comprehensive plan, which is our last one that was written,

1044
01:16:33,980 --> 01:16:40,000
when the future recommendations were done, it was thought at the time that that would develop as residential,

1045
01:16:40,000 --> 01:16:44,300
And that's what you're seeing here, although it was identified as existing commercial.

1046
01:16:44,760 --> 01:16:48,280
So any statements that this was not a commercial development are incorrect.

1047
01:16:50,800 --> 01:16:56,100
Another important factor to consider, Raytown Street classification map.

1048
01:16:57,120 --> 01:17:01,120
Raytown has four different classifications.

1049
01:17:03,380 --> 01:17:09,980
Everyone that can look at that map and see the green on it, if you're able to, that's

1050
01:17:09,980 --> 01:17:18,880
350 highway running down the south, middle third from northwest, northeast. That is identified

1051
01:17:18,880 --> 01:17:24,340
as highway. Then there's the next lower tier known as arterial. Those are all the red lines.

1052
01:17:25,760 --> 01:17:30,600
And then below that is the collector. And it's interesting if you look at where this

1053
01:17:30,600 --> 01:17:33,600
property is, and I'll see if we can get to arrow the work here.

1054
01:17:36,280 --> 01:17:36,920
Yep, there it is.

1055
01:17:36,920 --> 01:17:41,660
around the properties completely surrounding the subject property are blue lines.

1056
01:17:41,940 --> 01:17:46,560
It's completely surrounded by what the City's Public Works Department years ago,

1057
01:17:46,820 --> 01:17:51,020
this is 2014-15, identified as collector streets.

1058
01:17:51,760 --> 01:17:53,460
These are not local streets.

1059
01:17:53,820 --> 01:17:58,880
We heard testimony that these streets won't support the traffic that this project could bring.

1060
01:17:59,620 --> 01:18:05,220
But here is almost a 10-year-old document identifying them as collector streets.

1061
01:18:05,220 --> 01:18:06,720
all for them.

1062
01:18:09,980 --> 01:18:15,300
The next diagram and the public works director can speak more to

1063
01:18:15,300 --> 01:18:20,040
this if there are questions for more details later but this is the drainage

1064
01:18:20,040 --> 01:18:26,820
topography in the vicinity proposed project. We had received testimony that

1065
01:18:26,820 --> 01:18:30,980
there were flooding concerns which there we acknowledge there were in the

1066
01:18:30,980 --> 01:18:37,640
the same 53rd Street here, but we had received also complaints from a mile away from this

1067
01:18:37,640 --> 01:18:44,240
property that this would impact their cause flooding on their properties, which are patently

1068
01:18:44,240 --> 01:18:48,760
false because Blue Ridge Boulevard runs along a ridge, so everything on the north side

1069
01:18:48,760 --> 01:18:52,680
is going to go north and not affect the complainants that are a mile away south.

1070
01:18:53,380 --> 01:18:59,080
So again, there was a lot of misinformation put out there in relation to comments on

1071
01:18:59,080 --> 01:19:05,760
project. It's also important to note the applicant tonight is is this public

1072
01:19:05,760 --> 01:19:10,720
hearing is regarding a rezoning request. If this rezoning request is

1073
01:19:10,720 --> 01:19:14,700
ultimately approved, one of the condition approval is they come back

1074
01:19:14,700 --> 01:19:19,480
through the process with their site plan and their conditional use permit for

1075
01:19:19,480 --> 01:19:23,040
approval by the Planning Commission for recommendation and then this body for

1076
01:19:23,040 --> 01:19:30,720
approval. The site plan process will be the nuts and bolts detail where all the

1077
01:19:30,720 --> 01:19:37,560
specifics of the development of the site including retention, access to the public

1078
01:19:37,560 --> 01:19:42,800
streets, screening, buffering, all that gets worked out and the plan that comes

1079
01:19:42,800 --> 01:19:46,860
back should meet all codes ordinance's requirements related to site plan

1080
01:19:46,860 --> 01:19:52,660
design, tonight he's only looking for consideration for rezoning.

1081
01:19:53,380 --> 01:19:57,500
If the rezoning isn't approved, there's no point in spending the enormous amount of money

1082
01:19:57,500 --> 01:20:01,240
that's required for a site plan design process, which is very detailed.

1083
01:20:01,540 --> 01:20:02,200
Just one point to that.

1084
01:20:03,000 --> 01:20:07,620
So we don't have all the answers to the details that there are going to be questions

1085
01:20:07,620 --> 01:20:12,100
about tonight, but again he's not asking for that yet just for the rezoning.

1086
01:20:13,220 --> 01:20:18,440
Another site photos, date stamp photo 2014,

1087
01:20:18,940 --> 01:20:21,720
pull sign in front of the property blue rich nursery

1088
01:20:22,160 --> 01:20:23,720
for sale concrete blocks.

1089
01:20:24,020 --> 01:20:27,420
Again, another example that to go along

1090
01:20:27,420 --> 01:20:31,500
with the third party general plan writer

1091
01:20:31,500 --> 01:20:34,820
that this was a commercial property wasn't just an older

1092
01:20:34,820 --> 01:20:37,440
couple selling flowers from the two buildings

1093
01:20:37,440 --> 01:20:38,620
that are left on the site.

1094
01:20:38,620 --> 01:20:41,700
This was a major commercial operation.

1095
01:20:44,310 --> 01:20:45,470
This is what's left today.

1096
01:20:47,350 --> 01:20:51,990
And it's important to compare that with that.

1097
01:20:54,630 --> 01:20:57,710
You can see, if you can see the arrows there on the overhead,

1098
01:20:58,390 --> 01:21:02,290
the scope and size of that operation right there,

1099
01:21:02,430 --> 01:21:04,130
compared to what's today.

1100
01:21:04,550 --> 01:21:06,690
Because most of the features have been removed

1101
01:21:06,690 --> 01:21:10,210
or they've degraded, including the pole sign's gone.

1102
01:21:11,690 --> 01:21:13,150
Okay, that was from Blue Ridge.

1103
01:21:13,350 --> 01:21:15,330
This is the view from the CVS.

1104
01:21:15,730 --> 01:21:18,610
This would be Whitson looking west toward the two houses

1105
01:21:18,610 --> 01:21:19,870
still remaining on the property.

1106
01:21:20,450 --> 01:21:24,290
You can kind of see the apron and the tracks from where

1107
01:21:24,290 --> 01:21:26,590
the contractor vehicles that you saw in that photo access.

1108
01:21:27,690 --> 01:21:30,170
This is on the north side of the property,

1109
01:21:30,610 --> 01:21:32,530
not looking south toward Blue Ridge,

1110
01:21:32,530 --> 01:21:36,050
but looking kind of southwesterly toward CVS,

1111
01:21:36,310 --> 01:21:37,490
which you could see in the background.

1112
01:21:40,690 --> 01:21:44,610
This, unfortunately, I apologize for the orientation

1113
01:21:44,610 --> 01:21:49,710
of this drawing because I had to make it fit the best I could

1114
01:21:49,710 --> 01:21:51,870
based on what was provided by the applicant.

1115
01:21:52,950 --> 01:21:55,850
You'll see the R1, you need to turn it

1116
01:21:55,850 --> 01:21:57,590
about 60 degrees in your mind.

1117
01:21:58,150 --> 01:22:01,730
The R1 is everything north and west of the proposed rezone.

1118
01:22:01,730 --> 01:22:08,770
The NC proposed is the project, which is approximately half of the entire 5.2 acres.

1119
01:22:09,830 --> 01:22:14,550
So on the east on here is Blue Ridge, on the north is Whitson for comparison.

1120
01:22:16,700 --> 01:22:22,520
Now zooming in on the proposed project, this is what they initially proposed to us.

1121
01:22:22,620 --> 01:22:24,240
This is what the Planning Commission saw.

1122
01:22:25,460 --> 01:22:31,060
There's an inline building, the pumps facing towards Blue Ridge to the south and across

1123
01:22:31,060 --> 01:22:32,600
the street into the residential.

1124
01:22:34,040 --> 01:22:41,880
One of the conditions in the recommendation was that they turned the building and the

1125
01:22:41,880 --> 01:22:46,820
applicant was asked by the Planning Commission point blank if they could do it and they

1126
01:22:46,820 --> 01:22:47,160
were honest.

1127
01:22:47,360 --> 01:22:48,280
They said they weren't sure.

1128
01:22:49,460 --> 01:22:53,140
Well, based on the comments that were received at the Planning Commission meeting,

1129
01:22:53,900 --> 01:22:59,340
this next slide right here, this slide was not, and I'm stating this for the record,

1130
01:22:59,420 --> 01:23:01,680
this slide was not viewed by the Planning Commission.

1131
01:23:02,240 --> 01:23:06,360
This was submitted June 1 to show how the building could be turned to face CVS

1132
01:23:06,860 --> 01:23:09,160
and not impact the adjacent residential.

1133
01:23:11,440 --> 01:23:18,360
And I want to enter the drawing into the record for the city clerk so she can distribute it for your review.

1134
01:23:27,380 --> 01:23:28,540
Now let's dwell on this for a little bit.

1135
01:23:30,720 --> 01:23:39,620
What the condition asked was that the convenience store be turned and faced toward CVS, which is what this shows.

1136
01:23:40,260 --> 01:23:42,780
It's approximately 6,000 square feet of retail space.

1137
01:23:42,780 --> 01:23:47,200
to all the other spaces you see on there will be will be lease spaces for different types

1138
01:23:47,200 --> 01:23:52,400
of businesses, whether it's a bookstore, whatever.

1139
01:23:53,200 --> 01:23:58,200
There was a lot of testimony from residents at the two Planning Commission meetings.

1140
01:23:58,760 --> 01:24:04,040
They are absolutely concerned about liquor stores, about different types of businesses

1141
01:24:04,040 --> 01:24:10,460
they don't want to see in their neighborhood and just wanted to point out.

1142
01:24:10,460 --> 01:24:17,840
And the applicant did agree that that's something that they could personally privately restrict on their own.

1143
01:24:18,120 --> 01:24:19,520
But we didn't ask them to do that.

1144
01:24:19,800 --> 01:24:22,120
And that's something that you'll probably hear more about tonight.

1145
01:24:22,960 --> 01:24:32,040
This plan that they submitted June 1 shows at the north end the R1 property is having now trails and walking paths.

1146
01:24:34,340 --> 01:24:40,940
So they're looking to add some amenities to benefit the neighborhood while at the same

1147
01:24:40,940 --> 01:24:44,780
time fitting their project into the original planned rezone area.

1148
01:24:46,840 --> 01:24:49,300
Again, this was not viewed by the Planning Commission.

1149
01:24:49,740 --> 01:24:53,280
This is their response to what was heard at the Planning Commission meetings.

1150
01:24:54,120 --> 01:24:56,900
And that's why I enter this in the record as an exhibit just now.

1151
01:25:01,280 --> 01:25:04,300
Now, unfortunately, that is what we received.

1152
01:25:04,380 --> 01:25:08,380
We did not receive revised drawings of the facade,

1153
01:25:09,180 --> 01:25:12,920
but we'll expect them to hold up to the same standards

1154
01:25:12,920 --> 01:25:14,560
they presented in their original plan,

1155
01:25:14,800 --> 01:25:18,760
which is a very modern strip model facade.

1156
01:25:19,700 --> 01:25:21,420
This is the original that was provided

1157
01:25:21,420 --> 01:25:22,360
for Planning Commission here.

1158
01:25:26,760 --> 01:25:27,020
Okay.

1159
01:25:38,570 --> 01:25:40,650
Again, I went over all the noticing requirements.

1160
01:25:40,650 --> 01:25:47,710
All the publication dates were met, all the 15-day noticing to property owners within 185 feet.

1161
01:25:48,330 --> 01:25:55,450
And it's important to point out that if you look at this particular drawing, the entire boundary,

1162
01:25:56,470 --> 01:26:00,290
the noticing to neighbors because it wasn't clear in the ordinance,

1163
01:26:00,470 --> 01:26:04,130
went to everyone with 185 feet of the entire 5.2 acres.

1164
01:26:05,190 --> 01:26:08,410
The protest petition that the city received,

1165
01:26:08,410 --> 01:26:15,590
The protest petition is very specific that it's 185 feet from the boundary of the rezone.

1166
01:26:16,110 --> 01:26:22,790
So that's 185 feet of just the 2.5 acres that's to be developed, rezone to NC for development.

1167
01:26:25,410 --> 01:26:31,970
So we still went over every property owner in the protest petition, verified them against Jackson County records.

1168
01:26:31,970 --> 01:26:37,050
They were all signed, notarized, and verified that over 30 percent, which is the standard

1169
01:26:37,050 --> 01:26:39,230
in the ordinance, was indeed reached.

1170
01:26:39,850 --> 01:26:44,130
At the 30 percent market, it doesn't matter what percent they have, it's a valid petition.

1171
01:26:44,410 --> 01:26:45,930
So they did submit that.

1172
01:26:55,790 --> 01:27:02,910
It's important to note, April 6, the Planning Commission, at their first hearing on this,

1173
01:27:02,990 --> 01:27:06,110
where testimony was taken for four hours.

1174
01:27:06,110 --> 01:27:13,830
Of course, we heard a lot of testimony related to the rezone when the case was actually on

1175
01:27:14,430 --> 01:27:15,890
amending their land use plan.

1176
01:27:16,690 --> 01:27:25,330
The Planning Commission, following those four hours of testimony, unanimously voted not to

1177
01:27:25,330 --> 01:27:28,510
amend their land use plan from single-family residential to commercial.

1178
01:27:29,170 --> 01:27:32,350
It's important to note that the Planning Commission is the keeper of the Comprehensive

1179
01:27:32,350 --> 01:27:35,910
a comprehensive plan in Missouri and that is not a board approval thing.

1180
01:27:36,290 --> 01:27:39,850
So they agreed or not agreed, they voted not to amend their comprehensive plan.

1181
01:27:40,190 --> 01:27:45,450
That's significant because when I get to the,

1182
01:27:52,390 --> 01:27:52,970
let's see here,

1183
01:27:58,230 --> 01:28:00,490
well in the staff, in the staff board that you have,

1184
01:28:00,890 --> 01:28:05,790
there is a reference to whether the rezoning request

1185
01:28:05,790 --> 01:28:08,010
is an agreement with the comprehensive plan.

1186
01:28:08,010 --> 01:28:12,470
Since the Planning Commission declined to amend this plan, it is not.

1187
01:28:13,470 --> 01:28:26,050
The other factors that are in there regarding availability of services, regarding impact on the schools, impact on police services,

1188
01:28:26,870 --> 01:28:32,810
even though we did take a lot of testimony from the public that that would increase crime issues,

1189
01:28:33,730 --> 01:28:35,950
It is a commercial area.

1190
01:28:36,350 --> 01:28:38,050
It fits in with the commercial area.

1191
01:28:38,330 --> 01:28:43,490
There is a, what's known in the retail world as a small box retail store immediately across

1192
01:28:43,490 --> 01:28:43,970
the street.

1193
01:28:45,070 --> 01:28:49,750
Another document I want to reference, which was not part of the Planning Commission hearing,

1194
01:28:50,230 --> 01:28:54,110
but I can reference it because it was entered at the Planning Commission hearing as an

1195
01:28:54,110 --> 01:28:54,510
exhibit.

1196
01:28:54,710 --> 01:29:02,790
Exhibit F, and that was done because we had an appraisal submitted to us by an

1197
01:29:02,790 --> 01:29:08,550
analysis, the highest and best use, and that was submitted so soon before publication of

1198
01:29:08,550 --> 01:29:13,890
the Planning Commission packet that we were not able to study it or make any kind of opinion

1199
01:29:13,890 --> 01:29:14,910
recommendation on it.

1200
01:29:15,550 --> 01:29:22,910
But in the meantime, we've had a chance to look at it, and there are two points I want

1201
01:29:22,910 --> 01:29:23,310
to make.

1202
01:29:27,410 --> 01:29:34,390
Page 50 of the exhibit F references financially feasible for retail.

1203
01:29:36,670 --> 01:29:42,750
And the statement, I found that the subject's market, while undersupplied,

1204
01:29:42,870 --> 01:29:45,990
has and will see future positive impacts in market fundamentals,

1205
01:29:46,430 --> 01:29:50,570
given increasing household income as well as the presence of a new retail stock.

1206
01:29:50,990 --> 01:29:54,270
Given the physical and legally possible use of speculative development

1207
01:29:54,270 --> 01:29:58,050
the Multitenant Retail Shopping Center is considered to be marginally feasible.

1208
01:30:01,580 --> 01:30:03,140
On page 52,

1209
01:30:05,860 --> 01:30:10,140
this is regarding the use of it, of the property, a single family residential.

1210
01:30:10,540 --> 01:30:15,020
Based on this analysis, appears the current market sale price for single family residential

1211
01:30:15,730 --> 01:30:23,220
of 201,248 is not supportive of current construction costs of similar homes and, quote, and in parentheses

1212
01:30:23,220 --> 01:30:30,520
they have 330,000. It appears that the lack of feasibility in the market is around $129,000.

1213
01:30:30,520 --> 01:30:36,060
For this reason, I infer that single family residential development is not financially feasible at this time.

1214
01:30:38,260 --> 01:30:43,620
That's significant because that is the statement I made at the very first Planning Commission meeting

1215
01:30:43,620 --> 01:30:52,160
that we have had owners of the property when it auctioned in 2019 to an out-of-state developer on the East Coast.

1216
01:30:52,820 --> 01:30:58,500
They attempted to work with numerous developers in the Kansas City area to develop that property residentially.

1217
01:30:58,500 --> 01:31:04,080
after three years he gave up trying and he sold the property to the current

1218
01:31:04,080 --> 01:31:10,840
applicant in late summer fall as best we can tell of 2022, which is last year.

1219
01:31:15,840 --> 01:31:22,740
And staff believes that, again, based on all the evidence that's been presented,

1220
01:31:22,740 --> 01:31:26,100
you'll hear the neighborhood speak next,

1221
01:31:27,180 --> 01:31:29,360
but based on the evidence that's been presented,

1222
01:31:29,540 --> 01:31:32,100
you look at what's likely to happen there.

1223
01:31:35,580 --> 01:31:38,580
It's known for R1, it's not likely from the analysis,

1224
01:31:38,640 --> 01:31:39,980
there's gonna be R1 there,

1225
01:31:40,240 --> 01:31:43,960
so it's gonna come down to what is the city

1226
01:31:43,960 --> 01:31:46,920
going to be willing to permit there?

1227
01:31:47,420 --> 01:31:50,820
Is it going to be vacant for a long time,

1228
01:31:50,900 --> 01:31:52,660
or is it gonna actually be put to use?

1229
01:31:52,660 --> 01:31:56,960
And that's the decision that has to be made and that's not my decision to make

1230
01:31:56,960 --> 01:31:59,420
I'm just giving you all the facts and information and

1231
01:32:04,500 --> 01:32:10,020
Based upon that mr. Mayor, I have a number of

1232
01:32:11,380 --> 01:32:15,400
Conditions of approval. Do you want me to address those now or do you want to wait for me to address?

1233
01:32:15,720 --> 01:32:18,240
So it's we're gonna take a ten minute break until I'm back

1234
01:32:18,240 --> 01:32:22,720
I want you to do that and then we will move on to people

1235
01:32:23,960 --> 01:32:24,920
Thank you, sir.

1236
01:32:25,100 --> 01:32:30,600
I'm going to take a ten minute break and be back in here at, let's just go ahead and make it 8.45.

1237
01:32:32,080 --> 01:32:34,120
And it's 8.32 now.

1238
01:32:37,320 --> 01:32:38,280
Keep it very much.

1239
01:32:39,220 --> 01:32:39,900
Not you, them.

1240
01:32:44,000 --> 01:32:48,580
Okay, we are back in session at 8.46 p.m.

1241
01:32:49,460 --> 01:32:55,460
So we will continue first with the conditions so they're read into the record, Chris.

1242
01:33:03,700 --> 01:33:04,640
Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

1243
01:33:04,640 --> 01:33:08,360
I was going to use my slide again but it looks like it's already been switched over for the

1244
01:33:08,360 --> 01:33:10,980
applicant so I'll do this with the how to benefit slides.

1245
01:33:11,660 --> 01:33:15,120
There's a couple other points that you want to touch on before I do that and I apologize

1246
01:33:15,120 --> 01:33:15,780
for that.

1247
01:33:16,500 --> 01:33:20,240
I'm getting confused by the double-sided nature of this huge stack of paper.

1248
01:33:23,060 --> 01:33:27,040
Detrimental effects to nearby properties, I want to address that.

1249
01:33:28,580 --> 01:33:32,540
Even the lowest form of development in a single family home has an impact on the

1250
01:33:32,540 --> 01:33:36,860
neighborhood when it's built. It's unavoidable. There's carbon footprint, there's neighbors,

1251
01:33:37,160 --> 01:33:44,220
there's more people, more traffic. As a result of Raytown's rapid residential growth from

1252
01:33:44,220 --> 01:33:49,720
the 50s through the 70s, the commercial that we have in Raytown and economic development,

1253
01:33:49,920 --> 01:33:55,260
as I referred to previously, is something that this board needs to balance and everything

1254
01:33:55,260 --> 01:34:01,620
else. Commercial occurred in small strips along 350 Highway and then other areas that

1255
01:34:01,620 --> 01:34:04,540
with the exception of downtown where there's kind of a broader area.

1256
01:34:06,750 --> 01:34:12,160
In traveling the city during this process and looking at these commercial strips, there

1257
01:34:12,160 --> 01:34:18,540
is many, many, many, many areas where commercial, even Long 350 Highway, directly abuts residential

1258
01:34:18,540 --> 01:34:19,260
behind it.

1259
01:34:19,640 --> 01:34:24,840
It is a common occurrence to Raytown because we're 98% built out when you consider cemeteries.

1260
01:34:24,960 --> 01:34:26,440
Other things are not likely to be anything else.

1261
01:34:27,660 --> 01:34:29,540
There's not much available land left.

1262
01:34:29,540 --> 01:34:34,240
So, if the city does want to move forward with economic development opportunities,

1263
01:34:34,480 --> 01:34:38,180
you've got to look at the few pieces that are left and all these pieces have some kind

1264
01:34:38,180 --> 01:34:40,600
of residential adjoining component to them.

1265
01:34:41,100 --> 01:34:44,600
And so, this is going to come up with every single one of those pieces

1266
01:34:44,600 --> 01:34:46,380
if there's a proposal like this.

1267
01:34:48,240 --> 01:34:51,260
It's just the nature of the manner in which the city developed.

1268
01:34:53,080 --> 01:34:55,460
If you look at it like Overland Park, for example,

1269
01:34:55,460 --> 01:34:59,500
You've got big, huge, wide areas, you incorporate another 1,000 acres at will.

1270
01:35:00,040 --> 01:35:06,560
You can put commercial notes wherever you want or along major thoroughfares because you can

1271
01:35:06,560 --> 01:35:07,280
design it better.

1272
01:35:07,420 --> 01:35:13,760
But when you're confined boundary, you can't grow anymore, you're 90% built, you're extremely

1273
01:35:13,760 --> 01:35:14,820
limited in opportunities.

1274
01:35:17,660 --> 01:35:22,820
So wherever commercials put now, it's going to have an impact on the joining residential

1275
01:35:22,820 --> 01:35:23,460
unavoidable.

1276
01:35:23,460 --> 01:35:29,360
And what we can do through the site plan process is we can address some of those unavoidable concerns

1277
01:35:29,360 --> 01:35:35,420
by enforcing buffering, enforcing screening, enforcing light standards

1278
01:35:35,420 --> 01:35:39,820
to make sure that we don't throw annoying light on neighbors, those kinds of things.

1279
01:35:40,220 --> 01:35:42,840
And also by appropriate traffic regulations,

1280
01:35:43,440 --> 01:35:47,100
which the applicant who's here tonight has their traffic engineer with them

1281
01:35:47,100 --> 01:35:51,240
who is going to talk about that and did a plant commission as well.

1282
01:35:55,740 --> 01:36:00,800
Length of time of vacancy, the property was operated by our records,

1283
01:36:01,040 --> 01:36:06,040
supposedly longer from 1974 to 2015 as the Blue Ridge Nursery.

1284
01:36:06,520 --> 01:36:10,360
It has not had a licensed business since, so it's been vacant now for eight years.

1285
01:36:11,520 --> 01:36:16,100
And here's an opportunity for a viable use on the property.

1286
01:36:18,540 --> 01:36:25,740
Consideration of, well, you'll hear from Public Safety on Traffic in such from the applicant

1287
01:36:25,740 --> 01:36:26,220
shortly.

1288
01:36:27,260 --> 01:36:30,520
All right, then do staff recommendations.

1289
01:36:31,240 --> 01:36:36,800
And these are all contained in the draft ordinance that is included in your packets.

1290
01:36:42,610 --> 01:36:49,390
Staff does recommend approval of this rezone request affecting the southeastern most 2.5

1291
01:36:49,390 --> 01:36:57,050
acres of the 2.5.29 acre parcel land of 5348 Blue Ridge Boulevard in the city of

1292
01:36:57,050 --> 01:37:00,490
Raytown, Jackson County, Missouri, more properly described in section two of the

1293
01:37:00,490 --> 01:37:05,750
ordinance, and that is as Fannie DeHoney estate track day except I'm going to

1294
01:37:05,750 --> 01:37:09,750
details of the degrees and so on that's there but that's all in section

1295
01:37:09,750 --> 01:37:10,110
two.

1296
01:37:12,530 --> 01:37:16,410
In a manner consistent with the general design concept provided by the

1297
01:37:16,410 --> 01:37:23,050
applicant and that's the updated site layout that as a general concept, the one

1298
01:37:23,050 --> 01:37:30,190
that is dated June 1st, has modified by the following conditions of approval.

1299
01:37:30,730 --> 01:37:34,410
Number one, performance zoning shall be applied to this rezone.

1300
01:37:35,010 --> 01:37:39,190
Establishing an 18 month timeframe from the date of approval of the rezoning ordinance

1301
01:37:39,850 --> 01:37:43,250
within this timeframe shall occur approval of the conditional use permit

1302
01:37:43,250 --> 01:37:48,350
for the fuel station component, approval of the final site plan issuance of building permits,

1303
01:37:48,550 --> 01:37:53,710
and the start of project construction. This timeframe shall be extended by factors outside

1304
01:37:53,710 --> 01:37:58,370
of the applicant's control, including actions taken by government that prevent progress.

1305
01:37:59,430 --> 01:38:02,550
Should construction not commence by the end of this 18 month period,

1306
01:38:03,130 --> 01:38:06,770
the Planning Commission may publish a notice, conduct a public hearing for the purpose

1307
01:38:06,770 --> 01:38:11,470
of determining whether or not the change in zoning continues to be in the public interest

1308
01:38:11,470 --> 01:38:14,470
and can take an action to recommend to the Board of Aldermen

1309
01:38:14,470 --> 01:38:17,530
that extend the time of performance to a specified date,

1310
01:38:17,990 --> 01:38:21,550
remove the time of performance section from this rezoning ordinance,

1311
01:38:22,030 --> 01:38:25,230
or rezone the subject land to another specific district.

1312
01:38:27,310 --> 01:38:31,630
Item 2, applicant shall apply for conditional use permit

1313
01:38:31,630 --> 01:38:34,650
for the fuel station component along with the final site plan

1314
01:38:34,650 --> 01:38:37,110
for the project for public hearing review.

1315
01:38:38,210 --> 01:38:47,410
Item three, applicants shall rotate the convenience store and fuel pumps 90 degrees from the submitted plan to instead face Woodson Road and the CVS across the street.

1316
01:38:47,610 --> 01:38:49,710
And that's what's reflecting the June 1st version.

1317
01:38:51,170 --> 01:38:58,730
Raytown has no convenience stores with pumps, even those located next to residential areas that face directly toward residences.

1318
01:39:01,130 --> 01:39:09,070
Number four, applicants shall restrict convenience store hours operation to within the 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. time frame.

1319
01:39:13,090 --> 01:39:21,450
I had some input today that that might be requested by the applicant when they do their presentation to be considered to be modified somewhat.

1320
01:39:22,330 --> 01:39:26,470
But that's what the ordinance says, that we recommend a condition that we're proposing.

1321
01:39:26,470 --> 01:39:31,430
Number five, applicants shall provide the required screening buffer on the south

1322
01:39:31,430 --> 01:39:37,250
and west sides of the project consistent with the NC Neighbor Commercial District bulk screening requirements.

1323
01:39:37,850 --> 01:39:44,250
And if you look at that revised June 1st plan, they do show the 30-foot required buffer

1324
01:39:45,150 --> 01:39:48,770
when you have an NC adjacent to any kind of R-Zone.

1325
01:39:49,050 --> 01:39:52,130
And that is reflected on that revised drawing.

1326
01:39:52,130 --> 01:39:56,890
Number six, the remainder of the subject property not included

1327
01:39:56,890 --> 01:39:58,870
in the requested rezone application,

1328
01:39:59,030 --> 01:40:01,030
which is approximately half the entire lot,

1329
01:40:01,170 --> 01:40:03,870
shall remain R1 low-density residential.

1330
01:40:06,730 --> 01:40:10,310
Mr. Mayor, those are the condition approval.

1331
01:40:10,510 --> 01:40:11,910
Should the ordinance be approved?

1332
01:40:12,430 --> 01:40:14,130
All right, thank you very much.

1333
01:40:15,970 --> 01:40:19,250
So at this point, we'll move on to the presentation

1334
01:40:19,250 --> 01:40:26,880
by your group. Hi. Introduce yourself again and let

1335
01:40:29,000 --> 01:40:34,240
us know what you get. Make sure you push at the bottom and make the agreement. Here you go.

1336
01:40:34,580 --> 01:40:48,220
My name is Stephanie Hazelton. I'm the attorney for the applicant. I'm here today with the applicant, Kevin Bimani, who's done business in Raytown for the last nine years and currently has two stores.

1337
01:40:48,220 --> 01:40:56,080
I'm here with Dana Blay, the architect who did the drawings and part of the presentation

1338
01:40:56,080 --> 01:40:57,380
that we're putting on today.

1339
01:40:58,240 --> 01:41:04,940
I'm here with Kristin, who is the traffic engineer who will address some issues, and

1340
01:41:06,030 --> 01:41:12,480
Bob Wallin, he moved, who is the listing broker or agent for Block & Company for

1341
01:41:12,480 --> 01:41:12,900
the Center.

1342
01:41:13,940 --> 01:41:16,200
And they should all be able to cover several topics.

1343
01:41:16,200 --> 01:41:16,660
What

1344
01:41:19,760 --> 01:41:20,680
else do you have for us?

1345
01:41:24,020 --> 01:41:32,900
The applicant is proposing a $4 million shopping center at the

1346
01:41:40,170 --> 01:41:45,470
5348 Blue Ridge Boulevard that will be approximately 14,000 square feet.

1347
01:41:46,490 --> 01:41:49,710
The shopping center facade will be stucco and stone.

1348
01:41:51,010 --> 01:41:54,470
At one end, there will be a convenience store market.

1349
01:41:55,150 --> 01:41:57,190
We're going to talk in detail about that.

1350
01:41:57,190 --> 01:41:59,330
There will also be four gas pumps.

1351
01:42:00,250 --> 01:42:02,130
At the other end, there will be a drive-through.

1352
01:42:02,910 --> 01:42:05,990
There will be about six or seven stores in the location.

1353
01:42:17,500 --> 01:42:22,660
We wanted to start out by addressing some of the things we've heard at the various

1354
01:42:22,660 --> 01:42:27,640
meetings that have been totally inaccurate to make sure that we're all on the same

1355
01:42:27,640 --> 01:42:27,980
page.

1356
01:42:28,680 --> 01:42:30,900
Our theme tonight is myth busters.

1357
01:42:30,900 --> 01:42:32,100
trees.

1358
01:42:36,030 --> 01:42:39,750
Big topic at all of the meetings was the trees.

1359
01:42:42,370 --> 01:42:44,750
Here's a drawing and you

1360
01:42:44,750 --> 01:42:51,210
can see the existing trees that will be left. You see in the corners there's

1361
01:42:51,210 --> 01:42:57,430
pictures of the existing trees that will be left and in fact no trees will

1362
01:42:57,430 --> 01:43:05,090
be cut down. At the very front there may be one or two but let's continue on.

1363
01:43:05,090 --> 01:43:08,130
These trees are staying. These trees are staying.

1364
01:43:09,990 --> 01:43:14,070
These trees are staying. These trees are staying.

1365
01:43:14,810 --> 01:43:19,370
Like I said, all the trees are staying except for maybe one or two in the very front.

1366
01:43:20,310 --> 01:43:23,310
There are beautiful trees there. It beautifies the property.

1367
01:43:23,890 --> 01:43:27,530
There's no reason to remove the trees, and we never intended to remove trees.

1368
01:43:28,330 --> 01:43:33,310
And there have been a lot of impassioned people who want to talk about the trees,

1369
01:43:33,310 --> 01:43:39,950
want to make sure nobody's worried. The trees are staying. Second, walkability.

1370
01:43:41,310 --> 01:43:46,950
There was a lot of testimony that the area is not walkable, and I agree it's

1371
01:43:46,950 --> 01:43:47,610
not walkable.

