A Monthly Message to Residents Nov. 21, 2008 Dear resident: Thank you for subscribing to Insight, my monthly e-newsletter about City news and how we're working for our residents. 2008 Citizen Survey Report The 2008 Kansas City Citizen Survey released this month found that more than half of those surveyed were satisfied with the overall quality of life in the city. The majority of respondents continue to rate the city as a good or excellent place to live (70 percent) and work (62 percent). Satisfaction ratings improved for eight City services, including overall traffic flow, street lighting, overall quality of police, fire and ambulance services, and maintenance and preservation of downtown. Subscribe Sign up to receive monthly e-messages Read previous messages But compared to last year’s survey results, satisfaction declined for 32 City services. Maintenance of City streets, buildings and facilities has been respondents’ highest priority for the last nine years; this year’s satisfaction rating was below 20 percent. I take the results of this report seriously and will continue to find strategies on how we can address these concerns in the midst of challenging economic times. City applies for funds under U.S. Housing and Economic Recovery Act As a result of the U.S. Housing and Economic Recovery Act, the City was allocated $7.3 million as part of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to help abate blight resulting from foreclosed and abandoned houses. By abating these conditions, affordable housing will be developed for those most in need and values of neighboring homes will be less likely to be adversely affected. All activities funded by the Neighborhood Stabilization Program must benefit low- and moderate-income people whose income does not exceed 120 percent of area median income. The funds are set aside, but a plan must be presented to secure the funds. The City Council passed the resolution on Oct. 30. City to receive $40 million in federal new markets tax credits The City has been awarded $40 million in new markets tax credits under the sixth round of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund’s New Markets Tax Credit Program. The funds will be invested in the city’s underserved markets to strengthen the economic base and empower low-income residents. Specifically, new markets tax credit investments will be made in low-income communities. The award marks the first time the City has applied independently to receive funds under this program. Southeast Community Center opens Dec. 13 The new Southeast Community Center in Swope Park opens Dec 13, with a ribbon cutting, dedication and activities throughout the day starting at 11 a.m. The 46,755-square-foot center features a full-sized basketball court, meeting rooms, game room, therapy pool, recreation pool and fitness area with weights and exercise equipment. KCI developments move forward The Aviation Department and Dallas-based Trammell Crow Co. broke ground on the KCI Intermodal BusinessCentre. Phase I of the 800-acre multi-use project includes building site infrastructure, including roads and utilities, and four buildings comprised of approximately 1.8 million square feet of commercial space. Construction on this phase is expected to be finished in summer 2009. Haith & Company is expanding its KCI Intermodal Facility at KCI Airport to provide additional warehouse space for its tenant. The expansion will increase the facility’s size from 50,000 square feet to 80,000 square feet. The Intermodal BusinessCentre and Haith & Company's Intermodal Facility at KCI are just two projects that fit into a bigger picture with other major intermodal development projects. The CenterPoint-Kansas City Southern Intermodal Center in the former Richards-Gebaur site is among the facilities that will help propel our region into a new prosperous industry. Kansas City has been working to build this niche for years. As demand for Asian goods have caused congestion and delays at West Coast ports, a new alternative emerged to port in Mexico and transport the goods by rail to the United States and Canada. For the past four years, Kansas City has organized a tri-lateral conference for business and government leaders along the Mid-Continent Corridor to partner and create such opportunities.  With a central location, cross-section of all major transportation/trade routes, including highways, rail and the Missouri River, natural limestone caves for storage and undeveloped land, Kansas City is primed to establish itself as the freight-transferring hub of the future.  Airlines add flights to KCI Kansas City International Airport's passenger airlines are bringing new flight opportunities to the city. Here are a few of the highlights that take advantage of the underserved markets: Regain of nonstop service by Southwest Airlines to Ft. Lauderdale Addition of two more frequencies on Southwest to Denver for a total of six per day New, nonstop service from Kansas City to New York LaGuardia and JFK on Delta Air Lines Addition on Frontier Airlines of capacity between Kansas City and Denver, Cancun and Puerto Vallarta in December Resumption on Frontier of nonstop service to Puerto Vallarta and Cancun in October.   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.