“If You Can’t Stand the Heat ………”

The Examiner recently reported a house fire in the 300 block of South Fuller (5-12-10). Their brief report indicated an “unknown” cause of the fire that completely gutted the home. This incendiary event at 308 South Fuller happened to be only a few blocks from 1306 W. Maple, the other abandon home discussed in this Blog. And, yes, both are in the award-winning multi-million-dollar M/TRC Neighborhood Revitalization area and the proposed 12 Blocks West area. The real story of 308 S. Fuller is easily assessable on the city’s official website indicating its extensive code enforcement history. In the last 6 years, this property has been cited for code violations 24 times (this may be a city record) with a recent action noting unsanitary conditions resulting in an “Unsafe to Occupy” posting. And the utilities have been turned off since last year. The rest of this story is that the nicely renovated and well-kept home next door experienced damage from the fire also (see photo above). The vinyl siding shriveled up from the heat, at least one window was broken from falling debris, and there was likely even smoke damage. By the way, the IFD did a great job in putting out the fire and minimizing the damage to the adjacent property. This story begins like many other stories in town where property is owned by a person or an organization that doesn’t live in this neighborhood and who obviously doesn’t care about the families who live on this block. So if the home was vacant and the utilities were turned off, then was the cause spontaneous combustion? The collateral damage from problem properties goes beyond the heat generated from an arson fire. The problems in Old Town are clear but are city leaders getting the whole story? I guess we will see if the folks igniting the 12 Blocks West program can “take the heat” and accomplish what M/TRC and City Hall has failed to do.

Contrary Kingdom

This is a make-believe fairy tale of a land not so far away for which nothing is what you would expect. In fact, things happen just the opposite way it would in the other normal surrounding kingdoms. It’s “Contrary Kingdom.” Where the land considered the most sacred is treated with the most disrespect. The Ministry of Health is located in the area where the youngest and healthiest villagers are and furthest away from the older villages who need these services most. Upon the flood plain of the Big Red River, economic activity is much more prominent than it is on higher ground where there is protection from the monsoons and where it is closer to the castle. The Ministry of Agriculture sponsors an annual festival to celebrate the harvest of the once abundant melon crop which the kingdom had been historically known for. Unfortunately, all the celebrations are conducted in the melon patch and they end up destroying most of their harvest each year. The Kingdom is actually becoming less known for the harvest of melons and more so for the huge festival that ends up driving the good farmers out to other more thriving kingdoms. The king and his court routinely issue proclamations stating that “All is well in the Land of the Melon” while melon production continues to fall. And the villagers lived despondently ever after. Good thing Contrary Kingdom is just a fairy tale!

McClain’s Square Roots of Success

As we recognize the success of the Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street Inc. (DLSMS), it becomes clear what can be accomplished when the entire community gets behind a project and a vision. As for “The Square” in downtown Independence, the McClains have had to work against the grain without the support of state and federal tax credit programs through historic district designations, overcoming negative economic and social ills, and lackluster business development and tourism programs in order to achieve their successes. On Sunday, The KC Star Magazine did a great cover story on the McClains highlighting the 16 businesses they started on The Square. Given the obstacles they’ve had to overcome, their accomplishments should be considered even greater than the award-winning DLSMS. Unfortunately, the McClains are less likely to be recognized from groups like the National Trust since The Square has never been officially designated as a national historic district. Attempts were started 10 years ago to expand the existing National Historic Landmark District to include The Square, but regrettably, those efforts have fizzled out. We could establish a local historic district to demonstrate our support of the national designation but no one seems to be talking about that either. In the mean time, we need to honor those who have chosen not to wait for the community to catch up with the rest of the world and who are actually doing things and solving problems on their own to revitalize our historic community. Congratulations and “Thank You” to the McClains for their positive contributions to and their continued support of the “Historic” Independence Square. And congratulations also to the County of Jackson for their successful completion of the restoration of the grounds and landscaping that frame one of the most important courthouses in the United States.

Local Suburb Reaches Summit in Historic Preservation

The City of Lee’s Summit, Missouri recently received one of only five national honors for the “2010 Great American Main Street Awards” from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. This award recognized Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street Inc. for their work and accomplishments in revitalizing the heart of their community. Their success was a result of strong political support, appropriate professional planning, a progressive business community, and, more importantly, an active historic preservation program that promoted attractive tax credit programs offered at the state and federal level. Lee’s Summit currently hosts five historic districts (with a sixth one on the way) while viewing its historic built environment as community assets and using historic preservation as an economic development tool. This is what can happen when a community is running on all cylinders. They have been able to balance the success of booming growth and economic development combined with protecting their important historical resources. Yes, they know how to walk and chew gum at the same time. Congratulations to our neighbor, the City of Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

God Bless America!