1372
01:43:49,640 --> 01:43:53,420
It's going to be because we're putting in sidewalks and walking

1373
01:43:53,420 --> 01:44:00,480
trails. This is a drawing. It shows you all the brown is where you're going

1374
01:44:00,480 --> 01:44:09,200
have either sidewalk or walking trail. You're going to have a retention pond. You're going

1375
01:44:09,200 --> 01:44:17,880
to have, remember, over two and a half acres, almost park-like behind the shopping center

1376
01:44:17,880 --> 01:44:28,610
development. You're going to have, and I'll show you now, here is a walk. You're the

1377
01:44:28,610 --> 01:44:31,450
walkable development that my client is proposing.

1378
01:45:03,310 --> 01:45:06,830
You're seeing the drive-through side of the shopping center right there.

1379
01:45:32,010 --> 01:45:34,950
As we discussed at the city planning meeting,

1380
01:45:35,790 --> 01:45:37,370
there will be benches

1381
01:45:37,910 --> 01:45:39,170
along the walkways,

1382
01:45:45,640 --> 01:45:49,380
and we think the retention pond will actually be a nice water feature.

1383
01:45:49,720 --> 01:45:56,420
That's located in the residential area, but it will also help solve some of the neighbors' issues with water.

1384
01:45:56,900 --> 01:45:59,440
They were concerned about the concrete and the water runoff,

1385
01:46:02,030 --> 01:46:03,490
and that's what it's going to look like.

1386
01:46:03,490 --> 01:46:04,270
You

1387
01:46:21,870 --> 01:46:27,270
can see these people are not walking that quickly but you're having a chance to see the walk.

1388
01:47:05,360 --> 01:47:07,400
Walk is finished.

1389
01:47:08,580 --> 01:47:10,580
Next, traffic study.

1390
01:47:11,660 --> 01:47:17,840
There were challenges to the traffic study because one

1391
01:47:20,270 --> 01:47:23,290
of the witnesses testified he had not seen counters.

1392
01:47:23,990 --> 01:47:27,530
So he wasn't convinced that really any traffic study had been done.

1393
01:47:27,530 --> 01:47:31,150
Our traffic engineer has responded to that.

1394
01:47:32,190 --> 01:47:36,290
She used a camera system, which was much more accurate.

1395
01:47:37,050 --> 01:47:41,530
If you look at these pages to provide, there's video,

1396
01:47:43,110 --> 01:47:46,610
and she can explain in detail how they do the count,

1397
01:47:47,390 --> 01:47:49,890
but the count is accurate tax

1398
01:47:59,880 --> 01:48:00,240
revenue.

1399
01:48:01,440 --> 01:48:04,320
There was testimony at one of the prior hearings

1400
01:48:04,320 --> 01:48:09,680
from someone who does tax preparation in Raytown and who represents convenience in liquor stores.

1401
01:48:11,080 --> 01:48:17,860
And her testimony was that she believes tax revenues being understated

1402
01:48:17,860 --> 01:48:24,540
based on her experience because Raytown doesn't audit. Our point is that our client,

1403
01:48:25,020 --> 01:48:29,620
I don't know about anybody else, our client does not understate tax revenues.

1404
01:48:29,620 --> 01:48:36,160
his stores paid about $188,000 in sales tax in 2022.

1405
01:48:37,580 --> 01:48:41,560
This project, particularly with the gas and the additional retailers,

1406
01:48:42,220 --> 01:48:47,060
will generate many hundreds of thousands of sales tax revenue,

1407
01:48:47,540 --> 01:48:49,780
which I think is an important factor for any city.

1408
01:48:52,600 --> 01:48:53,780
Underground storage tanks.

1409
01:48:55,320 --> 01:48:58,760
I've done a lot of underground storage tank litigation over the years.

1410
01:48:58,760 --> 01:49:05,240
I'm familiar with the underground storage tank insurance fund, petroleum tank insurance.

1411
01:49:07,720 --> 01:49:10,860
There's a requirement that you have this insurance.

1412
01:49:11,780 --> 01:49:17,180
There are tests that you're running all the time to make sure there's no leakage.

1413
01:49:18,080 --> 01:49:22,200
The state inspects and you give the reports.

1414
01:49:24,800 --> 01:49:30,340
And there's a procedure, if there's a leak, they cover the clean up, but leaks are rare.

1415
01:49:31,380 --> 01:49:35,980
And the operator pays a $10,000 deductible.

1416
01:49:36,520 --> 01:49:40,940
And if you let your insurance lapse, the penalty is $10,000 a day.

1417
01:49:41,320 --> 01:49:44,640
So there's a big incentive to keep your insurance in place.

1418
01:49:45,000 --> 01:49:46,660
Aside from the fact that they're always checking.

1419
01:49:47,720 --> 01:50:00,100
There was, hold on, a location that I guess is closed that used to be a car wash close by and that was brought up at the last meeting.

1420
01:50:02,200 --> 01:50:06,460
And I called the state because there was some concern, you know, what about this location?

1421
01:50:07,040 --> 01:50:08,900
We don't need any more underground storage tanks.

1422
01:50:09,540 --> 01:50:10,340
I called the state.

1423
01:50:11,500 --> 01:50:13,540
There was one tank at that location.

1424
01:50:13,540 --> 01:50:15,900
It's been closed since 2021.

1425
01:50:16,900 --> 01:50:19,580
There never was a claim, there never was a leak.

1426
01:50:20,440 --> 01:50:27,380
The tank was pumped out and I have all those records if somebody is curious.

1427
01:50:28,200 --> 01:50:34,660
But I will say that the tanks, the gas part of this is projected in the feasibility

1428
01:50:34,660 --> 01:50:41,140
study because I don't think you have a lot of gas stations close by to do a million

1429
01:50:41,140 --> 01:50:45,500
million dollars in gasoline sales per year.

1430
01:50:45,920 --> 01:50:50,620
I need everybody in the audience to stop. That's not necessary. Understand?

1431
01:50:53,890 --> 01:50:56,270
That's what I was talking about earlier. It's enough.

1432
01:50:58,340 --> 01:51:01,840
A million dollars in gasoline sales each year at this location,

1433
01:51:02,440 --> 01:51:05,840
and 250,000 in diesel sales at this location.

1434
01:51:06,340 --> 01:51:08,240
So it's a very viable station.

1435
01:51:10,840 --> 01:51:14,260
And that is another source of income.

1436
01:51:17,100 --> 01:51:19,980
Next argument we heard, not in my backyard.

1437
01:51:21,220 --> 01:51:23,400
All kinds of people got up and said,

1438
01:51:23,800 --> 01:51:27,720
you're going to put this in Raytown because, you know,

1439
01:51:28,080 --> 01:51:30,540
nobody else would let this happen in their city.

1440
01:51:31,080 --> 01:51:32,240
And this is going to be terrible.

1441
01:51:34,430 --> 01:51:38,350
So we took just, it's not hard to find examples,

1442
01:51:38,350 --> 01:51:48,570
but we took examples from cities, surrounding cities that are centers that don't look as nice or are comparable,

1443
01:51:48,710 --> 01:51:50,830
but probably most of these don't look as nice.

1444
01:51:51,950 --> 01:51:53,930
And they're not in ray challenge.

1445
01:51:54,390 --> 01:52:01,010
So I want you to know that there is not any negative about this shopping center,

1446
01:52:01,130 --> 01:52:03,070
which will be a beautiful shopping center.

1447
01:52:03,170 --> 01:52:05,970
You'll see in the video we'll be showing in a few minutes.

1448
01:52:06,870 --> 01:52:16,810
It's not insult to the city of Raytown, and in fact it's my understanding that it would

1449
01:52:16,810 --> 01:52:21,050
be the first new shopping center built in this city in the last 20 years.

1450
01:52:22,690 --> 01:52:24,190
So I think that's something to think about.

1451
01:52:24,770 --> 01:52:30,950
This center, Kansas City, Missouri, pretty close to my house, and backs up on residential.

1452
01:52:30,950 --> 01:52:37,350
This center is Olathe.

1453
01:52:40,000 --> 01:52:40,160
Okay?

1454
01:52:40,400 --> 01:52:41,720
Ours will look as good or better.

1455
01:52:43,120 --> 01:52:44,200
This center

1456
01:52:46,790 --> 01:52:50,830
is Overland Park.

1457
01:52:51,330 --> 01:52:54,490
Once again, our center will look as good or better.

1458
01:52:59,020 --> 01:52:59,260
Okay?

1459
01:53:00,280 --> 01:53:01,260
This center,

1460
01:53:09,860 --> 01:53:12,520
Kansas City, Missouri, also not far from my house,

1461
01:53:13,020 --> 01:53:14,040
backs up to residential.

1462
01:53:14,040 --> 01:53:14,260
Central,

1463
01:53:16,450 --> 01:53:17,570
this center,

1464
01:53:25,350 --> 01:53:34,190
and we need Bob, hold on, Shull Creek, okay, Shull Creek, ours will

1465
01:53:34,190 --> 01:53:35,730
look at least as good or better.

1466
01:53:37,550 --> 01:53:42,370
This center, Bob, Oberlin Park,

1467
01:53:44,810 --> 01:53:49,930
this center, the summit, actually looks pretty bad.

1468
01:53:50,590 --> 01:53:51,170
This center.

1469
01:53:53,900 --> 01:53:57,480
If you've got somebody that's going to be helping you, they need to be up here and introduced

1470
01:53:57,480 --> 01:53:58,020
also.

1471
01:53:58,240 --> 01:53:59,980
And I haven't done it from the audience either.

1472
01:54:00,280 --> 01:54:01,540
If anybody else can, they can't either.

1473
01:54:01,800 --> 01:54:02,120
Okay.

1474
01:54:02,620 --> 01:54:03,780
So they need to be up here.

1475
01:54:03,780 --> 01:54:09,840
Well, I think we're done with that, but my point is it's not an insult, it's not

1476
01:54:09,840 --> 01:54:13,220
a bad project, it's not an ugly project, it's an asset.

1477
01:54:14,660 --> 01:54:16,700
Raytown is not being discriminated against.

1478
01:54:17,740 --> 01:54:18,000
Okay.

1479
01:54:18,200 --> 01:54:20,260
The biggest of all, liquor store.

1480
01:54:21,680 --> 01:54:26,580
No matter how many times we've said there will not be a liquor store at this center,

1481
01:54:26,880 --> 01:54:31,380
no matter how many times we said we'll do lease restrictions, no liquor stores,

1482
01:54:31,540 --> 01:54:36,780
no tobacco shops, no adult stores, no vape shops.

1483
01:54:39,300 --> 01:54:43,700
Okay, I want to tell you about the store because I think there's a massive misunderstanding.

1484
01:54:44,440 --> 01:54:50,440
In this store, there will be a restaurant kitchen.

1485
01:54:51,160 --> 01:54:55,420
There will be fried chicken made with fresh chicken, fresh, not frozen.

1486
01:54:56,220 --> 01:54:58,440
Battered and fried every day.

1487
01:54:59,360 --> 01:55:03,860
Burritos, mac and cheese, corn dogs, potato wedges, fried okra,

1488
01:55:04,440 --> 01:55:07,180
freshly baked donuts every single day.

1489
01:55:10,420 --> 01:55:12,840
There will be a deli, you'll see on the drawing,

1490
01:55:12,840 --> 01:55:16,640
where there will be sandwich meats and cheeses, sliced to order.

1491
01:55:16,780 --> 01:55:21,140
There will be a meat slicer, potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans, bean salad.

1492
01:55:23,350 --> 01:55:28,130
There will be an ice cream section similar to a Baskin Robbins.

1493
01:55:28,750 --> 01:55:30,310
In fact, we've talked to Baskin Robbins.

1494
01:55:31,730 --> 01:55:36,070
And there will be at least 15 flavors of ice cream for cones or cups.

1495
01:55:36,190 --> 01:55:37,690
So it'll be a deal where you walk up.

1496
01:55:38,570 --> 01:55:41,390
You have the bends of the ice cream.

1497
01:55:41,390 --> 01:55:46,230
You get your ice cream cone or your ice cream cup, pay for it,

1498
01:55:48,670 --> 01:55:50,130
grocery products.

1499
01:55:51,150 --> 01:55:57,030
There will be, this is the list, canned goods, soups, vegetables, frozen foods.

1500
01:55:57,910 --> 01:55:59,870
I don't have to read all these, look at the list.

1501
01:56:04,270 --> 01:56:07,690
You'll have fresh, I want to emphasize fresh fruits and vegetables.

1502
01:56:08,590 --> 01:56:08,810
Okay.

1503
01:56:11,090 --> 01:56:14,530
There will be a lot of people I believe walking to this place to buy their groceries.

1504
01:56:15,310 --> 01:56:24,730
eggs, cheese flour, sugar, candy juice, coffee tea, condiments, it will also be

1505
01:56:24,730 --> 01:56:33,530
laundry detergent of the normal things you would expect, diapers, wipes. Okay, here

1506
01:56:33,530 --> 01:56:39,770
is the current rendering of the inside of the store. I wish I could make it even

1507
01:56:39,770 --> 01:56:46,890
bigger but you will see that you walk in and you can see the deli, you can see

1508
01:56:46,890 --> 01:56:49,730
the ice cream, you can see the kitchen area,

1509
01:56:54,190 --> 01:56:55,870
you can see the beverage station.

1510
01:56:59,120 --> 01:56:59,240
So

1511
01:56:59,240 --> 01:57:04,020
the percentage of alcohol sales projected now of course you take in the

1512
01:57:04,020 --> 01:57:08,820
fuel I mean it's going to be minuscule but if you take out the fuel you're

1513
01:57:08,820 --> 01:57:15,040
still projecting less than 20 percent you know probably 10 to 20 percent range

1514
01:57:15,040 --> 01:57:16,880
of the sales of this store.

1515
01:57:17,160 --> 01:57:19,000
It is not a liquor store.

1516
01:57:19,400 --> 01:57:21,440
It's never been proposed to be a liquor store.

1517
01:57:22,360 --> 01:57:24,700
And I hope people stop saying that.

1518
01:57:26,920 --> 01:57:27,160
Crime.

1519
01:57:28,360 --> 01:57:30,800
Now, we had a lot of testimony from neighbors

1520
01:57:31,300 --> 01:57:33,560
about a lot of crime problems currently

1521
01:57:33,560 --> 01:57:34,560
in their neighborhood.

1522
01:57:35,080 --> 01:57:37,040
We heard some horrible stories.

1523
01:57:37,760 --> 01:57:41,280
One man had someone actually breaking into his house

1524
01:57:41,800 --> 01:57:43,100
and he was pushing the door.

1525
01:57:43,200 --> 01:57:44,840
The guy was coming in and coming in.

1526
01:57:44,840 --> 01:57:49,400
And he called the police and he said it took the police 30 minutes to get there, half an

1527
01:57:49,400 --> 01:57:49,580
hour.

1528
01:57:50,280 --> 01:57:54,660
We had another person testify that someone was walking through the neighborhood shooting

1529
01:57:54,660 --> 01:57:56,440
a gun into backyards.

1530
01:57:57,040 --> 01:57:58,560
And then he called the police.

1531
01:57:58,740 --> 01:58:00,260
It took them forever to get there.

1532
01:58:00,800 --> 01:58:05,760
And then apparently the guy had thrown away the gun, so they didn't even arrest him.

1533
01:58:06,860 --> 01:58:12,300
There were other people who testified that they felt unsafe and they just didn't feel

1534
01:58:12,300 --> 01:58:19,120
the police were prompt and responding. My client has had an amazing, amazing relationship

1535
01:58:19,120 --> 01:58:25,660
with the police department here. The police come in just minutes whenever there's a call.

1536
01:58:26,360 --> 01:58:32,060
There has not been major problems, you know, but if we call for loitering, if we call

1537
01:58:32,060 --> 01:58:38,960
for panhandling, if we call for shoplifting, the police are there. And the police have

1538
01:58:38,960 --> 01:58:44,920
even started a program, apparently, where they come at night and check everything out

1539
01:58:44,920 --> 01:58:50,400
and then they'll leave a little tag or something that shows that they've been there.

1540
01:58:50,760 --> 01:58:51,640
It is phenomenal.

1541
01:58:53,000 --> 01:59:00,660
My point is that if this facility is there, I'm assuming it won't take a half an hour

1542
01:59:00,660 --> 01:59:05,920
for the police to get to a call there because our experience has been its minutes.

1543
01:59:05,920 --> 01:59:06,800
These

1544
01:59:10,260 --> 01:59:12,220
are the crime statistics that were provided.

1545
01:59:12,320 --> 01:59:15,440
There was a comparison, which, you know,

1546
01:59:15,540 --> 01:59:16,900
I mean, there are definitely some calls,

1547
01:59:17,560 --> 01:59:23,000
but we are fewer calls at the other stores than the CVS.

1548
01:59:23,620 --> 01:59:26,400
So I don't see this as a major problem.

1549
01:59:26,520 --> 01:59:27,800
I'm hoping it's going to be an asset.

1550
01:59:28,400 --> 01:59:30,280
We will also have a security team.

1551
01:59:31,040 --> 01:59:33,240
We'll sort of see how it works,

1552
01:59:33,560 --> 01:59:38,140
but we'll have security guards patrolling

1553
01:59:38,720 --> 01:59:45,100
if we deem necessary, particularly because we're going to be closed, you know, at night

1554
01:59:45,100 --> 01:59:50,560
we're not going to be 24 hours. We are asking as a condition that on Friday and Saturday

1555
01:59:50,560 --> 01:59:56,840
night we can stay open until 11 instead of 10. But other than that it's 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

1556
02:00:01,650 --> 02:00:09,090
Financial failure. That was the other theme we heard repeatedly. And it makes you cry.

1557
02:00:09,990 --> 02:00:19,730
I mean, repeatedly, people testified that no business survives in Raytown. It's a place where businesses go to die.

1558
02:00:20,350 --> 02:00:26,330
Don't invest your money here. You will lose your money. There are too many failing businesses.

1559
02:00:26,710 --> 02:00:30,110
There are too many empty shopping centers. So don't do it.

1560
02:00:31,270 --> 02:00:38,390
Well, I say if you have a person who's going to develop a nice project, if you have lenders

1561
02:00:38,390 --> 02:00:43,750
who are going to loan them money, if you don't have new construction, if you're going to be

1562
02:00:43,750 --> 02:00:49,430
left with over two and a half acres of beautiful green space adjacent to the shopping center,

1563
02:00:50,190 --> 02:00:55,030
if you're going to get a high quality first rate center, let them take a chance.

1564
02:00:56,270 --> 02:00:57,290
Let them take a chance.

1565
02:00:57,290 --> 02:01:03,450
I mean, don't say no just because you think everything fails in Raytown.

1566
02:01:03,870 --> 02:01:05,370
My client does not believe that.

1567
02:01:06,630 --> 02:01:10,310
So we hope that you will move forward with it.

1568
02:01:12,440 --> 02:01:17,780
This is a video of what the center will look like in the turn position and

1569
02:01:25,910 --> 02:01:26,330
I want you to

1570
02:01:26,330 --> 02:01:32,170
compare it with the other centers I showed you which are all well-occupied, nice centers

1571
02:01:33,150 --> 02:01:36,090
and tell me which one looks better to you.

1572
02:02:49,840 --> 02:02:51,040
I wish I knew how to speed it up.

1573
02:02:51,700 --> 02:02:52,320
Oh, it's speeding.

1574
02:02:53,240 --> 02:02:53,780
Okay, good.

1575
02:03:37,330 --> 02:03:43,050
And I think the reason that you don't see many cars in the parking lots is you can tell that there's no product in the store.

1576
02:03:44,210 --> 02:03:46,970
But that is it.

1577
02:03:52,340 --> 02:03:55,000
Any questions for me or the members of the team?

1578
02:03:59,620 --> 02:04:05,820
Thank you Mr. Mayor. I just have a couple of questions. So I noticed the cobblestone sidewalk.

1579
02:04:08,320 --> 02:04:13,760
I don't know if that was cobblestone or wood chips. I know, I'm just wondering. I don't know if that's cobblestone or wood chips.

1580
02:04:13,900 --> 02:04:15,520
You'd have to ask Dana that, but okay.

1581
02:04:16,140 --> 02:04:18,240
So it is or isn't going to be cobblestone?

1582
02:04:19,260 --> 02:04:20,220
It's not cobblestone.

1583
02:04:20,580 --> 02:04:22,100
Why did you show me a picture of it?

1584
02:04:22,120 --> 02:04:24,440
Again, if you're going to speak, you need to be up here at the microphone.

1585
02:04:24,860 --> 02:04:31,320
It's wood chips. It's wood chips is what you can put the picture. It will either be sidewalk or wood chips or mulch.

1586
02:04:31,580 --> 02:04:34,680
It won't be cobblestone. We could talk about cobblestone.

1587
02:04:34,700 --> 02:04:39,240
My eyes to see me, but cobblestone is very difficult to keep up. How about the covered parking?

1588
02:04:40,900 --> 02:04:42,240
What do you mean? How about the coverage?

1589
02:04:42,440 --> 02:04:48,060
I'm sure there's a picture of a covered parking. It looked like you see it in a gas station, but it's...

1590
02:04:48,060 --> 02:04:50,240
This is Dana Blay from Leewood, Kansas.

1591
02:04:50,740 --> 02:04:54,420
This is the canopy where the gas pumps are.

1592
02:04:54,980 --> 02:04:56,460
Oh, it's going to be a gas station too?

1593
02:04:56,840 --> 02:04:57,000
Yes.

1594
02:04:57,220 --> 02:04:58,260
It doesn't look like a gas station.

1595
02:04:58,260 --> 02:04:58,880
That's the turn.

1596
02:04:59,080 --> 02:05:00,180
It's like a parking area.

1597
02:05:00,340 --> 02:05:01,060
That's the idea.

1598
02:05:02,280 --> 02:05:08,180
So the gas station is off to the north on the CVS side now.

1599
02:05:08,640 --> 02:05:10,580
All right, I just, when I looked at it,

1600
02:05:10,800 --> 02:05:13,060
I didn't say that was obviously a gas station.

1601
02:05:13,240 --> 02:05:14,860
I'm wondering what else that would be.

1602
02:05:14,920 --> 02:05:16,300
Let me interrupt you just a minute.

1603
02:05:16,300 --> 02:05:18,240
would you introduce yourself?

1604
02:05:18,560 --> 02:05:20,400
I know that you've testified a lot of times,

1605
02:05:20,500 --> 02:05:21,840
not everybody here knows who you are.

1606
02:05:22,000 --> 02:05:23,160
Okay, I thought I did.

1607
02:05:23,360 --> 02:05:26,600
Dana Blay with DBL Architecture, Leewood, Kansas.

1608
02:05:27,120 --> 02:05:30,540
So if you guys stay there, as people might want to ask questions,

1609
02:05:30,620 --> 02:05:32,280
I need you both there if you're going to talk.

1610
02:05:32,540 --> 02:05:34,180
You have to be there where it can be recorded.

1611
02:05:34,400 --> 02:05:37,200
And I apologize if you think that that's cobblestone.

1612
02:05:37,460 --> 02:05:41,220
It's a texture that comes with the program.

1613
02:05:41,220 --> 02:05:46,100
that that I've seen a lot of we're thinking that maybe it would be you know

1614
02:05:46,100 --> 02:05:50,320
look just like some kind of I will just mention one thing one of the most

1615
02:05:50,320 --> 02:05:56,240
attractive buildings in right town like out of flowers it's like a lot of

1616
02:05:56,240 --> 02:06:02,960
shopping centers today it's a church so there are and I see and and even

1617
02:06:02,960 --> 02:06:07,680
Olathe spit moles that are vacant you know and again that's something to

1618
02:06:07,680 --> 02:06:14,120
that are also it is a reality churches are popping up on every almost all of our

1619
02:06:14,120 --> 02:06:20,660
shopping centers so it is are you saying you want a restriction that it cannot be

1620
02:06:20,660 --> 02:06:27,600
oh okay I'm just saying that there's a saturation point in certain areas for

1621
02:06:27,600 --> 02:06:32,820
example Olathe is a very healthy area and so you would assume if you built an

1622
02:06:32,820 --> 02:06:33,980
Olathe is going to work.

1623
02:06:34,840 --> 02:06:37,260
But I've seen entire strip malls that are vacant.

1624
02:06:38,540 --> 02:06:40,940
And so just because it's built in Olathe,

1625
02:06:41,300 --> 02:06:43,860
in a very popular area where people

1626
02:06:43,860 --> 02:06:46,440
probably have a higher income than Raytown,

1627
02:06:46,980 --> 02:06:48,220
it sometimes fails.

1628
02:06:48,660 --> 02:06:51,500
So when people question whether or not,

1629
02:06:52,600 --> 02:06:55,260
and from what I saw, it looked really good,

1630
02:06:55,740 --> 02:06:57,140
except I didn't see it right.

1631
02:06:57,380 --> 02:06:58,480
I thought it was out of the tone.

1632
02:06:58,860 --> 02:07:01,200
And I thought it was a canopy, it's really a gas station.

1633
02:07:01,200 --> 02:07:03,480
and it was a little deceptive to me, that's all.

1634
02:07:03,540 --> 02:07:04,580
Well, we can show it again.

1635
02:07:04,820 --> 02:07:06,080
We're no much more deceptive.

1636
02:07:06,920 --> 02:07:07,560
Mr. Walter.

1637
02:07:10,220 --> 02:07:11,240
Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

1638
02:07:11,580 --> 02:07:12,780
I do have some questions.

1639
02:07:13,380 --> 02:07:16,820
The 14,000 square feet, is that the size of the store

1640
02:07:16,820 --> 02:07:18,460
or is that the size of the entire complex?

1641
02:07:18,900 --> 02:07:20,920
That's the entire shopping center, the stores.

1642
02:07:20,920 --> 02:07:22,220
Okay, how big is the store?

1643
02:07:22,660 --> 02:07:23,800
That particular store.

1644
02:07:24,160 --> 02:07:26,740
The gasoline station convenience slash convenience store.

1645
02:07:26,740 --> 02:07:28,960
Convenience store is about 5,600 square feet.

1646
02:07:29,280 --> 02:07:30,600
5,600 square feet.

1647
02:07:32,200 --> 02:07:37,340
You didn't give a dollar amount that you anticipate made from sales in that place?

1648
02:07:37,680 --> 02:07:38,140
I did.

1649
02:07:38,220 --> 02:07:38,700
You owned a few percentages.

1650
02:07:41,100 --> 02:07:41,860
Well, I said a hundred and a thousand percent.

1651
02:07:41,860 --> 02:07:43,980
Well, I said a hundred and a thousand percent of alcohol.

1652
02:07:44,900 --> 02:07:47,000
And I've seen similar stores to this.

1653
02:07:47,060 --> 02:07:52,880
In fact, one owned by the applicant on a holiday where it was a steady stream of people

1654
02:07:52,880 --> 02:07:54,500
going in and they weren't coming out eating.

1655
02:07:55,080 --> 02:07:56,660
They were buying, and they're buying alcohol.

1656
02:07:57,720 --> 02:08:00,540
And most of the store space is used for alcohol.

1657
02:08:00,540 --> 02:08:07,500
No, but that's the point. I mean, those are not liquor stores, but this is a market.

1658
02:08:07,980 --> 02:08:15,800
So it's really, really not a liquor store. Those other stores don't have kitchen, don't have restaurant items,

1659
02:08:15,980 --> 02:08:20,580
don't have deli items, don't have ice cream, don't have extensive grocery.

1660
02:08:20,840 --> 02:08:23,060
The whole complex is 14,000 square feet.

1661
02:08:23,460 --> 02:08:23,700
Yes.

1662
02:08:23,700 --> 02:08:28,780
Okay. And what did you say, the part that was the gasoline station?

1663
02:08:30,320 --> 02:08:31,280
5600, grocery.

1664
02:08:32,220 --> 02:08:35,780
No, we didn't say discount smokes and we didn't say alcohol, but it's 5600.

1665
02:08:37,000 --> 02:08:37,860
5600, yes.

1666
02:08:38,140 --> 02:08:51,880
Okay. I think you're painting with a really broad brush when you say that you're going to have very little alcohol sales there when you don't have to have a lot of space for alcohol, as opposed to the other things.

1667
02:08:51,880 --> 02:08:56,300
You're talking about food that people can buy, but that's actually at the other end, isn't it?

1668
02:08:56,420 --> 02:09:03,440
No. I was talking about this convenience store, the things that food items I listed, this convenience store.

1669
02:09:03,680 --> 02:09:06,740
That's what I'm saying. We'll have the deli. We'll have the ice cream.

1670
02:09:07,420 --> 02:09:08,840
I mean, there will be other businesses.

1671
02:09:09,440 --> 02:09:10,960
Other businesses, I understand that.

1672
02:09:11,100 --> 02:09:12,680
But no, I was only talking.

1673
02:09:12,820 --> 02:09:14,340
You're going to push all this into 5600.

1674
02:09:14,440 --> 02:09:17,720
That's right. That's right. The plan shows it. That's the plan.

1675
02:09:17,840 --> 02:09:20,540
I saw the pictures, but that's not really the plan.

1676
02:09:20,540 --> 02:09:23,840
My other question has to do with when we build the houses,

1677
02:09:24,120 --> 02:09:25,580
the houses that are promised to be done,

1678
02:09:25,620 --> 02:09:27,340
how many homes do you think can be built there?

1679
02:09:27,920 --> 02:09:29,860
You're talking about the residential area?

1680
02:09:30,020 --> 02:09:30,320
Yes, ma'am.

1681
02:09:31,560 --> 02:09:35,100
I don't think there's been a decision to build houses.

1682
02:09:35,360 --> 02:09:37,700
I think it depends right now.

1683
02:09:37,900 --> 02:09:39,440
It's a beautiful green space.

1684
02:09:40,400 --> 02:09:44,340
And I think you're talking several years down the road

1685
02:09:44,340 --> 02:09:46,720
when we can look and see what might be options.

1686
02:09:47,840 --> 02:09:48,220
I know that.

1687
02:09:48,220 --> 02:09:49,260
Maybe it won't be developed.

1688
02:09:49,260 --> 02:09:51,920
Maybe it will be a park-like setting for many years.

1689
02:09:52,360 --> 02:09:54,620
Maybe it will be developed residentially,

1690
02:09:54,740 --> 02:09:58,580
but we have done different drawings to decide,

1691
02:09:58,880 --> 02:10:01,480
but there's no planning side.

1692
02:10:01,500 --> 02:10:05,040
This is why I actually had to turn to Mr. Gilbert if that's okay.

1693
02:10:05,200 --> 02:10:05,340
Great.

1694
02:10:07,280 --> 02:10:12,200
There was a dollar store, a dollar general,

1695
02:10:12,360 --> 02:10:16,640
I believe, built on 63rd Street next to Blue Ridge Elementary School,

1696
02:10:16,760 --> 02:10:18,500
and there were some homes built along with it.

1697
02:10:18,500 --> 02:10:24,900
And I believe that they had to be built within a certain timeframe as part of the agreement on that. Am I correct?

1698
02:10:26,460 --> 02:10:29,040
Because they went up pretty darn quick when the building went up.

1699
02:10:31,940 --> 02:10:32,460
Go ahead.

1700
02:10:34,100 --> 02:10:38,580
Mr. Mayor, I have a very short answer to that. That was way before my time back here.

1701
02:10:38,640 --> 02:10:38,760
Okay.

1702
02:10:39,040 --> 02:10:41,620
That was around 2015-16 timeframe.

1703
02:10:42,160 --> 02:10:43,200
I don't have an answer for you.

1704
02:10:43,200 --> 02:10:45,400
That's in my ward. And I know a lot of people live there.

1705
02:10:45,480 --> 02:10:49,160
And they've told me that that was part of the agreement that they had to get the houses built at the same time.

1706
02:10:49,160 --> 02:10:49,940
We have not had this.

1707
02:10:49,940 --> 02:10:51,540
Would the applicant be willing to do that?

1708
02:10:52,280 --> 02:10:54,100
We haven't talked about that.

1709
02:10:56,220 --> 02:10:58,800
If that would be something important to you, maybe.

1710
02:10:59,480 --> 02:11:02,060
I think the way it is right now, it looks pretty nice.

1711
02:11:02,480 --> 02:11:06,620
And if I were one of the neighbors, I'd say, give me the walking trail, the grass and

1712
02:11:06,620 --> 02:11:07,000
the trees.

1713
02:11:07,200 --> 02:11:11,400
But if that's something that's important, we can talk about it for sure.

1714
02:11:11,620 --> 02:11:12,140
One of the things.

1715
02:11:12,280 --> 02:11:16,120
Given the fact that it's going to be the back of basically what looks to me like

1716
02:11:16,120 --> 02:11:20,160
a strip mall more than a shopping center, they're not really attractive.

1717
02:11:20,380 --> 02:11:22,860
You may want to have houses blocking it, if possible.

1718
02:11:23,240 --> 02:11:26,740
And that's right, because I really wonder if when we don't have, well, this drawing

1719
02:11:26,740 --> 02:11:27,580
here shows it.

1720
02:11:29,200 --> 02:11:32,380
I don't think there's a whole lot of room for houses that belong here.

