Landlady Loses Two Tenants

Our infamous absentee landlady, who got the attention of the
entire Missouri State Legislature and every media outlet when she place a
registered sex offender (Randy Lande) adjacent to the First Baptist Church Day
Care Center, recently lost two tenants from her buildings near the corner of
Spring & Farmer Streets. The first
loss was a nice gentleman who actually lived there only a few months but was
compelled to move out a few weeks ago. In his own words, he had witnessed too much crime and drugs and was
worried about his own safety. The circumstances
of the second tenant leaving must have been a premonition of the first
tenant. You see, the second tenant left
a week later allegedly in a body bag. Just like the duplex on Pleasant Street, I’m sure the Landlady, with
these new vacancies, can give you a “Move in Special.” If anyone tells you that the biggest obstacles
to the preservation of Truman Neighborhood is poor sidewalks, inadequate
signage, and inconsistent preservation standards, then we have even more evidence
of locals under-the-influence. I can't
image anyone living near the corner of Farmer & Spring believing that the
state of the neighborhood and the city is good. Oh well, life goes on in the Truman National Historic Landmark
District. But in some cases, it doesn’t.

Judgment Day on Pleasant Street

Boy, have we got a deal for you. The duplex at 527-529 North Pleasant mentioned in the last blog entry and on March 19, 2011, appears to be ready for you to rent and, according to the sign in the yard, has a "Move In Special." Yes, this is the site of our local "Armageddon" where we had people behaving badly, chaos, the earth trembling, explosions, fires, and the heaven storming down on and into the building. The adjacent high-rise apartment building with the best view of the property even had the address "666" a few years ago (until local religious leaders changed it). All signs point to this being the place to be to witness all the action during the "End Times" in 2012. Just remember, you don't have to go to the Independence Events Center to witness the epic and dramatic clashes of Good vs. Evil. And if you don't prefer this property, this landlord has over a hundred other properties in Independence where, I'm sure, he can cut you a deal without selling your soul.

“For Us it’s Love of God and Love of Neighbor”

The above is a quote of Pastor Scott Myers of the
176-year-old congregation of the Westport Presbyterian Church after surveying what was left of the devastating fire (12-28-11) that gutted their circa 1904 stone church structure located in the heart of historic Westport, a small pioneer trails community actually founded 3 years before the establishment of the Town of Kansas (Kansas City). West Port was established by John Calvin McCoy in 1835 and was an elder at this church. John Calvin was an acquaintance and likely business associate of William & John McCoy of Independence but was not a directly related to them. The church and the adjacent environs have a well-documented and rich history. But it’s been more recent history that is most interesting and where there are valuable lessons on neighborhood preservation and the vigilant struggle against urban blight. During “white flight” and the urbanization of Kansas City beginning in the 1960’s, many Kansas City churches locked their doors, boarded up their stained glass windows, and literally abandoned neighborhoods at a time when the spiritual needs of the community were great. Instead of following the popular trend of that time period and taking the easy path to the suburbs, Westport Presbyterian Church made the decision to stay in its historic setting even though their congregation was dwindling also. That’s right; they decided to be a part of the solution instead of being a part of the problem. Westport Presbyterian became an active participant in the preservation and revitalization of the Westport neighborhood and business district. They didn’t do it buying up property, expanding their parking, and creating a barrier between neighborhood and church. They did it by reaching out their hand to assist their neighbors and being an integral part of practically every aspect of the neighborhood including youth and elderly programs, the arts, environmental concerns, city planning, fighting crime, and, yes of course, spreading the Word of God. Many community-based nonprofit organizations consider Westport Presbyterian Church their headquarters and many of those were actually established by the church and church members. They were not just a landlord of agencies and programs but an overseer and stake holder actively participating in the success of those activities. This is how it is supposed to work! Here in Independence, we had even more opportunities for these types of partnerships, but unfortunately most of those related to the Truman National Historic Landmark District not only failed to occur but resulted in adversarial relationships. In fact, one prominent religious leader actually made the public statement that their purchase of additional residential properties surrounding church properties was for “self defense.” Please pray for and support the good Christian folks at Westport Presbyterian and be supportive of churches that build bridges instead barriers to their neighborhoods and communities.