The burial grounds for US Veterans are considered sacred and solemn with the highest level of respect bestowed on not just these grave sites but also their settings and surrounding spaces. This is how we were taught and this is how we were raised as Americans. This is one thing that even Republicans and Democrats (and yes Tea Partiers) all agree on. Most would even agree that a similar level of respect should be bestowed upon distinguished public institutions, libraries, archives, and, yes, places such as National Historic Sites & Landmark Districts. But what about a place that includes all of the above? And the veteran buried at the site happened to be a US President. And the site has an official military color guard and ceremony honoring this US President each year. And it’s not just any President, but the Honorable Harry S Truman who served as a Captain in WWI, whose leadership ended WWII while rebuilding and maintaining freedom in post-war Europe, and who desegregated the military. Such an important place would not only be desirable to have in one’s community but you would think that it would attract other reputable institutions along with public and private community investments. So how has that worked here in Independence? To answer this, I would invite you to park your car at the WWI Memorial Building and march towards the Truman Library on Pleasant Street past the abandon Palmer ISD building, past the plywood covered windows along the way, watching your step on the crumbling concrete and mud sidewalks, through McCoy Park, under the buzz of the towering high-voltage power lines, below the crumbling concrete bridge with painted-over graffiti, adjacent to the eroded bridge embankments, up the hill, past the ISD building with the tall cell phone tower (which is actually visible from the Library courtyard & grave site), and eventually to the front steps of the beautifully designed and landscaped grounds of the Truman Library and eternal resting place of one of the great American Presidents and military veterans. And this stair and entrance into the Library is mostly visible along this Pleasant Street route. To host this site is a privilege and honor for our community but it comes with responsibilities that, if we do not take seriously, the entire world notices. We can and should do a better job in respecting this place and its surroundings not just as a demonstration of community pride but, more importantly, as an expression of our love of Country. This is how I was taught and this is how I was raised as an American.

Spreading Fertilizer in Independence

To quote noted prize-winning historian, author, and former Librarian of Congress, Daniel Boorstin, “Planning for the future without a sense of the past is similar to planting cut flowers.” For a historic community such as Independence, historic preservation can be a tool to help Independence celebrate and build upon its important past. It’s about giving institutions, neighborhoods, and communities a strong foundation (root system) for which to grow, sustain itself, and bear fruit. Historic preservation provides communities with redevelopment tools and resources at the state and federal levels to accomplish great things. Active preservation and revitalization programs create jobs in a bad economy, boost property values in a slumping market, and, yes, reduce crime while we struggle to fund our police force. In fact, Missouri is the most successful state in the nation in its use of federal and state income tax credits for historic preservation and neighborhood stabilization. Historic communities in Missouri have very few excuses not to get this right. As for the Truman Boyhood Home on South Crysler (subject of 11-3-09 blog), historic preservation can be a tool to not only address a problem property and restore a historic landmark, but can create an anchor for the revitalization of a struggling neighborhood. It takes a community with a shared vision, effective leadership, and appropriate professional guidance to recognize these opportunities and to get something started. So if we have all these ingredients for the cake, then why do we keep getting half-baked efforts? No, it’s not about money. Our efforts to throw public money at something in order to make it better have not always been successful (as mentioned in the previous blogs). It’s a matter of setting priorities with forward-thinking, appropriate planning, and collaboration while fostering a sense of pride. But most importantly, it’s in creating an environment to encourage private investment from young families and innovative developers (not remote landlords). No, I’m not saying it is easy, but our community has had some success in doing difficult things. We need to stop spreading fertilizer on cut flowers and take steps towards real and sustainable progress.

Fuzzy Math in Tourism

To evaluate the success of the Heritage Tourism program here in Independence, you just have to “Do the Math.” In the last ten years, our head-counts at tourist sites have dropped from approximately 400,000 to 200,000 per year while we have increased our expenditures from $500,000 to $1,000,000, and doubled the number city employees dedicated to the tourism department. And to say that we had a thriving tourism industry here ten years ago would be an understatement. And head-counts are somewhat deceiving since tourists are counted several times as they go from site to site and even counted twice at individual sites (i.e. if one watches the film at the Ticket Center while waiting for a tour at the Truman Home). And, not to mention, that some folks visiting sites are not tourist at all but are actually locals or students. From simple arithmetic, City Hall is investing $5 per site visit (compared to $1.25 ten years ago). So if we spend $5 of tax money just to get you to the front door of the Vaile Mansion and you spend $5 for the tour, then was that a good investment? The million dollars might be better spent on historic site development / expansion / preservation, fixing sidewalks along walking tour trails, restoring / expanding interpretive signs, and investing in neighborhoods surrounding tourist sites. So why were the tourism numbers several times higher in the 1980’s and 1990’s when we were spending very little on marketing? And in 1998, we paid a consultant from Arizona to develop a “Tourism Plan” so we could do a better job promoting ourselves. Did that help? The numbers say that the more we spend, the less success we have. Even though the money comes from a lodging tax from travelers, many who do not go beyond the I-70 corridor, that does not mean it is not real money. We have to demand accountability, results, and, yes, basic math skills from City Hall. Our slogan should be “It costs us a Lincoln to get you to a Truman site.”