Here's the weekly account of Mayor Funky's failure . . . It would be funny if he was in charge of any other town . . .
Funk's Front Porch
23 April 2010
Dear Folks,
This Week's City Business
Much of the week was devoted to gathering information and obtaining input regarding the Plaza youth incident a few weeks ago. The Mayor met with a group of about 20 businessmen and women, Council members and other leaders in the community to discuss activities that can be offered for youth this summer.
The Mayor told them about providing a park in each council district where youth can go to "hang out." Each park would be supervised at all times, and have a zero-tolerance policy for drugs and weapons. The parks also would have a close connection to the police department for any mishaps that might occur.
A teen center also was talked about. The concept would be to provide a place on the weekends for kids to dance and play cards and other games, like pool or pinball.
The Mayor asked the group to help him find outside funding to provide these alternative activities for Kansas City's youth.
Last Wednesday, Vice President Joe Biden announced that the City of Kansas City, Mo., and its partners were receiving a $20 million Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) from the U.S. Department of Energy.
The Mayor said that this was good news for Kansas City, good news for our neighborhoods, and good news for the residents and businesses we will attract by being a green city. Reducing energy costs and improving quality of life will be a big step forward, he said. This grant is yet another example of how teamwork is rewarded by this administration.
Kansas City has been successfully winning federal grants recently because we have partners who understand this, and work together to create proposals which are hard to ignore. The Mayor said that it is through the determined efforts of city staff, particularly Dennis Murphy, and the efforts of our partners from the Metropolitan Energy Center, Mid-America Regional Council, Kansas City Power & Light, and Missouri Gas Energy, that Kansas City has once again shown that we have the tools to lead the nation with innovative ideas for the future.
Next Tuesday and Thursday, the Mayor will have two Tele-Town Hall Meetings. This is a chance to hear the Mayor speak about his efforts to re-focus city government on families and neighborhoods. You will also have a chance to let him know how your city government is doing. Please see the call-in number under his "Public Appearances" on Tuesday and Wednesday if you'd like to call in to participate.
On a More Personal Note
We achieved our four miles of walking per day last weekend by walking to the Plaza on both Friday and Saturday evening. This was our way of showing that the Plaza youth incident was an isolated event, and that it shouldn't scare anyone from spending a lovely evening there. On both evenings we witnessed well-dressed and well-behaved youth, intermingled with an older crowd of patrons.
The police had mounted officers down there, which we thought should be a mainstay as they add to the ambiance of the Plaza experience.
The Mayor's Public Appearances
Monday 4 p.m. LINC Commission Meeting Gem Theatre Meeting Room, 1615 E. 18th Street
Tuesday 9 a.m. Board of Police Commissioners Meeting 1125 Locust, 6th Floor Conference Room
7 p.m. Tele-Town Hall 1-888-886-6602, Ext. 14462#
Wednesday 1:30 p.m. Tour of Staley High School 2800 NE Shoal Creek Parkway
6:30 p.m. Town Hall - Kansas City Chinese American Association, Trailside Center 9901 Holmes Road
Thursday 1:30 p.m. City Council Business Session 10th Floor, City Hall
3:00 p.m. City Council Legislative Session 26th Floor, City Hall 7:00 p.m. Tele-Town Hall 1-888-886-6603, Ext. 14552#
Friday 7:40 a.m. Fridays with Funk, Chris Stigall Show 710 KCMO AM
8:30 a.m. Urban Summit Breakfast Meeting Metropolitan Spiritual Church of Christ Community Center 1227 Garfield Avenue
The Next Town Hall Meetings April 28, 2010 - 6:30 p.m. KC Chinese Association Location TBD
May 12, 2010 - 6:30 p.m. AARP - KC Chapter Location TBD May 18 - 6:30 PM NAACP Brush Creek Community Center 3801 Emanuel Cleaver Blvd May 19, 2010 - 6:30 p.m. Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association H. R. Block World HQ Auditorium One H&R Block Way June 2, 2010 - 6:30 p.m. VFW Location: TBD June 9, 2010 - 6:30 p.m. South Kansas City Chamber of Commerce Location: TBD June 16, 2010 - 6:30 p.m. Plumbers Local 8 - Pipefitters Local 533 8600 Hillcrest Road June 30 - 6:30 p.m. Thai Information Center Location: TBD August 4 - 6:30 p.m. Missouri Bike & Pedestrian Federation Location TBD August 11 - 6:30 Northeast Chamber of Commerce; Scarrett Neighborhood Assn and Indian Mound Neighborhood Association Location TBD August 25, 2010 - 6:30 p.m. Revolution Methodist Church 500 W. 40th Street
In faith,
Gloria & Mark
Schools First is the Mayor's new initiative created to help all schools in Kansas City - public, private and charter - by improving public safety and infrastructure around the schools.
* Schools First will: Use a no tax increase bond to fix sidewalks, crosswalks and other city infrastructure around all schools
* Use a portion of a renewed Public Safety sales tax to fund increased police presence around all schools
* Focus Kansas City's basic service priorities on areas around all schools
* Partner with all schools to apply for federal and private grants to improve neighborhoods and walk to school programs
* Create a city based staff liaison to work with every school
o The following is a list of how you can get involved: Call or write your Council members and ask them to vote to put the initiative on the August ballot
o Ask five of your friends to do the same, and have them ask five of their friends to do the same, and so on...
o The Mayor is currently growing an email database to give twice-weekly updates regarding the initiative. Please send an email to five friends who you think would support the initiative and would like to hear updates regarding it - and ask them if you could provide the Mayor with their email address for this purpose. Then have them ask five of their friends to do the same, and so on. You can email the Mayor regarding this initiative at: schoolsfirst@kcmo.org.
o Organize a town hall meeting for the Mayor to come and speak about the initiative, then promote it, with the goal of having 50 people in attendance
o Hand out informational brochures and buttons regarding the initiative
o Call in to talk radio to show your support of the initiative
o Write a letter to the editor to show your support of the initiative
For more information please visit: www.kcmo.org/schoolsfirst.
