Well between the new job, normal family life, and a major home improvement odyssey, I had to reset my Typepad password because it's been so long since I've logged on. I hope 2022 has been good to you. Tomorrow is election day and you can find you Platte County ballot here and your Clay County ballot here.
I only have three things I am willing to comment on. The first one is for those of you in Clay County. I won't articulate my reasons because I made a new year's resolution to reduce induced pearl clutching but I need you to vote for my friend and anti-special interest aficionado Jason Withington for Clay County Commissioner.
If you want nice things like basic infrastructure and improved parks and trails, there will not be anyone more vocal and committed to actually doing something about them. The state's sixth largest county with a major manufacturing plant should have nicer things than it does.
I first met Jason over a decade ago because he wanted to talk about how to get better sidewalks to schools in the older part of the County and understand how things work. It's pretty easy to see who Jason is and he's not an ideologue or partisan hack or career politician and is the type of voice you need on your County Commission.
Second issue I want you to vote Yes on Platte County Question 1 which on the back page of the Platte County ballot.
It is a renewal of the County's road sales tax. Originally passed in 2003 and renewed in 2013 as a 3/8th cent sales tax, it is back on the ballot as a 1/4 cent sales tax renewal. Because of this tax, the following projects have been completed within the Kansas City portion of the County in the 25 years it's taken to improve two miles of North Brighton in a county with no road sales tax:
I-29 and Barry Road interchange widening, North Congress south of Barry Road serving Park Hill High School and Congress Middle School,North Congress from 152 to Old Tiffany Springs Road including the portion of Old Tiffany Springs Road in front of Tiffany Hills Park, North Green Hills Road from Barry Road to 152, Barry Road from Weatherby Lake to the Grass Pad serving Hawthorn Elementary, NW 72nd Street between I-29 and Overland Drive serving Chinn Elementary, Northwood Road between NW 52nd Street and I-29 serving Southeast Elementary and Walden Middle, North Green Hills Road from NW Platte Brooke Drive to NW 78th Street serving the Russell Jones Center, and as soon as it gets approval from FHWA Waukomis in front of Line Creek Elementary from Englewood up to the north end of Vaydik Park by the Kansas City Northern Railroad will be under construction.
I will admit my attention span isn't what it used to be and I don't have a good list of roads and bridges outside of KCMO but I do know that over 30 county bridges/box culverts, Jones-Meyer Road, Route 45 from I-435 to Union Chapel, the Humphrey's Road Bridge, and numerous other projects in smaller cities have been completed and benefited from the sales tax.
Over 20 years, that's a pretty impressive list of simple upgrades from hilly narrow Ozarkian roads to urban streets with sidewalks and street lights. Here's an articles and the renewal campaign website. Kansas City passed a resolution and has identified that it would want the county to finish improving Waukomis Drive south of NW 68th Street and NW 56th Street from the schools along Northwood over towards I-29:
Section 2. That the City Council expresses its support for utilizing any renewal approved by voters and for successful partnership agreements to improve N.W. 56th Street from I-29 to Northwood Road, Waukomis Drive from I-29 to Englewood Road and from N.W. 62nd Street to N.W. 68th Street, North Green Hills Road from Old Tiffany Springs Road to N.W. 108th Street, North Coventry from N.W. 68th Street to N.W. 76th Street, and Platte Purchase Drive from N.W. 96th Street to N.W. 104th Street which are all currently unimproved roads which do not meet urban and complete streets standards.
Lastly, I hate everything about weed. The smell, the carbon footprint, the water usage to grow it, the commercial/corporate farming of it, what legalization has done to Colorado and Denver, etc and legalization via Constitutional Amendment is a ridiculous way to legislate so I'm asking you to Vote no on Missouri Amendment 3.
Also, read the header at the top of the page before you click out, enjoy your flyer free mailbox until March of 2023, and realize that Billy Idol released a new CD in 2014 and it rocks...
Song credit to Billy Idol.