1721
02:11:33,160 --> 02:11:40,800
One of the things I'd like to interject is that I laid out some lots to be every

1722
02:11:40,800 --> 02:11:45,620
single house to be on that pond or retention pond.

1723
02:11:46,420 --> 02:11:53,080
So water attracts a little bit more residential type, better housing.

1724
02:11:54,240 --> 02:12:01,200
So when I laid it out, it was kind of a wedge type shape going around, and I was able to

1725
02:12:01,200 --> 02:12:08,640
get about six houses on that property with an easement, access easement on the very

1726
02:12:09,400 --> 02:12:18,840
I don't want to take all the time up and I appreciate that because I'm sure these people

1727
02:12:18,840 --> 02:12:24,860
out here want to have their say as well and we've been here since seven so we've earned

1728
02:12:24,860 --> 02:12:26,700
through about two and a half hours so far.

1729
02:12:26,880 --> 02:12:27,120
Ms. Creason.

1730
02:12:29,360 --> 02:12:35,680
I would just like to go back a little bit in history when Kevin Boji was Parks Director.

1731
02:12:35,680 --> 02:12:40,400
director, there was a day when he was looking at buying that property and making it into

1732
02:12:40,400 --> 02:12:40,880
a park.

1733
02:12:41,520 --> 02:12:47,060
So it's kind of a sweet deal to kind of leave it green space and then let things kind of

1734
02:12:47,060 --> 02:12:48,660
evolve in my opinion.

1735
02:12:48,720 --> 02:12:53,340
You and I are on the same page, but I know not everyone may agree with that.

1736
02:12:53,560 --> 02:12:55,880
But to me, I love that idea.

1737
02:12:56,140 --> 02:13:01,820
I would love it, take my dog, you know, go out and play, croquet, do whatever, football

1738
02:13:01,820 --> 02:13:04,060
with my kid, whatever, you know, I think it's nice.

1739
02:13:04,340 --> 02:13:04,640
Yeah.

1740
02:13:04,640 --> 02:13:07,920
But I just wanted to bring that up. Parkes was looking at that property.

1741
02:13:09,980 --> 02:13:12,660
All right, and I believe

1742
02:13:12,660 --> 02:13:14,760
if I remember right that

1743
02:13:15,300 --> 02:13:19,020
Where you're talking about on 63rd Street that whole thing was the original deal

1744
02:13:20,460 --> 02:13:24,420
So that's that's what they had planned all along because they had enough land to do all that

1745
02:13:24,420 --> 02:13:28,400
It wasn't for any other reason other than he could do both and make money at both

1746
02:13:28,400 --> 02:13:30,600
This van busker

1747
02:13:32,490 --> 02:13:36,970
Thank you. I if there was other development of houses there

1748
02:13:37,710 --> 02:13:40,830
Obviously, you talk about the trees, those would have to be removed.

1749
02:13:40,890 --> 02:13:41,330
Some of them.

1750
02:13:41,390 --> 02:13:42,330
Some of them would go.

1751
02:13:42,790 --> 02:13:46,950
I mean, no people would try to keep as many of those nice, mature trees, but I agree with

1752
02:13:46,950 --> 02:13:47,450
you there, too.

1753
02:13:47,670 --> 02:13:50,050
Some trees would have to be cut down if they were houses built.

1754
02:13:50,570 --> 02:13:56,810
I know when our development took place back in the early 70s, a lot of trees were removed.

1755
02:13:57,290 --> 02:13:57,530
Yeah.

1756
02:13:58,150 --> 02:14:02,630
And architects will go to great lengths, move this over here, make sure the tree's

1757
02:14:02,630 --> 02:14:02,870
there.

1758
02:14:02,870 --> 02:14:08,250
and you know, but sure some trees would go and right now it's beautiful, right?

1759
02:14:08,470 --> 02:14:11,050
And that's what we moved to write down in 72. That's when our

1760
02:14:11,730 --> 02:14:15,270
Development took place where where we currently live still live

1761
02:14:16,190 --> 02:14:17,450
You're talking about

1762
02:14:18,450 --> 02:14:20,810
tax, yeah taxes

1763
02:14:20,810 --> 02:14:27,430
The property value itself would increase tremendously absolutely

1764
02:14:28,070 --> 02:14:31,430
Absolutely just a question. I know and I agree with you

1765
02:14:31,430 --> 02:14:34,870
I'm not begging for a tax increase, but, you know, I agree with you.

1766
02:14:35,330 --> 02:14:35,970
I agree with you.

1767
02:14:36,130 --> 02:14:44,850
To go from a property that's idle for some eight or nine years and is blighted now to

1768
02:14:45,570 --> 02:14:50,690
what you're proposing would make a huge increase in the value of the property.

1769
02:14:51,150 --> 02:14:55,810
And as you know, the property tax, you know, the way you value commercial property

1770
02:14:55,810 --> 02:14:57,310
is based on the income stream.

1771
02:14:57,310 --> 02:14:59,970
So if it's a thriving center, it will.

1772
02:15:00,000 --> 02:15:01,580
That would become a very valuable piece of problem.

1773
02:15:01,840 --> 02:15:02,160
Thank you.

1774
02:15:03,080 --> 02:15:04,500
Ms. Hayden, did you have something, ma'am?

1775
02:15:07,040 --> 02:15:11,640
Yes, sir. I just wanted to say I appreciate all the work that you guys have done in the presentation.

1776
02:15:12,440 --> 02:15:17,520
I am going to ask to be excused, but I promise that I will come back and review all the rest of the comments.

1777
02:15:18,200 --> 02:15:20,680
Thank you, Ms. Hayden, and if you are excused.

1778
02:15:24,140 --> 02:15:26,300
Anyone else have any questions at this point?

1779
02:15:29,760 --> 02:15:30,120
Okay.

1780
02:15:31,800 --> 02:15:34,960
Ms. Emerson and then Ms. Gardner.

1781
02:15:35,620 --> 02:15:41,600
There are two trees on the property that Mr. Voorhees showed me that are specially trees

1782
02:15:41,600 --> 02:15:47,240
that he grafted together, and so those two trees, I think, should stay.

1783
02:15:47,880 --> 02:15:50,440
Are they on the residential or the commercial area?

1784
02:15:50,560 --> 02:15:51,320
They're on the commercial.

1785
02:15:51,640 --> 02:15:51,940
Okay.

1786
02:15:52,100 --> 02:15:53,480
We'll work around that then, for sure.

1787
02:15:54,460 --> 02:15:55,040
Ms. Gardner?

1788
02:15:56,360 --> 02:15:56,880
Yes.

1789
02:15:57,000 --> 02:15:59,580
My question is just more of a clarification from Mr. Gilbert.

1790
02:15:59,580 --> 02:16:08,890
So, although it was, okay, so it's, regardless of whether it's commercial, right, because

1791
02:16:08,890 --> 02:16:15,490
there's signs or whatever, right now this is more about the comprehensive plan still states

1792
02:16:15,490 --> 02:16:16,290
it as residential.

1793
02:16:16,810 --> 02:16:17,410
Is that correct?

1794
02:16:17,730 --> 02:16:20,130
And therefore it's never been re-zoned?

1795
02:16:25,110 --> 02:16:28,410
There are several prongs to your question, and I'll try to answer them.

1796
02:16:28,410 --> 02:16:32,850
Looking back through history, the property has been,

1797
02:16:33,710 --> 02:16:36,790
since zoning became a viable tool in the 1920s,

1798
02:16:36,850 --> 02:16:39,110
that property has never been anything but

1799
02:16:39,110 --> 02:16:40,230
residentially zoned.

1800
02:16:40,670 --> 02:16:43,610
Although the comprehensive plan, the last one we have,

1801
02:16:43,750 --> 02:16:47,630
identifies the existing use in 1996 was commercial,

1802
02:16:48,090 --> 02:16:49,850
as proven by the aerial photo shots.

1803
02:16:50,830 --> 02:16:52,610
It's still residentially zoned today.

1804
02:16:53,770 --> 02:16:56,590
So the plan has never been changed to kind of

1805
02:16:56,590 --> 02:16:59,170
side with what the property was being utilized for.

1806
02:16:59,350 --> 02:16:59,970
That's correct.

1807
02:17:00,250 --> 02:17:06,630
It's typical when cities move forward with rezonings, which by the way, rezoning is a

1808
02:17:06,630 --> 02:17:08,330
very common event in any city.

1809
02:17:09,170 --> 02:17:11,390
They don't all get approved, of course, but it's a very common event.

1810
02:17:11,930 --> 02:17:16,470
Many times a land use plan amendment is required to facilitate that.

1811
02:17:17,150 --> 02:17:18,450
And that was the case here.

1812
02:17:19,590 --> 02:17:30,210
And the land use plan amendment was what the Plan Commission heard on April 6th and that was changed at the time they decided not to make.

1813
02:17:31,110 --> 02:17:31,750
Thank you.

1814
02:17:32,350 --> 02:17:32,950
Ms. Bimps.

1815
02:17:35,650 --> 02:17:39,830
I think this one is for Mr. Gilbert and it's not so much a question as it is.

1816
02:17:40,310 --> 02:17:42,470
I guess a little piece of history that I learned.

1817
02:17:43,890 --> 02:17:49,750
This property was there and the family had it in an early late 1930s.

1818
02:17:49,750 --> 02:17:55,030
when I started looking at some of the history on this property and I don't

1819
02:17:55,030 --> 02:18:00,950
remember the guy's name but I heard you mentioned it while ago it was there and

1820
02:18:00,950 --> 02:18:08,090
they were doing they were operating the nursery and selling the plants and stuff

1821
02:18:08,090 --> 02:18:13,710
out of the home which in today's time would be considered commercial but that

1822
02:18:13,710 --> 02:18:19,510
then this was when it wasn't even a Raytown it wasn't a city or anything so

1823
02:18:19,510 --> 02:18:23,990
So as Raytown became an annex from Kansas City,

1824
02:18:25,190 --> 02:18:26,750
I'm going to make sure I got this right,

1825
02:18:26,910 --> 02:18:28,970
and when they annexed and became Raytown,

1826
02:18:30,670 --> 02:18:32,690
then they were left alone,

1827
02:18:32,910 --> 02:18:36,050
and pretty much grandfathered in and nobody bothered them.

1828
02:18:36,530 --> 02:18:39,510
So when the rules and the laws all started changing

1829
02:18:40,090 --> 02:18:42,550
for a lot of the areas around,

1830
02:18:43,290 --> 02:18:44,770
no one really bothered that.

1831
02:18:44,930 --> 02:18:46,970
And then when the owner sold it,

1832
02:18:46,970 --> 02:19:04,530
And from what I'm understanding, he became very elderly and he sold the property, nothing had been done, nobody bothered it, the trees and stuff continued to grow, and I'm not sure who was cutting the grass or whatever at that time.

1833
02:19:04,630 --> 02:19:12,650
And then I learned later, if I'm correct, the city was maintaining cutting the grass, and so I'm not sure.

1834
02:19:12,650 --> 02:19:18,110
I'm just asking so but I'm just telling you what I learned and that's from

1835
02:19:18,110 --> 02:19:23,850
talking to a lot of the elders, the one to make sure this information was going

1836
02:19:23,850 --> 02:19:29,170
to be corrected. Then I learned that in the process of selling it and the other

1837
02:19:29,170 --> 02:19:33,950
person wanted to build homes on it but he never did get anybody to bite what

1838
02:19:33,950 --> 02:19:39,350
his plans were and stuff so then he ended up selling the land and the

1839
02:19:39,350 --> 02:19:46,170
person now bought the land. And then in the process of learning a lot of this

1840
02:19:46,170 --> 02:19:51,230
particular piece, no one ever said anything because nobody wanted to step on

1841
02:19:51,230 --> 02:19:55,530
anybody's toes. It was kind of like it was a respectful thing because this

1842
02:19:55,530 --> 02:20:02,230
person and I think he's still alive from what someone told me and he's in his

1843
02:20:02,230 --> 02:20:11,970
90s or something like that. So people started calling him, and it really has upset him. And

1844
02:20:11,970 --> 02:20:17,430
for an elderly to be called with but being bothered with something like this after he's

1845
02:20:17,430 --> 02:20:26,650
gone on, I find it just really appalling, leaving him alone. So in the process of that piece

1846
02:20:26,650 --> 02:20:32,550
incense so he had some trees and I needed to say this tonight Mr. Mayor because I

1847
02:20:32,550 --> 02:20:37,810
wanted to be clear of what I got and when I tell you I'm serious about when

1848
02:20:37,810 --> 02:20:41,890
people bring stuff like this and then when there's nasty things out here told

1849
02:20:41,890 --> 02:20:46,010
and falsehoods and things that's you know you're talking about it's going

1850
02:20:46,010 --> 02:20:52,770
to bring in what is it what do you call them women off the street and you

1851
02:20:52,770 --> 02:20:57,310
know, it's going to bring a whole lot. This is what's happening and this man is

1852
02:20:57,310 --> 02:21:01,770
reading and seeing this stuff and being called on it and it's really been really

1853
02:21:01,770 --> 02:21:09,010
upsetting to him. Okay, his main focus was the trees. If I'm correct, it's the

1854
02:21:09,010 --> 02:21:13,130
certain trees that something that he had and they've been there all these

1855
02:21:13,130 --> 02:21:20,170
years. I don't know what type of they are. What type of trees are they? Yes,

1856
02:21:20,170 --> 02:21:23,530
And he just wanted to make those be maintained.

1857
02:21:24,070 --> 02:21:27,910
And he wanted the new owner to know that's the only thing he said.

1858
02:21:28,350 --> 02:21:31,710
He wanted everything else because he felt

1859
02:21:31,710 --> 02:21:36,050
when you sell something, you can't tell people how to, what to do with

1860
02:21:36,050 --> 02:21:38,550
when they walk, when they give it up.

1861
02:21:38,890 --> 02:21:42,610
And even though there was his passion and that was where he grew up with all of this.

1862
02:21:42,790 --> 02:21:47,490
So I wanted to make sure I got this out to make sure that everybody understood

1863
02:21:47,490 --> 02:21:52,110
how he felt. Now, you didn't even know I knew that, but I did get two calls.

1864
02:21:52,270 --> 02:21:56,030
You both knew it, apparently. Well, and that's why I'm looking at her, because when I heard her

1865
02:21:56,030 --> 02:22:01,030
mention it a while ago. So what I'm seeing is children knew only. Those trees

1866
02:22:01,030 --> 02:22:06,750
is a very important piece, but the other part was he didn't want anybody

1867
02:22:06,750 --> 02:22:12,010
trying to tell him what to do and why are we doing this now. And I needed to

1868
02:22:12,010 --> 02:22:19,450
say that, because that came out. So, thank you, Mr. Mayor, and I'll move on.

1869
02:22:19,710 --> 02:22:23,330
Mr. Walters, before I call on you, I'm going to do two things. I'm going to clarify some

1870
02:22:23,790 --> 02:22:28,930
housekeeping things. Earlier, I had asked somebody, they got upset. I'm going to make

1871
02:22:28,930 --> 02:22:34,450
it real clear. We do not approach the dais, even on breaks. If you want to talk to

1872
02:22:34,450 --> 02:22:39,510
an alderman, ask them to come down there. It's a security issue, and I'm not going

1873
02:22:39,510 --> 02:22:44,630
go into it but it's a security issue so whoever is back there got upset sorry but

1874
02:22:44,630 --> 02:22:49,390
that's the rule want to make sure my people up here are safe so if you have

1875
02:22:49,390 --> 02:22:53,290
something to say during a break you ask one of these alderman from back there

1876
02:22:53,290 --> 02:22:57,170
and they'll come down and talk to you if that's what they feel like doing don't

1877
02:22:57,170 --> 02:23:00,810
approach the day I say I don't care whether we know you're not you do it

1878
02:23:00,810 --> 02:23:05,170
and somebody else to do it may not be somebody that we need up here the

1879
02:23:05,170 --> 02:23:15,430
The second thing is typically we do the talking each person on an issue and then you get two

1880
02:23:15,430 --> 02:23:16,430
minutes the second time.

1881
02:23:16,930 --> 02:23:21,450
Because this is a big issue I'm going to relax that a little bit so I'm going to make

1882
02:23:21,450 --> 02:23:27,650
it the same the first time and then you get a second time and I'll make it five minutes

1883
02:23:28,170 --> 02:23:31,650
but we're going to keep it to that because we're not going to go on and on and on

1884
02:23:31,650 --> 02:23:33,570
and obligating and carrying on.

1885
02:23:33,950 --> 02:23:36,670
So Mr. Walters, this is time number two, you've got it.

1886
02:23:36,810 --> 02:23:37,430
Thank you.

1887
02:23:38,670 --> 02:23:41,750
I did a story, I know Bob Voorhees,

1888
02:23:41,830 --> 02:23:43,550
I've known him since I had dark hair

1889
02:23:43,550 --> 02:23:44,870
and my children were very small.

1890
02:23:45,190 --> 02:23:47,190
I bought plants from him and trees from him.

1891
02:23:48,010 --> 02:23:49,590
He was the one that owned the property.

1892
02:23:50,010 --> 02:23:52,650
The last owner that sold it that ended up

1893
02:23:52,650 --> 02:23:53,710
to somebody in Pennsylvania

1894
02:23:53,710 --> 02:23:55,970
who then sold it to the current owner now.

1895
02:23:56,550 --> 02:24:00,030
He gave me a detailed history of who owned all the property

1896
02:24:00,030 --> 02:24:04,510
going back to a gentleman named Mr. Snoddy I believe was his name but I've got

1897
02:24:04,510 --> 02:24:08,270
this written I did a story on it and I will provide it to everybody on the board

1898
02:24:08,270 --> 02:24:12,530
so you had the true history. Mr. Voorhees did not have any problems with

1899
02:24:12,530 --> 02:24:16,610
talking to me about it we are friends for many many years he lives in

1900
02:24:16,610 --> 02:24:21,630
Columbia he's an excellent health and he just wanted everybody to know what

1901
02:24:21,630 --> 02:24:25,050
the story was so that's what it's there for so I'll share this with

1902
02:24:25,050 --> 02:24:31,070
with y'all. And Bonnet's rendition is somewhat close, but there's a lot of stuff in there

1903
02:24:31,070 --> 02:24:36,830
that's not exactly accurate, and ours is just the facts on our story. So that's all I have

1904
02:24:36,830 --> 02:24:38,770
to say, and I will...

1905
02:24:38,770 --> 02:24:41,530
Well, we would love to have that. I think that would be such a thing.

1906
02:24:41,530 --> 02:24:42,630
I'd be happy to share it with you.

1907
02:24:42,710 --> 02:24:45,130
Yeah, such anything, maybe to have a plaque made or something.

1908
02:24:45,930 --> 02:24:50,690
No, not especially that. I just want everybody to know what the actual facts are on it,

1909
02:24:50,690 --> 02:24:52,090
you know, why he sold it.

1910
02:24:52,510 --> 02:24:53,990
The other thing I'd want to bring up,

1911
02:24:54,170 --> 02:24:56,390
we had a picture that was shown, Mr. Gilbridge.

1912
02:24:57,150 --> 02:25:00,790
Yes, he showed the picture of an industrial complex there.

1913
02:25:01,350 --> 02:25:04,070
Didn't say those exact words, but it sounded like it.

1914
02:25:04,750 --> 02:25:06,890
Those houses and those buildings there,

1915
02:25:07,830 --> 02:25:09,230
those are greenhouses.

1916
02:25:10,210 --> 02:25:12,610
They were shanties, were basically

1917
02:25:12,610 --> 02:25:14,610
to keep the sun from being too bright

1918
02:25:14,610 --> 02:25:16,530
on the vegetable gardens in the area there.

1919
02:25:17,090 --> 02:25:18,650
The place when it was started originally

1920
02:25:18,650 --> 02:25:19,630
was a tree farm.

1921
02:25:19,630 --> 02:25:25,630
firm, he still grew and sold trees. He sold me a tree, which me and him almost had a big

1922
02:25:25,630 --> 02:25:30,970
fight about it because it grew so big. But don't ever buy a River Birch, I'll just tell

1923
02:25:30,970 --> 02:25:40,370
you that. Anyway, but he's a very good man, a very good business man. His operation was

1924
02:25:40,370 --> 02:25:47,110
not a commercial, it was more of a hybrid operation. Greenhouse, that type of,

1925
02:25:49,610 --> 02:25:49,610
that

1926
02:25:49,610 --> 02:25:53,430
a nursery is not really like a nuts and bolts type of business.

1927
02:25:53,670 --> 02:25:55,150
The two little buildings he had there,

1928
02:25:55,370 --> 02:25:56,730
one was a one room office,

1929
02:25:57,290 --> 02:25:58,790
that's where he worked his business out of.

1930
02:25:59,230 --> 02:26:01,170
The other one was basically a garage

1931
02:26:01,170 --> 02:26:04,730
where they kept the equipment that they did.

1932
02:26:05,050 --> 02:26:09,350
And if he might've sold certain types of nutrients

1933
02:26:09,350 --> 02:26:10,870
for plants and stuff like that,

1934
02:26:11,010 --> 02:26:13,290
but that was so that his customers would have something,

1935
02:26:13,410 --> 02:26:14,770
it was not because he was going

1936
02:26:14,770 --> 02:26:17,350
into the ace hardware business for instance.

1937
02:26:17,350 --> 02:26:19,090
But he had a full-scale nursery?

1938
02:26:19,650 --> 02:26:21,650
It was a full-scale nursery, but man...

1939
02:26:21,650 --> 02:26:22,410
No, no, I just...

1940
02:26:22,410 --> 02:26:26,250
That's the same as the full-scale nursery behind this building, which is acres large.

1941
02:26:26,610 --> 02:26:28,330
Sure, but he didn't live there, though.

1942
02:26:28,770 --> 02:26:30,950
No, Heavens, no. He lived about two miles from there.

1943
02:26:31,170 --> 02:26:33,050
Right, so that's kind of a business.

1944
02:26:34,150 --> 02:26:38,670
Kind of, but it's really a stretch to try to make it sound like it was an industrial complex

1945
02:26:38,670 --> 02:26:42,070
where they had heavy equipment moving around and all these buildings back there.

1946
02:26:42,170 --> 02:26:43,290
When they weren't buildings at all...

1947
02:26:43,290 --> 02:26:43,930
These buildings are...

1948
02:26:43,930 --> 02:26:45,350
Yeah, they're...

1949
02:26:45,350 --> 02:26:52,230
The residential zoning my point on this is is accurate for that land since it started back in the 30s

1950
02:26:54,030 --> 02:26:59,210
It may look like it, but it really wasn't I was there myself many many times

1951
02:26:59,210 --> 02:27:03,010
We used to go over there and just I just go over there and we just visit and talk for hours

1952
02:27:03,010 --> 02:27:04,870
He'd take me around show me what he had

1953
02:27:05,850 --> 02:27:10,710
What what is characterized as a lot of heavy equipment stuff moving around was not so

1954
02:27:10,710 --> 02:27:16,110
It's kind of like having a block and say concrete blocks and having one concrete block there

1955
02:27:16,110 --> 02:27:19,570
does not mean that you're building a mausoleum with them.

1956
02:27:19,930 --> 02:27:24,370
It means you have some probably to help people wait stuff down that they're carrying away.

1957
02:27:25,810 --> 02:27:30,870
That's just what I, we talked about the hyperbole that comes with all these hearings and stuff

1958
02:27:30,870 --> 02:27:31,330
like that.

1959
02:27:31,690 --> 02:27:34,890
It cuts both ways and the knife is equally sharp on both sides.

1960
02:27:36,050 --> 02:27:37,850
I'm not going to add any more at this point.

1961
02:27:37,850 --> 02:27:42,690
I'm really anxious to hear what the people had to say, and Mr. Mayor, one other item

1962
02:27:42,690 --> 02:27:47,550
on that, and this is, if I digress just a little bit, I would talk to the city attorney

1963
02:27:47,550 --> 02:27:51,650
during our break, and she said it would be possible for us to extend the time for people

1964
02:27:51,650 --> 02:27:56,270
to speak out here if they bring expert testimony in from people who are speaking on their

1965
02:27:56,270 --> 02:27:56,610
behalf.

1966
02:27:57,110 --> 02:28:02,430
Justice, these two gentlemen, this man and this woman, are speaking to us now because

1967
02:28:02,430 --> 02:28:07,610
they are expert testimony on behalf of the applicant who has hired them to do

1968
02:28:07,610 --> 02:28:11,730
It depends on your opinion number one of expert number two I still have to say

1969
02:28:11,730 --> 02:28:16,550
they can bring potential to third vote of this board will still stick with what I

1970
02:28:16,550 --> 02:28:25,470
just said. I understand this. Your time's up Mr. Ager. Mr. Mayor my question is just a

1971
02:28:25,470 --> 02:28:30,690
point of order and I'm asking the question to the parliamentarian who I

1972
02:28:30,690 --> 02:28:36,010
really don't know who is but so because I'm getting maybe a little

1973
02:28:36,010 --> 02:28:41,070
confused on our time limits because we impose these new time limits but I do

1974
02:28:41,070 --> 02:28:45,030
have some ideas that I want to present on some property that's on my

1975
02:28:45,030 --> 02:28:49,610
identical and I think the proper time for that would be when we have our

1976
02:28:49,610 --> 02:28:53,530
discussion so I don't really want to ask them a question I just want to know

1977
02:28:53,530 --> 02:28:58,770
if the time I used up 15 minutes ago counts against me or does it start all

1978
02:28:58,770 --> 02:29:01,030
over again once everybody's spoken.

1979
02:29:03,290 --> 02:29:06,370
Well, your time is starting now.

1980
02:29:06,570 --> 02:29:09,150
No, okay, but I'm not going to ask a question.

1981
02:29:09,690 --> 02:29:11,870
I just want to know when that time period starts,

1982
02:29:11,870 --> 02:29:14,890
because normally they have their presentation,

1983
02:29:15,230 --> 02:29:16,110
they have their presentation.

1984
02:29:16,810 --> 02:29:18,350
We have a chance to ask a question.

1985
02:29:18,810 --> 02:29:20,770
If I ask a question, am I eating time up?

1986
02:29:20,890 --> 02:29:21,670
That's all I'm asking.

1987
02:29:22,270 --> 02:29:25,570
Okay, there are the applicants and they're the ones that,

1988
02:29:25,950 --> 02:29:27,730
just like he has plenty of time talking,

1989
02:29:27,730 --> 02:29:32,370
You have plenty of time to talk your first time talk as much as you want to your second time instead of two minutes

1990
02:29:32,370 --> 02:29:36,170
Like it's been for quite some time and when they're done extended it to five minutes

1991
02:29:37,010 --> 02:29:41,810
Okay, so I'm like this. Okay. I'm really dumb here. Okay, so let me ask it again

1992
02:29:42,790 --> 02:29:47,030
The public's going to get up and talk and they're gonna be normally when they're done talking

1993
02:29:47,030 --> 02:29:53,850
We have a discussion of the board. I would think that during that discussion of the board we get our five minutes

1994
02:29:56,630 --> 02:29:59,870
in hearings like this, they're going to be making.

1995
02:30:00,820 --> 02:30:05,360
Okay. And when they're all done, then you all can make statements at the tail end about

1996
02:30:05,360 --> 02:30:09,040
what you want to say. Can we get five minutes? Yeah. Okay, that's fine. I'll take it. They

1997
02:30:09,040 --> 02:30:15,680
got, okay, you understand that? In the meantime, with these folks or him, you have five minutes

1998
02:30:15,680 --> 02:30:23,180
to pass that. Okay. All right. Okay. Mr. Mayor. Yes, ma'am. I need to clarify something

1999
02:30:23,180 --> 02:30:28,420
because Alderman Walters, lately misspoke. I did not say that we were going to give

2000
02:30:28,420 --> 02:30:30,420
them more time to speak.

2001
02:30:31,000 --> 02:30:34,200
I said the rule is, as everybody gets five minutes,

2002
02:30:34,600 --> 02:30:36,480
if the board ever wants to change that,

2003
02:30:36,840 --> 02:30:40,140
they would need to direct staff to bring back a resolution

2004
02:30:40,740 --> 02:30:44,320
changing that, so it'd be for any future public hearings,

2005
02:30:44,440 --> 02:30:46,820
but we're not changing it for this hearing.

2006
02:30:46,940 --> 02:30:50,020
I understand that, and I'm sorry if I wasn't clear

2007
02:30:50,020 --> 02:30:52,740
on that, but going forward after tonight,

2008
02:30:53,280 --> 02:30:54,200
one other thing.

2009
02:30:55,240 --> 02:30:56,020
Mr. Welder?

2010
02:30:56,020 --> 02:30:57,520
Your time is up, sir.

2011
02:30:57,700 --> 02:30:58,760
Just a procedure.

2012
02:30:59,620 --> 02:31:00,900
Your time is up, sir.

2013
02:31:01,800 --> 02:31:02,280
Your time is up.

2014
02:31:03,100 --> 02:31:04,940
These folks are waiting a long time.

2015
02:31:05,280 --> 02:31:05,740
Ms. Emerson.

2016
02:31:07,280 --> 02:31:08,180
Thank you, ma'am.

2017
02:31:08,980 --> 02:31:12,400
I have known Mr. Voorhees for many, many, many years.

2018
02:31:12,620 --> 02:31:13,940
We have been very good friends.

2019
02:31:14,820 --> 02:31:16,620
He called me and said,

2020
02:31:16,820 --> 02:31:17,820
what's going on?

2021
02:31:18,080 --> 02:31:19,080
I'm getting calls.

2022
02:31:19,900 --> 02:31:22,200
I talked to him at length.

2023
02:31:23,440 --> 02:31:28,120
I talked to him at length at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.

2024
02:31:28,520 --> 02:31:34,880
I asked Mr. Alderman Walters to take his phone number off of his blog, which he did.

2025
02:31:35,000 --> 02:31:40,660
He went home and took it off immediately because he was very upset that people were calling him.

2026
02:31:42,340 --> 02:31:45,240
Okay, Ms. Smiths?

2027
02:31:45,240 --> 02:31:46,280
Ms. Smiths?

2028
02:31:47,220 --> 02:31:49,420
I just wanted to clarify something, Mr. Mayor.

2029
02:31:49,420 --> 02:31:53,060
I didn't say that I had talked to Mr. Roy Heave now that I know his name.

2030
02:31:53,780 --> 02:31:59,060
Alderman Walters, what I was saying was what the cause from elderly people, senior citizens

2031
02:31:59,060 --> 02:32:00,740
here was telling me.

2032
02:32:00,780 --> 02:32:02,480
I didn't say that it was all correct.

2033
02:32:02,680 --> 02:32:04,780
I didn't say it was accurate what I was saying.

2034
02:32:05,160 --> 02:32:06,700
I repeated what they said to me.

2035
02:32:06,800 --> 02:32:07,160
That's all.

2036
02:32:07,780 --> 02:32:08,660
Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

2037
02:32:08,960 --> 02:32:09,320
That's crazy.

2038
02:32:15,560 --> 02:32:15,860
Okay.

2039
02:32:16,620 --> 02:32:21,160
So I am going to say one thing and I'm not taking a position at all in saying this.

2040
02:32:21,240 --> 02:32:22,660
It's just I want to make things clear.

2041
02:32:23,300 --> 02:32:26,780
I lived here almost all my life. I was a police officer for 40 years.

2042
02:32:27,020 --> 02:32:33,100
I went by that place every day that I was working, and every night I was working, and there were tractors there.

2043
02:32:33,260 --> 02:32:35,840
And there was a lot of equipment, and there was a lot of people in and out.

2044
02:32:35,960 --> 02:32:41,640
It was a full blown nursery where they were doing lots and lots of stuff, spring, summer, and fall.

2045
02:32:42,200 --> 02:32:49,000
So to say that it wasn't a commercial operation, I'm sorry I can't sit here and let somebody say that when it's not accurate.

2046
02:32:49,000 --> 02:32:55,840
it. It was a commercial operation. It was a very good operation and people that worked

2047
02:32:55,840 --> 02:33:00,860
there and Mr. Voorhees and his people were very good people and it was a very good operation.

2048
02:33:00,980 --> 02:33:05,200
It was almost like going to the grass pad, not quite as large, but it was a big operation

2049
02:33:05,200 --> 02:33:09,100
and they didn't just sell flowers out of the house and they didn't. It was a big

2050
02:33:09,100 --> 02:33:13,300
operation and they did have tractors and they door, you know, put holes in the

2051
02:33:13,300 --> 02:33:17,700
ground, put trees in and on and on and on. I saw it every day. So it's not

2052
02:33:17,700 --> 02:33:22,460
accurate for somebody to say that that's not what was happening there. So I just

2053
02:33:22,460 --> 02:33:26,680
wanted to throw that in there. I'm not taking a position just strictly to clear

2054
02:33:26,680 --> 02:33:32,780
the air because I saw it all the time. All right, you got anybody else that needs

2055
02:33:32,780 --> 02:33:36,860
to testify before we go to public comment? Unless we have questions for the

2056
02:33:36,860 --> 02:33:40,160
traffic. Thank you.

