"This Place Matters"

In celebration of National Preservation Month, we are reminded of the very heart of the national campaign led by the National Trust for Historic Preservation that encourages people to celebrate the places that are meaningful to them and to their communities.  Preservation Month is the perfect time to share it with the world so it compels me communicate that message here.  That campaign which is simply put, “This Place Matters”, is more than just brick and mortar.  It’s about people and institutions with their own visions, values, and stories to tell and pass down to the next generation.  Here in Independence, our stories go beyond our locality to the entire nation and to the world.  The geographic location of those institutions becomes the very setting of their important mission and an extension of their values while facilitating the physical connections necessary for successful community partnerships.  High institutional standards radiate to the adjacent environs and extend to the corridors resulting in community assets that anchor successful city/regional planning for land use, education, economic development, tourism, and preservation.  These places that matter end up attracting other organizations, people, and investment.  So does this describe what is going on in Independence?  Tuesday, we learned that, in order to better fulfill their mission, the Truman Library Institute is leaving the Truman Library, leaving the Truman National Historic Landmark District, and leaving the City of Independence to space in Midtown Kansas City.  And so we should ask these questions.  In its current location, does the adjacent alternative school building that serves young students who aspire to achieve their GED contribute to the mission of the Institute?  Does the adjacent green space with a hiking/biking trail marked as a National Historic Trail which will soon host rows of low-income rental duplexes represent a setting for high institutional standards?  Did the exit of the Midwest Genealogical Center from across the street on 24 Highway open the door for more strategic exits of institutions and investments?  Does the 24 Highway Corridor provide a conduit that encourages high standards of community investments while welcoming visitors to these internationally-recognized institutional properties?  From the historic context of this geography and the local landscape along the Mill Creek Valley, does the “Place” of the Truman Library and its supporting organizations “Matter?”  The front cover and title of Dr. Jon Taylor’s book, “Harry Truman's Independence: The Center of the World,” says it all.

Happy National Historic Preservation Month!
“Place Matters,” but does it really here in Independence?

Top 10 for 2016

10.  In February, heavy digging equipment was noticed at our historic Woodlawn Cemetery.  It took calls to TV news stations and investigative reporters to get the real story of what was going on.  Apparently a storm sewer had failed that traversed through cemetery.  Turns out, the city had actually sold burial plots directly above this sewer line.  The city ended up replacing this storm sewer line with a new line that also ran through the cemetery without the support from an archaeologist instead of rerouting around the cemetery.  To minimize the controversy, the City removed historical information about the cemetery from their website.  So much for "Rest in Peace."

9.  The MACO Northcreek Housing project, a development to bring low-income rental duplexes on property that included a prominent hiking/biking trail marked with “National Historic Trails” signs that connects four city parks and a presidential library, was finally approved for public subsidies from the Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) in their second attempt of applications for 2016.  During private meetings in the final hours for the public approval processes for rezoning in 2015, the community was blind-sided by support from two officials from a trails preservation group, OCTA, a group that ironically advocates for the preservation of green space adjacent to our National Trails.  The befuddlement continued in 2016 when the Independence City Council actually pulled a Resolution of Support for the project scheduled for their vote on August 1.  Supporting projects with these resolutions has been routine.  The Mayor and most of the Council instead sent their support for the project in a less visible and quieter manner away from the TV cameras directly to MHDC with form letters.  More to report about this to come in 2017.

8.  After breaking multiple commitments made to the Church, their own tenants, neighbors, several city commissions, the City Council, and even the Independence Public Schools, work to dump more public money into Heritage House, an Urban Renewal era albatross, begins.  Even federal officials from HUD judged the project as a negative impact to adjacent nationally designated historic resources, i.e., the Owen-McCoy House and the Truman National Historic Landmark District, due to the heavy and uncontrolled traffic on the short 180-foot-long dead end street, Ridgeway Avenue.  The city befuddled traffic issues by erecting NO TRUCK signs, then refusing to enforce them.  A new north entrance to the 11-story tall apartment building to relieve neighborhood traffic while improving site access for emergency vehicles, adding ladder truck access to the north side where there is none, and improving delivery truck access, a win-win solution first suggested to the city four years ago, was considered too costly for out-of-town investors in spite of receiving financial subsidies from every level of government.  The project will still not meet current life safety codes after renovation and will be supported by a single fire hydrant connected to a circa-1884 and undersized water main.  Sounds like a project that is preordained to either receive an outstanding achievement award from the locals or end up on the evening news.

