Toellner Tells it

Fixed rail public transit systems take a step forward in KC Metro

Yesterday, the Kansas City metro took two more steps foward in another attempt to make some type of fixed rail system in the metro.

Last night, many people gathered down at the Kansas City Library to hear a presentation about plans for a new starter rail line that would run down the central business corridor from the River Market to Crown Center/Union Station. 

The routes would be on one of four roads:  Grand, Walnut, Main or Baltimore -- and could either feature two lanes on one road, or a north route on one road, and a south route on the other.  Since the lines would be for Modern Street Cars, they would share lanes with automobile traffic so they wouldn't have to have dedicated lanes like former light rail proposals required.

There were two presentations at the Library -- the 5:30 presentation that I attended had just fewer than 50 people in attendence who were not part of the presentation.  Also, council members Jim Glover, John Sharp, Russ Johnson and Jan Marcason were all on hand). 

You can get a lot more information on the planning proces at kcsmartmoves.org, but they are trying to weigh the pros and cons of the different routes -- including store frontage, redevelopment possibilities, road closures for parades and events, and even catwalks that would have to be navigated over/under. 

While I prefer the Walnut route because I think it creates the most central access to a number of points, and the best of eastern access to the River Market and then to Union Station (Grand creates some problems getting to Union Station, and Main enters the River Market on the wrong side IMO), I think any move to get a starter line started to improve the overall public transit structure in this city is to be rewarded.  They are also looking at different funding options including federal and state funding, and possibly a localized property and/or sales tax for residents/businesses near the route that will most be impacted (these would be the people who would get to vote on this as well).

Meanwhile, last Friday, Mike Sanders was out talking to the Lee's Summit Chamber of Commerce about his hopes for regional rail in Jackson County. The idea would be for whatever commuter line that comes into the city would eventually connect (either via Truman Road, the River Market or possibly Union Station) with the streetcar route.

These steps are all necessary for the metro. Permanent rail will bring development in a way that changable bus routes never can -- and continue to add density to our urban core. And improved transit will certainly help lower-income families in the metro who require it because they do not have automobiles.

Some good news -- although we're a long way from any of it happening...but with good support from the council and many strong groups downtown, an affordable option like a modern streetcar option has a decent chance of getting built.

Two more historic apartment buildings being demolished at Taxpayer Expense

Two more old buildings in an historic neighborhood in Kansas City are coming down -- and KC Tax Payers are paying for it.

In the Union Hill neighborhood, there are two old homes (that are, honestly, in horrific shape) that are coming down, along with several apartment buildings. A couple of the apartment buildings are 1950s-ish style apartments whose style is not a fit for the neighborhood and probably never should have been built there in the first place.

However, the two pictured here, are original to the neighborhood and actually don't appear to be in terrible shape. But they're coming down -- to be replaced by single-family homes (which I'm told will be designed to match the neighborhood, but we'll see).

These two buildings have been run down for awhile and been a haven for a host of nefarious activities. However, it seems like such a shame to use tax money to a) destroy historic buildings and b) to remove density from our downtown area (and Union Hill is officially in the "downtown" via the Downtown Council's definition).

 

P&L seeking to evict Raglan Road?

Well, here we go again.

Looks like now Cordish is seeking to run out one of the more popular entertainment venues in the Power and Light - Raglan Road. According to Joyce Smith's report, Raglan Road owes over $600,000 in back rent and other charges and is now in violation of their lease.

Smith also did the math, and figured that the upscale Irish Restaurant's lease was set up to be more than $49,000 a month in rent and other payments.

Um, wow. That's a lot of $6 beers.

This news follows the closing of Famous Dave's Barbeque only a few months ago.

This leads me to ask the question:  At what point is the P&L obligated to lower rent to allow these businesses to stay open? 

