Local Governments “Trading Spaces”

On the corner of South Main Street and West Kansas Avenue is a pair of structures that represent historic landmarks of local governments. On Kansas Avenue is the 1827 Log Courthouse, the very first County building and could well be the oldest building in Jackson County. Next door facing Main Street is the oldest remaining City Hall structure for the City of Independence. Now here comes the irony. The City owns the old Log County Courthouse and the County owns the old City Hall, therefore we now have an episode of “Trading Spaces” in the works. So let’s all judge how well they have been doing on this visible street corner in Old Town Independence. The City has done a respectable job in maintaining the Log Courthouse as a tourist site, considering it is 183 years old, not to mention it is constructed of vulnerable materials, i.e., unpainted wood logs. The old City Hall is almost half that age constructed of a durable brick and stone and it is in deplorable condition. You can see why the county has allowed the vegetation to be overgrown (see above photo). Just standing on the front porch appears to be dangerous with pieces of the ceiling sagging from above or laying on the porch floor. Someone has put a roadway barrier on the porch to apparently inhibit human occupation. Four AC condensing units are missing in the back with service lines to those units dangling as if it were the handiwork of a thief. Some of the stone and brick are cracked. Now we all understand the financial constraints of local governments, and yes, we all appreciate Jackson County’s award-winning efforts in restoring the exterior façade and landscape of the Courthouse on The Square. But there are other line items on the budget report that also need attention. A complete restoration of the old City Hall would be wonderful but most citizens would settle for just a little preventative maintenance, a good cleaning, and some vegetation trimming/removal. This summer is political campaign season for county government positions. This would be a great opportunity to ask the candidates, especially the incumbents, to address these critical issues of deferred maintenance of county-owned properties, especially for highly visible historic properties in tourist areas, and yes, above all, in the hometown of the most notable county politician, former Presiding County Judge Harry Truman. A funny thing about democracies, the voters always get the government they deserve.