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!!!”