2057
02:33:47,120 --> 02:33:50,400
Okay, thank you. Stick around here in case somebody's got

2058
02:33:50,400 --> 02:33:57,240
something going on. Okay, we're going to take five minute break. Sorry, folks,

2059
02:33:57,380 --> 02:33:59,160
there are people that have to take care of business.

2060
02:34:03,330 --> 02:34:05,050
Okay, we are back in session

2061
02:34:05,050 --> 02:34:11,910
at 9.53 p.m. We will now move on to public speaking.

2062
02:34:14,360 --> 02:34:15,220
Counselor, who is the

2063
02:34:15,220 --> 02:34:19,280
first one? And remember you have five minutes and it has to be on topic.

2064
02:34:21,910 --> 02:34:22,410
Joe

2065
02:34:22,410 --> 02:34:22,770
Joe Kramer.

2066
02:34:23,310 --> 02:34:23,930
Joe Kramer.

2067
02:34:24,690 --> 02:34:26,130
Give your name and address please.

2068
02:34:27,650 --> 02:34:28,310
How are you this evening?

2069
02:34:28,610 --> 02:34:29,170
Good, good.

2070
02:34:29,470 --> 02:34:30,930
Don't forget to turn on the mic.

2071
02:34:31,110 --> 02:34:31,990
Oh, we're safe.

2072
02:34:32,230 --> 02:34:35,230
Right at the bottom there.

2073
02:34:35,610 --> 02:34:36,130
There we go.

2074
02:34:36,530 --> 02:34:38,630
Good evening, Board and Mayor.

2075
02:34:39,890 --> 02:34:44,130
Thank you for allowing me to come up and speak on behalf of this project.

2076
02:34:44,990 --> 02:34:50,430
As I was listening to staff, as I've been through the planning and zoning meetings,

2077
02:34:51,170 --> 02:34:59,010
observing and speaking and listening to what staff said. There was a word, phrase, whatever

2078
02:34:59,010 --> 02:35:04,810
you want to call it, akin to mind. So I looked it up. It was tautology, needless repetition

2079
02:35:04,810 --> 02:35:12,410
of the same sense in different words or redundancy. Wikipedia says the word tautology was used

2080
02:35:12,410 --> 02:35:18,010
by the ancient Greeks to describe a statement that was asserted to be true merely by

2081
02:35:18,010 --> 02:35:24,130
virtue of saying the same thing twice. And that's what a lot of that's what's

2082
02:35:24,130 --> 02:35:34,030
going on here. As I've observed social media in regards to the applicant, it's

2083
02:35:34,030 --> 02:35:40,110
just been an attack on his person. And I personally know the man. I'm a

2084
02:35:40,110 --> 02:35:43,910
customer there. I go there by cigars, I buy a bottle of bourbon

2085
02:35:43,910 --> 02:35:51,130
occasionally, and I know him to be a good and kind man. His stores are clean, there's

2086
02:35:51,130 --> 02:36:00,530
no evidence of any crime, and as he stated or his representative did, panhandlers

2087
02:36:00,530 --> 02:36:05,890
have run off. I've seen it. I've seen him block him from the stores. He runs a

2088
02:36:05,890 --> 02:36:11,070
good store. He's done a good job here in Raytown. And in that strip mall

2089
02:36:11,070 --> 02:36:20,050
where the one is at 66th and Raytown Road, nothing stayed there until KB's came along, okay?

2090
02:36:20,690 --> 02:36:26,790
It's still considered a convenience store by nature by the amount of grocery product that they carry.

2091
02:36:28,070 --> 02:36:32,670
Some of these people may not like it. He does carry liquor there, which I go by there, I admit.

2092
02:36:33,890 --> 02:36:39,450
But he's a good man. The attacks on his person have been the most bothersome to me.

2093
02:36:39,450 --> 02:36:49,590
as I've seen them post-case net stuff in regards to him and say vile things about him that are

2094
02:36:49,590 --> 02:36:55,590
just aren't true. They just aren't true. And they bother him as they should bother anybody.

2095
02:36:56,510 --> 02:37:03,710
And in closing, I think of Marcus Aurelius when he said we live more in imagination than we do in

2096
02:37:03,710 --> 02:37:07,690
reality. That's all I got. Thank you, Mr. Grammer.

2097
02:37:09,010 --> 02:37:10,510
Cass, are you timing these also?

2098
02:37:11,790 --> 02:37:14,950
City Clerk is timing. Okay, thank you. I just wanted to make sure we

2099
02:37:15,650 --> 02:37:19,090
on the same page there. Okay. Who's next?

2100
02:37:19,550 --> 02:37:23,530
Nelson Bunch. Nelson Bunch. Please come up, introduce yourself,

2101
02:37:23,610 --> 02:37:25,230
and let us know where you live, please.

2102
02:37:27,720 --> 02:37:28,400
Good evening, Mayor.

2103
02:37:29,300 --> 02:37:33,440
Members of the Board of Aldermen. Thank you so much for giving me this time. My name is

2104
02:37:33,440 --> 02:37:39,180
Nelson Bunch, I live at 11400 East 58th Street right here in Raytown, just a few blocks from

2105
02:37:39,180 --> 02:37:40,460
the proposed site.

2106
02:37:41,740 --> 02:37:45,040
I want to take a quick moment and just thank each of you for your service.

2107
02:37:45,820 --> 02:37:48,020
I want to thank city staff for their service.

2108
02:37:49,120 --> 02:37:54,500
Most people would not subject themselves to the things that you're going through tonight,

2109
02:37:54,920 --> 02:37:59,700
and so it says something very good about your character, that you're willing to

2110
02:37:59,700 --> 02:38:00,920
take this service on for your city.

2111
02:38:00,920 --> 02:38:04,240
And so thank you for that and I'll show that thanks by getting more to the point now.

2112
02:38:05,640 --> 02:38:08,940
To understand my testimony tonight, you have to understand a little bit about my background.

2113
02:38:09,400 --> 02:38:13,920
Unlike many of you and many of the people who are here tonight, I am not a Raytown native.

2114
02:38:14,260 --> 02:38:17,440
I grew up in Southwest Missouri in a little place out in the sticks between a couple

2115
02:38:17,440 --> 02:38:18,760
of towns that were out in the sticks.

2116
02:38:19,600 --> 02:38:22,920
And where I grew up, I had a lot of freedom.

2117
02:38:23,280 --> 02:38:23,900
I had a lot of liberty.

2118
02:38:24,420 --> 02:38:25,760
I could do what I wanted to do.

2119
02:38:26,360 --> 02:38:28,200
You know what never happened where I grew up?

2120
02:38:28,200 --> 02:38:31,440
Nobody ever came to my parents and said,

2121
02:38:31,480 --> 02:38:33,300
hey, you can't park your trailer on the grass.

2122
02:38:34,100 --> 02:38:36,420
They never said, hey, you can't have a vehicle

2123
02:38:36,420 --> 02:38:39,140
in your driveway that doesn't have tags on it.

2124
02:38:39,540 --> 02:38:41,400
And when I moved to the city with my family,

2125
02:38:41,760 --> 02:38:44,820
where now my extended family has moved to be with me

2126
02:38:44,820 --> 02:38:46,400
in Raytown, a place that I love being,

2127
02:38:47,540 --> 02:38:51,340
I found it frustrating that in the city,

2128
02:38:51,480 --> 02:38:53,960
people do that, people get upset about that.

2129
02:38:54,920 --> 02:39:03,080
They look at the things around your property and they tell you how you should manage what you own, what you paid for.

2130
02:39:05,320 --> 02:39:14,880
But the fact of the matter is, you as representatives of the city are given an incredible power.

2131
02:39:16,620 --> 02:39:25,560
You are allowed to make decisions that tell private property owners how they can use what they have rightly bought.

2132
02:39:25,560 --> 02:39:27,300
What is their possession?

2133
02:39:27,720 --> 02:39:29,160
That is an incredible power.

2134
02:39:29,620 --> 02:39:31,860
I can't do that to any of these people in this room.

2135
02:39:32,140 --> 02:39:35,480
I can't tell them how their property has to be.

2136
02:39:36,160 --> 02:39:41,140
But the city, through its representatives and through the rules that are established, can do that.

2137
02:39:41,800 --> 02:39:46,100
We can do that because we have a collective identity.

2138
02:39:46,580 --> 02:39:53,220
We're all tied together to each other in the wonderful place that is Raytown.

2139
02:39:55,660 --> 02:39:59,820
Many of these people who are going to talk to you tonight who are concerned about this,

2140
02:40:00,340 --> 02:40:02,100
and I'm sure people who are for it as well,

2141
02:40:03,540 --> 02:40:07,720
they're going to talk to you about water flow and traffic plans

2142
02:40:07,720 --> 02:40:11,640
and all kinds of things they are concerned about with the development.

2143
02:40:13,980 --> 02:40:23,770
What I want to emphasize to you all tonight is that everything that Mr. Bhavani's team here,

2144
02:40:24,550 --> 02:40:27,710
Everything that they say can be 100% true.

2145
02:40:28,330 --> 02:40:30,830
This place could grow unicorns for us.

2146
02:40:32,010 --> 02:40:39,070
And everything that the people who are upset about this say could be absolutely false.

2147
02:40:42,290 --> 02:40:44,230
I won't say that none of it matters.

2148
02:40:45,210 --> 02:40:49,490
What I will say is that even if what I'm saying is true, if they were all false

2149
02:40:49,490 --> 02:40:53,270
and the folks who want to put in this development were all absolutely correct,

2150
02:40:53,870 --> 02:41:00,230
You, as the representatives of the city, still have the grave decision and responsibility

2151
02:41:00,570 --> 02:41:05,630
to decide what is best for the city of Raytown from an abstract perspective.

2152
02:41:07,430 --> 02:41:14,590
Based on what is good for this town, based on what the future should look like for my

2153
02:41:14,590 --> 02:41:20,170
family, my six children who will be here when I am gone, my mother and father-in-law

2154
02:41:20,170 --> 02:41:23,690
who have moved here from out of state to be near us in this wonderful place.

2155
02:41:24,210 --> 02:41:30,270
My sister-in-law, my brother and his wife, none of whom live anywhere near locally here

2156
02:41:30,270 --> 02:41:33,870
and all of whom have moved to the wonderful place that is Raytown.

2157
02:41:34,570 --> 02:41:40,150
You make a decision tonight that can decide what their futures look like.

2158
02:41:41,330 --> 02:41:44,730
And so at the end of the day, when you're feeling all buried with the water studies

2159
02:41:44,730 --> 02:41:51,010
and the land use plans and all of these tools, good tools, tools, information we need to have.

2160
02:41:52,110 --> 02:41:56,210
But when you're feeling a little overwhelmed by it or you're surprised at the frustration

2161
02:41:56,210 --> 02:42:01,510
expressed by other folks around here, take a moment and step back and remember

2162
02:42:02,550 --> 02:42:06,910
that you don't have to decide whether or not it's a gas station. You don't have to decide

2163
02:42:06,910 --> 02:42:11,250
what the tax revenue is going to be. You don't have to decide whether houses can be built

2164
02:42:11,250 --> 02:42:14,990
on that property. You don't have to decide any of that to make this decision.

2165
02:42:16,010 --> 02:42:23,310
you can simply look at the decision of does this property need to be changed to a commercial use

2166
02:42:23,310 --> 02:42:29,310
for the future based on what we've seen. Is that in the best interest of the city of Raytown?

2167
02:42:30,130 --> 02:42:35,030
And if the answer to that is no, your decision is made for you. You don't have to figure out

2168
02:42:35,030 --> 02:42:38,590
a traffic plan. Thank you all so much for your time. I do appreciate it.

2169
02:42:39,190 --> 02:42:40,030
Thank you.

2170
02:42:41,750 --> 02:42:42,950
Cindy Sweetland?

2171
02:42:44,700 --> 02:42:45,460
Good evening.

2172
02:42:48,650 --> 02:42:51,070
Cindy Sweetland, 6325 Hedges.

2173
02:42:51,570 --> 02:42:51,990
Speak up just a little bit.

2174
02:42:52,430 --> 02:42:52,930
What's that?

2175
02:42:53,050 --> 02:42:53,970
Speak up a little bit more.

2176
02:42:54,110 --> 02:42:54,590
Okay, I'll try.

2177
02:42:54,910 --> 02:42:58,670
Cindy Sweetland, 6325 Hedges Avenue, Raytown.

2178
02:42:59,510 --> 02:43:00,630
I'm a little nervous.

2179
02:43:01,270 --> 02:43:03,070
I am currently a landscape designer,

2180
02:43:03,070 --> 02:43:06,430
and I have worked in the past with city planners in Kansas City

2181
02:43:06,430 --> 02:43:07,830
and landscape architects.

2182
02:43:07,830 --> 02:43:14,650
I wanted to address the 30 foot landscape buffer strip that is part of the site design presented by the architect.

2183
02:43:15,610 --> 02:43:22,770
The staff at the zoning committee has mentioned this buffer strip several times and assured all of us that it will be strictly adhered to

2184
02:43:22,770 --> 02:43:25,930
and that it will follow current code, and I believe them.

2185
02:43:27,230 --> 02:43:35,530
This buffer strip is crucial to the protection of a surrounding residential from the noise and light pollution that will occur if this development goes through.

2186
02:43:35,530 --> 02:43:41,290
true. The problem is, it is not effective for reducing the noise and light that will

2187
02:43:41,290 --> 02:43:47,490
come from this development, even at current code. And there are multiple studies proving

2188
02:43:47,490 --> 02:43:54,030
this fact. I'm going to quote from one study. Plant materials such as trees and shrubs

2189
02:43:54,030 --> 02:43:59,490
have often been considered as effective noise buffers. Most landscape vegetation

2190
02:43:59,490 --> 02:44:03,410
will accomplish little more than out-of-sight, out-of-mind reduction in noise.

2191
02:44:04,810 --> 02:44:08,570
As a landscaper, there's two types of noise that I deal with.

2192
02:44:08,730 --> 02:44:13,850
One is a line source, which would be kind of like the home you would hear from a distant highway.

2193
02:44:15,130 --> 02:44:18,190
The second is a point source, kind of like a police siren.

2194
02:44:19,130 --> 02:44:21,670
And the point source is almost impossible to screen.

2195
02:44:21,870 --> 02:44:24,150
As a matter of fact, you can't screen anything like that.

2196
02:44:25,250 --> 02:44:28,190
Also, the density and line of sight are important.

2197
02:44:28,190 --> 02:44:32,610
the line of sight is simply defined as a person's eye level looking straight ahead.

2198
02:44:35,010 --> 02:44:39,130
Buffer density is required for any reduction of noise to occur.

2199
02:44:39,530 --> 02:44:40,870
I'll quote from another study.

2200
02:44:41,690 --> 02:44:45,130
The noise buffer must completely block the line of sight.

2201
02:44:45,970 --> 02:44:51,250
If any light can be seen through the buffer, it is providing no appreciable noise reduction.

2202
02:44:52,350 --> 02:44:55,290
If noise reduction is desired for a two-story house,

2203
02:44:55,290 --> 02:44:59,810
and the buffer must completely block the line of sight from the roof to the noise

2204
02:45:01,360 --> 02:45:06,560
Hight and length are very important. Sound is refracted over and around the buffer.

2205
02:45:07,260 --> 02:45:13,080
One typical home should have a buffer that extends in either direction four times the length of the house.

2206
02:45:13,600 --> 02:45:16,860
And we are talking about a row of homes that will be affected.

2207
02:45:18,360 --> 02:45:27,160
Then there's the lighting. Even with the lights dimmed after closing for safety reasons, there needs to be enough light to protect the businesses from theft,

2208
02:45:27,940 --> 02:45:29,900
So the lighting will also be an issue.

2209
02:45:30,520 --> 02:45:35,380
The lights in the canopy for the gas pumps are above everyone's line of sight,

2210
02:45:35,560 --> 02:45:37,960
and there aren't enough trees to screen it.

2211
02:45:39,420 --> 02:45:41,920
And there is so much more that I could talk about this.

2212
02:45:42,620 --> 02:45:46,740
I don't like talking in front of people, so this really means a lot to me.

2213
02:45:49,080 --> 02:45:52,420
You know, I could touch on crime a little bit from a different angle,

2214
02:45:52,460 --> 02:45:54,180
but I'm not going to go there right now.

2215
02:45:54,180 --> 02:45:57,740
but talking about, and it's about the green spaces.

2216
02:45:58,540 --> 02:46:00,840
Multiple studies have been proven this worldwide

2217
02:46:00,840 --> 02:46:02,980
that green spaces, there's a correlation

2218
02:46:02,980 --> 02:46:06,020
between urban green spaces and the reduction of crime.

2219
02:46:08,520 --> 02:46:11,840
But I don't like to speculate until I do,

2220
02:46:12,040 --> 02:46:15,120
but I really think that the green space

2221
02:46:15,120 --> 02:46:18,240
is gonna be left in about five or 10 years.

2222
02:46:18,360 --> 02:46:19,620
It won't be green space anymore.

2223
02:46:21,880 --> 02:46:24,000
I just really would like to encourage you

2224
02:46:24,000 --> 02:46:32,180
that to keep this just to keep it green is all I'm asking and that's all I have.

2225
02:46:32,600 --> 02:46:41,520
Thank you. Thank you. Carol Hinsley? Good evening Carol. How are you? Doing good.

2226
02:46:43,400 --> 02:46:50,060
I'm actually a little nervous tonight. This is unusual for me. I'm Carol Hinsley. I live at

2227
02:46:50,060 --> 02:46:56,780
6400 Harris and Ray-Tan. I also own a business Mid-America Laminating at 6636

2228
02:46:56,780 --> 02:47:05,440
Cedar Avenue, both of them in Ward 2. So I am here tonight because I have heard

2229
02:47:05,440 --> 02:47:11,360
you cannot fight City Hall. And I actually have no clue what that needs.

2230
02:47:16,280 --> 02:47:16,920
Do

2231
02:47:16,920 --> 02:47:25,220
think so. And City Hall is nothing but a building. What's important is who is in

2232
02:47:25,220 --> 02:47:34,140
this building. People who care about the future of Raytown. You guys up here, your

2233
02:47:34,140 --> 02:47:41,900
reflection of the people that you represent. Your neighbors, your friends,

2234
02:47:41,900 --> 02:47:50,140
your families and that's what Raytown is all about. People. People. So am I here to

2235
02:47:50,140 --> 02:47:56,700
fight City Hall? No, I'm just here as a voice for the community. Wood 3 is not

2236
02:47:56,700 --> 02:48:03,160
even in my district, but I feel very passionate for them. I'm opposed to the

2237
02:48:03,160 --> 02:48:08,420
rezoning of Blue Ridge Boulevard from residential to commercial. At the

2238
02:48:08,420 --> 02:48:15,700
It was said that there was a need for a convenience store in the north of Raytown.

2239
02:48:16,760 --> 02:48:20,460
May I point out that Raytown is only, like, what, six miles wide?

2240
02:48:21,280 --> 02:48:25,540
You know, in the first place, there are two convenience stores.

2241
02:48:26,280 --> 02:48:30,420
One with a gas station at about a mile from this location.

2242
02:48:31,200 --> 02:48:38,400
And another convenience store owned by KVs that is also about a mile away.

2243
02:48:38,400 --> 02:48:43,660
from this location. I think all of the residences of the north side of Ray

2244
02:48:43,660 --> 02:48:49,340
Town are quite willing to drive that extra few blocks to go down the street

2245
02:48:49,340 --> 02:48:55,000
for their gas and milk. And if that isn't handy enough, the apple market is just

2246
02:48:55,000 --> 02:48:56,120
15 blocks away.

2247
02:48:58,220 --> 02:49:04,040
Let's face it, I know Kevin and his staff has put a lot of

2248
02:49:04,040 --> 02:49:12,360
time, effort and money into this project. I know the city staff has put in a lot of

2249
02:49:12,360 --> 02:49:19,960
time on this project, but no matter how much time and how much money you throw at

2250
02:49:19,960 --> 02:49:27,420
something, you can't make the wrong project right. It's not going to happen.

2251
02:49:27,420 --> 02:49:32,280
In kindergarten, we learn the difference between wants and needs.

2252
02:49:33,060 --> 02:49:35,260
We need our city to be safe.

2253
02:49:36,100 --> 02:49:37,580
We need it to be friendly.

2254
02:49:38,480 --> 02:49:40,520
We need to be welcoming to families.

2255
02:49:41,280 --> 02:49:43,220
And I think we can all agree on that one.

2256
02:49:44,400 --> 02:49:46,680
Why did my parents move to Raytown?

2257
02:49:47,280 --> 02:49:50,960
Why did my husband and I choose to build a home here?

2258
02:49:51,520 --> 02:49:54,760
Why did my daughter buy a house in Raytown?

2259
02:49:54,760 --> 02:50:00,820
because we love the community and the family atmosphere.

2260
02:50:01,580 --> 02:50:04,460
Don't sell us short.

2261
02:50:06,620 --> 02:50:10,120
Our families deserve better.

2262
02:50:11,020 --> 02:50:16,180
What we don't need or want is another convenience store

2263
02:50:16,180 --> 02:50:19,520
and a gas station in the middle of our neighborhoods.

2264
02:50:20,300 --> 02:50:24,020
Let's keep retown focused on the fact that families

2265
02:50:24,020 --> 02:50:30,800
communities and communities are more important than the long commerce a few

2266
02:50:30,800 --> 02:50:36,740
weeks ago the zoning board acknowledged that the rezoning should not take place

2267
02:50:36,740 --> 02:50:41,320
and I ask you to support their decision thank you

2268
02:50:44,130 --> 02:50:45,260
Allen Underwood?

2269
02:50:45,400 --> 02:50:47,100
Folks remember what I said.

2270
02:50:48,600 --> 02:50:51,140
Thank you for your comments good

2271
02:50:53,570 --> 02:50:54,430
evening thank

2272
02:51:00,440 --> 02:51:02,440
you Mr. Mayor Alderman I

2273
02:51:02,440 --> 02:51:04,940
I appreciate getting the opportunity to do this.

2274
02:51:06,460 --> 02:51:10,400
I have heard so many things from various sources

2275
02:51:10,860 --> 02:51:13,540
that a lot of you, I believe, I can't.

2276
02:51:13,540 --> 02:51:15,840
The name and address and name.

2277
02:51:16,080 --> 02:51:19,660
I'm sorry, 6921 Anglewood Avenue, Raytown, Missouri.

2278
02:51:20,260 --> 02:51:22,400
Yeah, say it again, I'm sorry.

2279
02:51:24,040 --> 02:51:26,320
6921 Anglewood Avenue, Raytown.

2280
02:51:26,580 --> 02:51:27,440
And your name one more time.

2281
02:51:28,740 --> 02:51:29,780
Allen Underwood.

2282
02:51:30,000 --> 02:51:30,440
Thank you.

2283
02:51:32,300 --> 02:51:36,700
Okay, so I'm sorry, I blew that.

2284
02:51:40,260 --> 02:51:50,380
There are some things that I've heard and I can't seem to verify and get what I believe to be definitely known as facts.

2285
02:51:50,980 --> 02:51:59,760
And like your story, Mrs. Mims, about listening to the history of what happened on the property and all of that,

2286
02:51:59,760 --> 02:52:05,880
But there's a lot of things said, and some of them are just really, it appears not known.

2287
02:52:06,620 --> 02:52:10,120
And one of them is, how much revenue are we going to get out of this?

2288
02:52:11,780 --> 02:52:15,880
Hundreds of thousands of dollars of sales tax.

2289
02:52:16,700 --> 02:52:19,420
And I'm thinking, well, what does that mean to Raytown?

2290
02:52:20,200 --> 02:52:22,120
And I don't know the answer to that.

2291
02:52:22,500 --> 02:52:23,740
And I hope you guys do.

2292
02:52:23,740 --> 02:52:36,820
I also heard this number, it's not a liquor store because it has, correct me if I'm wrong too, I don't know everything.

2293
02:52:37,140 --> 02:52:43,980
So it's not a liquor store because less than 20% of their sales is liquor.

2294
02:52:44,420 --> 02:52:46,780
Is that what I'm understanding?

2295
02:52:47,460 --> 02:52:48,560
Just address this.

2296
02:52:49,280 --> 02:52:50,760
Okay, I'm sorry.

2297
02:52:51,300 --> 02:52:52,080
Just make that statement.

2298
02:52:53,040 --> 02:53:00,900
I don't really know the answer to that, but from a Simpleton's point of view you saw liquor, it's a liquor store.

2299
02:53:04,810 --> 02:53:15,630
I've already expressed in the zoning meetings that I'm kind of a nut about trash because it's part of a bigger picture.

2300
02:53:15,630 --> 02:53:19,430
And to me, we're talking about our accomplishments.

2301
02:53:19,790 --> 02:53:26,430
The BMX Trail out here that I was shocked to hear drew people from faraway places.

2302
02:53:26,830 --> 02:53:28,250
That encourages me.

2303
02:53:28,870 --> 02:53:35,050
The idea that we're having concerts in the green space, that encourages me.

2304
02:53:35,470 --> 02:53:39,530
Those are things that improve quality of life

2305
02:53:39,530 --> 02:53:47,650
or make people at least believe that Raytown is making an effort towards improving quality of life.

2306
02:53:50,030 --> 02:53:56,030
When you think about moving to a place, and I know this I've moved a couple of times, always ended up back here.

2307
02:53:58,850 --> 02:54:02,050
There are pros and cons to wherever you go.

2308
02:54:03,430 --> 02:54:07,170
Deal breakers are the things that you can't get over.

2309
02:54:07,170 --> 02:54:12,010
I can't get over the fact that their schools aren't accredited, for example.

2310
02:54:12,610 --> 02:54:23,230
I can't get over the fact that there's more liquor stores per capita in that city than any place in the state, for example.

2311
02:54:24,730 --> 02:54:30,330
I don't see anybody who would look at a new liquor store and say,

2312
02:54:30,330 --> 02:54:40,070
if they're on the fence between us and leave Summit or down the road some other place and

2313
02:54:40,070 --> 02:54:47,210
say, you know what, I'm leaning towards Raytown because they're putting in another store on

2314
02:54:47,210 --> 02:54:51,490
Blue Ridge Boulevard gas station convenience store smoke shop.

2315
02:54:52,390 --> 02:54:54,470
We also heard from COPS,

2316
02:54:56,930 --> 02:55:01,110
ACOP here in one of the zoning meetings, and said, it's just

2317
02:55:01,110 --> 02:55:09,830
assumed to be true that any kind of commercial development is very likely to increase the

2318
02:55:09,830 --> 02:55:10,590
amount of crime.

2319
02:55:12,390 --> 02:55:17,550
And I see what's happening with homeless people, and I want to make real clear, I

2320
02:55:17,550 --> 02:55:21,190
will offer money to help homeless people.

2321
02:55:21,190 --> 02:55:27,970
I got nothing against homeless people, but there are a lot more homeless people around

2322
02:55:27,970 --> 02:55:33,490
here than you might know, and they leave their trash anywhere and everywhere.

2323
02:55:34,030 --> 02:55:37,790
And I've got more experience than anybody in this room picking up trash.

2324
02:55:41,140 --> 02:55:45,720
So what makes an area better is when people want to live here.

2325
02:55:46,440 --> 02:55:49,640
I got nothing against liquor stores.

2326
02:55:49,640 --> 02:55:56,180
I got nothing against smoke shops, but I can tell you that it's not the kind of

2327
02:55:56,180 --> 02:56:02,660
thing that makes somebody want to move to a community. It is not. I also heard this

2328
02:56:02,660 --> 02:56:09,740
thing about the impact, you know, whatever you do, even if you built a

2329
02:56:09,740 --> 02:56:14,460
house, it would impact that area. It's like, yeah, but which would you whether

2330
02:56:14,460 --> 02:56:20,880
have in the vacant lot across your street, a house, or a convenience store, a gas station.

2331
02:56:22,060 --> 02:56:27,700
This kind of reminds me of vacant outside the box, the business with the plans, and the

2332
02:56:30,260 --> 02:56:30,780
sidewalks.

2333
02:56:34,200 --> 02:56:38,760
A bunch of people sitting around the university trying to decide where the sidewalk should

2334
02:56:38,760 --> 02:56:39,000
be.

2335
02:56:39,460 --> 02:56:40,240
Go ahead and ramp it up.

2336
02:56:40,380 --> 02:56:41,280
Give me about 30 seconds.

2337
02:56:41,280 --> 02:56:46,320
Put the sidewalks where the people are, and the people are the homeless people going to

2338
02:56:46,320 --> 02:56:48,620
be walking around for a place to hang out.

2339
02:56:49,280 --> 02:56:51,100
And thank you for picking up the trash.

2340
02:56:51,280 --> 02:56:53,380
I've seen you out there doing a lot of, we appreciate that.

2341
02:56:53,820 --> 02:56:54,860
I appreciate you noticing.

2342
02:56:55,200 --> 02:56:55,540
Thank you.

2343
02:56:57,300 --> 02:56:58,100
Lisa Bloom.

2344
02:57:03,800 --> 02:57:04,140
Okay.

2345
02:57:04,320 --> 02:57:04,980
Who do we have next?

2346
02:57:07,240 --> 02:57:08,040
Lisa Bloom.

2347
02:57:09,060 --> 02:57:09,460
Hi.

2348
02:57:09,620 --> 02:57:10,060
How are you?

2349
02:57:10,780 --> 02:57:11,060
Good, thanks.

2350
02:57:11,100 --> 02:57:11,380
You can introduce yourself.

2351
02:57:11,440 --> 02:57:12,540
Give us your name and your address, please.

2352
02:57:13,080 --> 02:57:14,100
My name's Lisa Bloom.

2353
02:57:14,320 --> 02:57:15,580
I live on Lakeview Drive.

2354
02:57:15,780 --> 02:57:17,000
I'd rather not give the number.

2355
02:57:17,700 --> 02:57:23,680
I have lived in Raytown and paid taxes here for 25 years, and I raised my daughter here.

2356
02:57:24,320 --> 02:57:27,800
And please notice I don't even live near the area in discussion tonight.

2357
02:57:28,720 --> 02:57:33,920
I personally have worked as a licensed mental health therapist for over 30 years in Kansas City

2358
02:57:33,920 --> 02:57:36,720
and at one point in Raytown at Rediscover.

2359
02:57:37,640 --> 02:57:41,780
I've worked with first responders, military on challenges such as PTSD

2360
02:57:42,400 --> 02:57:45,380
and with lots of average Joes just like you and I.

2361
02:57:46,160 --> 02:57:53,240
Therefore, I am interested in the social and psychological impacts of a third KB's store

2362
02:57:53,240 --> 02:57:59,340
in this space and also in the negative direction that Raytown appears to be going at times in

2363
02:57:59,340 --> 02:58:00,420
the past several years.

2364
02:58:01,440 --> 02:58:07,980
I spent many hours conducting an online literature review and I found many studies and papers

2365
02:58:07,980 --> 02:58:16,160
citing the proven negative relationship of such businesses, convenience stores on its areas residents,

2366
02:58:16,520 --> 02:58:20,940
and their well-being both physically, psychologically, and emotionally.

2367
02:58:21,940 --> 02:58:28,000
Besides the obvious effects of increased alcohol use, and there is the criminal element it draws

2368
02:58:28,000 --> 02:58:33,240
that others will address here, and the visual and noise blight that degrades the neighborhood.

2369
02:58:34,080 --> 02:58:43,700
As he said, consider the homeless, the mentally ill, loiterers, petty thieves, and just those looking for a fight who are often drawn to hang around such businesses.

2370
02:58:44,560 --> 02:58:50,440
As we watch this fancy movie, I thought about those kind of folks hanging out on these walkways.

2371
02:58:51,940 --> 02:58:58,660
Do we have the social services in this town to handle this kind of thing, or do we leave that to our already overburdened police staff?

2372
02:58:59,340 --> 02:59:07,380
Let us not also forget the psychological view of many prospective homebuyers not wanting to live in a place close to a so-called

2373
02:59:07,380 --> 02:59:16,680
nuisance business. I'd like to read just a few excerpts from a couple of the 17 papers and studies that I have submitted to the

2374
02:59:16,680 --> 02:59:25,020
City Clerk. So you all have had access to those. They're right here. I put them out, double-side. Can I present that at the end?

2375
02:59:25,760 --> 02:59:32,160
I want to show facts and expertise in some meta-analyses and show you that we are not

2376
02:59:32,160 --> 02:59:35,420
just a bunch of negative and grumpy people looking for an argument.

2377
02:59:36,460 --> 02:59:37,500
Just a couple.

2378
02:59:37,800 --> 02:59:42,680
From a Philadelphia study in 2020, many studies have shown that neighborhoods with

2379
02:59:42,680 --> 02:59:48,460
a high density of alcohol outlets are associated with higher rates of violence, regardless

2380
02:59:48,460 --> 02:59:52,300
of other community characteristics such as poverty or age of the residents.

2381
02:59:52,300 --> 02:59:59,620
High alcohol accessibility clearly has been shown to be related to an increased rate of drinking and driving.

2382
03:00:00,000 --> 03:00:06,680
Motor vehicle-related pedestrian industries, injuries, and even increased child abuse and neglect.

2383
03:00:07,720 --> 03:00:12,920
In addition, liquor stores frequently sell processed foods and other goods that are unhealthy and expensive.

