AFTERMATH: KANSAS CITY FOUNTAIN PROTEST AND CITY HALL THREAT LETTER!!!



Earlier this week we featured an IMPORTANT AND EXTENSIVE Kansas City discussion regarding city services and reax from local bureaucrats regarding resident outcry.

AFTERMATH: THE SIGN CALLING OUT MAYOR SLY WENT MISSING BUT MAINSTREAM MEDIA OFFERED AN IMPORTANT FOLLOW-UP REPORT!!!

A message from protestors:

"Sign has been removed-and not by us. we are trying to find out who took it down."

Great reporting from Fox4 . . .

City, neighborhood association at odds over who should maintain fountain

And so, on Friday it's important to note two themes . . . Mayor Sly and so many local elite are talking up this town and local amenities like the upcoming toy train in order to lure GOP visitors MEANWHILE resident struggle to win basic services.

Like it or not, that seems to be the definitive "motif" of Mayor Sly's tenure so far.

Developing . . .

Comments

  1. The school of trickle down economics says that this neighborhood might get their fountain IF the Mayor is successful in luring the GOP and that revenue can go to improve neighborhoods. Give it a few years. Probably till after the election.

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  2. Will the toy fountain boondoggle unjust burden pay for itself?

    Why should toy fountain boondoggles be a drain on taxpayer money when they only get enjoyed by a few hipster Armour hills moms with their beards and coffe and flannels?

    I pay all the taxes, 10 Armour hills residents who are probably renters will just move to prairie village when ther kids are too old for border star free daycare.

    How many people votes on this toy fountain boondoggle unjust undue?

    If Armour hills has enough money for toy fountains they should be able to keep their fire station open and have more police and snowplows! Snowplows! Snowplows! And more parking.

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  3. The United States Constitution6/6/14, 6:24 AM

    Contact the local ACLU chapter about the sign removal.

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  4. It's ridiculous, but typical of KCMO city government, that the city has decided that there's no money to maintain and operate fountains throughout the city and that residents and donors have to pick up the financial slack. Just like you have to form a CID and double tax yourself if you want even the most basic of services.
    But even as these folks focus on their fountain, their tax money is being squandered by the hundreds of millions by the gang at 12th and Oak.
    These little neighborhood hassles are just distractions from the grand larceny taking place out of sight every day.

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  5. Why would anyone who lives here vote to return their City Council member to office?

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  6. The broader picture that is being painted here is soon basic service will all be going away. The tax base moves across state lines as soon as children are involved. The biggest goal would be to fix the schools and keep the tax base in KC

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  7. And once again Mensa boy checks in at 5:56, and once again Mensa boy demonstrates his vast intelligence and his familiarity with Kansas City south of the River by confusing Armour Fields with Armour Hills.

    Perhaps he should stay north of the River. Far north of the River. The Platte River.

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  8. Mensa boy be trippin' befo' 6 AM! Get dat boy some help!

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  9. The only solution is to move out. These residents sound like people who should be in JoCo or Platte Co. Maybe KC will eventually get the message before the whole city turns into Detroit, but the situation is not looking very good right now.

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  10. Thin skinned politicians can't stand the criticism so they pay some city employee to collect protest signs. They seem worried about signs on public property yet every election their signs are all over the right of ways.

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  11. Oh Boy. Another thing to piss and moan about.

    I know elderly people in old folks homes with better dispositions.

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  12. They could fund the fountains by getting rid of assistant city manager Pat Klein. He makes $200,000 per year and his job is to lurk on Tonys KC, Twitter, and Facebook. No kidding!

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  13. Better yet, fire Schulte and get a REAL city manager.

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  14. Hanna-Barbera6/6/14, 8:04 AM

    Mayor Magilla, with all fondness we remenber when you were a real star back in the 60's on Saturday mornings. Please know with all sincerity that we miss you and think you need to go back to being a sucessful cartoon because as a public official you suck. As a cartoon there is always reruns. As a mayor you're shit out of luck.

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  15. Van Arsdale said homeowners paid about $2,000 for the fountain, but thinks the city should cover the $200 or so a year it takes to run it. That’s why they put up a sign.

    And the city should pay to run the fountain?!

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  16. Kansas City Sucks

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  17. So this whole dispute, according to the Fox4 report, is over an $800 bill for 10 years' worth of water, plus $200 a year in ongoing operating costs for a "fountain" that the head of the homeowners' association finally admits that the homeowners' association owns.

    Some people need to get a life. And some people are starved for content on their blogs.


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  18. Marvin Pontiac6/6/14, 8:29 AM

    Just love hearing from all the people who claim to hate this blog and yet check it before even taking a morning dump.

    They just can't stay away!

    Oh, the self loathing they feel must be immense!!

