Real People Block Real Progress



The above photo was published on several social media sites so we might as well perpetuate the story.  It is a photograph of two men allegedly in the process of stealing valuable building materials from the restoration site of 419 North Pleasant Street, a Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) project implemented by Builders Development Corporation (BDC), not-for-profit organization with the lofty goal of neighborhood revitalization and stabilization.  In this location, BDC is contributing positively to the Truman National Historic Landmark District shortly after it was listed on the state’s “Top Ten Most Endangered and Threatened List” in 2009.  Yes, that’s right, they are stealing from a “national” treasure and stealing from a not-for-profit (charity) trying to accomplish this project against all odds including the local criminal elements.  It is not unlike the thief problems suffered by Habitat for Humanity before they moved out the neighborhood (see “Crimes Against Humanity” blog post dated 2-9-10) except in this case it was in broad daylight.  In fact, it was under the watchful eye of 80 apartment balconies.  In the photo, they are using the unsecure/unmonitored parking lot of Heritage House Apartments to stage this crime, secure the lumber, and place a red flag at the end of the long pieces, you know, so it is legal. If you recognize these folks, please let them know how pathetic this behavior is and notify the police.  It is obvious the person who took this photo cares about the neighborhood and hopes for the success of hard-working people who want to restore and improve the Truman Neighborhood, not just for us local folks, but to help preserve the important “national” story of Harry Truman and his beloved neighborhood.  Please be vigilant!

Mortality Rate Goes Down on 400 Block of Spring Street

The Independence Police Department reported only a single mysterious death this calendar year on the 400 block of North Spring Street, in the Truman National Historic Landmark District, which is actually down from two deaths reported in the year 2012, see blog posts “Mortality Rate Goes Up on Spring Street” on 8/3/12 and “Landlord Loses Two Tenants” on 1/30/12.  We understand that there also was a death investigation reported at Heritage House Apartments on 1/2/15 which also included a parade of police vehicles and an unmarked white van, but that property is a block away and has its own statistical data base.  And just a few weeks ago, on the other side of McCoy Park, another dead body was discovered.  The labeling of death posts on the crime reports website has a cartoon figure of feet with a toe tag, cute!  Whether these deaths are judged to be of natural causes or crimes, this certainly isn’t the most healthy location to live in Independence or anywhere in the metro area for that matter.  When we look back and evaluate the failures of neighborhood revitalization, public health and safety concerns never seem to be mentioned.  Maybe they should!  Oh well, life goes on, but sometimes it doesn’t so be careful out there!

Top Ten For 2014

10.  The year started with a bang.  Actually it was 11 bangs from the firing of 11 bullets on the morning of January 21.  No it wasn’t a patriotic salute.  It was Jeffrey Wahl, registered and convicted child sex offender, who fired 11 bullets into the bodies of two of his neighbors over a minor dispute leaving them both near death and now disabled.  He lived just a block away from Randy Lande, the other sex offender who raped an 8-year-old girl in the neighborhood in 2011.  Both these dangerous predators lived near the intersection of Spring & Farmer Streets, near a faith-based child care center, a homeless shelter for families with children, the home of our First District Councilwoman, and the entrance into the Truman Neighborhood National Historic Landmark District.  This neighborhood corner is the same place where there were 2 mysterious deaths in 2012 with no reporting in the media or even the neighborhood newsletter.  Maybe Jeffrey will get a reduced sentence just like the deal Randy got to avoid a messy trial that shows the side of Independence crime that city leaders do not want exposed.

9.  Down the street from Spring & Farmer is the beautiful McCoy Park that is attracting some attention also.  3 to 4 sexual assaults have occurred either in or around the park area in 2014.  One of those was actually inside the Public Library.  The park is popular to vagrants getting kicked out of other communities because of the generosity of faith-based programs, adjacent to the climate-controlled newly-renovated library with public restrooms, close to a metal recycling business where they can get cash for stolen pieces extracted from abandon and occupied buildings, and the availability of dumpsters at the Thriftway grocery store where they can also panhandle, shop lift, and buy liquor.  And to top it off, children play there and they can shower with them in the spray park.  It’s like the “Promise Land.”  IPD doesn’t have the budget and/or manpower to appropriately deal with the issue.  In fact, a “Top Ten” ranking from a real estate research site in April named Independence one of the most dangerous small cities in the country.