2384
03:00:13,860 --> 03:00:22,400
My second brief source is from a real estate source, which explains which businesses diminish property values the most.

2385
03:00:23,220 --> 03:00:26,140
Number one is a hospital. People don't want to live by a hospital.

2386
03:00:26,740 --> 03:00:32,760
number two is a convenience store with a gas station and a quote people will be

2387
03:00:32,760 --> 03:00:36,700
driving in and out of your intersection hanging out at the property and buying

2388
03:00:36,700 --> 03:00:42,220
lots of lotto tickets cigarettes and beer when they gas up although handy

2389
03:00:42,220 --> 03:00:45,620
these shops do nothing to help property values and hurt them

2390
03:00:45,620 --> 03:00:51,580
significantly according to Zillow.com I don't have time to cite all of this

2391
03:00:51,580 --> 03:00:54,940
information it's all here and you can look at it and you've also been

2392
03:00:54,940 --> 03:00:56,440
and emailed the links, like I said.

2393
03:00:57,380 --> 03:00:59,300
As an aside, I found this really interesting

2394
03:00:59,300 --> 03:01:00,460
as a mental health person,

2395
03:01:01,200 --> 03:01:03,640
developers tend to often put these businesses

2396
03:01:04,460 --> 03:01:07,020
selling alcohol into areas with some

2397
03:01:07,020 --> 03:01:09,160
or all minority populations.

2398
03:01:10,480 --> 03:01:12,300
It was also interesting to see

2399
03:01:12,300 --> 03:01:15,140
that the more affluent, predominantly white neighborhoods

2400
03:01:15,860 --> 03:01:19,020
in a city actually have higher consumption of alcohol

2401
03:01:19,020 --> 03:01:20,780
than these less affluent residents.

2402
03:01:21,360 --> 03:01:22,400
But I digress.

2403
03:01:23,940 --> 03:01:30,140
I want to just talk about Pride for a second. Psychologically, as a behavioral health specialist,

2404
03:01:30,380 --> 03:01:35,220
I do not believe a developer and team based out of Johnson County, Kansas,

2405
03:01:35,460 --> 03:01:42,340
can possibly have the pride and concern for property values and safety that all of us do.

2406
03:01:43,420 --> 03:01:48,600
I understand the city needs revenue. Finance, you must be very frustrating for this board.

2407
03:01:48,600 --> 03:01:57,500
All of us homeowners, and most of us are, also need to routinely come up with the funds to pay our bills and to improve our properties.

2408
03:01:58,260 --> 03:02:04,440
But do we citizens turn to questionable activities to raise money, or do we move forward with honor?

2409
03:02:05,220 --> 03:02:13,740
In this very room a couple of weeks ago, we celebrated the new Recovery Village Drug and Alcohol Treatment Facility,

2410
03:02:13,740 --> 03:02:18,440
which treats those with addictions in our town off of 350 highway.

2411
03:02:19,320 --> 03:02:23,400
Alcohol is the most widely abused drug in the United States,

2412
03:02:23,960 --> 03:02:26,220
and it is most definitely a drug.

2413
03:02:26,700 --> 03:02:31,180
And we can't not talk about this business and not talk about alcohol.

2414
03:02:32,180 --> 03:02:36,560
We already have 53 some liquor licenses in this city.

2415
03:02:37,120 --> 03:02:38,740
53, I hear.

2416
03:02:39,360 --> 03:02:40,540
Have we all just given up?

2417
03:02:41,660 --> 03:02:44,440
In summary, I want to say that just south of this space,

2418
03:02:45,100 --> 03:02:49,160
vacated by the nursery, there is one of those brown signs that says historic trails.

2419
03:02:50,000 --> 03:02:53,500
You see them in national parks, and we have one right there.

2420
03:02:54,140 --> 03:02:55,080
You may have seen it.

2421
03:02:55,980 --> 03:03:00,780
Blue Ridge Boulevard is one of the prettiest boulevards left in Raytown,

2422
03:03:01,040 --> 03:03:03,880
and I don't think we want to leave this type of establishment

2423
03:03:04,360 --> 03:03:06,740
or what follows when it fails, if it does,

2424
03:03:06,940 --> 03:03:09,560
as history sitting there for our kids and our grandkids.

2425
03:03:10,240 --> 03:03:15,380
Let's think critically about this and leave them something positive that they can be proud

2426
03:03:15,380 --> 03:03:16,340
of in years to come.

2427
03:03:17,320 --> 03:03:17,840
Okay.

2428
03:03:18,400 --> 03:03:23,360
Finally, my daughter who attended Ray South and who now lives quite a distance away upon

2429
03:03:23,360 --> 03:03:29,240
her visit to me recently said, Mom, Raytown seems to like it's all liquor stores now.

2430
03:03:29,580 --> 03:03:30,960
Maybe it's time for you to leave.

2431
03:03:31,720 --> 03:03:33,700
I'm not yet prepared to give up and do that.

2432
03:03:34,260 --> 03:03:34,860
Thank you.

2433
03:03:34,860 --> 03:03:35,560
Thank you so much.

2434
03:03:37,580 --> 03:03:39,040
Here's Kathy Walker.

2435
03:03:40,180 --> 03:03:40,940
Kathy Walker.

2436
03:03:46,500 --> 03:03:47,140
Good evening.

2437
03:03:51,860 --> 03:03:57,340
Hi, I'm Kathy Walker, and I live on 65th Terrace about a house there two and a half years ago.

2438
03:03:57,940 --> 03:04:02,660
I have worked most of my adult life in the mental health field,

2439
03:04:03,180 --> 03:04:08,740
and I also have lived most of my adult life in the Kansas City Metro area.

2440
03:04:09,060 --> 03:04:13,040
I spent a couple of years in Wyoming working on a therapeutic ranch with troubled children.

2441
03:04:13,040 --> 03:04:20,100
Most of my life I have worked with abuse victims of different types and people with disabilities

2442
03:04:20,100 --> 03:04:21,380
and troubled children.

2443
03:04:21,520 --> 03:04:26,100
So that's really near and dear to my heart and I really was on the fence about speaking

2444
03:04:26,100 --> 03:04:31,480
with you all this evening but I just decided if I didn't speak out I might not be able

2445
03:04:31,480 --> 03:04:37,960
to sleep very well at night and I want you to know I do not live near where this

2446
03:04:39,800 --> 03:04:43,440
proposed store convenience or liquor store whatever you want to call it is

2447
03:04:43,440 --> 03:04:50,040
going to go in. I don't live close to that place but I do have driven by it I

2448
03:04:50,040 --> 03:04:54,660
know of it. I know that there are children in that area so I want to give

2449
03:04:54,660 --> 03:04:59,040
you a little bit story about something that's happened to me. When I moved here

2450
03:04:59,040 --> 03:05:03,200
two and a half years ago I discovered this really what I thought was a very

2451
03:05:03,200 --> 03:05:09,080
cool Chinese restaurant, almost right across from where I live, right next to KB's store.

2452
03:05:10,440 --> 03:05:15,160
As I started frequenting this restaurant all the time, really liked it, one day I went

2453
03:05:15,160 --> 03:05:20,880
there and my order wasn't ready yet, so I decided I was going to go into KB's and go look

2454
03:05:20,880 --> 03:05:21,340
for something.

2455
03:05:21,500 --> 03:05:23,360
And I got there and I got to meet Kevin.

2456
03:05:24,160 --> 03:05:29,320
He was very polite, very nice, store seemed pretty clean, although he didn't have

2457
03:05:29,320 --> 03:05:30,640
what I wanted, but it was okay.

2458
03:05:31,440 --> 03:05:37,280
Next time I went to go and my order wasn't ready, I thought I'd go into KBS again and pick up something I need.

2459
03:05:38,200 --> 03:05:46,340
Well, as I'm going in there, there is a gentleman who was clearly inebriated, looked like he had maybe urinated on himself

2460
03:05:46,340 --> 03:05:51,960
and was kind of laying in front of the store and he was trying to panhandle some money from me or something like that.

2461
03:05:52,020 --> 03:05:56,260
Okay, I get that. I'm the woman who always stops to give his money to homeless people.

2462
03:05:56,360 --> 03:05:58,740
I've worked with the homeless a lot so I don't have an issue with that.

2463
03:05:58,740 --> 03:06:04,320
I had an issue with the fact he was grabbing at me. I came in the store. I did my business.

2464
03:06:05,400 --> 03:06:09,000
I was that time, though, I was parked very, very close to the front door.

2465
03:06:09,500 --> 03:06:12,260
Now, you women are going to know something about what I'm talking about.

2466
03:06:12,820 --> 03:06:15,980
Okay, it's scary to be grabbed at by a man, okay?

2467
03:06:16,320 --> 03:06:21,240
A man who's inebriated, a man who maybe urinated on himself, a man who looks out of it.

2468
03:06:22,580 --> 03:06:26,220
So I left, was able to ride in my car, and I left.

2469
03:06:27,160 --> 03:06:34,560
The next time I had experience with that store, I went in, and as I was going in, an inebriated

2470
03:06:34,560 --> 03:06:37,280
gentleman grabbed at me and started pulling at me.

2471
03:06:37,720 --> 03:06:42,340
So I went into this, a nice clean store, and I asked the clerks, there were two male

2472
03:06:42,340 --> 03:06:43,100
clerks there.

2473
03:06:43,140 --> 03:06:46,540
Now this talks about the safety and security that they're saying that they're going

2474
03:06:46,540 --> 03:06:46,960
to provide.

2475
03:06:47,640 --> 03:06:47,980
Okay?

2476
03:06:48,120 --> 03:06:54,520
So I go in this store, and I say to the two clerks, both of them male, one very

2477
03:06:54,520 --> 03:06:54,880
large.

2478
03:06:54,880 --> 03:06:56,540
And I say, could you help me?

2479
03:06:56,900 --> 03:06:59,740
There's a man out there who's trying to grab at me.

2480
03:07:00,160 --> 03:07:02,940
Now, I'm at this point, I'm not parked in front of the store.

2481
03:07:03,020 --> 03:07:04,780
This time I'm parked over at the Chinese restaurant.

2482
03:07:06,140 --> 03:07:08,980
So this gentleman looks at me.

2483
03:07:09,100 --> 03:07:10,580
He says, no, we can't help you.

2484
03:07:10,660 --> 03:07:11,980
I said, could you walk me to my car?

2485
03:07:12,060 --> 03:07:12,860
No, we can't help you.

2486
03:07:12,880 --> 03:07:13,940
We got to stay in the store.

2487
03:07:14,280 --> 03:07:15,600
I said, well, could you help me somehow?

2488
03:07:17,140 --> 03:07:18,180
No, we can't.

2489
03:07:18,200 --> 03:07:19,980
We have to stay right here in the store.

2490
03:07:21,020 --> 03:07:21,620
OK, fine.

2491
03:07:21,620 --> 03:07:28,600
So I waited for 20 minutes for this man to leave and get out of sight so I could run to my car.

2492
03:07:29,140 --> 03:07:33,280
Okay? Now, I continued to go to the Chinese restaurant for a while.

2493
03:07:34,400 --> 03:07:36,980
But I always parked by the Chinese restaurant.

2494
03:07:37,100 --> 03:07:41,800
But even parking by the Chinese restaurant, and some of you women are going to know what I'm talking about,

2495
03:07:42,120 --> 03:07:46,660
there are drunk men in the parking lot, hooting and howling and saying absurdities to me.

2496
03:07:47,340 --> 03:07:51,260
It got so uncomfortable to the point where, guess what, I don't go to the Chinese restaurant

2497
03:07:51,260 --> 03:07:51,600
anymore.

2498
03:07:51,780 --> 03:07:53,160
I certainly don't go to KVs.

2499
03:07:54,120 --> 03:07:57,340
Now how safe is he going to keep this place?

2500
03:07:58,400 --> 03:08:02,180
Now my big issue is, you know what, I don't know if I'd have bought my house if I'd

2501
03:08:02,180 --> 03:08:02,880
known about that.

2502
03:08:03,880 --> 03:08:06,900
And I live, I mean I'm in the walking distance, I'm in a neighborhood.

2503
03:08:07,660 --> 03:08:11,560
I don't have that situation right on my block.

2504
03:08:11,560 --> 03:08:17,520
I mean, you know, not that close to it, but still it makes a difference to me.

2505
03:08:18,080 --> 03:08:21,540
I, you know, is a really, is something that bothers me.

2506
03:08:21,700 --> 03:08:23,280
I don't go over there that way anymore.

2507
03:08:24,300 --> 03:08:31,640
Now, the reason I'm here tonight is a proposed situation, which we are going to all say is not a liquor store,

2508
03:08:31,980 --> 03:08:38,960
but I'm not seeing any safety at that other KBs is going to be where there are children.

2509
03:08:38,960 --> 03:08:43,920
I work with children. I work with troubled children. I work with women who have been assaulted.

2510
03:08:44,560 --> 03:08:50,000
I think I was pretty much assaulted in the store, got no help from the staff.

2511
03:08:50,740 --> 03:08:54,800
For Christ's sake, they sought, excuse my language, but I'm very emotional about this.

2512
03:08:55,160 --> 03:09:00,300
I would not be able to sleep tonight if I did not come here and tell you that I am very disturbed

2513
03:09:00,300 --> 03:09:03,460
that this type of environment is going to go in where there are children.

2514
03:09:04,040 --> 03:09:07,220
I don't live in that neighborhood, but it takes a village.

2515
03:09:08,680 --> 03:09:15,960
It takes a village. Those children are my children. Those children are your children. Those children are Raytown's children.

2516
03:09:17,840 --> 03:09:22,540
Now, I got to see the beautiful pictures of all the sidewalks and all the trees and all that stuff.

2517
03:09:23,000 --> 03:09:28,960
You know what I think as a woman has been assaulted? I think great places for these guys to hang out and attack somebody.

2518
03:09:30,620 --> 03:09:35,860
Well, that's pretty much what I had to say. I didn't have anything super prepared. I wanted to tell you my experience and my concerns.

2519
03:09:36,320 --> 03:09:39,480
So thank you for your time, and I want you all to think of the children.

2520
03:09:40,060 --> 03:09:41,120
Thank you for your time.

2521
03:09:42,600 --> 03:09:43,480
Morris Malloy.

2522
03:09:43,900 --> 03:09:44,260
My

2523
03:09:54,790 --> 03:09:58,810
name is Morris Malloy.

2524
03:09:58,910 --> 03:10:01,390
I gave my address earlier, 5816 Manning Avenue.

2525
03:10:02,430 --> 03:10:04,890
It is public hearing, and I've already spoken at it.

2526
03:10:05,330 --> 03:10:07,270
Go ahead and give your address again, please.

2527
03:10:08,150 --> 03:10:08,510
I did.

2528
03:10:09,770 --> 03:10:11,650
In front of you, you have an application.

2529
03:10:13,650 --> 03:10:21,890
It's an application to rezone 5.37 acres of Raytown.

2530
03:10:23,990 --> 03:10:30,310
It says, now that I'm reading, I apologize for your name, Kevin, I'm never good with

2531
03:10:30,310 --> 03:10:30,590
names.

2532
03:10:31,350 --> 03:10:35,250
And it has an address listed at 6625 Raytown Road.

2533
03:10:35,250 --> 03:10:40,870
In the application, there's questions.

2534
03:10:42,830 --> 03:10:45,350
They're nonchalantly answered the whole nine yards.

2535
03:10:46,070 --> 03:10:52,770
But what's odd is staff has told us at repeated meetings that we've had,

2536
03:10:53,070 --> 03:10:56,490
public, private, not private meetings.

2537
03:10:56,710 --> 03:11:01,150
Staff hasn't been in any of our private meetings that this is only two and a half acres.

2538
03:11:02,010 --> 03:11:07,970
But this application that you all have is for the entire five acres.

2539
03:11:09,290 --> 03:11:17,690
So staff has been reviewing something totally different than what's been available to the residents that have concerns about this proposal.

2540
03:11:18,810 --> 03:11:26,310
And in those meetings, it says that the name and address and phone number of the property owners is listed on the deed.

2541
03:11:27,470 --> 03:11:35,950
Well, the deed has a totally different name, and a totally different address that's not in Raytown.

2542
03:11:37,870 --> 03:11:47,050
And at the very first public meeting where the developer came and said to the residents,

2543
03:11:47,310 --> 03:11:55,350
this is what I plan to do, I'm Raytown. I live here. He doesn't.

2544
03:11:55,350 --> 03:11:59,030
But he tried to tell us, tell you, he does.

2545
03:12:00,510 --> 03:12:05,010
Because there's no resonance at 6625 Raytown Road.

2546
03:12:08,760 --> 03:12:14,940
And it says we propose the zoning be changed from R1 to CN.

2547
03:12:17,440 --> 03:12:19,280
Do you know what CN is?

2548
03:12:19,720 --> 03:12:20,500
Address us.

2549
03:12:21,620 --> 03:12:22,380
Mr. Molloy here.

2550
03:12:22,460 --> 03:12:22,820
Okay.

2551
03:12:23,100 --> 03:12:23,900
Do any of you know what-

2552
03:12:23,900 --> 03:12:24,100
Do any of you know what-

2553
03:12:24,100 --> 03:12:25,320
statement and address us-

2554
03:12:25,320 --> 03:12:26,680
Do any of you know what-

2555
03:12:26,680 --> 03:12:27,520
Not all these other people.

2556
03:12:27,520 --> 03:12:31,560
Do any of you know what CN zoning is?

2557
03:12:31,740 --> 03:12:32,240
I don't.

2558
03:12:33,100 --> 03:12:33,960
I've been looking.

2559
03:12:35,060 --> 03:12:36,160
It's never been addressed.

2560
03:12:36,380 --> 03:12:38,540
I wasn't here tonight, and it was presented at the other board meeting.

2561
03:12:39,180 --> 03:12:39,580
Pardon me?

2562
03:12:39,800 --> 03:12:42,040
It's been presented here tonight, and it was also

2563
03:12:42,040 --> 03:12:43,600
mentioned during the other meetings.

2564
03:12:43,820 --> 03:12:45,020
I'm just looking at the application.

2565
03:12:45,400 --> 03:12:46,620
OK, well, anyway.

2566
03:12:47,220 --> 03:12:50,980
Are you denying that the application is to rezone it to CN?

2567
03:12:53,350 --> 03:12:54,910
Because that's what the application is.

2568
03:12:57,290 --> 03:13:00,130
So, you know, I guess what I

2569
03:13:00,130 --> 03:13:05,650
I don't understand, and many of us in Raytown don't understand, is that there's a proposal

2570
03:13:06,990 --> 03:13:10,150
right here, application, for five acres.

2571
03:13:11,450 --> 03:13:15,250
But yet we keep hearing that it's only two and a half of those acres.

2572
03:13:19,500 --> 03:13:21,780
So I just don't know what's in front of us.

2573
03:13:22,820 --> 03:13:27,980
And I don't think it's fair for the residents of Raytown to be limited to five minutes

2574
03:13:27,980 --> 03:13:36,200
when we sat through five minutes of video of a sidewalk from people who live out of

2575
03:13:36,200 --> 03:13:36,460
state.

2576
03:13:39,140 --> 03:13:44,880
That's all I have. Thank you. Who else do you have? Bob Walker. Mr. Walker.

2577
03:13:51,930 --> 03:13:52,390
That's what it

2578
03:13:52,390 --> 03:13:59,470
looks like. Sorry. Good evening. Thank you. Good evening. Amen. Address please. My name is Bob

2579
03:13:59,470 --> 03:14:03,610
I'm Bob Wallin. I'm a member of the team for Mr. Babani.

2580
03:14:04,150 --> 03:14:08,690
I'm a commercial real estate agent with Block & Company, Inc. Realtors.

2581
03:14:10,430 --> 03:14:15,610
I've been in business for 43 years, so I've been around. I've seen a lot of development.

2582
03:14:17,190 --> 03:14:20,970
I was the agent that sold the property to Mr. Babani.

2583
03:14:21,870 --> 03:14:26,350
Our firm represented the seller originally. I represented Kevin.

2584
03:14:26,350 --> 03:14:33,710
We identified the site as a potential commercial site because of the size.

2585
03:14:34,270 --> 03:14:36,490
We thought it would be a candidate for development.

2586
03:14:37,670 --> 03:14:42,190
Mr. Babani owns two sea stores in Raytown.

2587
03:14:43,450 --> 03:14:50,850
His business model is now advancing where a new sea store needs to grow

2588
03:14:50,850 --> 03:14:57,830
and have a gas component along with liquor sales which is a component of the

2589
03:14:57,830 --> 03:14:58,670
Seastore business.

2590
03:15:00,750 --> 03:15:10,590
The site is being requested to be zoned neighborhood commercial on half of the site, retaining the

2591
03:15:10,590 --> 03:15:20,750
underlying R1 zoning that's originally there. Now, that zoning, regardless of what it is,

2592
03:15:21,270 --> 03:15:28,310
that site has been perceived as a commercial site for decades. And we've discussed it here,

2593
03:15:28,310 --> 03:15:30,250
the history of the site.

2594
03:15:32,810 --> 03:15:39,010
I have to say that Mr. Gilbert, I can summarize my

2595
03:15:39,010 --> 03:15:47,950
whole interest here in three words. I agree with him. The planning department

2596
03:15:47,950 --> 03:15:57,450
did an excellent job of the research of the use of the property, of the history

2597
03:15:58,990 --> 03:16:06,310
conditions that affect the property, its potential for future development, and those

2598
03:16:06,310 --> 03:16:15,330
are limited. What we're proposing is a convenience store with gas sales and a

2599
03:16:15,330 --> 03:16:24,610
significant amount of retail. The retail is a buffer. That softens the idea of

2600
03:16:24,610 --> 03:16:31,750
just a gasoline station that's going to sell liquor. It's not a big scary thing. We all

2601
03:16:31,750 --> 03:16:39,470
go to sea stores. You go to quick trips, you go to it, wherever you go. So the retail component

2602
03:16:39,850 --> 03:16:45,430
we can address in several different ways. We know that there's certain things that

2603
03:16:45,430 --> 03:16:52,170
the ownership, Mr. Bermany, is not going to accept. He's not going to accept smoke

2604
03:16:52,170 --> 03:16:55,610
He's not going to accept another liquor store.

2605
03:16:56,270 --> 03:17:05,570
He's not going to accept some of these uses that people have discussed that are what they consider detrimental to the neighborhood.

2606
03:17:05,950 --> 03:17:12,990
We're trying to be conscious of the neighbors of the area, build a quality product,

2607
03:17:13,710 --> 03:17:20,150
and I want to say just as a clarification, Block & Company has no ownership interest in this development.

2608
03:17:20,150 --> 03:17:25,590
This is Kevin's deal and to advance his C-store concept.

2609
03:17:27,730 --> 03:17:32,830
We can address the retail component with business services.

2610
03:17:33,610 --> 03:17:39,070
It could be a tax accountant's office, an attorney's office, a dental office.

2611
03:17:41,130 --> 03:17:43,950
Our company has developed a lot of stuff in Raytown.

2612
03:17:44,090 --> 03:17:45,530
I'm sure you're familiar with us.

2613
03:17:46,590 --> 03:17:49,550
Raytown has not had a lot of new development.

2614
03:17:50,490 --> 03:17:57,210
And you've got an individual who's willing to invest a lot of money to do this and to do it right.

2615
03:17:58,330 --> 03:18:04,090
I mean, some of the recent developments go back, I believe, a decade or more.

2616
03:18:04,910 --> 03:18:09,490
We built on 350 Highway and Raytown Road.

2617
03:18:09,490 --> 03:18:17,890
We developed the IHOP, the Freddie's State Frozen Custard and State Burgers, the Tidal Wave Car Wash.

2618
03:18:18,770 --> 03:18:22,430
So, you know, we know the situation that needs to be dealt with.

2619
03:18:23,810 --> 03:18:29,870
And I think Kevin's got a plan that will benefit the neighborhood.

2620
03:18:30,830 --> 03:18:33,570
This is a neighborhood retail center.

2621
03:18:34,290 --> 03:18:36,690
It's not a big box store.

2622
03:18:36,690 --> 03:18:40,330
It's not a large generator.

2623
03:18:41,590 --> 03:18:44,950
It's a 14,000-foot roughly building.

2624
03:18:47,410 --> 03:18:55,230
And I would ask that you consider approving the recommendation for the rezoning of the property.

2625
03:18:56,350 --> 03:18:57,210
Thank you.

2626
03:18:59,220 --> 03:19:01,300
Did you have a question, Mr. Walters?

2627
03:19:02,080 --> 03:19:03,760
No, there's no question right now.

2628
03:19:03,960 --> 03:19:06,320
You signed up to speak like the other folks.

2629
03:19:06,560 --> 03:19:06,840
Okay.

2630
03:19:15,750 --> 03:19:21,370
I didn't know he was going to do that until then, so he's part of that team, but I'm only

2631
03:19:21,370 --> 03:19:25,150
going to hold him in five minutes because he didn't sign up with them, so.

2632
03:19:26,230 --> 03:19:26,790
You're fine.

2633
03:19:27,170 --> 03:19:27,390
Okay.

2634
03:19:27,510 --> 03:19:28,590
I know you're done anyway, so.

2635
03:19:29,330 --> 03:19:32,290
Next time, make sure you're with them, and that way there won't be a problem.

2636
03:19:32,290 --> 03:19:36,210
Yeah, I thought I was going to go up after the original group.

2637
03:19:36,330 --> 03:19:36,570
Okay.

2638
03:19:36,850 --> 03:19:37,390
That's fair enough.

2639
03:19:37,670 --> 03:19:38,290
Thank you a lot.

2640
03:19:38,970 --> 03:19:39,770
Appreciate your judgment.

2641
03:19:43,000 --> 03:19:43,920
Ken Moore.

2642
03:19:44,840 --> 03:19:45,640
Ken Moore.

2643
03:19:48,650 --> 03:19:49,730
How are you this evening, sir?

2644
03:19:54,210 --> 03:19:58,950
Ken Moore, 5376 Blue Ridge Boulevard right next to the proposed rezoning.

2645
03:20:00,150 --> 03:20:06,970
I think everything's been said that I was going to say, so I can't repeat myself.

2646
03:20:07,630 --> 03:20:12,330
I just want to touch on you guys again. You got some big decisions to make,

2647
03:20:12,330 --> 03:20:23,510
and most of the time progress is going so fast and technology is so fast, we tend to overstep

2648
03:20:23,510 --> 03:20:31,690
our bounds and move forward without really needing to take a step back, take two steps

2649
03:20:31,690 --> 03:20:37,350
back before you take one step forward and really make sure you're making the right

2650
03:20:37,350 --> 03:20:48,700
decisions instead of just due to progress, you know. We need a good solid foundation in

2651
03:20:48,700 --> 03:20:54,540
Raytown with the population. We need people to support all these businesses.

2652
03:20:55,900 --> 03:20:59,100
You have a lot of businesses and I don't have people to support the

2653
03:20:59,100 --> 03:21:05,580
businesses. They don't make all the money. They're not at their peak

2654
03:21:06,560 --> 03:21:15,520
potential. We need you to consider the people. People come first. Businesses come second.

2655
03:21:20,940 --> 03:21:26,980
I don't want to bash Kevin, you know, he's an entrepreneur, but you know, to come to

2656
03:21:26,980 --> 03:21:31,020
somebody else's town and break ground,

2657
03:21:33,830 --> 03:21:36,930
it's not fair to the public, I believe.

2658
03:21:39,170 --> 03:21:39,470
Thank

2659
03:21:39,470 --> 03:21:40,450
Thank you for listening to me.

2660
03:21:41,670 --> 03:21:42,110
Thank you, sir.

2661
03:21:43,270 --> 03:21:43,550
Next?

2662
03:21:44,270 --> 03:21:45,030
Verletta Martin.

2663
03:21:47,220 --> 03:21:48,740
Good evening, Ms. Martin. How are you?

2664
03:21:49,220 --> 03:21:50,620
I am well, Mayor. How are you?

2665
03:21:50,720 --> 03:21:53,100
I'm doing well. Thanks. Would you give us your name and your address, please?

2666
03:21:53,240 --> 03:21:56,860
My name is Verletta Martin. I am here representing Luffy's Five Fish at

2667
03:21:56,860 --> 03:21:59,560
9120 East State Route 350 West.

2668
03:22:03,190 --> 03:22:06,890
Oh, Raytown. How glorious it has been to watch your growth.

2669
03:22:08,690 --> 03:22:12,910
I own Ladies' Sports Bar at 6635 Raytown Road.

2670
03:22:12,910 --> 03:22:16,450
I was a neighbor to Kevin when he first moved in.

2671
03:22:17,630 --> 03:22:20,970
My family has been a part of the Raytown community for many years.

2672
03:22:21,690 --> 03:22:28,550
As an 80s baby, I experienced being the only black girl in my kindergarten class at West Ridge Elementary School

2673
03:22:28,550 --> 03:22:33,350
and take pride in the diversity that I have watched us grow into.

2674
03:22:34,310 --> 03:22:38,510
I was a neighbor to KB's first location on 66th and Raytown Road

2675
03:22:38,510 --> 03:22:41,270
and one of the first to welcome Kevin into the neighborhood.

2676
03:22:41,270 --> 03:22:49,110
Seeing how he transformed the Wonder Bread Bakery that I knew growing up and had many

2677
03:22:49,110 --> 03:22:52,910
trips to with my mother was definitely made my heart smile.

2678
03:22:53,890 --> 03:23:00,070
To see our community's evolution has been a marvel for me and with business owners like

2679
03:23:00,070 --> 03:23:06,930
Kevin who have decided to invest in our community by opening multiple businesses in the area

2680
03:23:06,930 --> 03:23:11,750
showing his commitment to Raytown is something I admire and continue to

2681
03:23:11,750 --> 03:23:16,890
support. The opposition to his proposal has seen very bias towards this growth.

2682
03:23:17,750 --> 03:23:22,530
Last Friday I reached out to Kevin to see if he had considered drafting his own

2683
03:23:22,530 --> 03:23:28,110
petition as drafting his own petition as I have witnessed his kindness and

2684
03:23:28,110 --> 03:23:33,410
generosity to his customers and knew he should have support. And he humbly

2685
03:23:33,410 --> 03:23:37,850
reply, you know me. I don't have that thing in me to talk to people and ask them to come

2686
03:23:37,850 --> 03:23:41,270
out. So I took it upon myself to draft a petition

2687
03:23:41,270 --> 03:23:45,510
and put the word out that this meeting was taking place. And when I returned to the

2688
03:23:45,510 --> 03:23:49,590
store less than three hours later, because I personally forgot to sign the petition,

2689
03:23:50,390 --> 03:23:56,330
there was nearly 100 signatures on this petition. Now I know these things,

2690
03:23:59,290 --> 03:24:00,270
over just

2691
03:24:00,270 --> 03:24:03,630
Just a few days, we did collect around 500 signatures.

2692
03:24:04,810 --> 03:24:09,390
I know these signatures haven't been certified, but I believe it shows what we as the people

2693
03:24:09,390 --> 03:24:13,770
who have become loyal patrons to Histora's knows what his business style is.

2694
03:24:14,310 --> 03:24:17,190
Clean, respectable, well-lit, and in Raytown.

2695
03:24:18,610 --> 03:24:23,110
Furthermore, a lot of the people who visit Histora may not be Raytown residents.

2696
03:24:23,610 --> 03:24:28,410
They bring their Kansas City dollars, their least-summoned dollars, right here to Histora

2697
03:24:28,410 --> 03:24:31,070
because of who he is and how he does business.

2698
03:24:32,230 --> 03:24:37,970
So we are asking for the Board of Aldermen to approve the amendment to the ordinance,

2699
03:24:38,130 --> 03:24:42,010
allowing the property to be rezoned as neighborhood commercial

2700
03:24:42,010 --> 03:24:46,850
and continue the growth that Kevin is obviously willing to invest in.

2701
03:24:47,210 --> 03:24:47,630
Thank you.

2702
03:24:47,910 --> 03:24:48,890
Thank you very much.

2703
03:24:50,350 --> 03:24:51,550
Who do we have next?

2704
03:24:52,050 --> 03:24:53,710
Doretta Golsby?

2705
03:24:56,100 --> 03:24:56,660
Oh, sorry.

2706
03:24:56,980 --> 03:24:57,580
I'm sorry.

2707
03:24:57,580 --> 03:25:00,740
Can you give us your name and address, please?

2708
03:25:01,460 --> 03:25:03,140
My name is Doretta Gouldsby.

2709
03:25:03,300 --> 03:25:06,880
My address is 7212 Cedar Avenue.

2710
03:25:07,320 --> 03:25:08,420
I am in Ward 2.

2711
03:25:09,760 --> 03:25:12,480
I also am part of the Luffy's family.

2712
03:25:12,780 --> 03:25:13,940
I grew up in Raytown.

2713
03:25:14,060 --> 03:25:16,000
I've been here for about two decades now.

2714
03:25:16,480 --> 03:25:18,420
I am a graduate of Raytown South.

2715
03:25:18,680 --> 03:25:21,260
I am committed to the city of Raytown.