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  19. Even with their beloved e-tax, KCMO can't make ends meet. What a mess. The person who always posts KC=Detroit is spot on.

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  20. WELCOME TO DETROIT

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  21. Jan Marcason sold us out!

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  22. The bottomline is Armour Fields built a fountain on City property and expects the City to pay for. Kinda like Freightquote and Burns & Mac building on property they say the City owns so they don't have to pay taxes. They expect city services also for free.

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  23. Langston Vanslice6/6/14, 8:52 AM

    This is KC's "Tear Down This Wall" moment.

    Let's only hope that Sly does the right thing in the spirit of glasnost.

    We are watching history being made here.

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  24. What's interesting is that when Tony first started reporting on this latest Story of the Century, the homeowners' association claimed that they had PROOF that this was a city-owned fountain.

    I guess that story is no longer "operative" as Richard Nixon's spokseperson used to say.

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  25. Here's the money quote from the story from just two days ago:

    "The AFHA board has maintained this city owned fountain for years and all of the other city owned fountains and islands throughout our association. AFHA was told by the city that the fountain was owned by the association. AFHA knew this was not the case and met with City officials earlier this year. In that meeting the city reluctantly agreed that the fountain and islands are owned by the city but can not afford to maintain them. Translation: they won't maintain them."

    Contrast that with the Fox4 report:

    "Van Arsdale said homeowners paid about $2,000 for the fountain, but thinks the city should cover the $200 or so a year it takes to run it. That’s why they put up a sign."

    Sounds like somebody lied to Tony, and Tony ran with it rather than check it out.

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    Replies
    1. Wait are you saying tony lies?

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    2. Yes tony lies about everything, he hates facts

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  26. Where is Jan? Does she do anything for neighborhoods anymore?

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  27. She's the streetcar queen now.

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  28. She couldn't deliver Brookside, so the Mayor turned off the water. BOOM!

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  29. Right. Boy, will this ever teach Armour Fields a lesson!

    Geez, folks. Get a grip.

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  30. No, I am not saying Tony lies.

    I am saying that any idiotic anti-city government story that any idiot wants to sell, Tony is buying.

    Without, of course, checking it out first.

    I do thank him for at least linking to the Fox4 story where we learn how truly stupid this whole dispute is.

    I am, however, considering moving to Armour Fields, given that apparently this is the biggest problem they have.

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  31. News editors always mangle these story's to shreds anyway to make it consumable for the general doofus population.

    The sign is the real story. It says it all.

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  32. Hey, I got a sprinkler that I use to water my lawn in the summer.

    This year, I think I will call it a fountain and demand that the city give me the water free.

    That, dear sir, is the real story. A bunch of whiney white people didn't get their way, so they got all stompy foot and put up a sign.

    Can't wait until they all assemble at the fountain and hold their breath until they turn blue.

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  33. Slys financial responsibility is like driving by a ghetto shack and seeing a brand new Cadillac while the utilities are being shut off. O can't wait to see the dumb asses of KC go to the poles and forgive everything that has gone wrong.

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  34. You link to a fox4 story that totally disproves what you have been blogging about, haha

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  35. You guys are missing the bigger picture here. It’s about return on investment. Folks in this part of town bear a disproportionate part of the tax burden in KCMO and get very little in return.

    It’s not about the fountain. The fountain is simply the straw that broke the camel’s back. If you live there, you pay thousands of dollars in property taxes on your house and your vehicles, plus sales tax on everything you purchase.

    In return, you get to pay the homes association hundreds of dollars to pay a private company to plow the streets (because it takes the city days to do it) and to pay for a private security company (because it takes the police way too long to get there, even in life-threatening emergencies) and to pay for upkeep of the city-owned islands (because the city would just let the weeds grow and the fountains fall into disrepair). Soon, we’ll be missing fire trucks too.

    If you live there, you can’t send your kids to public schools because this major-city school district is unaccredited. Boys are raping girls in the high school just down the street, a school that no one who actually lives nearby attends, again, because it is unaccredited.

    The city knows all this and, instead of trying to turn the tide, doesn’t even attempt to plow the streets. The folks that live here are actually told to call the security company first because they will get there well before the police.

    People are moving to Kansas because the city doesn’t give a damn about them.

    The metro area should be applauding Armour Fields for standing up to the nonsense. Without this part of town, KC is in deep sh*t.

    It’s not about a fountain folks. This is a critical moment. The streetcar is a sign, and hopefully the city is taking it seriously. People who live here, for the most part, are not against the streetcar going through their neighborhood. They are against the proposed funding mechanism. They already bear the tax burden mentioned above for little return, and now were going to be expected to pay hundreds of dollars per year in additional property taxes for a streetcar, under the guise of increased property values.

    It’s pretty difficult to believe property values are going to increase when you can’t use the schools, can’t call the police and have to take care of your own basic city services. Mayor James needs to wake-up and take this sleeping giant seriously.