You can respond by email to this newsletter at funksfrontporch@gmail.com.
If you'd like daily news updates, please check the Mayor's website at http://kcmo.org/CKCMO/CityOfficials/MayorsOffice/index.htm.
The Mayor's top ten priorities:
1. Establishing a good working relationship with the Council
2. Getting the City's finances in order
3. Making downtown work
4. Tending to our neighborhoods
5. Implementing the Housing Policy task force recommendations
6. Improving the perception and the reality of public education in Kansas City
7. Reducing Crime
8. Repairing our sewer systems
9. Establishing an excellent regional transit system, which includes light rail
10. Improving citizen satisfaction with City services
I can not wait till those two are gone.
ReplyDeleteWhy does LINC continue to be involved with this creepy guy?
ReplyDeleteA watched pot never boils, a watched squitiro never seems to shut up.
ReplyDeleteCity Attorney shut that bitch down.
ReplyDeleteWhy is the Mayor calling himself a FUNK. Are you sure he has good sense.
ReplyDeleteSince when is the fact that the Funk is PW'ed news? Pay fifty cents for every time you've said that.
ReplyDeleteAnd Tony. You're single, not necessarily str8 guy. What makes you thinkg that MOST of us married guys aren't PW'ed! Most of us know our wedding bands may be visible on our fingers, but they really are through our noses. Thank you, GLORIA (Steinem).
Why don't we have Berka's in America? (grin, jk. it was just a JOKE, wife, dear!)
Done
ReplyDeleteWhy does Gloria not mention the mayor's disgusting words directed at the disabled people at the town hall meeting? And why doesn't the mayor PREPARE for such meetings? He makes people submit questions before the meeting--someone on his staff should help him with the answers--or, because he's been there forever,he should know the answers. All the more reason to have that ADA Coordinator.
ReplyDeleteMark & Gloria--get lost.
Why would anyone think that the recent Plaza disturbance is an "isolated incident"? Spring has barely begun and KCMO is once again caught flat-footed just now thinking about summer "programs" for young people. How about some citizenship and personal responsibility discussions for the vast majority of great young people who would just like to hang out with their friends? And how about some really serious preventive and proactive policing of the small minority that are the source of all the chaos and carnage?
ReplyDeleteIf not, then pretty soon the running gun battle through the P&L District on a Friday night will be being called an "isolated incident". And you'll be able to board it up and the $12 million hit to the city budget will look like the good old days.
The lack of creativity or even seriousness on the part of KCMO officialdom is really scandalous.
I would submit to you that the wilding kids, especially those doing the mayhem, are going to end up in the justice system.
ReplyDeleteTheyre not the basketball playing, lybrary going, elderly home volunteer, babysitting their sibs, picking up the neighborhood kind of kids.
These are the lawbreakers. Don't lay this number on city government. There's plenty of things kids could do. Lots of public services, lots of things to do around the house, and cleaning grandma's house. Going on a date to the museum, getting a part time job to pay for a movie with the girl you'd like to marry as opposed to just making a baby with.
It's not boredom. They have homework but they don't do it. They could water the grass rather than let yards go barren. Cook for mom who works late. Fix sister's hair. Clean out the basement. Wash the windows. Make momma so proud!
but no. They're going to prison, now or later because they're too studly. They were raised badly.
Remember, boys and girls. It's way easier to raise kids right the FIRST TIME, than try to FIX THEM after they're BROKEN!
If they're wilding on the Plaza, it's too late.
Don't waste government money and attention on them. Don't make managers focus on media issues they can't really fix.
Let them focus on potholes. Clean water. Infrastructure (remember that word from last year, T?) Not answering to bloggers being populist.
And get Alonzo to start talking to parent groups, as if he knows anything about parenting!
Radioglo Stop.
ReplyDeleteI was at the meeting. I never heard anything about parks as "hangouts" or anything like that. This is made up garbage that spews out once a week.
ReplyDeleteGlo sure takes alot of credit even if it is make believe.
ReplyDeleteGlo is one crazy ass Bitch.
ReplyDeleteIs it legal for city council to offer tax credits, then accept a large campaign donation?
ReplyDeleteThe Mayor and Council should not have access or approval over money, it is too much corruption. The money never trickles down to poor communities.
In this administration you have to have money to get money to develop a poverty community. To prove it look at Kansas City North, Plaza, Brookside and more. Then compare those communities to Westside and Eastside. Where the millionaires find their Slaves.
I which we can change the system to no campaign contributions. Then no favors are owed.
Do we need a Mayor and City council, are can it be something else?
Most of the present City Politicians needs to resign, especially Jan Marceson.
I wonder what life for the Co-mayors will be like after office.It cant be much fun now.
ReplyDeleteIf I were the Co-mayors I would just hold up in Brookside the rest of the term just like Bonnie and Clyde.
ReplyDeleteA teen center to play cards and games like pool and pin ball.
ReplyDeleteMark Squitiro what an idiot. He has brought shame upon the house of _____________ well you name it.
ReplyDeleteThey could play connect the dots on the Squids big feet.
ReplyDelete