Each year, the city's tax payer's have to pay out several million dollars to pay off the bonds that are not covered by tax revenue from the P&L District. However, while the P&L isn't meeting tax revenue projections, it shouldn't be lost on a lot of folks that a fair number of the buildings in the P&L remain unused (incluing a prime piece of real estate directly across from the Sprint Center and other great locations on the same block where Dave's BBQ and Ted's Montana Grill were once located).  So while the city's taxpayers pick up the tab for the bonds, tax revenue is left on the table because the district is not full and the city is not seeing revenue from these empty business sites -- and they sit empty because the businesses aren't able to meet the extremely high rents.

So what about proposing a tax on empty businesses in downtown?  If a building is sitting empty for, say, 3 months (or six, this is negotiable), can the city tax these buildings based on unrecognized tax potential for the city?

This would help encourage building owners from being content to let buildings sit empty (not earning tax revenue) and to lower rents to realistic rates for what the demand really is for these locations.

I've written about this idea before -- mostly in relation to old buildings that are allowed to sit empty for decades and then end up destroyed due to lack of upkeep -- but I think it certainly should apply to viable entertainment districts as well.  It's past time for the city to start holding the P&L owners accountable for the tax revenue their not generating through their empty store-fronts....at taxpayer expense.

h/t: Tony

HGTV's Househunters comes to Kansas City

On June 27, at 8:30 pm CST, HGTV's House Hunters will be showing an episode in Kansas City. The episode will center around a 24 year old nurse who is seeking to move out of her parents' 7000 square foot historical home (um, wow) and is seeking to buy a traditional-style condo in the trendy parts of Kansas City.

It should be an interesting show -- as it shows a young professional (the type that is very interested in out downtown renaissance) looking for condos -- which fits right into the advertising campaign living in downtown KC has been doing.

It will be interesting to see what neighborhoods pop up (River Market, Downtown, Plaza), and what issues end up being problems (crime, public transit, parking?) and what good things are mentioned (entertainment?). 

Thanks to the Hyde Park neighborhood email list for the tip.

Opening Night at Livestrong Sporting Park

Last night was opening night at Livestrong Sporting Park.  And I have to say, the new stadium is absolutely amazing (and was designed by local sports architect firm Populous).

The stadium is fairly small (holds about 18,500 for soccer) and the seats are right up on the sidelines on all sides -- making the stadium feel loud and vibrant. Honestly, last night was the best sporting atmosphere I've been in in this town in a long time.

Livestrong Park is yet another notch in the belt for the Kansas City area -- which now boasts an array of best-in-class sports stadiums.  Arrowhead and the K have both undergone major renovations that make them among the leading venues in their respective sports. Sprint Center is a great arena for hockey, basketball and concerts -- and even without an anchor tenent is a very busy venue. The Kansas Speedway continues to get rave reviews from NASCAR fans and drivers alike. But Livestrong is undeniably the best venue of all of them (and I am, admittedly, only a casual soccer fan).

These sporting venues -- along with a world class performing arts center that will open later this year, the Nelson Atkins (which rivals the art galleries in almost any North American city) we have some pretty amazing showcases in this town -- which we should all be pretty proud of.

One thing that could really benefit all of these venues is better public transit that would allow easier, traffic-free access to these venues so people can enjoy the games and then get back to the central part of the city.

I was one that was skeptical that a major soccer league would succeed in this country 15 years ago when MLS started....but with the creation of significant, soccer-only stadiums like Livestrong it sure seems like it is over the hump and here to stay.  And I think the atmosphere in the stadium will only continue to create more soccer fans (I was at the game with one person who had never watched a soccer match before and is now a huge fan of the sport after just one night). 

The match ended with a 0-0 tie -- which pretty much sums up why I think soccer has struggled to catch on in this country -- but regardless, Kansas City should be really proud of the new place. 

KCMO Shelter is back up and running, while RFP has gone out for new leadership

I've been out of town, and jammed at work - -so posting has been non-existent of late. I'm getting back on track though -- and want to start off with the latest and greatest at the KCMO shelter. 

