As required by the Kansas City Charter, Mayor Sly James and the new City Council were sworn in May 1. Because that was a Sunday, a public swearing-in ceremony was also conducted the following day, and the new council immediately began its work. I am very pleased to have been re-elected to represent the Fourth District. In the picture to the left, I am joined by Fourth District Councilman At Large, Jim Glover (left) and Mayor Sly James.
Mayor James named me Chair of the Finance, Governance, and Ethics Committee which plays a critical role, including ensuring that:
the financial well-being of our city is maintained
our government maximizes its financial and human resources
the city conducts its business in an ethical manner.
It is an honor to have been selected for this responsible position.
The Finance, Governance, and Ethics Committee meets at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday mornings. You can watch the proceedings on Channel 2 or through the City’s Video on Demand Meetings on the city’s website. I encourage you to stay in touch with me regarding the city’s finances or any other matter that is important to you.
Superintendent Covington is creating a district-wide student council in order to build student leadership and engage them positively in the district’s improvement efforts. He asked Jan to partner with Klassie Alcine and City Councilman Jermaine Reed to develop the student council. Klassie is immediate past president of the student body at UMKC. In high school Jermaine was president of his senior class at NortheastHigh School.
Jan , Jermaine, and Klassie plan to work with student leaders to organize the council, develop legislative procedures, and build leadership skills. School principals will recommend students to participate.
The photo above shows a recent planning meeting with Klassie Alcine (left), Chase Ramsey, Dr. Covington’s chief of staff and Tonia Gilbert (back to camera). The council will be in place for the 2011-12 academic year.
Jan and Curt Skoog, an Overland Park City Councilman, have been named co-chairs of the Sustainable Communities Committee that will oversee a $4.5 million grant from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) over the next three years.
Last fall, Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) was one of only 45 regional organizations to receive a Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant from HUD. The multi-partner, bi-state project represents the type of cooperation that is critical to our region’s overall success .
As quoted in the Kansas City Business Journal, Jan says, “The most promising thing about this massive effort is its ability to knit different communities together while allowing them to develop their own plans that fit their own specific needs.”
MARC applied for the grant on behalf of a broad coalition of partners, including seven counties, 22 cities and 32 business, university and nonprofit organizations. The three-year grant will fund the Creating Sustainable Places initiative, which will develop plans for six key corridors, implement four to six demonstration projects, create technical tools and provide training opportunities. MARC will work with more than 60 local government and other community partners to implement the grant.
The corridor plans will integrate land-use, transportation, housing and environmental sustainability principles along six key corridors across the region:
State Avenue Corridor (Kansas City, Kan.)
Eastern Corridor along U.S. 40 (Kansas City, Independence and Blue Springs, Mo.)
Shawnee Mission Parkway/Metcalf Corridor (Roeland Park, Mission, Overland Park and Shawnee, Kan.)
North Oak Trafficway Corridor (North Kansas City, Gladstone and Kansas City, Mo.)
Central City Corridor (downtown to south Kansas City, Mo.)
Rock Island Rail Corridor (Kansas City, Raytown, Lee’s Summit and Pleasant Hill, Mo.)
The demonstration projects will also include a housing effort in the Green Impact Zone, a 150-square block area in the urban core of Kansas City, Mo., that is the focus of targeted efforts to transform a community that has seen years of disinvestment, and other projects to be selected later. More information about the Creating Sustainable Places initiative is available online.
KCPT’s Imagine KC series highlighted this project in the fourth segment, aired May 5th. Watch it here.
Jan is committed to maintaining the Plaza as the premiere shopping, living, and business area in Kansas City. She lives, shops and dines on the Plaza because of its amenities and charm. She strongly objected to the original Highwoods proposal, as did her colleagues of the City Council and worked to ensure that an appropriate plan was developed.
The third version of the Highwoods proposal was approved by our city planners, the past and current city councils, and the Kansas City branch of the American Institute of Architects.
The City Planning Department found that the seven-story office building complies with the Plaza Plan. It would replace a four -story apartment building atop a parking structure now on the site.
Highwoods made significant modifications to its original design to conform to the bowl concept of the Plaza plan and the architectural feel of the area.
An independent traffic study was conducted and parking along Broadway will be eliminated to reduce congestion and provide for deliveries for the 810 Zone and Pottery Barn.