Top Eleven for 2011

11. The duplex at 527-529 N. Pleasant, the site of alleged drug activities, an explosion, arson, etc., continues to sit with “Dangerous Building” tags for several years now. Its location at the Pleasant Street entrance into the new and expanded National Historic Landmark District is dropping property values, is a local public nuisance and a national disgrace. See blog from March 19th.
10. Further up the street at 419 N. Pleasant is a home actually owned by the City who has promised to restore it using funds from the National Stabilization Program (NSP). The City was actually recognized by HUD in their investments in other parts of town while ignoring a project in the one of the most important neighborhoods in the country. This property has been a contributing element of the National Historic Landmark District since 1971. See blog entry from March 17, 2010.
9. On that same note, the Independence School District continues to leave an empty historic school building, ironically also on Pleasant Street, while also taking their successes further west. Because of the mold contamination left by ISD, potential developers have no choice but to spend money cleaning up the mess, thus limiting what they can do for investing in the property.
8. The empty parking lot owned by Bank of America continues to have a purpose for only Santa-Cali-Gon and to serve as blight for one of the east entrances into the National Historic Landmark District. Unfortunately, Connect Ministries who pocketed easy cash selling parking spaces didn’t bother to clean up the mess left by the previous Santa-Cali-Gon and the one before that. The cycle continues! At least it is not on Pleasant Street.
7. And directly across the street from Bank of America’s infamous parking lot, the Truman Heartland Community Foundations moves out of Truman’s true heartland, his beloved neighborhood.
6. The neighborhood’s problem with absentee landlords who actually prefer those with a criminal record and who are registered sex offenders finally get the attention of government officials but it wasn’t until after the brutal rape of an 8-year-old girl on Pleasant Street. No, the attention wasn’t from local officials but from the entire Missouri State Legislature who acted quickly to close loop holes that put neighborhood children in danger.
5. Planning continues for sidewalk improvements along Delaware Street and undergrounding utilities with ground breaking hopefully this year. Still waiting to see, in our quest for authenticity, if the absentee landlord at 315 N. Delaware will correct his driveway expansion which should determine if the city enforces preservation standards equally for everybody. And speaking of those standards, will the stamped and stained concrete actually look like the historic pavers? Let’s hope so, but history will judge.
4. City Hall loses its full-time Preservation Manager, Wendy Shay, resulting in almost a 40 percent drop in the Historic Preservation Department’s budget. Yes, the Historic Preservation Department is doing its part to pay for shortfalls in the Bass Pro Development in the Little Blue Valley. But reducing the budget so drastically the same year the Truman National Historic District is expanded to almost 3 times its original size is not an appropriate demonstration of support.
3. After publishing the blog “Taking it to the Next Level” on April 3rd, the City has agreed to make a substantial investment in the National Frontier Trails Center. Great move!!! Yes, Old Town Independence is not just about Harry Truman.
2. The McClain’s continues to have success in opening several more businesses on the historic Square. Now that the Independence Square in an important piece of the new expanded National Historic Landmark District, the McClain’s should be receiving “National” awards for these tremendous contribution.
1. And in the biggest news for the area, on July 27th, 2011, Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, officially announced the expansion of the Truman National Historic Landmark District making it one of the largest Landmark Districts in the country. Thank you to the National Park Service officials and staff for compiling the 250-plus-page nomination paperwork and the neighbors and city staff who organized the celebration event in November. The next step should be to actually make the national district a part of the city’s local planning and zoning efforts with the expansion of the city’s Truman Heritage District.

Yes, some positive things are happening but we obviously have a lot of work to do. The ultimate privilege and honor of hosting an important National Historic Landmark District means that local governments, institutions, schools, and churches should put the stewardship of their properties located within the district at their highest priority. Is this the case in Independence? Well, 2012 is a new year with new opportunities. Happy New Year! And, in the spirit of the blog from July 17th, “Happy Founder’s Day!!!”