1) The shelter is back open for adoptions -- a few weeks ago, the city relocated all of the animals at the shelter to Hale Arena while they did a thorough cleaning of the entire shelter.  The animals were moved back to the shelter, and the shelter is now open for business.  The shelter hours are pretty minimal and are from 12-6 pm on Monday - Thursday, 12-4 pm Friday and Saturday and closed on Sunday. I know the folks at the shelter are badly in need of volunteers to help with potential adopters, getting petfinder profiles updated and getting dogs walked -- so if you can help, please, please, please donate your time.

2) The Pet Connection -- a good no kill rescue fascility in Mission, has opened up a fairly large section of their space for many of the urgent dogs from the KCMO Shelter. They too badly need help for volunteers to help out with these dogs -- so again, thanks to them for providing the space -- but also, help is needed in that location too.  If you are interested in helping here -- please contact me -- and I will get you in contact with the volunteer who is organizing volunteers (or, I know she reads here -- if she wants to post her contact info in the comments, that's fine too).

3) The RFP for the new shelter contract is now available.  There are a lot of good questions on the RFP -- including questions about how the new shelter director will manage transfers to other rescue groups, how foster homes will be handled, how adoptions will be handled, how volunteers will be managed, how they will go about promoting spay/neuters, getting dogs returned to owners, deal with aggressive animals, owner surrenders, etc. There are also some good questions on helping deal with cases of minor neglect thatI think are interesting because our animal control has typically dealt with these cases through confiscation and may now be looking for solutions that involve keeping the animal in its home, but helping the owners to better care for the animals.

I'm very hopeful that the city will really take to heart these answers and not make this a solution about the lowest cost providers.  The answers to these questions will make the difference for literally thousands of animal lives in our community in the coming years -- and they're too important to just have on the RFP as window-dressing.  

The RFP process is going to move fairly quickly in the short run:

6/8 -Shelter walk-through for interested parties

6/16 - deadline for question submissions

7/7 -- Due date for proposals

7/20 -- Notification of Short-listed providers

7/25 - Interviews (if necessary)

7/27 - Selection made

August is set aside for negotiations, contract signing and ordinance proposal/acceptance of recommended provider, with the new organizations slated to take over in September.

4)  Separate from the RFP - the city also appears to be giving serious consideration to building a new animal shelter.  City Councilman John Sharp, along with former council member Teresa Lohr are leading the charge to put a measure on the ballot for a tax increase to raise $10 million build a new shelter. The city's current shelter was built in 1973 -- and was basically created as a catch and kill facility. The shelter is very small for a city this size, has horrible ventilation and no isolation area that make animals very succeptible to diseases,  is in a remote location that is very difficult for potential adopters or people with lost pets to get to. Potential adopters also get the pleasure of having the crematorium attached to the shelter that is often running when people are at the shelter.

City Manager Troy Schulte acknowledges that the shelter was never designe for modern day animal care needs. And Schulte notes that for every 1 person sho says we shouldn't spend the money he would expect 1,000 emails saying that the city isn't being nearly compassionate enough about the care of animals.

It sounds like there is a very real possibility for the tax to appear on the ballot in November -- or possibly spring of 2012.  There is also a chance that it would be grouped with other tax needs -- such as a tax needed to repair our crumbling sewer system. It is still disappointing that the new shelter was removed from last year's public safety tax proposal even though it was considered in the early stages.

There seems to be quite a bit of support for the new shelter -- with most rational people recognizing the need for a new facility.  The combination of a new facility, and competent management, could set Kansas City up for success as a no kill community.

5) Separate from the KCMO shelter news, Jackson County, MO has signed off on $5 million to build a new animal shelter serving the non-Kansas City areas of the county. The shelter will be built on 23rd street -- 2 miles East of 291 Highway near Metropolitan Community College - Blue River in Independence. The shelter will replace the 30 year old shelter that is currently being used and will have enough space to house 125 cats and more than 100 dogs. County Legislator Denny Waits has been leading this effort in Jackson County for several years and it will be great to see it come to fruition.

We need a lot of short term help out there folks...but things are certainly looking up if we can make good decisions along the way.