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  36. 9:12: No problem. The streetcar supporters have "proof" the streetcar will solve all of Kansas City's problems.

    But like Nixon's "secret plan" to end the Vietnam war, they're not sharing their "proof."

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  37. 10:44 (#1) pretty much tells it like it is for everyone from the Plaza south. We're expected to subsidize rents and pay for all the pretty new toys the hipsters say they need.

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  38. 10:44 - don't forget about the 1% earnings tax too.

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  39. Maybe they should quit voting for taxes that are mainly used to subsidize failed projects, like the Power & Light District. Taxed are not being spent on city services. Vote NO in August.

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  40. RealTKCHeadlines6/6/14, 10:56 AM

    EXCLUSIVE!!! FACTS MEAN NOTHING!!! WATCH ME TURN A NEIGHBORHOOD DISPUTE INTO MY ANTI-PROGRESS I-HATE-IT-HERE AGENDA!!!

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  41. 10:44 nailed it!

    Its about the SW part of KCMO footing the bill for all this nonsense and getting little or nothing in return. And don't forget the 15% annual increases in water/sewer bills into infinity.

    Time to hold these council people accountable: Glover, Taylor...Marcason checked out long ago!

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  42. 10:55: I don't recall being given a chance to vote on P&L. Unfortunately we vote for council people and mayor, and we don't know what those folks' agendas are until they're in office. For example, I voted for Sly because I was impressed with the way he SAID he'd handle the problems in neighborhoods like Marlborough (on a KCPT show). As it turns out, he seems to have forgotten his promises and has become one of the eco-devo streetcar pod people (as in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers").

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  43. 10:44, your ignorance of city services and how they are financed is exceeded only by how much you take them for granted.

    Residential property taxes do not even begin to pay for the services you receive, and if you ever took a glance at your property tax bill, you'd know how small the proportion the city receives.

    Sorry, but this IS about the fountain. You think you should have a free fountain because your neighborhood is rich.

    What a whiney, over-privileged, spoiled brat you are.

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  44. 10:44 (first post) FTW.

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  45. 12:44: I am well aware of how city services are financed and where my property taxes go. It's not up to me to determine what portion goes to the city, the county, the school district, etc.

    We pay a shitload of money in taxes and should receive basic services in return. It's up to all these government entities to determine how to best use the pool of money they receive. What they're getting now is more than enough to deliver the services that need to be delivered. They just don't know how to run anything.

    If Sly had any cojones, he would get rid of all the deadweight at city hall and in all its departments (probably 75% of the people) and start from scratch. He was elected because people thought he would do just that. Instead, he's turned out to be a huge disappointment. Same could be said for Sanders. And the superintendent du jour.

    Don't lecture me about being ignorant, rich, over-privileged, etc., because I am far from either. Outraged, yes.

    If you really think this is about a fountain, you are the ignorant one, my friend. And in for a big wake-up call.

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  46. Shut up, Dan.

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  47. Fountains don't do nothing except attract dogs and drunks. We need Light Rail and every penny counts cause I heard that the "Government" in D.C. aint gonna come through.
    Turn off the fountains and turn on the Train.

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  48. Sloppily laundered Rex-cash isn't really a "wake up call", Dan-O.

    Your puppeteer just gave the pro-strretcar camp 20,000 talking points. Time for you and Pat and the original "CK to face it: you are so far out of touch with KC voters that your "lie and buy it" tactics are starting to look more funny than threatening.

    Enjoy your fountain and a facebook farce and your exact same 35% of voters who always vote no on transit.

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  49. You may be right, Mensa boy, but if you're wrong, will you resign and go back to Nebraska?

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  50. If this dispute is really about taxes and not about the fountain, then Armour Fields people are extremely stupid and need to pick their fights better.

    They also need better communication skills because the only thing they are whining about is the fountain.

    And no, you still don't know squat. The city property taxes collected on residential property doesn't come close to paying for basic city services received. That's why we also have sales tax, earnings tax, and higher property tax rates on commercial property.

    It's always the whine of the over-privileged and spoiled that their tax money is going somewhere else.

    And it's never true.

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  51. "It's always the whine of the over-privileged and spoiled that their tax money is going somewhere else."

    A lot of people in Armour Fields and other "nice" parts of town got there on their own. The whine you hear is the result of their being expected to subsidize everything for everyone. As for spoiled and over-privileged, take a look at the rent-subsidized hipsters who now want us to pay for a streetcar so they won't have to own cars or--heaven forbid!-take the bus that our taxes already provide.

    And don't forget. We also pay sales and earnings taxes. Kansas City should thank us for staying in the city and not moving to JOCO instead of penalizing us for living in "nice" neighborhoods.

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