Dear resident:
Thank you for subscribing to Insight, my monthly message. I enjoy sharing the latest news on how the City is working for you. East Village project ramps up this summer
The East Village redevelopment area has a slate of large demolition projects scheduled for the summer. Some of the upcoming developments at 11th and Cherry streets include remediation work on the Greyhound bus depot and Sports Castle, demolition of the bail bond and day labor facility and construction of a new JE Dunn office building and public parking garage in that same area. Continuing redevelopment of the East Village will eliminate blight and continue the downtown revitalization momentum.
New business customer service center
Making it easier for businesses to work with the City and helping streamline processes involved in doing business in Kansas City, Mo., are essential to creating economic growth. To help support businesses and offer personal assistance, the City is opening the Business Customer Service Center at 1118 Oak St., directly west of City Hall in the street level of the Ed Wolf Parking Garage. The center will provide business owners with information and assistance in understanding and complying with city, state and federal requirements for operating a business. City staff will also help guide residents who want to start a business, provide growth strategies and offer computers for public use. The center is scheduled to open June 1.
Urban Land Institute award
The City recently was notified that the Power & Light District Development was named one of 10 winners of the Urban Land Institute's Awards for Excellence: The Americas. The award is widely recognized as the land use industry's most prestigious recognition program. The winners were selected from more than 140 entries and judged on the full development process of the project, including design, architecture, leadership, contribution to the community, innovations, public/private partnership, environmental protection and enhancement, response to societal needs and financial viability. More.
Creating 'green' City buildings
The City has unveiled an energy conservation project that will improve energy and operational efficiencies in 14 of the City's major buildings and save $1.4 million per year in energy savings. The project also will create 250 local jobs associated with installing energy-efficient lighting and HVAC and plumbing systems. Some of the highlights of the $17 million initiative include: a green roof for City Hall; solar preheated domestic hot water; wind and solar power options for the Ed Wolf Parking Garage in anticipation of plug-in hybrid vehicles; and employee sustainability training. The City has made a substantial commitment to promoting and implementing sustainable solutions citywide and this project is yet another way we are leading the way in sustainability among local governments nationwide. More information on the plan will be available in the coming months.
Elimination of dispute and resolution/mediation services
Due to adoption of the fiscal year 2009-10 budget, the City was forced to eliminate the Dispute Resolution/Community Relations section of the Human Relations Division. This section provided assistance to residents regarding conflicts among various groups, including neighbor-to-neighbor, within a community, crimes against persons or property, domestic/family support, student school conflict, business/consumer, cultural differences, barking dogs, forced evictions, etc. More.
Housing Program Update
The City is making progress on the finalization of the Kansas City Asset Transfer and Capacity Building plan. The plan details how the City will bring ongoing federal projects under compliance. In working closely with the regional office of the U.S. Department of Urban Development throughout this process, HUD commended the City’s level of commitment and concluded the draft plan submitted by the City May 1 substantially addressed HUD's issues. HUD officials anticipate approval of the plan within weeks. The next status conference with U.S. District Judge Gary Fenner is set for Aug. 14.
As always, I appreciate your feedback. Please feel free to e-mail questions and comments to my office at Insight@kcmo.org. Sincerely,
Wayne A. Cauthen
City manager
City of Kansas City, Mo. |