2716
03:25:23,120 --> 03:25:31,520
Our restaurant was originally in that 66th Street little subdivision, so we were there

2717
03:25:32,100 --> 03:25:33,780
when KBs originally came.

2718
03:25:35,100 --> 03:25:38,860
As that was my first job, I was working for my mom.

2719
03:25:39,720 --> 03:25:45,800
I was often walking back and forth to that restaurant, to that business.

2720
03:25:46,700 --> 03:25:50,020
I've never had any problems at KBs.

2721
03:25:50,020 --> 03:25:57,500
I've always been welcome, I've always been respected, I've always been greeted, it's always clean and

2722
03:25:58,300 --> 03:26:04,100
it's a store even now that I have missed out, like it's the only store in Raytown who carries

2723
03:26:04,100 --> 03:26:11,540
the snacks of my childhood, best sodas and things of that nature. It's one of the few places you

2724
03:26:11,540 --> 03:26:17,680
can get it in the city of Raytown. I go to KVs once a week. It's where I go when I don't

2725
03:26:17,680 --> 03:26:22,640
I don't want the lines of Walmart when I need to pick up a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk,

2726
03:26:23,040 --> 03:26:28,880
and I don't want to fight the high prices of high V because in this economy, who does?

2727
03:26:31,180 --> 03:26:33,360
But I've never had a problem there.

2728
03:26:33,660 --> 03:26:40,060
And so to hear that people are having these kind of problems, it's not my experience.

2729
03:26:40,760 --> 03:26:45,660
And I am there at least once a week, if not twice, because I have a soda addiction.

2730
03:26:46,960 --> 03:26:48,260
That's neither here nor there.

2731
03:26:48,960 --> 03:26:52,420
What we are here to talk about is KB's business model.

2732
03:26:53,100 --> 03:26:59,180
I've seen nothing in the way he practices business to believe that what he is saying is not true.

2733
03:26:59,720 --> 03:27:00,980
His team has done a lot of work.

2734
03:27:01,360 --> 03:27:02,240
They have been diligent.

2735
03:27:02,440 --> 03:27:04,100
Our planning committee has done a lot of work.

2736
03:27:04,520 --> 03:27:05,380
They have been diligent.

2737
03:27:06,540 --> 03:27:08,760
This land has been vacant for eight years.

2738
03:27:09,800 --> 03:27:13,080
Someone else has come and attempted to put housing there.

2739
03:27:13,320 --> 03:27:14,120
It never happened.

2740
03:27:15,040 --> 03:27:21,120
So when we have someone who is already invested and committed to the city of Raytown, no matter

2741
03:27:21,120 --> 03:27:28,200
where he lives, he opens his businesses here and he is frequented and supported by the

2742
03:27:28,200 --> 03:27:32,160
city of Raytown because if Raytown citizens didn't support him, he would have gone out

2743
03:27:32,160 --> 03:27:33,400
of business with the first door.

2744
03:27:34,540 --> 03:27:40,660
So to say that we are worried about his financial, I'm not worried about Kevin's financial situation.

2745
03:27:40,660 --> 03:27:48,960
What I am worried about is if we don't approve it, that land continues to lay vacant for another eight years.

2746
03:27:50,890 --> 03:27:53,550
Are we going to do this every time?

2747
03:27:54,690 --> 03:27:57,690
At some point, Raytown has to invest in moving forward.

2748
03:27:58,450 --> 03:28:09,790
And because of that, I am asking the Board of Aldermen to approve this application and allow this to be rezoned from residential to neighborhood commercial.

2749
03:28:10,150 --> 03:28:10,570
Thank you.

2750
03:28:10,570 --> 03:28:14,090
Thank you very much, Ms. Perry.

2751
03:28:14,090 --> 03:28:16,550
Okay, I'm going to botch this name. I'm so sorry.

2752
03:28:18,150 --> 03:28:21,510
Oh, Ovanjei. I love that. Martin.

2753
03:28:22,990 --> 03:28:26,110
Good evening. How are you? I'm Ovanjei Martin.

2754
03:28:26,670 --> 03:28:30,330
I live at 7001 Lakeshore Drive. I also work

2755
03:28:30,330 --> 03:28:34,530
at Lucas Pride Fish in Raytown. And I've been there the whole 16 years that it

2756
03:28:34,530 --> 03:28:38,610
was open. We were originally at 6633 Raytown Road.

2757
03:28:38,610 --> 03:28:40,490
We never had a problem.

2758
03:28:41,210 --> 03:28:43,850
The only time we had a criminal element,

2759
03:28:44,430 --> 03:28:47,430
all the business in that shopping center were broken into one night.

2760
03:28:48,130 --> 03:28:49,230
Every last one.

2761
03:28:50,650 --> 03:28:52,870
I've never heard of any bad things.

2762
03:28:53,070 --> 03:28:54,890
I am a customer of KBs.

2763
03:28:55,530 --> 03:28:56,450
I'm there every two days.

2764
03:28:56,670 --> 03:28:57,370
I smoke cigarettes.

2765
03:28:58,670 --> 03:29:00,450
He didn't originally have my cigarettes.

2766
03:29:01,090 --> 03:29:02,550
He started carrying my cigarettes.

2767
03:29:03,350 --> 03:29:04,670
I've changed cigarettes.

2768
03:29:05,150 --> 03:29:07,110
He's always had what I wanted.

2769
03:29:07,890 --> 03:29:13,630
I'm not a big drinker, I'm a pop addict, he has the pop that I want.

2770
03:29:14,230 --> 03:29:21,830
Some people, convenience, I grew up in Raytown, West Ridge Elementary, Raytown South, Middle

2771
03:29:21,830 --> 03:29:23,090
and Raytown High.

2772
03:29:24,250 --> 03:29:30,530
Convenience is something that a lot of people living in Raytown, they had that, I've never

2773
03:29:30,530 --> 03:29:31,090
had that.

2774
03:29:31,090 --> 03:29:38,850
until KB's move. I had to go outside of Raytown to buy cigarettes. Convenience is

2775
03:29:38,850 --> 03:29:43,890
something that y'all have the privilege of. Until KB's moved here, we had to go

2776
03:29:43,890 --> 03:29:50,690
outside. Now we can stay here and spend our money here. Thank you. Thank you.

2777
03:29:51,830 --> 03:29:58,150
Who else here? Rebecca, bourge, bourge water? Bridgewater?

2778
03:30:00,050 --> 03:30:12,570
Rebecca? I did see some people leave, so it could be that somebody left. Rebecca? Going once, going twice, okay.

2779
03:30:12,830 --> 03:30:16,550
Okay. Meredith Merly?

2780
03:30:22,120 --> 03:30:22,560
Good evening.

2781
03:30:25,220 --> 03:30:26,400
Give us your name and address, please.

2782
03:30:27,100 --> 03:30:36,180
My name is Meredith Merly, and I live on Blue Ridge Boulevard between Sterling and Woodson. So Ward 3 Alderman, I am speaking directly to you.

2783
03:30:37,760 --> 03:30:44,240
I'm not from here. I'm from Johnson County, Kansas. I've moved here two years ago, not

2784
03:30:44,240 --> 03:30:51,400
by choice. FactRate Town was at the very bottom of my list of places to go. I bought the house

2785
03:30:51,400 --> 03:30:58,660
during COVID to support parents who are elderly. One dying of cancer and who has since passed

2786
03:30:58,660 --> 03:31:03,020
away is what I could afford to bring them into my home and help them.

2787
03:31:06,020 --> 03:31:06,720
When I moved

2788
03:31:06,720 --> 03:31:15,380
And what I still see is a lot of empty buildings, a lot of empty spaces.

2789
03:31:15,860 --> 03:31:20,500
I see my neighbors constantly picking up trash along Blue Ridge Boulevard.

2790
03:31:21,020 --> 03:31:25,560
I do it too, which unfortunately was one thing I told my realtor I did not want to do,

2791
03:31:25,920 --> 03:31:28,320
and yet here I am still doing it.

2792
03:31:29,220 --> 03:31:34,400
I have no doubt that this gentleman wants to invest in Raytown,

2793
03:31:34,400 --> 03:31:37,800
wants to see it grow, wants to see it succeed.

2794
03:31:38,820 --> 03:31:41,340
I don't have a problem with commercial development.

2795
03:31:41,860 --> 03:31:44,660
What I do have a problem with is new development.

2796
03:31:44,980 --> 03:31:46,460
We have so much empty.

2797
03:31:47,160 --> 03:31:49,880
Why not revitalize what we have?

2798
03:31:50,640 --> 03:31:53,200
Why not build your community what we have?

2799
03:31:53,460 --> 03:31:56,120
Fox drugs and prescriptions, nothing there.

2800
03:31:56,880 --> 03:31:57,520
Nothing there.

2801
03:31:57,880 --> 03:31:59,380
In the two years I've been here.

2802
03:32:00,440 --> 03:32:04,540
All of these strip malls, you can call it a mart.

2803
03:32:04,800 --> 03:32:07,220
You can call it a shopping mall, a shopping mart, whatever.

2804
03:32:07,440 --> 03:32:09,280
It's still a strip mall. It's all the same.

2805
03:32:09,440 --> 03:32:10,900
It's just your vernacular has changed.

2806
03:32:11,600 --> 03:32:13,940
There's no difference between a zoo and a sanctuary.

2807
03:32:14,580 --> 03:32:16,780
They're both nonprofit. One just sounds better.

2808
03:32:21,310 --> 03:32:26,150
They talk about, would we leave this area blank,

2809
03:32:28,240 --> 03:32:28,820
vacant?

2810
03:32:29,740 --> 03:32:32,620
Put a park there for the children in the area.

2811
03:32:33,700 --> 03:32:39,400
put a community garden to support your neighbors, wouldn't even put any more work on your parks

2812
03:32:39,400 --> 03:32:41,820
department as we would be the ones taking care of it.

2813
03:32:43,760 --> 03:32:45,440
Do something better like that.

2814
03:32:45,580 --> 03:32:50,300
Let this gentleman revitalize an area of the town that needs it, that needs it.

2815
03:32:50,440 --> 03:32:51,480
That place doesn't need it.

2816
03:32:51,540 --> 03:32:57,320
They talk about a wonderful walking place, never in all my life in Johnson County have

2817
03:32:57,320 --> 03:33:00,020
I ever wanted to walk around a strip mall.

2818
03:33:01,140 --> 03:33:06,660
and I can guarantee you they are not wrong when they say there are strip malls in

2819
03:33:06,660 --> 03:33:13,900
Johnson County, Olathe, Lee Summit, Overland Park, Lonexa, I've seen them all. I have 30

2820
03:33:13,900 --> 03:33:18,880
years of experience there. None of them and they do butt up to residential areas

2821
03:33:18,880 --> 03:33:25,480
but they're not in the middle of a residential area like this would be. They

2822
03:33:25,480 --> 03:33:30,060
They're on Maine Dragg's Metcalfe Avenue, Shawnee Mission Parkway.

2823
03:33:30,480 --> 03:33:31,160
They are there.

2824
03:33:31,940 --> 03:33:38,340
But there is a very clear line between them and your residents.

2825
03:33:39,120 --> 03:33:41,860
That would not be the case here.

2826
03:33:43,690 --> 03:33:50,000
Had I known that this would be coming up, I would have not bought this house.

2827
03:33:50,000 --> 03:33:54,280
I would rather rent, and it is cheaper to own.

2828
03:33:55,760 --> 03:34:08,360
And given the choice today, if this goes through and my property value declines, I would like to be compensated for the loss so that I can move out of this place.

2829
03:34:09,220 --> 03:34:10,460
We talk about convenience.

2830
03:34:10,460 --> 03:34:20,180
When I first moved here, I drove 40 minutes back to Johnson County to go shopping for my groceries, for my gas, for everything.

2831
03:34:20,660 --> 03:34:34,420
And even now, I'll go to Lee Summit over here because to me, there is nothing here that has shown me that we are moving forward in this town.

2832
03:34:34,420 --> 03:34:40,240
I will invest because I have to, because I am stuck here financially.

2833
03:34:41,900 --> 03:34:50,520
So I'm asking my alderman to please listen to the people who you represent, you

2834
03:34:50,520 --> 03:34:55,860
represent us, and a reminder that your voters are watching.

2835
03:34:59,880 --> 03:35:00,320
Next.

2836
03:35:00,840 --> 03:35:01,720
Nicole Moore.

2837
03:35:02,160 --> 03:35:02,400
Nicole

2838
03:35:11,870 --> 03:35:12,170
Moore.

2839
03:35:24,800 --> 03:35:25,440
Good evening.

2840
03:35:25,680 --> 03:35:25,920
Your address.

2841
03:35:26,300 --> 03:35:26,760
Good evening.

2842
03:35:26,940 --> 03:35:27,900
My name is Nicole Moore.

2843
03:35:27,900 --> 03:35:30,700
I'm with the Safe at Home Program, Kansas City, Missouri.

2844
03:35:31,740 --> 03:35:38,380
I'd like to start out by saying that planning and zoning voted the rezoning of this land that is residential to commercial no.

2845
03:35:39,480 --> 03:35:44,760
Planning and zoning also voted for this commercial application as a no.

2846
03:35:45,520 --> 03:35:55,760
I'm asking you tonight to trust the experts that are with the city with the planning and zoning who have been here and listened to our four hours of discussions.

2847
03:35:56,800 --> 03:36:04,520
Ms. Stock stated, seems that we may almost have to take out that city recommendation referring to the city,

2848
03:36:06,840 --> 03:36:13,920
cutting the land in half and making the commercial zoning seeming more appealing, leaving the other half zoned residential.

2849
03:36:14,540 --> 03:36:22,100
She stated this along with some information that Willie wouldn't be appealing to a builder to build on the half of the property

2850
03:36:22,860 --> 03:36:29,420
once a convenient shop gas station is planned there. Steve Myers, he stated,

2851
03:36:29,900 --> 03:36:35,400
this is an opportunity to make something either available or not in a situation

2852
03:36:35,400 --> 03:36:41,400
where we are boxed in. We need smarter economical development. Because of the

2853
03:36:41,400 --> 03:36:46,220
environment we are in, we have a unique needs because of our situation, but

2854
03:36:46,220 --> 03:36:50,820
this does not box us in where we have where we just have to have a house

2855
03:36:50,820 --> 03:36:54,740
In fact, that Kevin has had a couple of businesses here.

2856
03:36:55,200 --> 03:36:58,980
Steve has stated that he has to pump up his personal business,

2857
03:36:59,320 --> 03:37:01,760
and he has to hunt down references and how good it is.

2858
03:37:02,420 --> 03:37:05,180
The word unavoidable was scary to him.

2859
03:37:05,660 --> 03:37:11,120
Steve Myers stated that there's so many unanswered questions to this plan.

2860
03:37:11,240 --> 03:37:14,780
It is not a solid plan, and that maybe we could do this,

2861
03:37:14,820 --> 03:37:18,580
but maybe it actually butts up to the community of the residents

2862
03:37:18,580 --> 03:37:23,940
who have been here a long time and they are not hearing anything solid nor are

2863
03:37:23,940 --> 03:37:32,120
anything in the best interest of them nor the particular property. I'm asking you

2864
03:37:32,120 --> 03:37:38,300
guys to trust the experts of the planning and zoning and vote no. I did some

2865
03:37:38,300 --> 03:37:41,920
personal research myself and I called builders, builders who have built in

2866
03:37:41,920 --> 03:37:45,460
right town because there is new construction in right town. I spoke with

2867
03:37:45,460 --> 03:37:49,380
two builders who have pending new construction houses currently right now on the market.

2868
03:37:50,040 --> 03:37:53,740
One of them went under contract within four days, one of them went under contract within

2869
03:37:53,740 --> 03:37:54,240
two days.

2870
03:37:55,160 --> 03:37:59,440
Both of these builders are ready and willing to build on this property given the opportunity.

2871
03:37:59,900 --> 03:38:03,580
It's not that this land has been left vacant, it's just that it's been unavailable for

2872
03:38:03,580 --> 03:38:07,440
people to purchase, build on, or make an opportunity out of it.

2873
03:38:08,680 --> 03:38:13,680
Please don't let that phase you, because it was listed so long ago for the 1.2 million

2874
03:38:13,680 --> 03:38:20,260
And then it was gone on auction that that gentleman that bought it at auction had plans to put in patio villa homes

2875
03:38:20,260 --> 03:38:26,400
Which I believe the community was fine with as that fits residential land, but COVID happened

2876
03:38:26,400 --> 03:38:35,200
That's why it didn't happen COVID happen the influence the cost of the materials and then he himself and his family became sick

2877
03:38:36,500 --> 03:38:37,080
I

2878
03:38:37,840 --> 03:38:41,920
Reached up to a few more builders who have who actually have recently built into

2879
03:38:41,920 --> 03:38:43,960
to Raytown within the last 12 years.

2880
03:38:44,540 --> 03:38:47,180
Four of these builders that, and I only called for,

2881
03:38:47,860 --> 03:38:50,380
I spoke to them and they are educated, licensed,

2882
03:38:50,620 --> 03:38:52,840
motivated and ready to break ground in Raytown.

2883
03:38:53,200 --> 03:38:56,520
They all found the property at 5348 Blue Ridge Boulevard

2884
03:38:56,520 --> 03:38:59,060
to be appealing and willing to build.

2885
03:38:59,420 --> 03:39:02,100
I also have a potential buyer who would like to invest

2886
03:39:02,420 --> 03:39:05,140
in this property for a Christmas tree farm

2887
03:39:05,140 --> 03:39:07,860
or a pumpkin farm for the Raytown community.

2888
03:39:08,000 --> 03:39:10,580
But what a draw that would be for the surrounding cities

2889
03:39:10,580 --> 03:39:15,980
to bring their children and enjoy this land that is so well-versed for this property and

2890
03:39:15,980 --> 03:39:22,600
elements and adding value of quality life to the entire community. Raytown is known as a tree

2891
03:39:22,600 --> 03:39:28,600
supporting city. It's been known for at least 20 years. There's been some news articles done on it

2892
03:39:28,600 --> 03:39:34,220
stating that the greener we are, the wealthier we are. Let's not remove the green.

2893
03:39:37,700 --> 03:39:38,320
It's what

2894
03:39:38,320 --> 03:39:43,740
a uniqueness into it. There's labeled champion trees here. There's the

2895
03:39:44,320 --> 03:39:48,800
Dawnwood, Redwood, the Sawtooth Oak, and Yellow Dogwood. And I hear the

2896
03:39:49,720 --> 03:39:54,780
lawyer saying this. I just don't know if I believe it. But there are plaques and

2897
03:39:54,780 --> 03:39:58,580
labels on these champion trees and there are actually people drive to

2898
03:39:58,580 --> 03:40:03,180
California to stand among the phenomenal Redwoods. We need to save

2899
03:40:03,180 --> 03:40:07,260
these trees. Maybe one of you guys can file a motion that they're not

2900
03:40:07,260 --> 03:40:12,520
able to tear them down because they absorb at least 500 gallons of water each day.

2901
03:40:12,740 --> 03:40:17,920
I also heard several times they said they will not sell smokes and liquor on this property.

2902
03:40:18,340 --> 03:40:23,420
So I'm asking someone, anyone up here, to file a motion or call for a motion.

2903
03:40:23,700 --> 03:40:28,560
If I say that wrong, I'm sorry, that there will be no liquor, there will be no liquor

2904
03:40:28,560 --> 03:40:34,500
and there will be no smokes sold on this property as they're already agreed to it.

2905
03:40:35,380 --> 03:40:41,260
I gave you guys some articles, like mine you said, that shows that in the past year,

2906
03:40:42,500 --> 03:40:44,920
over 547 homes have sold in Raytown.

2907
03:40:45,080 --> 03:40:48,160
We only have 19 homes available on the market active right now,

2908
03:40:48,520 --> 03:40:52,340
and 57 of them are pending and ready to close.

2909
03:40:52,820 --> 03:40:55,180
There is definitely a need for new construction.

2910
03:40:55,840 --> 03:40:58,240
Robinson Meadows has a very good path.

2911
03:40:58,580 --> 03:40:58,660
Yes.

2912
03:40:59,360 --> 03:41:03,080
Robinson Meadows had a very good path of selling all their new homes quickly.

2913
03:41:03,080 --> 03:41:07,980
building, and builders are ready and eager to build, and they have pulled permits in right

2914
03:41:07,980 --> 03:41:11,480
time before and know how to do this. I guess my last...

2915
03:41:15,210 --> 03:41:15,930
Okay, time's up.

2916
03:41:16,090 --> 03:41:16,810
Okay, thank you.

2917
03:41:16,850 --> 03:41:17,070
Time's up.

2918
03:41:17,270 --> 03:41:17,990
Sorry, thank you.

2919
03:41:19,670 --> 03:41:24,290
Kyle, Shanice. Shanice, sorry. Shanice, sorry.

2920
03:41:26,860 --> 03:41:27,940
I know, I can't get it straight.

2921
03:41:29,020 --> 03:41:29,700
Good evening.

2922
03:41:30,300 --> 03:41:30,860
Good evening, sir.

2923
03:41:30,940 --> 03:41:31,460
How are you, sir?

2924
03:41:31,780 --> 03:41:32,560
I'm doing pretty good.

2925
03:41:33,060 --> 03:41:34,340
Do you wish your name and your address, please?

2926
03:41:35,340 --> 03:41:39,980
My name is Kyle Shaughnessy. I am part of the Safe at Home program in Kansas City, Missouri.

2927
03:41:41,360 --> 03:41:45,040
And just so you know, Asia used to butcher my name in high school all the time, too.

2928
03:41:45,220 --> 03:41:48,780
So that's something that's been happening all my life.

2929
03:41:49,020 --> 03:41:52,940
But just to start out here, I wanted to run over a few things.

2930
03:41:54,400 --> 03:41:56,960
Famed architect Hewell Newell Jacobson said,

2931
03:41:57,220 --> 03:41:59,480
when you look at a city, it's like reading the hopes, aspirations,

2932
03:41:59,680 --> 03:42:01,360
and pride of everyone who built it.

2933
03:42:01,360 --> 03:42:06,220
The question before us today isn't one of passivity or a question based on purely economics.

2934
03:42:06,560 --> 03:42:09,980
It's about the future of a city and what pride we want to take in a town we all love.

2935
03:42:10,420 --> 03:42:14,520
You all, I am sure, have watched and taken to heart the Planning and Zoning Committee comments

2936
03:42:14,520 --> 03:42:20,040
and hopefully watched the playback of the questions they ask and the testimony of the residents.

2937
03:42:20,960 --> 03:42:26,740
I had a whole speech here and I'm kind of throwing most of it out the window at the moment.

2938
03:42:26,740 --> 03:42:31,200
But one of the main points I wanted to bring up about that planning and zoning committee

2939
03:42:31,200 --> 03:42:39,280
meeting was one thing that really struck out to me was one of the members on the committee

2940
03:42:39,800 --> 03:42:46,640
asked the applicant directly why he doesn't have a store in his own home city of Olafa.

2941
03:42:48,120 --> 03:42:48,840
Thank you.

2942
03:42:51,840 --> 03:42:57,840
The question, and his response verbatim was there's no land over there for those kind of businesses.

2943
03:42:58,100 --> 03:43:02,780
The city doesn't allow too many to be around there. The question was after that, why Raytown?

2944
03:43:03,260 --> 03:43:06,040
If Olathe is saying no, why would Raytown say yes?

2945
03:43:06,360 --> 03:43:10,460
We have a plethora of these types of businesses all over within a couple of miles of this space.

2946
03:43:10,800 --> 03:43:14,660
His own location is at 1.5 miles away according to Google from this location.

2947
03:43:14,660 --> 03:43:18,960
This should be very telling that the applicant even says those types of businesses.

2948
03:43:19,680 --> 03:43:27,720
Now, I want to clearly stated that I've got no problem with economic growth, with, you

2949
03:43:27,720 --> 03:43:31,580
know, wanting to develop Raytown, but it needs to be done in the right way.

2950
03:43:32,360 --> 03:43:35,860
A lot of us just feel that this isn't the right way to do it.

2951
03:43:37,480 --> 03:43:43,480
Obviously planning and zoning agreed with a lot of what the people said.

2952
03:43:44,000 --> 03:43:49,940
They agreed that this needed to stay residential, that that was going to be the best use for this property.

2953
03:43:50,520 --> 03:43:55,660
One member actually said, maybe commercial at a future point in time, but this is not the time.

2954
03:43:57,860 --> 03:44:05,280
Also, I wanted to bring up a consultation that was done by one of the aldermen here.

2955
03:44:06,280 --> 03:44:20,180
And I just, to me, it seemed to be a very extensively researched piece of testimony and it certainly made a view clear how he felt this property should be used.

2956
03:44:21,020 --> 03:44:26,640
First, I want to talk about the crime statistic, how it may or may not increase in the area.

2957
03:44:26,880 --> 03:44:27,740
Two things about that.

2958
03:44:28,060 --> 03:44:33,360
If you speak and listen to the residents in the area, they are already concerned because of gunshots at night on repeated occasions,

2959
03:44:33,360 --> 03:44:36,760
as well as speeding vehicles, making it dangerous to venture out at night,

2960
03:44:37,100 --> 03:44:39,480
not to mention a police force that is currently understaffed.

2961
03:44:39,900 --> 03:44:44,960
According to Neighborhood Scout, the Missouri average of being involved in a violent crime is 1 in 187 people.

2962
03:44:45,460 --> 03:44:47,540
In Raytown, it is 1 in 158 people.

2963
03:44:47,960 --> 03:44:50,940
Property crime in Missouri is 1 in 42 homes.

2964
03:44:51,400 --> 03:44:54,160
In Raytown, it is way higher, 1 in 28 homes.

2965
03:44:54,580 --> 03:44:55,920
Already, you see a pattern here.

2966
03:44:55,920 --> 03:44:59,240
Another nuisance business right in the residential area with

2967
03:45:00,180 --> 03:45:05,080
Vagrants migrating from 70 and 40 highway to another gas station or convenience store liquor

2968
03:45:05,080 --> 03:45:08,880
smoke shop, then wanting to put in a walking trail that leads a number of these people directly

2969
03:45:08,880 --> 03:45:15,340
to the back doors of the members of the neighborhood in that area. Clearly something to think about

2970
03:45:15,340 --> 03:45:20,920
along with some FBI related statistics that you can actually hear during the planning

2971
03:45:20,920 --> 03:45:25,860
and zoning committee meeting that my daughter brought up. These should really make you

2972
03:45:25,860 --> 03:45:31,360
rethink the strategy for this area. The second point that I wanted to bring up was something

2973
03:45:31,360 --> 03:45:37,540
that struck me as kind of misleading. In the report that was done, it was said that there

2974
03:45:37,540 --> 03:45:47,140
were zero, there have been zero single-family home permits submitted by the city of Raytown

2975
03:45:47,140 --> 03:45:52,340
since 2011. I think that's a very misleading stat because there have been a number of

2976
03:45:52,340 --> 03:45:58,420
them. The city of Raytown just hasn't reported to that. Marcos, I believe it is. I think was

2977
03:45:58,420 --> 03:46:00,140
the stat line that was used.

2978
03:46:02,300 --> 03:46:08,020
Mark, Mark, sorry. And Chris can even attest to that, that there

2979
03:46:08,020 --> 03:46:14,480
have been permits issued. So I think that purely on that basis was slightly misleading.

2980
03:46:15,560 --> 03:46:22,820
And I just want to clearly stated that there have been residential homes built since 2011

2981
03:46:23,300 --> 03:46:29,140
that the city hasn't remained stagnant. We can grow, we need to grow the right way.

2982
03:46:29,600 --> 03:46:31,760
Is this the right way? I certainly don't think so.

2983
03:46:32,280 --> 03:46:36,860
And then in kind of summation, we have open retail property.

2984
03:46:37,140 --> 03:46:39,700
We have commercial lots for sale. We have a higher-than-average crime rate,

2985
03:46:39,820 --> 03:46:41,480
and we have a lack of single-family homes.

2986
03:46:41,480 --> 03:46:44,040
We have a lack of Raytownian pride.

2987
03:46:44,420 --> 03:46:46,980
Let's take pride in creating something that does something for the city,

2988
03:46:47,060 --> 03:46:50,440
not something that leads to citizens of Raytown just being another statistic.

2989
03:46:51,340 --> 03:46:53,560
David Brooks, a commentator for the New York Times said,

2990
03:46:53,800 --> 03:46:55,860
almost every successful person begins with two beliefs.

2991
03:46:56,280 --> 03:46:59,600
The future can be better than the present, and I have the power to make it so.

2992
03:47:00,120 --> 03:47:01,440
Make a better future for Raytown.

2993
03:47:01,580 --> 03:47:03,120
Don't allow this project to come to fruition.

2994
03:47:03,620 --> 03:47:04,260
Thank you for your time.

2995
03:47:05,940 --> 03:47:06,640
Thank you.

2996
03:47:07,420 --> 03:47:08,460
What do you have next?

2997
03:47:08,460 --> 03:47:11,500
Mark Weis, Mark Weis.

2998
03:47:19,500 --> 03:47:20,440
Name and address.

2999
03:47:21,020 --> 03:47:29,000
Mark Weis, 11304 East 53rd Street, Braytown, Missouri, proud member of ward number three.

3000
03:47:31,400 --> 03:47:37,970
I had a lot of information that was not going to be able to do in five minutes.

3001
03:47:38,530 --> 03:47:43,070
I forwarded it to the city clerk yesterday and hopefully you guys will be able to get it.

3002
03:47:43,810 --> 03:47:46,990
Some things that need to be addressed.

3003
03:47:48,930 --> 03:47:59,890
Our group did not want to come back anything on the city development people in regards to the 10-day, 15-day letter notice.

3004
03:48:00,730 --> 03:48:06,050
Both the ones that we were talking about were the ones sent by the proposer.

3005
03:48:06,750 --> 03:48:12,310
They were mailed. One was dated on January the 17th. It was mailed on the 18th.

3006
03:48:12,310 --> 03:48:15,310
We received it on the 20th for a meeting on the 24th.

3007
03:48:16,150 --> 03:48:24,450
The other one was dated on March 10, it was mailed on March 15, received on the 17th for a meeting on the 21st.

3008
03:48:27,730 --> 03:48:32,610
Both of those letters indicate that we were looking at 5.29 acres.

3009
03:48:34,540 --> 03:48:37,420
Every time we come to a city meeting, it was different.

3010
03:48:38,900 --> 03:48:43,120
We're going to do it all. We're going to do half. We're going to turn it.

3011
03:48:44,430 --> 03:48:49,030
Planning and zoning meetings saw what was going on and that was one of the main

3012
03:48:49,030 --> 03:48:59,010
reasons why they said no. Today we're sitting here the size of the proposal I

3013
03:48:59,010 --> 03:49:02,950
honestly believe kept changing because they wanted to eliminate the 185 feet

3014
03:49:02,950 --> 03:49:05,210
from the residential people of Ward 3.

3015
03:49:07,870 --> 03:49:10,790
That's wrong. Every one of us in that

3016
03:49:10,790 --> 03:49:17,570
area have a say or should have a say. The traffic study that was done, it was

3017
03:49:17,570 --> 03:49:23,990
dated wrong on the front page, it was dated in 2019, it was certified in 2022

3018
03:49:25,030 --> 03:49:29,970
and they gave the week of the last week of December or I'm sorry last week of

3019
03:49:29,970 --> 03:49:38,150
November 1st week of December. In the traffic impact analysis under the city

3020
03:49:38,150 --> 03:49:45,990
guidelines states existing conditions, a 24-hour traffic count needs to be done.

3021
03:49:46,590 --> 03:49:51,410
Many of you have driven across the little black lines, little stripes.

3022
03:49:51,890 --> 03:49:52,930
Those were never done.

3023
03:49:54,270 --> 03:49:55,830
Their counts cannot be accurate.

3024
03:49:56,790 --> 03:50:02,450
There was no diagram to show anything about this in that proposal.

3025
03:50:03,090 --> 03:50:10,390
I have submitted also a hand-drawn diagram as part of it.

3026
03:50:13,270 --> 03:50:18,650
Also, I am the officer that they talk about that's retired that has done the crime statistics.

3027
03:50:19,330 --> 03:50:23,450
I'll fully admit to it, I'm the one that stood in front of that planning and zoning meeting

3028
03:50:23,450 --> 03:50:28,670
that was here every day that they had for over 15 hours it seemed like.

3029
03:50:29,730 --> 03:50:35,390
Those are the facts. We've had businesses that leave Raytown because of the crime, and it's

3030
03:50:35,390 --> 03:50:41,870
nothing against our police department. I served with it for 20 years. Budget concerns cut their

3031
03:50:41,870 --> 03:50:51,540
legs out from under them. We all understand that, but we have so many blight in our deals.

3032
03:50:52,440 --> 03:50:59,140
What happens when this one goes under? We have another bill. If it gets re-zoned to

3033
03:50:59,140 --> 03:51:00,900
commercial, and he backs out.

3034
03:51:02,340 --> 03:51:08,820
The citizens of Ward 3 have no voice at that point in time

3035
03:51:08,820 --> 03:51:10,100
to say what would go in there.

3036
03:51:10,800 --> 03:51:12,340
That's one of the reasons why we're here.

3037
03:51:15,200 --> 03:51:15,820
We've been there.