8.  The Missouri Highway Department (MODOT) responded to the vagrancy and crime problems in August at McCoy Park at their US 24 Highway concrete bridge over Delaware Street by painting “NO TRESSPASSING” directly on the bridge at multiple locations to inhibit human inhabitation under the bridge.  Ironically, this unsightly piece of our nation’s crumbling infrastructure was added to our expanded Truman Neighborhood National Historic Landmark District in 2011.  Now tourists are greeted with these messages of “NO TRESSPASSING” as they drive under the bridge to enter the beautifully landscaped and manicured front lawn of the Harry S Truman Presidential Library & Museum.

7.  Independence Parks & Recreation has taken steps toward providing a new playground and ball field specially designed for children with special needs and wheelchairs and used private money.  But they chose McCoy Park, one of the hilliest parks in town, and built it into the hillside requiring costly expenditures of earth moving for the site.  The playground still sits incomplete while the ball field has yet to host the multitude of events promised for special needs children.  Several pleas to add security cameras to protect children and these costly investments have been considered by City Hall as unnecessary in spite of Numbers 8 through 10 above.

6.  At the annual meeting of the Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) in May, it announced again that the Maple Avenue Apartments located within the Truman National Historic Landmark District is on the “Watch List” for poor management and maintenance of the facilities.  This marked the 19^th consecutive month for being on the list making it one of the worse facilities in the state being monitored by MHDC.  Ironically, the City of Independence and the M/TRC Neighborhood Revitalization Corporation continues to honor the owner with tax abatement for maintaining its facilities to the highest level of standards.  I guess housing standards in Independence are much lower than those state-wide standards established in Jefferson City.

5.  There was a huge fire on 24-Highway at November 14^th at 314 W. US 24 Hwy, the abandon Fender Building, former home to Town Square Property Management, the Community of Christ property manager of choice and manager of the Section 8 rental properties in Heritage House Apartments.  The building appears to be completely gutted and a complete loss.  Unfortunately, this burned-out building is viewed by visitors coming to see the Truman Library and, ironically, is within view of Fire Station No. 1.  Thank God Poppy’s Donut Shop was spared.  The fire occurred during time when the Public Library across the street was closed to the public while they were updating their I.T. system making library facilities unavailable to vagrants looking for warm place to stay after the temperature dropped. 

4.  There is some good news with the three National Stabilization Program (NSP) properties on North Pleasant and West Farmer all located in the Truman National Historic Landmark District.  Two are actually renovated, one of those was recently occupied, and renovation work has started on the third one at 419 N. Pleasant, a property vacant for at least 10 years and formally owned by the First Baptist Church.  It has taken more time to complete the renovation of these 3 small homes than the construction of the $80-million-dollar Event Center.  You can most definitely see where the city’s priorities are.

3.  Superintendent Larry Villalva of the Truman Home National Historic Site mysteriously disappears.  His tenure included cutting visiting hours for the main house by nearly a third while closing indefinitely the Grandview Farm House and the newly renovated Noland House.  These reductions were in response to a 5 percent “sequester” budget reduction mandated by the federal government.

2.  The Chamber Pot continues to be flushed.  The Independence Chamber of Commerce fired their CEO joining the ranks of others in the last few years that have inadvertently disappeared from our community.  He was the only ICC leader who actually understood the economics of historic preservation and heritage tourism making his disappearance a loss to our history communities.  I guess he was not prepared to take on the rebuilding of ICC in addition to actually trying to refocus the group towards the great historical assets of our community.  We wish him success. 

1.  Independence Heritage Commission serving at the direction of the City Council with representation from the Truman Library and the Truman Home National Historic Site continues to be satisfied to perform “reactive” reviews for the demolition of burned-out and abandon buildings throughout town rather than “proactive” preservation planning.