Under the Influence of Government Programs

Recent announcements in the neighborhood that this blog need to catch up on include work on the MyArts location at the old car dealership building on North Main funded by the county government’s COMBAT program and a proposed re-rehabilitation of the Palmer School Building for low-income seniors. We’ve already reported about several other programs in the National Historic Landmark District for those convicted of drug crimes. We also have multiple programs for the poor, hungry, disadvantaged, and the criminally challenged. If we still had our Statue of Liberty situated in it historic location on Pleasant Street, she would cry out “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning for controlled substances. “ The MyArts and the Palmer “do-over” have the potential to contribute positively to our historic community. And we need to embrace the diversity of the Truman Neighborhood, one of its biggest assets. Our diversity is not just in our people but include our housing types, architecture, and historical context. We should not forget that the diverse nature of the neighborhood has to include market-rate, non-subsidized investments targeted at young families with the resources to invest in owner-occupied properties. This is critical to achieve an appropriate and sustainable balance. The primary goal established by the Midtown / Truman Road Corridor Neighborhood Revitalization Planand unanimously adopted by the City Council was to increase the number of owner-occupied properties in the neighborhood. From that perspective, some current proposals and trends are taking us a few steps backwards. And it needs to be noted that in the current economic downturn, the marketplace has already created affordable housing without the dependency on government subsidies. Our addiction to government-subsidies appears to be reinforcing the current stereotypes of our city most recently presented in a cover story in The Pitch (local magazine) entitled “Independence’s Rap as Meth City USA Needs Tweaking” which also references the New York Times article of last year, “In Truman Homes, Reflections of a City”, depicting Independence as an economically & pharmaceutically challenged community that is aging and in search of the next fix. If governments are going to invest in programs in the heart of one of our nation’s most important neighborhoods, then they have an obligation to make sure those investments align with local planning goals, are coordinated with other nearby programs, are sustainable even when all levels of governments will soon be forced to make drastic cuts, and are well-supervised and audited periodically for their effectiveness. Unfortunately, this has not always been the case. This blog has reported several times that government investment does not assure success and, in some cases, make situations worst. It took decades to realize that the “Urban Renewal” programs from the 1960’s and 1970’s drove away private investments, encouraged segregation, and failed to protect valuable historic resources. History is supposed to provide lessons so we don’t make similar mistakes over and over again. And it seems when Independence comes up short in city planning and community stewardship, it ends up in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and in hardback version published by the University of Missouri Press.

A Salute to Veterans & the Truman National Historic Landmark District

Eleven / Eleven / Eleven is lucky for the mild autumn day we have to be reminded of the great sacrifices of generations of veterans and their families. The community they built for us is embodied in the Harry S Truman National Historic Landmark District which is also celebrating a big day today: the 40^th anniversary of its establishment in 1971. The district, with its recent expansion, also includes the gravesite of Truman, WWI veteran and Commander and Chief of forces during victories of WWII. The district also includes his home and the homes of his family, friends, and associates. Don’t forget the Memorial Building dedicated to the WWI veterans. And don’t forget the churches where we are truly blessed to exercise the freedom to worship God in the manner of our choosing and the school buildings where generations of young people learned what being a citizen of the United States is all about. In fact, the Truman National Historic Landmark District is one of the epicenters of our nation’s great history. Its celebration, preservation, and protection has to be at the top of the list along our civic goals. A celebration is occurring tomorrow for the Truman District that will include lectures, a movie, and some open houses. Please stop by and see how important this neighborhood is to us and the nation. Make this pilgrimage for the sack of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms and our quality of life. God Bless the United States of American!

Jobs, Jobs, & Jobs

This is all the talk coming from Washington, D.C. and in Jefferson City. It is also in the political debates and the basis of judging all legislation from both sides of the political spectrum. Other goals in the quest to improve the economy have been rebuilding our communities, economic development, adopting green & sustainable principles, promoting education, and stabilizing neighborhoods and neighborhood schools. Guess what? Missouri communities who promote historic preservation can accomplish all these things. Nationally know economist, Donavon Rypkema, studied this in our state and came up with the following conclusions. That public money invested through the historic preservation tax credit program creates more jobs than spending on new construction, highways, and even manufacturing. And investments in our real estate are capital expenses that create jobs during renovations with positions that cannot be outsourced. The best part is that most of the investment is private money not government money. Renovated properties become assets that are put into the service of creating more jobs in tourism, small businesses and in creating housing for families while stabilizing neighborhoods and communities. So why are state legislators considering putting caps on this program? And why aren’t the Independence Chamber and the Council for Economic Development promoting this tax credit program, especially now that the National Historic Landmark District has been expanded? And why aren’t the US Congress and the White House including revitalization and preservation programs in their job-creation plans? It seems to me the reasons these programs are left out is that there is a lack of understanding about the benefits of historic preservation and that citizens are not demanding it. If you feel strongly about this as much as I do, please let your voices be heard at City Hall, Jefferson City, and Washington, D.C. Ask candidates where they stand on historic preservation as tool for economic development and creating jobs. Become a lobbyist for job creation. Support historic preservation!