3038
03:51:15,900 --> 03:51:17,980
I've been in my house now for 35 years.

3039
03:51:19,220 --> 03:51:22,420
In fact, I was one of the two officers that responded when

3040
03:51:22,420 --> 03:51:24,980
Mr. Bochi's had his heart attack and helped

3041
03:51:24,980 --> 03:51:25,700
perform CPR.

3042
03:51:28,350 --> 03:51:29,530
I have that tie.

3043
03:51:29,530 --> 03:51:37,530
I have that to me, you know, the crime that comes with gas stations.

3044
03:51:38,230 --> 03:51:43,850
Since this started, 17 gas stations in the Kansas City metropolitan area have had more

3045
03:51:43,850 --> 03:51:45,010
than one shooting.

3046
03:51:46,610 --> 03:51:48,810
Most of them have resulted in homicides.

3047
03:51:49,790 --> 03:51:51,270
I don't want it in my neighborhood.

3048
03:51:52,230 --> 03:51:55,310
I'm sure each and every one of you don't want it in your neighborhood.

3049
03:51:56,270 --> 03:52:01,090
I'm not against economic development, but it has to be right.

3050
03:52:02,490 --> 03:52:11,110
Raytown also has a city ordinance under Chapter 4, Section 278-G,

3051
03:52:12,030 --> 03:52:19,490
which prohibits devices of games no licey shall allow upon the premises covered by such license

3052
03:52:19,490 --> 03:52:26,990
any gambling of any kind or character for money, trade checks, prizes, merchandise, or any other consideration whatsoever.

3053
03:52:28,110 --> 03:52:33,250
Three stores in Raytown right now have gaming machines in them.

3054
03:52:34,350 --> 03:52:36,030
Two of them are KB stores.

3055
03:52:38,680 --> 03:52:48,740
We need to address that by this board that it's another item that's going to bring crime back into our community.

3056
03:52:53,100 --> 03:52:54,880
a lot of

3057
03:52:57,220 --> 03:53:00,880
businesses around there right now have shortened their hours. That's causing

3058
03:53:00,880 --> 03:53:07,780
loss of dollars because of some of the crime that's in the area. They've talked about how

3059
03:53:07,780 --> 03:53:10,660
much money this will bring in from where.

3060
03:53:13,200 --> 03:53:15,420
Raytown's not the tourist attraction.

3061
03:53:17,630 --> 03:53:17,930
It's

3062
03:53:17,930 --> 03:53:23,530
going to take from other businesses, and if we take from other businesses, they're

3063
03:53:23,530 --> 03:53:28,290
going to lose, and they'll be boarded up just like some of the other businesses.

3064
03:53:28,730 --> 03:53:29,030
Thank you.

3065
03:53:29,810 --> 03:53:30,330
Who's next?

3066
03:53:31,730 --> 03:53:32,610
Zach Mahauland.

3067
03:53:35,720 --> 03:53:37,020
How many more people do you show?

3068
03:54:02,210 --> 03:54:03,750
My name is Zach Mahauland.

3069
03:54:04,230 --> 03:54:10,770
I live at 11216, East 53rd Terrace, right next to this development, and I have a packet that

3070
03:54:10,770 --> 03:54:11,310
I've provided.

3071
03:54:12,030 --> 03:54:13,470
Hopefully it'll be passed around there.

3072
03:54:13,890 --> 03:54:17,490
I don't have enough time to go through everything here, so I'd encourage you to

3073
03:54:17,490 --> 03:54:21,390
read it after at any time or ask me any questions if you're having an offend.

3074
03:54:22,610 --> 03:54:27,890
I've lived in Raytown for only a couple years now and I chose to buy my house in Raytown

3075
03:54:27,890 --> 03:54:31,130
because I really wanted to be invested in a community I believe is up and coming

3076
03:54:31,130 --> 03:54:32,750
and will prosper in the future.

3077
03:54:35,890 --> 03:54:40,090
Now, the concerns I have with this development is specifically at being commercial zoned.

3078
03:54:41,530 --> 03:54:43,650
The first thing is the comprehensive plan.

3079
03:54:43,650 --> 03:54:50,130
This re-zoning is directly in contrast to how the comprehensive plan has set it out.

3080
03:54:50,730 --> 03:54:54,390
It says that single-family neighborhoods should remain Raytown's primary land use,

3081
03:54:54,530 --> 03:54:57,790
and those neighborhoods should be protected from the intrusion of incompatible plan uses.

3082
03:54:58,890 --> 03:55:04,470
And it also says that the comprehensive plan recommends that commercial uses be focused in two areas,

3083
03:55:04,750 --> 03:55:07,310
the M350 corridor and downtown.

3084
03:55:07,970 --> 03:55:17,810
Extensive commercial development on the periphery of Raytown and along its major corridors may discourage the redevelopment of downtown for such uses.

3085
03:55:19,850 --> 03:55:27,230
The other concerns I have about the flooding and City staff has gone through and done some responses to what I have posted at Planning and Zoning.

3086
03:55:27,310 --> 03:55:28,250
I appreciate that.

3087
03:55:28,630 --> 03:55:31,150
But the issues with the flooding are poor.

3088
03:55:31,630 --> 03:55:34,070
The blue ridge is on top of the hill.

3089
03:55:34,310 --> 03:55:35,850
It flows downhill into homes.

3090
03:55:35,850 --> 03:55:48,310
This property is surrounded on all three sides by homes, and the homes directly downhill from here already are experiencing flooding issues with water in the basement when it rains.

3091
03:55:48,850 --> 03:55:52,710
And two of those homes have been condemned due to this flooding and demolished.

3092
03:55:53,030 --> 03:55:59,770
We've lost two different homes that could have families or other things in Raytown directly because of the property.

3093
03:55:59,770 --> 03:56:01,610
And that's as it sits right now.

3094
03:56:01,930 --> 03:56:05,350
Not before any commercial repavement,

3095
03:56:05,430 --> 03:56:08,150
it would only exacerbate and increase the problem

3096
03:56:08,150 --> 03:56:12,530
as this is like 10 to 15 degree or foot drop

3097
03:56:12,530 --> 03:56:15,250
from Blue Ridge down to 53rd Street.

3098
03:56:15,870 --> 03:56:16,930
Another thing that was mentioned

3099
03:56:16,930 --> 03:56:21,910
is that 53rd and Woodson are collector streets

3100
03:56:22,490 --> 03:56:24,810
and that they should be able to handle the traffic

3101
03:56:24,810 --> 03:56:26,970
and then the water runoff because of that.

3102
03:56:26,970 --> 03:56:34,190
But 53rd and Woodson don't conform to our standards set out in our Raytown Design and

3103
03:56:34,190 --> 03:56:36,230
Construction Manual or the Comprehensive Plan.

3104
03:56:37,250 --> 03:56:42,690
And they don't have gutters or sidewalks or anything that's required for that plan.

3105
03:56:46,290 --> 03:56:52,850
On page four, there's the actual homes that have been removed, satellite there in 2007.

3106
03:56:53,050 --> 03:56:53,630
The homes are there.

3107
03:56:53,630 --> 03:56:58,470
2009, they've been condemned and demolished, directly downhill from this property.

3108
03:57:00,990 --> 03:57:06,790
Another thing about this is gas stations and fast food restaurants and parking lots are

3109
03:57:06,790 --> 03:57:12,710
considered commercial hot spots by the American Public Works Association's Manual of Best

3110
03:57:12,710 --> 03:57:14,750
Management Practices for Stormwater Quality.

3111
03:57:15,510 --> 03:57:20,470
And that is the design guide that we've adopted for our environmental requirements

3112
03:57:20,470 --> 03:57:26,590
for Raytown and provides an example of best management practices for Raytown.

3113
03:57:27,470 --> 03:57:31,290
And one of the requirements for that is that runoff from gas stations,

3114
03:57:31,310 --> 03:57:34,310
specifically the area where it's being refueled from,

3115
03:57:34,730 --> 03:57:40,290
that runoff needs to be filtered and then drained into the sanitary sewer,

3116
03:57:40,390 --> 03:57:41,950
not into our streams and rivers.

3117
03:57:43,430 --> 03:57:46,350
And that is the best management practice requirement.

3118
03:57:46,350 --> 03:57:51,750
And we already know that our sewers are impaired in Ray Town, and we're making them better,

3119
03:57:51,850 --> 03:57:55,850
but another more runoff from that is not helpful, especially in the area.

3120
03:57:59,460 --> 03:58:04,120
The vacant gas station across the street has been addressed to some extent,

3121
03:58:04,780 --> 03:58:07,220
and it's been vacant for a while.

3122
03:58:07,660 --> 03:58:13,680
The gas station, the tank was installed in 2003 and drained in February 2014.

3123
03:58:14,240 --> 03:58:18,520
From what I can tell, there's a long gap between the closing and when the tank was drained.

3124
03:58:18,520 --> 03:58:22,280
A year after the tank was drained, there's supposed to be a soil contamination test.

3125
03:58:22,660 --> 03:58:24,420
There isn't records of that test.

3126
03:58:24,520 --> 03:58:29,300
There's never been an actual record of the soil contamination test at that site.

3127
03:58:29,720 --> 03:58:33,720
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources doesn't require a soil test unless there's a spill.

3128
03:58:34,240 --> 03:58:38,500
Luckily, there wasn't ever a reported spill there, but this test wasn't done.

3129
03:58:38,740 --> 03:58:39,700
There wasn't a test done.

3130
03:58:39,900 --> 03:58:42,620
And then when the tank is closed, there's supposed to be a test done,

3131
03:58:42,700 --> 03:58:45,740
and that wasn't on record when I had contacted them.

3132
03:58:49,400 --> 03:58:52,060
Another important thing is those trees on the property.

3133
03:58:52,240 --> 03:58:54,860
There are two champion trees on this property,

3134
03:58:55,040 --> 03:58:58,140
a dawn redwood and a sawtooth elk.

3135
03:58:58,500 --> 03:59:07,200
These were both badged in 1979 and were the biggest trees in Kansas City at the time.

3136
03:59:07,380 --> 03:59:13,280
This is a list that was collected by one of our local arborists at the time, Chuck Brasher,

3137
03:59:13,600 --> 03:59:17,780
and he's dedicated his life to a lot of these trees and this list around Kansas City.

3138
03:59:19,780 --> 03:59:28,880
These trees are pretty special as in based on that they were planted before Raytown was actually incorporated around the same time.

3139
03:59:29,280 --> 03:59:40,000
That dawn redwood based on the growth pattern would have been planted around 1950 and aerial photographs from around 1958 of that area show that the redwood and that redwood growth there.

3140
03:59:40,500 --> 03:59:43,940
This tree is grown up around with Raytown.

3141
03:59:43,940 --> 03:59:47,960
It's been there the whole time we've been there, and it's right there is the entrance,

3142
03:59:48,240 --> 03:59:50,080
the historic entrance along the Santa Fe Trail.

3143
03:59:51,260 --> 03:59:51,960
Revit up.

3144
03:59:53,160 --> 03:59:53,320
Okay.

3145
03:59:53,320 --> 03:59:58,800
There's a 150-foot setback distance from that's required for

3146
04:00:00,050 --> 04:00:07,270
For tobacco and liquor stores. This is directly required by the municipal code to sell packaged original liquor or malt original liquor.

3147
04:00:07,510 --> 04:00:12,850
This property, not a single location on it, verifies the requirement.

3148
04:00:13,350 --> 04:00:19,270
You can't sell liquor at this property during the current proposal. It is ineligible for a liquor license.

3149
04:00:19,930 --> 04:00:22,170
Same thing, very similar for tobacco.

3150
04:00:23,670 --> 04:00:26,910
And to set back, it's just too close to residence. There's houses all around.

3151
04:00:26,910 --> 04:00:32,030
What if the zoning might be it might it might have been changed retroactively on top of the houses

3152
04:00:32,030 --> 04:00:35,650
But there is houses north south and times up. Thank you

3153
04:00:36,350 --> 04:00:38,510
Thank you. Let's take a ten minute break

3154
04:00:45,710 --> 04:00:49,770
Okay, we're back in session 1132 hours. Let me ask everybody something here

3155
04:00:49,770 --> 04:00:55,350
I want to make sure everybody's heard but it's same token. I don't want to just keep hearing the same thing over and over and over again

3156
04:00:55,970 --> 04:00:56,450
so

3157
04:00:58,030 --> 04:01:03,210
Does anybody have anything different that's already been out here statistics?

3158
04:01:03,530 --> 04:01:05,770
and how they feel and all that kind of stuff

3159
04:01:05,770 --> 04:01:08,670
because we've heard this at the planning and zoning

3160
04:01:09,330 --> 04:01:11,570
and we've heard a lot of testimony tonight.

3161
04:01:12,370 --> 04:01:13,730
And I'm just curious,

3162
04:01:14,090 --> 04:01:15,670
because we're not voting on this tonight, obviously.

3163
04:01:16,710 --> 04:01:19,530
If anybody else has something to say, different.

3164
04:01:20,770 --> 04:01:22,870
Otherwise, we're gonna be here for another 70 minutes

3165
04:01:22,870 --> 04:01:27,350
and if it's not anything super important then.

3166
04:01:28,690 --> 04:01:30,130
I see that, Mark, thank you.

3167
04:01:31,770 --> 04:01:32,170
Anyway.

3168
04:01:33,550 --> 04:01:40,910
Can I see a show of hands who have something to say differently than whatever the people? Okay, so

3169
04:01:41,570 --> 04:01:42,650
one two three

3170
04:01:43,190 --> 04:01:44,410
four five six

3171
04:01:45,270 --> 04:01:48,210
The people who have signed up that haven't spoke yet

3172
04:01:49,150 --> 04:01:51,070
Are you okay with letting them?

3173
04:01:51,830 --> 04:01:58,090
Say what they need to say and be done with it for the night or do you it fail like you just absolutely got to say something

3174
04:02:01,040 --> 04:02:05,300
No, because I just want to see if there's something different to be said

3175
04:02:06,480 --> 04:02:10,260
If you've got something to say then sign if you no,

3176
04:02:13,300 --> 04:02:17,220
we're not voting tonight. That's not this is this is public hearing in the first reading

3177
04:02:17,220 --> 04:02:21,520
We have another public hearing another reading on the 20th, sir

3178
04:02:23,750 --> 04:02:26,690
That's it's doesn't take you can't do it all one night

3179
04:02:28,430 --> 04:02:28,950
Okay,

3180
04:02:35,190 --> 04:02:36,570
who's got their hand up?

3181
04:02:39,810 --> 04:02:44,550
One two three four five we had 13

3182
04:02:48,730 --> 04:02:49,170
So,

3183
04:02:54,640 --> 04:03:00,460
if everybody's good with that, or unless you want to sit here another 70 minutes, I

3184
04:03:00,460 --> 04:03:03,660
just don't want to keep hearing the same thing over and I don't know that you all want to

3185
04:03:03,660 --> 04:03:03,860
either.

3186
04:03:03,980 --> 04:03:06,980
I want to hear something fresh and new or something different angled.

3187
04:03:10,560 --> 04:03:10,920
Yes?

3188
04:03:14,400 --> 04:03:14,740
I'm sorry?

3189
04:03:19,180 --> 04:03:22,120
Okay, the six people that wanted to talk, you guys have signed up, right?

3190
04:03:23,800 --> 04:03:24,160
Okay.

3191
04:03:26,420 --> 04:03:28,880
Who's the next one in line?

3192
04:03:28,880 --> 04:03:32,960
and let's see if they want to tell me yes or no if they want to talk. Who's the next one?

3193
04:03:33,960 --> 04:03:34,760
Sandy Kilkenny.

3194
04:03:36,140 --> 04:03:36,440
Sandy?

3195
04:03:38,160 --> 04:03:43,280
It's up to you. I'm just saying, if you don't have anything different, you've heard it all all night.

3196
04:03:43,780 --> 04:03:44,580
Just like me.

3197
04:03:51,100 --> 04:03:55,060
Okay. Well, there's another hearing on the 20th.

3198
04:03:55,840 --> 04:03:57,900
Okay, what's the next one? Thank you very much.

3199
04:03:58,800 --> 04:03:59,600
Aaron Pennington.

3200
04:03:59,960 --> 04:04:01,340
Aaron Pennington. You

3201
04:04:03,510 --> 04:04:04,870
want to speak? Come on up.

3202
04:04:05,890 --> 04:04:08,510
Give us your name and address. Good evening.

3203
04:04:09,530 --> 04:04:13,990
Hello, my name is Erin Pennington. I live at 11215 East 53rd Street.

3204
04:04:14,890 --> 04:04:19,650
Please consider how much convenience store on the corner of Blue Ridge and Woodson would worsen Raytown's litter.

3205
04:04:20,490 --> 04:04:27,570
The CVS across the street from 5348 has reduced its alcohol sales down to 30% of its stock and quit selling nicotine products entirely.

3206
04:04:28,110 --> 04:04:32,930
This has slightly reduced the amount of discarded beer cans, bottles, and cigarette packages

3207
04:04:32,930 --> 04:04:37,350
its customers litter onto our properties, but even so, our block suffers from the damage

3208
04:04:37,350 --> 04:04:38,690
that businesses like theirs invite.

3209
04:04:39,390 --> 04:04:42,710
My mom goes out nearly every day and walks her neighborhood to clean up the recyclables

3210
04:04:42,710 --> 04:04:46,310
and garbage from her streets, ditches, and runoff pipes, but it's replaced almost as

3211
04:04:46,310 --> 04:04:47,270
quickly as she collects it.

3212
04:04:47,970 --> 04:04:51,130
This would be hard enough to ask even without the level of violent crime in our neighborhood.

3213
04:04:51,450 --> 04:04:54,230
Many beers feel compelled to watch for her on her walks to get home safely.

3214
04:04:55,310 --> 04:04:58,750
Even as it is now, our environment physically discourages us from saving it.

3215
04:04:59,390 --> 04:05:00,010
She is not alone.

3216
04:05:00,370 --> 04:05:03,670
Many of us are trying to keep Raytown clean, inviting and livable,

3217
04:05:03,930 --> 04:05:06,890
but our efforts would be severely hurt by the addition of another convenience store,

3218
04:05:07,550 --> 04:05:13,110
a business which by nature would not cut back on the sale of the liquor and tobacco smokes like the CVS did.

3219
04:05:14,130 --> 04:05:18,850
I may add that the Blue Ridge Plaza across the street has been decrepit for longer than I have lived here or even been alive.

3220
04:05:19,690 --> 04:05:23,370
It has been neglected by its landlord who lives out of state and has refused to maintain it.

3221
04:05:23,370 --> 04:05:26,750
It has been stolen from, vandalized, and closed more of its shops than I can remember.

3222
04:05:27,490 --> 04:05:31,490
We asked Mr. Bimani what he saw in 5348 that interested him, and he said that it was close

3223
04:05:31,490 --> 04:05:33,290
to customers and would receive high traffic.

3224
04:05:33,790 --> 04:05:35,970
It seemed to be vacant, trashed, and to need development.

3225
04:05:36,790 --> 04:05:39,390
If that's what it's like now while it's green and unpaved, imagine what it's going

3226
04:05:39,390 --> 04:05:40,130
to look like when it closes.

3227
04:05:41,410 --> 04:05:44,730
While it is in business, we have no reason to believe his store would be safe from

3228
04:05:44,730 --> 04:05:47,370
the vandalism and theft that the other stores in the area suffer from.

3229
04:05:48,110 --> 04:05:50,690
If he builds a strip mall on the property, we have no evidence that they would

3230
04:05:50,690 --> 04:05:51,710
profit, let alone survive.

3231
04:05:51,710 --> 04:05:54,610
We do have evidence that it would bring crime closer to our homes.

3232
04:05:54,950 --> 04:05:58,210
It would contribute to litter, and when it inevitably closes, it will contribute to the blood as well.

3233
04:05:58,910 --> 04:06:02,470
We do not want another ugly, trashed, vandalized business in our neighborhood.

3234
04:06:02,930 --> 04:06:07,910
Our official Raytown website states that we prioritize and adore our unique small-town businesses and novelties.

3235
04:06:08,630 --> 04:06:12,870
Another chain convenience store does not bring unique or even positive attention to attract people to Raytown.

3236
04:06:13,330 --> 04:06:15,890
It takes beautiful green land that is good purpose and wastes it.

3237
04:06:16,890 --> 04:06:20,250
I'll go against the grain and say I don't have a lot of love for Raytown these days.

3238
04:06:20,250 --> 04:06:23,370
When I come home from work, there are so few places left I can enjoy.

3239
04:06:24,350 --> 04:06:25,910
I'm a traveling click for quick trip.

3240
04:06:26,310 --> 04:06:29,890
I'm not here on their behalf, but I feel compelled to share my experience as someone employed

3241
04:06:29,890 --> 04:06:31,350
by a gas station and convenience chain.

3242
04:06:32,070 --> 04:06:34,110
Brayton also has a serious problem with drug abuse.

3243
04:06:35,130 --> 04:06:38,030
If there is harm reduction strategies in place, I have not seen them.

3244
04:06:38,470 --> 04:06:39,430
I have seen the needles.

3245
04:06:39,630 --> 04:06:42,990
I have to clean out of public restrooms at work with no safe place to put them.

3246
04:06:43,690 --> 04:06:47,430
I have seen AMTs save people's lives from overdoses in our buildings.

3247
04:06:48,150 --> 04:06:58,130
When you build a convenience store in a low-income, marginalized, crime-ridden neighborhood with people desperate for housing, it becomes a dedicated and convenient place for people to use.

3248
04:06:59,110 --> 04:07:01,590
Quick Trip is also clean, well-lit, and respectable.

3249
04:07:02,250 --> 04:07:04,770
Quick Trip also stocks less than 30% of its store with alcohol.

3250
04:07:05,430 --> 04:07:09,030
Quick Trip also sells fresh-made food from a dedicated kitchen.

3251
04:07:09,590 --> 04:07:10,810
Quick Trip also sells gasoline.

3252
04:07:11,530 --> 04:07:15,550
Quick Trip also sells each and every one of the mentioned grocery products from this proposal.

3253
04:07:15,550 --> 04:07:18,410
It is also a convenient store chain, not a liquor store.

3254
04:07:18,630 --> 04:07:19,050
That is correct.

3255
04:07:19,770 --> 04:07:23,510
I can still say with 100% confidence that the majority of our sales in our two

3256
04:07:23,510 --> 04:07:29,250
retail locations are from gasoline, alcohol, fast food, lottery, and tobacco in that order.

3257
04:07:30,470 --> 04:07:34,290
I have made my choice that it is worth it for me to work in close proximity to that environment.

3258
04:07:34,710 --> 04:07:36,090
I have plenty of good days too.

3259
04:07:36,370 --> 04:07:37,470
I can't lie about that.

3260
04:07:38,190 --> 04:07:42,390
But installing this building deprives the rest of my neighbors and their children of that choice.

3261
04:07:42,390 --> 04:07:48,670
I am not impressed or relieved by the proposed addition of putting a walkway from that store to my house.

3262
04:07:49,890 --> 04:07:51,210
We can do better than this.

3263
04:07:52,030 --> 04:07:55,870
We can limit our commercial installations to unique shops that draw people to Raytown.

3264
04:07:56,270 --> 04:08:01,710
We can sell commercial properties to local landlords to prevent the blight of Blue Ridge crossing from happening again.

3265
04:08:02,470 --> 04:08:07,010
We can sell residential land to developers to house our low-po—Linco, excuse me—

3266
04:08:07,010 --> 04:08:10,670
We can sell residential land to developers to house our low-income population instead

3267
04:08:10,670 --> 04:08:14,390
of forcing gas stations to waste police resources to kick them off their property.

3268
04:08:15,690 --> 04:08:21,110
Whether you maintain this cycle of sale and destruction and vacancy is up to you, but

3269
04:08:21,110 --> 04:08:22,130
you owe it to us to do better.

3270
04:08:24,250 --> 04:08:24,590
Thank you.

3271
04:08:25,010 --> 04:08:25,410
Thank you.

3272
04:08:26,490 --> 04:08:27,530
Beck Pennington.

3273
04:08:34,420 --> 04:08:35,220
Good evening.

3274
04:08:37,470 --> 04:08:39,910
I'll speak quickly because most of my points were done.

3275
04:08:40,430 --> 04:08:43,810
Beck Pennington, 11215 East 53rd Street.

3276
04:08:43,810 --> 04:08:46,210
I live two doors down from this proposed property.

3277
04:08:47,010 --> 04:08:50,650
I'm just going to speak directly about Blue Ridge Plaza, Your Crystal Ball.

3278
04:08:51,710 --> 04:08:54,190
It sits within a block of this proposed development.

3279
04:08:55,230 --> 04:09:01,470
With the IGA grocery store long gone at that location, it's been supplanted by a family

3280
04:09:01,470 --> 04:09:05,130
dollar and then a dollar general put the family dollar out of business.

3281
04:09:05,690 --> 04:09:10,990
The only choices for nutrition in this area are already convenient stores and fast food.

3282
04:09:11,770 --> 04:09:15,170
We have to travel to Kansas City for fresh produce.

3283
04:09:15,430 --> 04:09:16,650
We don't travel to 350.

3284
04:09:17,010 --> 04:09:19,810
We go to Lee's Summit if we want something special.

3285
04:09:20,750 --> 04:09:27,670
Half of that plaza, Blue Ridge Plaza, just caddy corner from this location, is empty.

3286
04:09:28,130 --> 04:09:30,610
The parking lot is the crater of the moon.

3287
04:09:31,390 --> 04:09:35,830
The defunct gas station, there is an environmental hazard, do not be misled.

3288
04:09:36,630 --> 04:09:46,110
It is redundant to build a second strip mall next to where the first one is already struggling to survive, and the landlord doesn't care.

3289
04:09:47,110 --> 04:09:55,190
How does this plan address any of those problems? We have problems in Raytown, and we're not meaning to pile up on you.

3290
04:09:55,750 --> 04:09:59,990
We understand it is daunting. Raytown needs money.

3291
04:10:02,240 --> 04:10:05,600
I don't believe there's a single person in this room who would turn down a good

3292
04:10:05,600 --> 04:10:10,360
plan for generating revenue for Raytown, but you see behind me, and you have seen

3293
04:10:10,360 --> 04:10:14,660
them all night, a cloud of neighbors who are arguing against the rezoning of this

3294
04:10:14,660 --> 04:10:22,060
parcel. I'm from Missouri, and I have not had anyone show me the demand for

3295
04:10:22,060 --> 04:10:27,560
this business that this would somehow supply. Show me the character,

3296
04:10:31,340 --> 04:10:31,600
the

3297
04:10:31,600 --> 04:10:35,460
free town website that this will add to our community and enrich our lives.

3298
04:10:36,540 --> 04:10:43,320
Show me one time when a liquor store or a gas station has improved the quality of a neighborhood.

3299
04:10:44,580 --> 04:10:48,720
Oh, it's clearly enticing to hear a successful business owner wants to invest future in

3300
04:10:48,720 --> 04:10:51,180
the city, but the devil is in the details.

3301
04:10:51,660 --> 04:10:55,880
When those details are assessed, we do not find a major generator of revenue in

3302
04:10:55,880 --> 04:10:56,340
this plan.

3303
04:10:56,680 --> 04:11:00,080
It is fundamentally flawed because of its location.

3304
04:11:00,080 --> 04:11:01,080
How

3305
04:11:04,410 --> 04:11:06,610
does this plan address any of our problems?

3306
04:11:07,210 --> 04:11:08,730
How does it improve Raytown?

3307
04:11:09,190 --> 04:11:15,150
It is vital to assess what factors have led to Blue Ridge Plaza going from vibrant to dilapidated.

3308
04:11:15,730 --> 04:11:20,750
Otherwise, you might as well consider this about to repeat history.

3309
04:11:21,930 --> 04:11:22,710
Thank you.

3310
04:11:23,490 --> 04:11:23,970
Thank you.

3311
04:11:24,310 --> 04:11:25,010
Who else do we have?

3312
04:11:25,270 --> 04:11:26,030
Tom Neff.

3313
04:11:31,150 --> 04:11:31,710
One more time.

3314
04:11:31,950 --> 04:11:32,730
Tom Neff.

3315
04:11:35,700 --> 04:11:36,180
Okay.

3316
04:11:36,180 --> 04:11:36,440
Okay.

3317
04:11:37,940 --> 04:11:39,100
Connie Dressy.

3318
04:11:40,660 --> 04:11:41,260
Say again.

3319
04:11:41,600 --> 04:11:44,040
Connie Dressy.

3320
04:11:44,600 --> 04:11:44,900
Connie.

3321
04:11:46,460 --> 04:11:47,040
Okay.

3322
04:11:47,320 --> 04:11:47,460
Next.

3323
04:11:47,740 --> 04:11:48,780
Mary Ann.

3324
04:11:49,860 --> 04:11:51,020
Oh, Mary Ann.

3325
04:11:51,140 --> 04:11:51,260
Okay.

3326
04:11:51,700 --> 04:11:52,340
Jeanette Gentry.

3327
04:12:02,020 --> 04:12:02,780
Good evening.

3328
04:12:03,120 --> 04:12:06,240
Jeanette Gentry, 11,000 East 57th Street, Raytown, Missouri.

3329
04:12:07,420 --> 04:12:14,200
A few of the things that I'd like to bring up is that this is, that is a very

3330
04:12:14,200 --> 04:12:20,760
impressive strip shopping center, very, very, very impressive. And it looked great on Raytown

3331
04:12:20,760 --> 04:12:28,780
Road. A couple places on 350 Highway that it looked really good on, not applicable for this

3332
04:12:28,780 --> 04:12:34,860
particular property. One of the things I wanted to point out is all the business that he says

3333
04:12:34,860 --> 04:12:39,780
he's not allowing, well, that's because he's selling all of that product in the convenience

3334
04:12:40,640 --> 04:12:43,400
So that kind of balances that out.

3335
04:12:44,800 --> 04:12:50,100
There was some phenomenal money that the lawyer had spoke of.

3336
04:12:51,000 --> 04:12:52,120
Where's it coming from?

3337
04:12:52,460 --> 04:12:55,300
It's the same people who's going to be spending the same amount of money.

3338
04:12:55,620 --> 04:12:58,760
It's not drawing any revenue into Raytown.

3339
04:12:59,440 --> 04:13:01,400
So I don't know where that is.

3340
04:13:01,500 --> 04:13:04,260
I mean, I don't know how much profit you make off of a gallon of gas.

3341
04:13:04,600 --> 04:13:06,100
I can't imagine it's that much.

3342
04:13:06,880 --> 04:13:19,840
I think it is important to point out that 100% of the homeowners who received the notice of this signed that petition when only 30% were acquired.

3343
04:13:20,140 --> 04:13:23,020
But 100%, they had 100% sign it.

3344
04:13:24,300 --> 04:13:30,080
If this is all the land we have left to develop, is this really what we want to develop before?

3345
04:13:30,960 --> 04:13:33,180
I mean, we can do better.

3346
04:13:33,180 --> 04:13:39,680
I do have a question, well, a couple of questions, actually.

3347
04:13:41,580 --> 04:13:48,940
How many additional conditional use permits would have to be approved for this plan?

3348
04:13:49,820 --> 04:13:51,760
There's the gas conditional use permit.

3349
04:13:52,360 --> 04:13:55,660
I believe there's a zoning issue of 2,600 feet.

3350
04:13:55,860 --> 04:13:56,500
I know it's late.

3351
04:13:56,600 --> 04:14:01,080
I'm not 100 percent about selling liquor next to a church

3352
04:14:01,080 --> 04:14:06,720
which are where another package looker cell is sold, which CVS still sells package looker.

3353
04:14:11,700 --> 04:14:17,320
And then the last thing that I want to point out is in the planning and zoning meetings,

3354
04:14:17,920 --> 04:14:24,840
Mr. Gilbert had put a conditional number seven, which these are notes that are year old,

3355
04:14:24,840 --> 04:14:37,520
but it was a, the future land use is going to have to be changed on the comprehensive plan before the comprehensive plan is changed.

3356
04:14:40,120 --> 04:14:52,600
I was a little wary of that and I know for some reason surprisingly so all of a sudden it wasn't going to be an issue for planning and zoning that apparently it could get taken care of here.

3357
04:14:52,600 --> 04:14:56,240
but I don't understand how that is being addressed.

3358
04:14:57,600 --> 04:14:59,680
Basically, you're putting the car before the horse.

3359
04:15:10,180 --> 04:15:15,000
And I'll leave it at that. Thank you so much.

3360
04:15:15,680 --> 04:15:17,380
Thank you. Next?

3361
04:15:17,900 --> 04:15:24,300
Mayor, I cannot read this next name. It looks like the address is 9052 East 50th Street.

3362
04:15:25,160 --> 04:15:26,680
9052 East 50th Street.

3363
04:15:27,020 --> 04:15:28,540
Does that sound familiar to anybody?

3364
04:15:48,790 --> 04:15:56,810
Thank you for the time to do this. I wanted to say that we've been to multiple of these

3365
04:15:56,810 --> 04:16:01,170
meetings, went to the planning and zoning meetings. Three of them went past midnight.