7.  Speaking of the Owens-McCoy House, Ridgeway Avenue, and awards, a project to document deterioration and differential movements of the clay brick and lime mortar walls adjacent to Ridgeway Avenue using the latest in 3D laser scanning technology received an annual award for “Innovation in Preservation” in March.  No, it wasn’t from the City of Independence.  It was from Historic Kansas City Foundation.  The project made the lead story on the front page of the Kansas City Star on October 8, 2015, the same day the KC Royals began their storied World Series run in postseason play.  Engineering and information technology students from UMKC and Notre Dame were involved while turning the project into college credit.  The effort concluded that deterioration and wall displacements are three time worse on the walls facing Ridgeway Avenue, the same walls exposed to heavy truck traffic, than the other exterior walls.  So the lessons learned for these young students involved processing data, engineering, and city planning.

6.  We are entering our third calendar year for the construction of the Market Square Townhomes under the guidance of seasoned architect, Jim Gamble, and developer Ken McClain.  In its completion, it will bring an entirely new architectural style, “Enigmatic Neo-Eclectic”, to the Historic Square, thus, adding further to the diversity (and confusion) in styles and housing types for the Truman National Historic Landmark District and its setting.  The extended construction schedule adds perplexity to the entire project since the project team asked for an expedited approval process because of a deadline for a tax credit (?).  That emergency ordinance was passed by the City Council, of course, resulting in public land, an entire city block, gifted to McClain without an open public hearing or design standards to follow.  So was the construction actually expedited and was the deadline achieved?  Now the history of his property that included early 19^th-century businesses supporting the pioneer trails has another chapter.

5.  There was a sighting of Randy Lande, the child sex offender, who raped an 8-year-old neighborhood girl.  No, he didn't break out of prison, but his mug shot appeared again on every TV set in every corner of the state.  He was living in an unsupervised group home in the Truman NHLD because of Cass County Prosecutor, Teresa Hensley, who was running for Missouri Attorney General on a record ironically of protecting children.  Her Republican opponent brought up the Lande case in televised political campaign ads.  The voters responded appropriately.  This is the first time anyone has been held accountable for creating this situation.  But group homes such as these continue to put children in harm’s way in Independence.

4.  Jeffery Wahl, the other sex offender who ended up firing 11 bullets into the flesh of two of his neighbors was finally put away in 2016.  No, he was not put in prison.  He was placed in a mental institution where, after treatment, could eventually be released to, yes, a group home.   There are several within view of the actual location of this horrific crime with mental patients and, yes of course, no supervision.  The cycle continues.

3.  The Beauty Rest Motel, a historic motel complex made up of small cottages near 24 Highway & Salisbury, was demolished in September.  I use the term historic because professionals conducting a historic survey listed and documented the property in a study funded by HUD almost 4 decades ago.  The celebrated project resulted in a book entitled "Independence" and published in 1978 with a photo of this property.  Due to decades of owner neglect and our issues with vagrancy, this property became blighted and a source for crime so all the buildings were removed.  But this failure was turned into a victory party with photo-ops for politicians, TV cameras, and newspaper articles.  Even the children were involved in swinging hammers at those "bad" buildings as we raise a new generation of citizens responsible for our community stewardship. 

2.  Each year the historic community within and associated with City Hall takes a loss.  2016 was no exception in the loss of Christina Leakey from Neighborhood Services who got her start working with Historic Preservation. Christina has been a strong advocate for Historic Preservation and Neighborhood Revitalization while introducing programs and resources outside our community to assist historic neighborhoods.  Her strong work ethic allowed her to take on extra responsibilities at City Hall while the department downsized to meet budget restraints (that’s a whole other issue).  When your professional contributions make a positive impact not only in your local community but also in a National Historic Landmark District, that is truly something to be proud of.  Thank you, Christina Leakey.

1.  After decades and decades of holiday seasons on the Independence Square, this season City Hall decides to stop that traditions and blames it on budget short falls.  But don’t be a Scrooge!  The citizens and taxpayer do have a public building that not only had a large Christmas tree with seasonal decorations scattered throughout, and even had a live Santa Clause.  It’s called Bass Pro.  Taxpayers paid for a significant part of the development including the building that houses Bass Pro.  And, I understand, we are still making debt payments on that development that are leading to budget shortfalls.  Wait a minute, I get it now!  The cycle continues.