The building requires NO tax incentives (in other words, no TIF would be used). It is a $50+ million privately financed development and would generate approximately 500 construction jobs.
The proposed tenant would be 500 well-paid attorneys and support staff.
The city will work to ensure that work is done during appropriate hours and the truck and other traffic related to the construction is help to a minimum.
Jan continues to work with all interested parties to ensure that we achieve our shared goal of maintaining the Plaza as the premiere shopping, living, and business area.
Spring is chock-full of important decision points for Kansas City voters. Two important elections take place in the next four weeks: the General Election for Mayor and City Council on March 22 and the E-Tax Renewal on April 5. Both will help to shape the direction of our city for the next four to five years. Help me to spread the word about how critical it is that voters turn out and indicate their choices in both elections.
The next Mayor and Council must work effectively as a cohesive team to move Kansas City forward. We must be prepared for the many challenges that face us, as well as the expected upturn in our economy. In Sly James and Mike Burke we have two excellent candidates and I hope you take time to get to know them and their positions.
My opinion is that the earnings tax must be retained so that we can continue to provide essential services to our residents. You may also hear this tax referred to as the e-tax.
The earnings tax is not a new tax. It was first approved by the citizens of Kansas City in 1963, then renewed and doubled to the current 1% rate in 1970. The earnings tax accounts for almost 40% of the city's general fund, which pays for essential basic services such as police and fire protection, ambulance services, street improvements, trash collection, and parks. A little more than half of the earnings tax money goes to fire and police service. Yael Abouhalkah of the Kansas City Star provides some useful analysis about what the e-tax (and its absence) means to Kansas Citians in a recent article.
Without this tax, hundreds of police and firefighters will be laid off and the City will have to increase property and sales taxes. Residents will have to pay for trash collection and recycling. Currently, close to 50% of the tax receipts come from people living outside of the Kansas City limits. Without this tax, KCMO residents will bear the entire cost of services within our boundaries. Those who work in our city but live elsewhere will not contribute to the cost of services they enjoy during the working day. This just does not seem fair to me and I hope you agree.
Please vote with me to retain the earnings tax on April 5th.
Jan was recently appointed to the Large Cities Council of the National League of Cities. In this capacity, she will meet with other elected officials of major metropolitan communities to discuss common issues. She attended her first meeting in Washington on March 14th.
Jan was also reappointed to the National League of Cities Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Public Policy Steering Committee. This committee sets the NLC's agenda for the coming year.
Pictured in D.C. recently: Jan, City Councilman Terry Riley and Anita Estell, a lobbyist for the City of Kansas City, Missouri.
Jan, pictured here with State Representatives Jean Peters-Baker and Mike Talboy, recently visited with legislators in Jefferson City as part of the Chamber of Commerce's delegation for Kansas City Day. The group met with the House leadership and Kansas City’s local delegation. The Chamber also hosted a dinner for all elected House and Senate members.
Kansas City is committed to working cooperatively across party and municipal lines to move Missouri forward. Important initiatives include the protection of current economic incentives for business development. This is especially important to Kansas City as we compete with “economic incentive packages” offered by the State of Kansas.
Kansas City bus riders enjoy faster, more frequent service through Metro Area Express (or MAX) Bus Rapid Transit (or BRT). Due to the success of MAX on Main, which saw a doubling of riders in its first five years, a new BRT route opened in January on Troost. This line serves the city’s highest ridership corridor. Like MAX on Main, it also features the latest technology in the transit industry and only costs $1.50 a ride (with free transfers provided to the rest of the Metro system).
MAX uses easy-to-identify vehicles, highly visible information markers and newly designed and well-lit passenger shelters. Information markers feature real-time MAX arrival information so riders always know how close a MAX is to their stop.
MAX is known for:
Fewer stops for faster service
Well-lit, attractive stations featuring real-time arrival signs loaded with information
Uniquely designed, accessible passenger shelters with attractive landscaping
Hybrid buses
Easy, convenient schedules and route maps
The latest GPS technology for reliable, rapid service
Troost MAX also boasts three new art installations that were recently unveiled, paid for by Kansas City’s One Percent for Art program. Each of these public artworks drew upon community input and local history.