3366
04:16:02,270 --> 04:16:07,870
The community really cares about this and we really are against it. We don't want this

3367
04:16:07,870 --> 04:16:12,130
in our backyard. We do want to support business. We want business in Raytown. We want them

3368
04:16:12,130 --> 04:16:18,110
to succeed. We want new money to come into it. This is not that proposal. This proposal

3369
04:16:18,110 --> 04:16:24,790
is a pig. It really is. The presentation they had is lipstick on a pig. Yes, it

3370
04:16:24,790 --> 04:16:26,990
It makes it a little bit better, but we still don't want it.

3371
04:16:27,190 --> 04:16:28,670
And I wanted to make sure you knew that.

3372
04:16:29,290 --> 04:16:33,970
It also seems that our aldermen aren't

3373
04:16:33,970 --> 04:16:35,070
listening to our pleaser help.

3374
04:16:36,050 --> 04:16:37,210
And I really wish you would.

3375
04:16:39,090 --> 04:16:43,830
Why would planning and zoning recommend no?

3376
04:16:44,550 --> 04:16:46,030
It's because they saw something

3377
04:16:46,030 --> 04:16:47,930
that they know wasn't good.

3378
04:16:47,990 --> 04:16:50,130
And they had some questions that weren't answered.

3379
04:16:50,850 --> 04:16:52,070
And we're asking for your help.

3380
04:16:52,070 --> 04:16:55,450
We're asking for you to help us and represent us pretty please.

3381
04:16:57,170 --> 04:16:59,210
And all business is not good business.

3382
04:16:59,990 --> 04:17:01,190
We want good business.

3383
04:17:01,610 --> 04:17:04,390
This just doesn't happen to be the right one for this particular project.

3384
04:17:04,710 --> 04:17:06,130
It is incorrect and it is not good.

3385
04:17:06,830 --> 04:17:08,290
And crime would be an issue for us.

3386
04:17:09,850 --> 04:17:11,770
Like I said, this won't bring new money.

3387
04:17:11,830 --> 04:17:13,890
It will just swap money for what is already there.

3388
04:17:14,330 --> 04:17:16,110
It's not going to attract new business people.

3389
04:17:16,230 --> 04:17:18,150
I go, oh my God, we need to, you know what?

3390
04:17:18,250 --> 04:17:20,050
Let's jump in the car and go to KB.

3391
04:17:20,410 --> 04:17:21,330
That's not going to happen.

3392
04:17:21,330 --> 04:17:22,630
That's not going to happen.

3393
04:17:22,750 --> 04:17:28,790
We don't want that, and it's not going to be the traction that is proposed to even whatever

3394
04:17:28,790 --> 04:17:33,810
were those nice little pictures of sidewalks were, that's not going to draw people to

3395
04:17:33,810 --> 04:17:34,710
just go and do that.

3396
04:17:34,910 --> 04:17:40,470
You're talking to an avid bicycle rider, I will peruse if this project does somehow

3397
04:17:40,470 --> 04:17:44,050
go through and see if it's a safe thing, but safety is really an issue.

3398
04:17:45,710 --> 04:17:52,010
My question is, is all that we've become here in Raytown, dollar generals, family dollars,

3399
04:17:52,550 --> 04:17:57,370
and liquor stores like this proposal, we can do better? Pretty please help us do better.

3400
04:17:58,710 --> 04:18:04,070
I also will let you know that we disagree that this is a good project.

3401
04:18:04,990 --> 04:18:11,990
We believe that we can do better. We think that the reason why the proposal didn't go through was

3402
04:18:11,990 --> 04:18:16,510
because the previous owner of the property was an out-of-state investor.

3403
04:18:17,170 --> 04:18:22,570
When you live locally and you can network with people, you can bring change and you can get

3404
04:18:22,570 --> 04:18:23,710
people going.

3405
04:18:24,250 --> 04:18:27,830
Now that we've seen the outcry of the community, we know that we can do this.

3406
04:18:28,230 --> 04:18:31,310
I alone have over 2800 LinkedIn connections.

3407
04:18:31,970 --> 04:18:35,530
I know five people that are real estate agents that I went to high school with

3408
04:18:35,530 --> 04:18:39,750
And I also live near to, we can get something there

3409
04:18:39,750 --> 04:18:42,110
if given the opportunity again.

3410
04:18:42,610 --> 04:18:44,810
We want Mr. Kevin to succeed.

3411
04:18:45,070 --> 04:18:45,930
We want him to win.

3412
04:18:46,610 --> 04:18:47,910
We would like a different proposal.

3413
04:18:48,650 --> 04:18:51,010
We want to find a way for him to profit,

3414
04:18:52,090 --> 04:18:55,630
but pretty please find a different opportunity for us.

3415
04:18:56,930 --> 04:18:59,590
If you would be so kind as to vote no on this project,

3416
04:18:59,730 --> 04:19:00,970
we'd very much appreciate that.

3417
04:19:00,970 --> 04:19:06,650
and I do want to also share that I got something handed to me here that says

3418
04:19:06,650 --> 04:19:11,550
that there are currently 53 liquor licenses in use in the city of breakdown

3419
04:19:12,090 --> 04:19:18,690
and with that I will ask for your no vote on this when that time comes thank

3420
04:19:18,690 --> 04:19:26,060
you so much and have a great one thank you Tommy next Mike Manziel good evening

3421
04:19:34,920 --> 04:19:39,220
The only thing I've got is pretty much to give my perspective.

3422
04:19:41,280 --> 04:19:47,560
I never really thought of myself as an elder, but 45 years living catty corner from this property

3423
04:19:48,380 --> 04:19:49,400
might qualify.

3424
04:19:49,940 --> 04:19:50,380
I don't know.

3425
04:19:52,860 --> 04:19:56,860
First job that I ever had, Bob Voorhees signed that check.

3426
04:19:56,860 --> 04:20:01,340
That first dollar I still have that I earned came from Bob.

3427
04:20:03,480 --> 04:20:11,300
Say it was a major retail operation, I would beg to differ, but I guess what I'm getting

3428
04:20:11,300 --> 04:20:19,620
at is the percentage of people that signed that petition, they were eligible and qualified,

3429
04:20:20,020 --> 04:20:20,360
certified.

3430
04:20:21,280 --> 04:20:25,120
It was almost 100 percent, if not 100 percent.

3431
04:20:27,330 --> 04:20:31,470
What is the people surrounding that want you guys to do?

3432
04:20:32,330 --> 04:20:37,230
If you are working for us, what are we asking?

3433
04:20:41,650 --> 04:20:51,770
As far as you mentioned about Bob's wishes, as far as the trees and so on and so forth,

3434
04:20:52,530 --> 04:20:56,550
my question is, and something that I would like you guys to consider would be,

3435
04:20:57,830 --> 04:20:59,730
Has a certified arborist looked at this?

3436
04:21:00,450 --> 04:21:02,170
Has the excavation of the tanks?

3437
04:21:02,350 --> 04:21:05,350
What effect is that going to have on any of the existing trees,

3438
04:21:05,470 --> 04:21:06,650
although they're not cutting them down?

3439
04:21:07,530 --> 04:21:11,370
Anytime you excavate around a tree, you're going to do some damage to it.

3440
04:21:15,770 --> 04:21:17,750
Basically, the other question I have is,

3441
04:21:18,070 --> 04:21:21,410
what does a privately owned green space, how does that work?

3442
04:21:22,590 --> 04:21:23,050
Liability.

3443
04:21:23,730 --> 04:21:27,950
whose liability if something God forbid happened on that property.

3444
04:21:28,690 --> 04:21:30,890
There's a retention pond supposedly going there.

3445
04:21:31,510 --> 04:21:36,250
I know I have a pool in my backyard and I have a bunch of regulations I have to adhere to

3446
04:21:36,250 --> 04:21:37,730
to make sure that no one drowns.

3447
04:21:38,750 --> 04:21:41,490
Is there anything around that retention pond that needs to be done?

3448
04:21:41,630 --> 04:21:43,130
And if so, what's that going to look like?

3449
04:21:45,000 --> 04:21:46,460
There's a lot of questions still here.

3450
04:21:47,860 --> 04:21:58,320
and I go back to the numbers. Everyone around there has asked for this not to be put in.

3451
04:22:00,880 --> 04:22:03,200
I would really like you guys to consider that.

3452
04:22:05,500 --> 04:22:11,820
There's a certain amount of buildings here in Raytown that has a former superintendent's name plastered on him.

3453
04:22:13,080 --> 04:22:16,140
And he was a progressive superintendent at the time.

3454
04:22:17,320 --> 04:22:22,580
But I guarantee you Joe need this name would have been on that petition because it would

3455
04:22:22,580 --> 04:22:24,080
have directly affected them.

3456
04:22:24,980 --> 04:22:25,760
Thank you.

3457
04:22:26,380 --> 04:22:27,740
Thank you.

3458
04:22:28,160 --> 04:22:29,380
Marilyn Layton.

3459
04:22:33,100 --> 04:22:33,860
Is Marilyn here?

3460
04:22:35,220 --> 04:22:35,820
She left also?

3461
04:22:37,040 --> 04:22:38,020
Veronica Battle.

3462
04:22:39,200 --> 04:22:39,840
Veronica?

3463
04:22:41,280 --> 04:22:42,120
Good evening.

3464
04:22:42,620 --> 04:22:42,900
Good evening.

3465
04:22:43,220 --> 04:22:43,660
How are you?

3466
04:22:48,410 --> 04:22:53,110
My name is Veronica Battle and I resided 5404 Whitson Road.

3467
04:22:53,110 --> 04:22:58,870
So I'm two doors down from where this property might go.

3468
04:22:59,990 --> 04:23:03,990
So I want to try not to go over hopefully the same things.

3469
04:23:04,570 --> 04:23:11,930
Definitely want the investors to be profitable and have a good business to make them successful.

3470
04:23:12,590 --> 04:23:22,990
My concern since I've been in the property that I am in is it's already a very high traffic road on Raytown.

3471
04:23:23,830 --> 04:23:31,090
and it's difficult to get even good rest when in one of the bedrooms to that

3472
04:23:31,090 --> 04:23:34,930
house because of the traffic that goes back and forth and how fast traffic is

3473
04:23:34,930 --> 04:23:39,730
and the speeding up and down the street and the high-sounding cars and things

3474
04:23:39,730 --> 04:23:46,830
that at nature our properties are becoming well on the week I would say

3475
04:23:46,830 --> 04:23:50,570
each day we're picking up trash you know in the front of the yard so when

3476
04:23:50,570 --> 04:23:57,650
People are turning the corner going around this is trash dump in the front yard things that at nature and being right there

3477
04:23:57,650 --> 04:24:02,210
Within grass reach or a rock throw. So they say

3478
04:24:02,770 --> 04:24:06,390
To the new property my concern is what would that?

3479
04:24:06,910 --> 04:24:07,910
You know traffic B

3480
04:24:07,910 --> 04:24:14,450
How would that be for my young grandkids that I need now would want to keep in the back as opposed to having them in the

3481
04:24:14,450 --> 04:24:19,010
Front the increase of the traffic that may flow down that road

3482
04:24:20,770 --> 04:24:25,510
And, of course, the additional presence of police that we may or may not need.

3483
04:24:26,270 --> 04:24:27,470
I want Raytown to grow.

3484
04:24:27,570 --> 04:24:31,150
I've been in Raytown probably for 25 years or so.

3485
04:24:31,750 --> 04:24:37,970
I have children that raised in Raytown Middle School, raised out in Mount Grantson now and

3486
04:24:37,970 --> 04:24:38,890
Raytown High School.

3487
04:24:39,290 --> 04:24:45,010
So I had no intention of leaving Raytown at all because I love the community that

3488
04:24:45,010 --> 04:24:45,530
we're in.

3489
04:24:45,870 --> 04:24:47,810
I love the neighborhood that I'm in.

3490
04:24:47,810 --> 04:24:52,030
and I just want us to have a safe, fruitful environment.

3491
04:24:53,190 --> 04:24:55,390
And then with it being a convenient store

3492
04:24:55,390 --> 04:24:58,150
and having like CVS right next door,

3493
04:24:58,710 --> 04:25:00,650
I wonder to myself and I say,

3494
04:25:00,730 --> 04:25:03,730
well, if we have groceries or things to buy

3495
04:25:04,470 --> 04:25:06,690
at the store that's right across the street,

3496
04:25:06,850 --> 04:25:09,350
what is that going to do to a business

3497
04:25:09,350 --> 04:25:10,810
that's right across the street?

3498
04:25:11,270 --> 04:25:14,370
You know, sell some of the same products

3499
04:25:14,370 --> 04:25:15,970
and some right down the street

3500
04:25:15,970 --> 04:25:17,690
and a little bit further down.

3501
04:25:18,270 --> 04:25:21,090
So maybe, again, having a development there is great.

3502
04:25:21,550 --> 04:25:26,710
Well, we can keep the natural environments and the beauty that we have in our community,

3503
04:25:26,750 --> 04:25:30,070
but maybe not the same of what we have,

3504
04:25:30,110 --> 04:25:35,070
because we do have a lot of property that does need some upkeep

3505
04:25:35,070 --> 04:25:38,850
or that does need some attention and tender loving care

3506
04:25:38,850 --> 04:25:41,510
that we can continue to grow our community,

3507
04:25:42,410 --> 04:25:44,030
maybe just something different,

3508
04:25:44,030 --> 04:25:52,840
but definitely not anything to increase the traffic flow of Woodson Road because it's it's really rough if you live right there on

3509
04:25:53,430 --> 04:25:56,950
That area. It's very difficult to rest

3510
04:25:57,930 --> 04:26:00,460
Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate you

3511
04:26:00,930 --> 04:26:03,110
Close we have counsel Lois Moore

3512
04:26:07,310 --> 04:26:10,170
Okay, and last person William Fish

3513
04:26:13,480 --> 04:26:14,960
Good evening

3514
04:26:16,400 --> 04:26:24,520
name and address please. William Fish, 5-2-2-5 Chris Avenue. I live, oh just

3515
04:26:24,520 --> 04:26:31,260
block away from that property. I can see it from my backyard. I've came up here

3516
04:26:31,260 --> 04:26:35,280
before and it spoke about several things and I don't want to keep repeating

3517
04:26:35,280 --> 04:26:40,360
those things. But one thing that I hear the you know the people talk about in

3518
04:26:40,360 --> 04:26:44,620
our audience and and the proposed you know the current owner of the

3519
04:26:44,620 --> 04:26:52,860
property, and maybe from your point of view, I work in sales, technical sales,

3520
04:26:52,960 --> 04:26:57,300
a mechanical engineer, and I contact industrial customers. Very different from

3521
04:26:57,300 --> 04:27:01,960
the business being put in here. However, I do get once a quarter my

3522
04:27:01,960 --> 04:27:05,440
supervisor comes in and we have a little talk and we look at how my sales

3523
04:27:05,440 --> 04:27:08,140
are and where my projections are going and how I'm going to grow the

3524
04:27:08,140 --> 04:27:08,560
business.

3525
04:27:11,560 --> 04:27:14,600
Since these meetings I kind of go up and down Blue Ridge and

3526
04:27:14,600 --> 04:27:17,640
and I do go to these types of gas stations

3527
04:27:17,640 --> 04:27:18,900
that are close by to get gas.

3528
04:27:19,340 --> 04:27:20,620
I don't buy anything else there.

3529
04:27:20,720 --> 04:27:21,260
I don't smoke.

3530
04:27:21,960 --> 04:27:24,020
It's just not the kind of place I want to go inside.

3531
04:27:24,860 --> 04:27:26,640
The store does look like it could be nicer.

3532
04:27:27,160 --> 04:27:31,500
If I didn't see close by businesses, very similar,

3533
04:27:31,760 --> 04:27:33,720
I could say maybe this is a good, you know,

3534
04:27:33,780 --> 04:27:35,600
maybe it isn't such a big deal to put in,

3535
04:27:35,880 --> 04:27:38,500
but you have within a few blocks one direction

3536
04:27:38,500 --> 04:27:40,420
the same business north or south.

3537
04:27:40,420 --> 04:27:48,660
I just want to know, I hear, I've heard that this place is going to be great.

3538
04:27:49,040 --> 04:27:50,340
It's going to have food.

3539
04:27:50,600 --> 04:27:54,260
It's going to have, I don't know, I don't know if it's going to have liquor or cigarettes.

3540
04:27:54,680 --> 04:27:56,000
I hear it's not a liquor store.

3541
04:27:56,140 --> 04:27:57,800
It's not a cigarette smoke shop.

3542
04:27:58,060 --> 04:27:59,620
But then I hear it's going to be in there.

3543
04:28:00,400 --> 04:28:06,400
Either way, what new business is that going to bring this city of Raytown?

3544
04:28:06,880 --> 04:28:08,320
I mean, I know you need tax dollars.

3545
04:28:08,320 --> 04:28:12,640
I mean, you go down Stirling Road, they just redid it up at the Kansas City border, and

3546
04:28:13,250 --> 04:28:16,360
it's bumpier in hell going down up to 53rd Street.

3547
04:28:17,020 --> 04:28:24,440
And so if you're not able to generate revenue and not having a real business model proposed

3548
04:28:24,440 --> 04:28:30,720
of what new sales or what sales, how you're going to bring this business, it may not

3549
04:28:30,720 --> 04:28:31,120
happen.

3550
04:28:33,920 --> 04:28:38,500
I mean, I'm on the fence, you know, I also hear like, why move to Raytown?

3551
04:28:38,500 --> 04:28:43,840
So, I'm on the fence. I have a young daughter. She loves to be outdoors. We love going in the backyard.

3552
04:28:44,660 --> 04:28:47,880
We've had our issues with people, you know, drifters walking around.

3553
04:28:48,560 --> 04:28:51,520
You know, I mean, we've had some pretty weird stuff happen.

3554
04:28:51,920 --> 04:28:55,160
Not all the time, but, you know, when you've had a gun pulled on you in your driveway,

3555
04:28:55,960 --> 04:28:58,480
and it's on video, it's kind of concerning.

3556
04:28:59,740 --> 04:29:02,820
I've given that to the police or, you know, they get them off the street,

3557
04:29:02,820 --> 04:29:05,700
but the prosecutor in Jackson County is not going to do anything about it.

3558
04:29:05,700 --> 04:29:10,400
So since 2010, when I moved in, compared to now, it's very different.

3559
04:29:10,580 --> 04:29:11,720
It's just a very different world.

3560
04:29:13,120 --> 04:29:16,220
This is just what we have to live with when we board our Kansas City.

3561
04:29:16,900 --> 04:29:19,540
But I'm on the fence, would I stay in Raytown?

3562
04:29:19,960 --> 04:29:23,920
I mean, does it make sense to have houses built there?

3563
04:29:24,100 --> 04:29:26,920
Would you bring more tax revenue by getting residents to move in?

3564
04:29:27,340 --> 04:29:29,600
But if people are going to move to Raytown, they have families,

3565
04:29:29,720 --> 04:29:30,720
they're looking for things.

3566
04:29:31,680 --> 04:29:34,460
If I compare it to Lee's Summit, Blue Springs.

3567
04:29:35,360 --> 04:29:37,580
Independence even, you can go to the square, they're downtown.

3568
04:29:37,980 --> 04:29:44,880
I used to never think that stuff was a real value, but it brings more of a family environment, things to do.

3569
04:29:45,540 --> 04:29:53,440
There's restaurants to go to, there's places you can grab a craft beer, you can arts and crafts, and that stuff actually thrives.

3570
04:29:53,720 --> 04:29:56,260
And so when I look at Raytown, we don't have that here.

3571
04:29:56,260 --> 04:29:58,580
We have Crane Brewery, and it's right next to the rock.

3572
04:30:00,000 --> 04:30:04,980
Rock Island Trail. I mean, that's kind of a nice little infrastructure start that could

3573
04:30:04,980 --> 04:30:13,140
make Raytown a little bit, you know, revitalize the downtown. So, he bought the property. It

3574
04:30:13,140 --> 04:30:18,620
wasn't zone commercial, so why are we, I mean, why is there this discussion now? I mean, you

3575
04:30:18,620 --> 04:30:22,800
don't have a business model. It's just, oh, he knows what he's doing. He has two other

3576
04:30:22,800 --> 04:30:27,420
stores, but, you know, each store is in a different location. When I talk to my supervisor,

3577
04:30:27,420 --> 04:30:30,240
or I can't say, oh, I'm doing great at this business

3578
04:30:30,240 --> 04:30:32,460
by talking about these three products,

3579
04:30:32,880 --> 04:30:34,880
and it's gonna do the same thing at the next business

3580
04:30:34,880 --> 04:30:36,680
that doesn't use those three products.

3581
04:30:36,840 --> 04:30:38,100
I mean, it has to make sense.

3582
04:30:38,600 --> 04:30:41,400
So before making a decision,

3583
04:30:42,000 --> 04:30:43,460
I would really want to know

3584
04:30:43,460 --> 04:30:45,820
that we're going to make more tax dollars

3585
04:30:45,820 --> 04:30:48,780
in the city of Raytown by putting in the same business

3586
04:30:48,780 --> 04:30:49,780
that's very close by.

3587
04:30:50,200 --> 04:30:51,440
It just doesn't make sense to me.

3588
04:30:51,700 --> 04:30:52,440
And that's all I have to say.

3589
04:30:52,740 --> 04:30:53,920
Thank you so very much.

3590
04:30:54,380 --> 04:30:54,840
Thank you.

3591
04:30:54,920 --> 04:30:55,280
Okay.

3592
04:30:57,420 --> 04:31:04,720
So the next thing we have before German is to, I need a motion and a second and then we'll vote

3593
04:31:04,720 --> 04:31:11,300
on moving forward with the next public hearing and the second reading on June 20th.

3594
04:31:12,240 --> 04:31:12,960
I hear a motion.

3595
04:31:13,220 --> 04:31:14,420
So moved, Mr. Mayor.

3596
04:31:14,760 --> 04:31:15,060
Second.

3597
04:31:15,480 --> 04:31:15,580
Move.

3598
04:31:17,220 --> 04:31:17,820
Mr.

3599
04:31:20,080 --> 04:31:20,540
Scott Beach.

3600
04:31:21,000 --> 04:31:22,860
All right.

3601
04:31:27,880 --> 04:31:28,900
Call the roll please.

3602
04:31:31,830 --> 04:31:32,490
The first and second.

3603
04:31:33,470 --> 04:31:34,330
I'm sorry.

3604
04:31:34,590 --> 04:31:37,110
The first was by Ms. Mims, the second by Mr. Scott.

3605
04:31:37,710 --> 04:31:38,410
Thank you.

3606
04:31:39,970 --> 04:31:40,690
Alderman Mims?

3607
04:31:41,170 --> 04:31:41,570
Yes.

3608
04:31:42,830 --> 04:31:43,530
Alderman Scott?

3609
04:31:44,090 --> 04:31:44,330
Yes.

3610
04:31:45,930 --> 04:31:46,650
Alderman Emerson?

3611
04:31:47,150 --> 04:31:47,470
Yes.

3612
04:31:48,370 --> 04:31:49,190
Alderman Kreese?

3613
04:31:49,470 --> 04:31:50,090
Yes.

3614
04:31:50,650 --> 04:31:50,890
Yes.

3615
04:31:51,090 --> 04:31:51,710
Alderman Ayser?

3616
04:31:51,990 --> 04:31:52,410
Yes.

3617
04:31:54,150 --> 04:31:55,110
Alderman Zendeskert?

3618
04:31:56,930 --> 04:31:57,490
Yes.

3619
04:31:58,270 --> 04:31:59,250
Alderman Walters?

3620
04:31:59,810 --> 04:32:00,210
Yes.

3621
04:32:00,930 --> 04:32:01,850
Alderman Garza?

3622
04:32:02,310 --> 04:32:02,730
Yes.

3623
04:32:03,350 --> 04:32:14,430
Alderman Hayden. Alderman Myers. Yes. Motion carries nine to nothing and this

3624
04:32:14,430 --> 04:32:18,990
will be heard again June 20th at the Board of Aldermen meeting at that time.

3625
04:32:20,210 --> 04:32:21,630
Do I hear a motion for adjournment? So moved.

3626
04:32:24,890 --> 04:32:26,590
We're not voting on this till the next.

3627
04:32:35,090 --> 04:32:39,390
I thought we'd do that after we got done listening to everybody next week or next meeting and

3628
04:32:39,390 --> 04:32:42,610
then you could have questions and answers and all that.

3629
04:32:44,490 --> 04:32:48,370
Before we adjourn, Mr. Asia, by all means, go right in.

3630
04:32:50,670 --> 04:32:53,230
First of all, like the people, I am very passionate about it.

3631
04:32:53,290 --> 04:32:56,030
I have five minutes and I'll use them the best I can.

3632
04:32:56,910 --> 04:32:58,810
I'm going to lay a few facts on the table.

3633
04:32:59,790 --> 04:33:05,230
For the people, we can't vote on a project just because we like it or don't like it.

3634
04:33:08,200 --> 04:33:11,360
What we do have to do is best for the people of Raytown.

3635
04:33:11,500 --> 04:33:14,400
The question is, what is the best for the people of Raytown?

3636
04:33:14,520 --> 04:33:16,320
Or should I say, what is best for Raytown?

3637
04:33:16,800 --> 04:33:18,800
Because Raytown is a relative thing.

3638
04:33:19,940 --> 04:33:24,820
For example, the people who live in that block, it's a boulevard.

3639
04:33:25,520 --> 04:33:27,100
It's Raytown's only boulevard.

3640
04:33:27,840 --> 04:33:30,980
On most boulevards, you can't drive a 16-wheeler.

3641
04:33:31,960 --> 04:33:35,720
You certainly wouldn't put a palm reading shop on Ward Parkway.

3642
04:33:37,620 --> 04:33:39,560
You just don't do that on boulevards.

3643
04:33:39,760 --> 04:33:44,180
And the people that happen to live on that boulevard see it as a very special place.

3644
04:33:45,920 --> 04:33:47,840
Now, are the people Raytown?

3645
04:33:48,440 --> 04:33:53,000
Well, if you're an old woman and you say, hey, what's really important to me is commerce.

3646
04:33:53,360 --> 04:33:54,360
I'm behind business.

3647
04:33:55,180 --> 04:33:58,300
Then what you're really saying is, people don't come first.

3648
04:33:58,900 --> 04:34:04,660
Raytown is really the people that build the liquor stores and the wallmarks and the gas stations.

3649
04:34:05,020 --> 04:34:09,780
That's Raytown. The people who don't live here. He doesn't live here.

3650
04:34:09,920 --> 04:34:14,140
He doesn't even live in our state. Does he really care about how the people of Raytown feel?

3651
04:34:14,520 --> 04:34:18,060
No. He makes his money mostly off of liquor right now.

3652
04:34:19,460 --> 04:34:24,660
I'm going to share something to you because this goes deeper than that.

3653
04:34:24,800 --> 04:34:32,880
There was another landscaping company, another, it was on Spring Valley Road.

3654
04:34:33,540 --> 04:34:36,580
I think it's maybe even a little bit bigger than his property.

3655
04:34:36,840 --> 04:34:38,180
It's right in the middle of the neighborhood.

3656
04:34:38,880 --> 04:34:42,040
And yes, it was there for a long time and it was commercial.

3657
04:34:42,660 --> 04:34:45,820
And right across the street was Tony's little grocery store.

3658
04:34:47,000 --> 04:34:49,520
They're not there that lands all vacant.

3659
04:34:50,800 --> 04:34:55,940
What's really interesting is a guy came to me several weeks ago, a couple of months ago.

3660
04:34:56,440 --> 04:35:01,020
He has one of the largest landscaping companies in Kansas City.

3661
04:35:01,520 --> 04:35:05,220
And he said, you know, I've been looking all over. I really want to locate Raytown.

3662
04:35:06,760 --> 04:35:11,740
And he said, I know you know Raytown and I'd like you to just take me on a tour.

3663
04:35:11,740 --> 04:35:18,920
over. What land might be available? One of the places I took him out to was Spring Valley

3664
04:35:18,920 --> 04:35:26,760
Road, Seminite Terrace. There's the old place where I bought my bushes and my flowers. It

3665
04:35:26,760 --> 04:35:34,560
was all right there. It would make a perfect place for his project. No, that's really

3666
04:35:34,560 --> 04:35:39,820
a lie because those people in that neighborhood would feel the same way. They wouldn't

3667
04:35:39,820 --> 04:35:42,500
say, oh, yes, that's just right in the middle of a neighborhood.

3668
04:35:47,100 --> 04:35:49,100
Then we drove down downtown

3669
04:35:49,100 --> 04:35:56,260
Kansas City, downtown Raytown. Sixty second, Raytown Road. There was property for sale owned

3670
04:35:56,260 --> 04:36:04,100
by Steve Gunther. I said, hey, this is perfect for you. It's the right size. No, I don't

3671
04:36:04,100 --> 04:36:08,920
think we could do that because that's zone commercial, not industrial.

3672
04:36:11,340 --> 04:36:12,080
We stopped the

3673
04:36:12,080 --> 04:36:18,240
So how do we pick and choose what we're going to allow to build in the Raytown?

3674
04:36:19,000 --> 04:36:24,380
This guy wants to come and put a major landscaping company right here in Raytown.

3675
04:36:25,180 --> 04:36:34,340
It didn't fit downtown. The people of downtown who owned stores down there, they would not let that happen.

3676
04:36:34,680 --> 04:36:39,660
We know this, too, because they wanted to put a neighborhood grocery store downtown.

3677
04:36:39,660 --> 04:36:46,320
downtown, does it get built? Who is behind that motion to keep Wal-Mart out of downtown

3678
04:36:46,320 --> 04:36:52,180
Raytown? Did they do it? Yes. Who voted to keep it out? The board of all the men.

3679
04:36:54,310 --> 04:36:54,490
So the

3680
04:36:54,490 --> 04:37:01,010
big question is, let's say suppose the people in this neighborhood decide that if we do

3681
04:37:01,010 --> 04:37:05,310
pass it, they want to go ahead and let's stay through the city. Now, that's not going

3682
04:37:05,310 --> 04:37:10,470
to probably happen. But why is that important? Because they could come to the city and

3683
04:37:10,470 --> 04:37:11,870
say, are we all treated equal?

3684
04:37:13,290 --> 04:37:16,030
How do you select who you support and who you don't support?

3685
04:37:16,390 --> 04:37:17,890
What's fair and what's not fair?

3686
04:37:19,210 --> 04:37:21,670
The people of Raytown that live in that little neighborhood

3687
04:37:21,670 --> 04:37:23,930
is important to them, but we're not

3688
04:37:23,930 --> 04:37:25,230
going to consider them important.

3689
04:37:25,630 --> 04:37:26,510
They just don't want it.

3690
04:37:26,850 --> 04:37:28,650
We want the few extra dollars.

3691
04:37:28,910 --> 04:37:31,230
Maybe we can put a billboard up, get more people

3692
04:37:31,230 --> 04:37:32,830
to drink more alcohol.

3693
04:37:33,330 --> 04:37:33,890
And guess what?

3694
04:37:34,070 --> 04:37:35,190
You get more tax money.

3695
04:37:35,730 --> 04:37:37,250
Because that's the only way you're

3696
04:37:37,250 --> 04:37:39,770
going to get more tax money is to drink more alcohol.

3697
04:37:39,770 --> 04:37:46,450
One guy said, yeah, you already have 200 alcohol licenses in Raytown, so we surely need more.

3698
04:37:47,850 --> 04:37:50,170
The point is, that is not a good argument.

3699
04:37:50,850 --> 04:37:53,950
The real argument is, what is good for Raytown?

3700
04:37:54,890 --> 04:37:56,090
Who is Raytown?

3701
04:37:56,570 --> 04:38:01,490
Is it the company in New York City that owns over 150 rental houses?

3702
04:38:02,530 --> 04:38:04,170
They surely own a lot of Raytown.

3703
04:38:04,950 --> 04:38:06,230
They never come to Raytown.

3704
04:38:06,790 --> 04:38:12,390
Is it the people who build businesses here, make the money off of Ray Town, but choose to live somewhere else?

3705
04:38:14,050 --> 04:38:27,310
If you want the court and you ask the city, the judge would say, hey, when you choose who you're going to rezone for, how do you do it?

3706
04:38:27,830 --> 04:38:31,330
Will you let him put his project on 79th Street?

3707
04:38:32,050 --> 04:38:36,950
If the answers know that people will, if it's yes,

3708
04:38:37,610 --> 04:38:39,110
well then why do you have a zoning committee?

3709
04:38:39,550 --> 04:38:40,350
You don't need it.

3710
04:38:41,330 --> 04:38:43,010
And that's what the real question is here.

3711
04:38:43,910 --> 04:38:48,550
It's really, why did we make our decisions on how we zone?

3712
04:38:50,450 --> 04:38:53,310
And who's making decisions for us?

3713
04:38:53,430 --> 04:38:55,710
Is it staff or is it guy by?

3714
04:38:56,090 --> 04:38:57,830
I think we need continuity.

3715
04:39:05,510 --> 04:39:08,070
Let's do this by affirmation. All in favor say aye.

3716
04:39:08,210 --> 04:39:16,050
Aye. Anyone against? All right. We have adjourned at 12.12 p.m. Thank you folks.