Thank You National Park Service!

With all the turmoil in Washington DC with the budget talks, federal folks at the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service did get something right. Wednesday, the Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, officially announced the boundary expansion of the Truman National Historic Landmark District. This should be a time of celebration and pride, but more importantly; this should be a call for us as a community to roll up our sleeves and get to work. This means all the newly designated properties are now eligible for several tax credit programs for rehabilitation and preservation. This means our beloved Courthouse which has been struggling for funding is now eligible for more grants. Logic and common sense leads most folks to conclude that what is important to the nation should also be important to local citizens. So let’s move forward to expand the local Truman Heritage District boundaries to align with the national boundaries. And last but not least, this means our Tourism Department, economic development community, Chamber of Commerce, Community Development Department, and our business community of bankers, realtors, restaurants, etc. have more ammunition to promote our historic community. Congratulations to the citizens of the United States for this effort led by past Superintendent Jim Sanders and the entire team from the NPS. Thanks also to local citizens to traveled to Washington DC to provide testimony in the public hearings. You will probably here on City 7 at Monday’s City Council meeting city officials take credit for this action. The fact is that direct decisions by the City Council to approve several demolitions on Truman Road actually caused the NPS to go back to the drawing board with the application and reduce the boundaries of the district (you won’t hear that on City 7). City Hall will deserve praise and credit only after the local Truman Heritage District boundaries are expanded to match the federal district. Preservation happens primarily at the local level. It sounds like the Historic Preservation Manager position at City Hall is not just important but will be critical to the future success of the new and improved Truman National Historic Landmark District. By the way, that position is currently vacant.

Happy Founder’s Day!

Hope everyone will be taking part in the celebrations. It is a day we remember those who came before us, who took a chance and settled here at the edge of the frontier, and who outfitted the wagon trails that settled the western half of the country. It will be a day that we want our yards to be spruced up and have the stars and stripes proudly displayed. Visitors will be walking on the sidewalks so be sure to wave and welcome them. We have a lot to be proud of living here in Independence. Even our name projects a spirit of patriotism and pride. It was Pulitzer Prize winning author and noted historian, David McCullough, who said in reference to this area, “I can’t think of another piece of landscape of similar size where so many things happened that have been of significance in to the story of America.” That means our Founder’s Day is not just important to those of us who live here, but it is even more important to all citizens of this great nation. So when is Founder’s Day? This day is actually easy to remember and you won’t even need to mark it on your calendar. You see, practically every day is Founder’s Day here in Old Town Independence. It is celebrated 361 days a year. In fact, everything we do to make our properties shine is a celebration of our tremendous history. From the Truman Home National Historic Site on Delaware Street, 20,000 visitors from all over the world walk our sidewalks and view our streetscapes. Very few communities have the opportunities to shine and celebrate what we have here in Old Town Independence. So let’s observe Founder’s Day!!! But why only 361 days a year and not 365? Well, there’s this event called Santa-Cali-Gon on Labor Day weekend where we actually make it difficult for visitors to get to many of our historic sites and where we actually reward those who have paved over our history with lucrative parking sales. Yes, that’s right, we actually have more incentives to bulldoze than we do to preserve here in Old Town. So, please, as you greet folks today and tomorrow and the next day and the next and ……………… , wish them a “Happy Founder’s Day.” If someone asks you about Founder’s Day, then tell them “except for 4 days in September, every day is Founder’s Day here in Independence!”

Is it Time to Clean the “Chamber” Pot?

We were pleased that the independence Chamber of Commerce (ICC) decided to locate here in Old Town, especially on the north side the Square where acres of blighted asphalt remained in the fallout of Urban Renewal. Their new building was attractive and we figured the local business community and civic leaders would not tolerate the new ICC headquarters being adjacent to undeveloped and blighted empty spaces. But we were wrong. As it turned out, the open space was actually critical for ICC’s Labor Day festival, Santa-Cali-Gon, its primary source of revenue. We appreciate The Examiner’s recent reporting about concerns in the local business community and, yes, past reporting about situations down in the Little Blue Valley. It’s interesting to read in The Examiner that the ICC Board spokesperson defending the executive leadership of ICC was the same spokesperson for the City Manager and the City Council in a meeting in early March defending their stealth approach to millions of dollars in debt payments after short falls in the Bass Pro development. Now I’m no accountant and do not think organizations should be judged solely on their bookkeeping. If it were me, I would first judge the current ICC leadership (board members & executives) on performance by asking the following questions:

· Are ICC leaders offering appropriate leadership in the community and at City Hall when it comes to present economic conditions, especially at the Bass Pro development?

· Is ICC promoting not just business development in Independence but also promoting members to actually live within the city limits of Independence?

· Is ICC promoting attractive economical development tools offered by state and federal governments, i.e., Historic Preservation Tax Credits for historic properties and tourism-related business opportunities?

· Is ICC taking advantage of its location in the heart of local tourist sites and The Square to promote Heritage Tourism?