Jan recently attended an unveiling of the piece entitled “Unite” by the artist Jefrë. His tall sculpture draws on the image of hands coming together, indicating a joining together or a way to cross a divide. Jefrë also had children from the area draw pictures of themselves as adults, working in their future jobs. The children’s drawings are incorporated into the sculpture that now stands at 39th and Troost. Pictured (left to right) are Ross Beaudoin of St. James Parish who provided a blessing of the sculpture, Jan, Jackson County Legislator Scott Burnett and City Councilman Ed Ford.
Another artwork entitled “Every Day I have the Blues” by David Dahlquist, can be found at 75th and Troost. The third is a kinetic sculpture entitled “Catalyst” by Matt Dehamers and is sited at 31st and Troost. Click here to see it in motion. Or see photographer Eric Bower’s dynamic picture.
MainCor recently honored businesses making a significant contribution to the rebirth of Main Street. MainCor is a nonprofit Community Development Corporation founded in 1981 to encourage economic development along Main Street from the Plaza to Crown Center.
The Reeves-Weideman Company, which has many branches around our region, recently relocated its general office to 3635 Main Street. The company has made quite a splash with their beautification of an historic building, the addition of colorful lighting and an entrance with unique enhancements.
MainCor also honored Major Wayne Stewart of the Kansas City Police Department for his efforts to provide a significant police presence all along the Main Street corridor, ensuring safety and building confidence in this critical part of our community.
Pictured (left to right): Major Wayne Stewart, Tony Privitera, Ted Weideman, Jan and Kurt Weideman. Tony Priviteria's company, Mark One Electric, provided lighting for new streetscape improvements along Main Street.
It’s cold outside, but things are heating up in the City Council and Mayoral campaigns. With the primaries just a month away I continue to reach out to Fourth District neighborhood associations and organizations. This increasingly important since I now have an opponent in the upcoming primary scheduled for February 22.
Also, I urge you to join me in spreading the word about the importance of this election to the future of our city. While I appreciate your support as I run for reelection to the City Council, but I also encourage you to take part in the upcoming Mayoral forums. There are some very good candidates for you to get to know.
One way you can help is to forward my e-newsletter to your friends and colleagues. Thanks for everything you do for me and our great city.
As required by the Kansas City Charter, Mayor Sly James and the new City Council were sworn in May 1. Because that was a Sunday, a public swearing-in ceremony was also conducted the following day, and the new council immediately began its work. I am very pleased to have been re-elected to represent the Fourth District. In the picture to the left, I am joined by Fourth District Councilman At Large, Jim Glover (left) and Mayor Sly James.
Superintendent Covington is creating a district-wide student council in order to build student leadership and engage them positively in the district’s improvement efforts. He asked Jan to partner with Klassie Alcine and City Councilman Jermaine Reed to develop the student council. Klassie is immediate past president of the student body at UMKC. In high school Jermaine was president of his senior class at 
Jan and Curt Skoog, an Overland Park City Councilman, have been named co-chairs of the Sustainable Communities Committee that will oversee a $4.5 million grant from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) over the next three years. 
Jan is committed to maintaining the Plaza as the premiere shopping, living, and business area in Kansas City. She lives, shops and dines on the Plaza because of its amenities and charm. She strongly objected to the original Highwoods proposal, as did her colleagues of the City Council and worked to ensure that an appropriate plan was developed.
Jan was recently appointed to the Large Cities Council of the National League of Cities. In this capacity, she will meet with other elected officials of major metropolitan communities to discuss common issues. She attended her first meeting in Washington on March 14th.
Jan, pictured here with State Representatives Jean Peters-Baker and Mike Talboy, recently visited with legislators in Jefferson City as part of the Chamber of Commerce's delegation for Kansas City Day. The group met with the House leadership and Kansas City’s local delegation. The Chamber also hosted a dinner for all elected House and Senate members. 
Jan recently attended an unveiling of the piece entitled “Unite” by the artist Jefrë. His tall sculpture draws on the image of hands coming together, indicating a joining together or a way to cross a divide. Jefrë also had children from the area draw pictures of themselves as adults, working in their future jobs. The children’s drawings are incorporated into the sculpture that now stands at 39th and Troost. Pictured (left to right) are Ross Beaudoin of St. James Parish who provided a blessing of the sculpture, Jan, Jackson County Legislator Scott Burnett and City Councilman Ed Ford. 
The 