So 2016 was a banner year for drama, deception, hypocrisy, questionable politics, conflicts of interest, low standards for redevelopment, lessons not learned, and the disrespect of our rich heritage.  Sound like a plot for a movie or mini-series or the recent presidential campaign.  And as with previous years, we continue to be content with a large National Historic Landmark District with only minimal protection and an underperforming Heritage Tourism program.  The sad saga continues on and on and, unfortunately, we have a front row seat.

Legoland Lampoon

Kansas City’s Legoland attraction at Crown Center has been a tremendous plus for KC area and regional tourism.  The Lego Group boasts of $5 billion in revenue with individual sites attracting 400,000 to 600,000 local citizens and tourists per year.  To put that in perspective, that is 3 to 4 times the visitors that walk in the doors of all 16 heritage tourism sites in the Independence in spite of our annual investment of $1.4 million of public money for marketing.  The Lego Group’s parent company, Danish firm Merlin Entertainments, boasts of 60 million guests per year in their international market.  As a corporate goal, they work directly with local groups to promote local attractions by re-creating in miniature local tourism sites and landmarks from Legos which is quite interesting and creative in itself.  And because a majority of its patrons are young people, this effort connects our youth to these important sites also.  History that is presented and taught to our children plays a vital role in shaping their values and beliefs.  These types of public/private partnerships, especially those connected to our youth, are valuable in supporting and sustaining local tourism programs which translates to local economic development, increased tax revenue, and community pride.  It’s a winning combination unless you are talking about Independence.  Earlier in the year, I observed at Legoland a Lego re-creation of the very ornate Victorian Truman Home pictured above situated on a very prominent corner at Truman Road and Delaware Street in the heart of the Truman National Historic Landmark District in Independence.  Unfortunately it was labeled as the “Harry S. Truman Farm Home, also known as the Soloman Young Farm, the Harry S. Truman Farm Home was the resident of the Future President from 1907-1917” which is in Grandview, Missouri.  Oh well, I guess that is close enough for the KC folks.  In the age of information technology, we have to do a better job with educating our youth and citizens about our own local and national histories.  I noticed this blunder back in July.  Now I’m wondering if it has been fixed yet.

Political Mud Slinging Highlights Local Sex Offender

Mug shots of neighborhood legend, Randy Lande, are back on the TV screen yet again.  This time they are being broadcast state wide.  It is for political ads for Josh Hawley for Missouri Attorney General.  His opponent, Cass County Prosecutor Teresa Hensley, released this dangerous sex offender, Randy Lande, back into the general population in a plea deal from a Cass County courtroom.   What the ad doesn't tell you is that he ended up being placed through Catholic Charities in an unsupervised group home on the 400 block of West Farmer in the Truman National Historic Landmark District adjacent to a faith-based child day care facility and family homeless shelter.  Randy ended up brutally raping an 8-year-old neighborhood girl and was sentenced to prison with yet another plea deal for a reduced sentence.  So of all the people that allowed Randy Lande to be set free, to have direct access to vulnerable children, and who didn’t even bother to exercise an outstanding warrant for his arrest prior to the rape, only Teresa Hensley is being held accountable through these TV ads.  Even Randy’s old landlord didn’t learn from this experience and continues to operate the same unsupervised group home in the Truman Neighborhood with tenants who need supervision and where visits by the Independence Police Department are routine.  To quote Steven Denn, “You can never make the same mistake twice because the second time you make it, it's not a mistake, it's a choice.”  There is a reason nothing improves with respect to situations such as this.  It’s a choice!  Neighborhood children deserve better!

Loan Wolves Prey on Independence

The financial services market in Old Town Independence is evolving and sinking down to the lowest common denominator.  A number of the big banks have left including Bank of America on the Square, Central Bank on West 24 Hwy, and now just recently Commerce Bank on Osage just off the Square.  Filling these voids are payday loan establishments.  What was once the financial center of national and international trade on the pioneer trails and the western territories of an expanding nation has now been reduced to floating high-interest loans between nominal paychecks and Social Security and Food Stamp distributions.  And patrons of these services are pushed deeper and deeper into holes that are difficult to climb out of.  With the exit of big banks, there are fewer financial services for small businesses while they look for other more stable business districts to set up shop and to invest in.  To put situations in further historic context, a community that hosts the “Miracle Mile” that boasted of cruising and fast-food eating establishment, now has more payday loan companies than fast-food restaurants.  One could say we need more affordable housing for our citizens so they don’t need expensive loans but currently Independence has the third lowest rental rates in the entire country, which corresponds to depressed values in real estate.  So even homeowners are knocking on the doors of payday lenders while they are left without home equity for small loans, home improvements, or just simple home repairs.   And when you are up-side-down on your home and behind on repairs, you can’t even sell your home and move on with your life.  Public investments in ice hockey, retail, guns/ammo sales, fake water fall, and PR campaigns would have been better spent on continuing well-planned neighborhood revitalization programs in both the Midtown / Truman Road Corridor and the Fairmont / Carlisle areas and investing in our greatest assets, our history.  And it is not about spending more public money but, in reality, it should be about weaning ourselves from the dependence of government subsidies.  In fact, we should enact a moratorium on subsidized housing until we can develop an appropriate comprehensive plan for community development, housing, and preservation.  Then we may actually have a chance to live up to our name, “Independence.” 

Truman Boyhood Home gets "Stoned"

One of the three Harry S Truman Boyhood Homes in Independence is at 902 North Liberty Street is getting a nip & tuck-pointed facelift.  And it is with stone.  And not just any stone.  It appears to be a faux stone panel veneer with an update in superfluous millwork.  To get an idea of what it used to look like, pull up the New York Times article from October 15, 2010 entitled “In Truman Homes, Reflections of a City” by A. G. Sulzberger and there is a feature photo of the house with owner, Tracy E. Haley.  The article certainly provides an objective perspective of how well we are doing as a community telling the story of Harry Truman, especially during his “Wonder Years” growing up in the old neighborhood.  The house featured in the article, with the photo by photographer Steve Hebert, was a typical Victorian wood-framed home with wood lapped siding, similar to the Truman Home National Historic Site a short nine blocks away, only at a bit smaller scale.  Tracy is quoted as saying that she had lived there several years before she discovered that young Harry Truman had briefly lived there.  With this level of investment, is it clear we do not need historic preservation standards in this corner of the Old Town?  Even the National Park Service left out this property and neighborhood block from the expanded National Historic Landmark District boundaries taking away opportunities for valuable tax credits to offset expensive restoration costs that comply with those standards.  Keep in mind, Liberty Street is also the predominate route for the three National Historic Trails that connect The Square with the river boat landing on the Missouri River and is federally designated.  So in the spirit of the new townhouse project also on Liberty Street between White Oak and Truman Road, which also represents neo-eclectic and enigmatic styles and materials, we offer a salute to those who have the audacity to not only invest in our historic community but also rewrite history at the same time.  To add a quote by legendary rock band, AC/DC, “For those about to ROCK, we salute you!”  Pun intended.

The "F-Word" in Real Estate Development

So what if a real estate developer makes promises and agreements in order to receive favor either through rezoning hearings, a sales agreement, receipt of public subsidies, special public financing, or to get a bye on critical upgrades or on following preservation standards, or possibly even all of the above, then renege on those agreements after receiving favor in all of his demands?   And what if he even holds the project up as a hostage in order to receive even more public subsidies because miscalculations and/or poor planning so he can further improve his profit margins for himself and his investors/stockholders?  Within the financial world, they have a name for this and it begins with the letter “F.”  And so it would then lead one to conclude that those public officials and legal counsels who allow this action to take place while being complacent, and, in some cases, even offering praise of the actions, would be considered accomplices in those actions.  And let’s say hypothetically that if the actions are, in fact, considered criminal acts, then the accomplices would be participants in those crimes and would be subject to probes or inquiries into at least ethics concerns if not corruption or worse.  And the decision-making is done with private meetings behind closed door and absent of community and national stakeholders.  Are we so desperate for redevelopment in our historic community that we would lower our standards of integrity for all who participate?  Does this sound like the community of one of the most respected US presidents who coined the phrase, “The Buck Stops Here?”  To quote Richard Whately, 19^th-century English rhetorician & author, “All frauds, like the wall daubed with untempered mortar ... always tend to the decay of what they are devised to support.”  In other words, don’t be surprised to witness the failure of these real estate projects initiated and founded on deception.  These failures not only affect people and property, but radiate throughout our historic community.