While traveling recently through a small community 500 miles from here (pop. less than 1,500) we picked up a wonderful 48-page full-color magazine promoting local businesses and tourist sites published by the local chamber of commerce. It was obvious that the local chamber was not just supporting its own organization but was promoting the local community and surrounding towns while focusing on its strengths: heritage tourism. There was a sense of community, cooperation, and pride with all the businesses and sites. We ended up staying 3 nights and spending a few bucks. And it was about 50 miles to the nearest Interstate Highway. Here in Independence, we have so much more to offer travelers. But I’ll ask one more question. Are we as a community prepared to take advantage of these opportunities?

Forecast Calls for Windy Departure

This is last week for Wendy Shay, the City of Independence Historic Preservation Manager, who recently resigned. We wish her luck on her new career moves. It is our understanding that she has agreed to work, as needed and part-time, for the city to maintain the current program of oversight of the Heritage Commission and their management of our small historic district until, we hope, a replacement is found. We appreciate her dedication to the cause even in her departure. Wendy was the fourth Historic Preservation Manager for the City of Independence since the 1970’s when the city started what was then one the earliest and most significant preservation programs in the state. As with all the city preservation staff in the last 4 decades, you’re either criticized for doing too much and/or for not doing enough. And while you search for the appropriate balance that you would expect to see in a normal community, you realize that a balance really doesn’t exist in Independence. City Hall needs to know that this position and its important oversight of the Heritage Commission is important, especially here in Independence where there are absolutely no local preservation groups to be found. The absence of this position is an issue with our accreditation with the State Office (Certified Local Government Program), our eligibility for grants, our ability to administer grants, and our capacity to review and provide input into public improvement projects that impact historical and cultural resources. And with the city being under the weather with their budget, there is not a lot of incentive to fill the position anytime soon. With Windy’s departure, what is the long range forecast for our historic community here in Independence, one of the most historic communities in the Midwest?

The Big Heist in the Little Blue Valley

No, it was not a gang of ambitious retail developers of recent times, although that saga has yet to run its course. The date was October 8^th, 1879. The most notorious criminal was about to come out of hiding in Tennessee after three years to again hit the region and the institutions that fought him in the War of Northern Aggression. Yes, we are talking about the infamous Jesse James and he was coming with a new group of outlaws totaling six. Finding old Confederates and guerrilla bushwhackers to join his new gang proved difficult this time around since it had been 14 years since the end of the Civil War. His new band proved to have issues with loyalty and reliability but their first robbery ended up a success. It started at the Chicago & Alton Railroad Depot located in a small rural community called Glendale near what is today the intersection of 39^th Street and Little Blue Parkway. You can see the same railroad tracks just north of that intersection. The big heist started with holding hostages at the depot and smashing the telegraph equipment. Then they rolled stones on the tracks to make sure the train would stop and it finally did at 8:00 pm. No one was shot or killed, a few were hit with the back of their guns, and no passengers were robbed. But the Jesse James Gang road away with $5,000 to $60,000 in cash taken from the safe in the train’s express car. The new Jesse James Gang would strike again on this same stretch of railroad track several years later on September 7, 1881 which was reported to be their last train robbery before Jesse was murdered with a shot in the back in St. Joseph by one of his own men (the subject of a recent Brad Pitt movie). The rich history and dramatic stories of our community are not limited to those areas on and around the Square. And our past experience of treating our history as an obstacle instead of an opportunity does not need to be followed in our precious valley. The fact is that this important history in the valley can add value and attract cash to our retail centers and hungry visitors to our restaurants. And those interested in Jesse James may also be interested in the jail cell that held his brother, Frank, or the city park where Frank was buried. This is how “Heritage Tourism” works. We do not have to fabricate stuff that is not real to add value to our community. The diverse and rich history of Independence extends from sinners to Saints and from pioneers to presidents. We should learn and promote this history so we can give all areas of our city, including the Little Blue Valley, every opportunity to have value and to be successful.

Double Standards

The photo above shows the tall weeds and grass on the empty lots owned and maintained by the Midtown / Truman Road Corridor (MTRC) Neighborhood Revitalization Corporation. The photo speaks for itself. MTRC is the group that decides if local property owners meet minimum property maintenance codes while investing their property in order to get tax abatement. This corner was originally intended to mark the entrance into the Truman National Historic Landmark District. Unfortunately, the National Park Service moved the entrance back to its original location at the corner of Union & Truman. It appears MTRC not only has problems with preservation standards but also has difficulty with basic property maintenance standards. If the MTRC Board managed the program into the red, then I would expect board members to show up and mow the grass and cut the weeds. That’s what “responsibility” is all about. That’s right, I used the “R” word. MTRC needs to be setting the example for property owners, especially on such a visible corner, especially adjacent to a “Presidential” neighborhood, and especially during these peak months of tourism.

Joplin, Missouri – "A Community with Character"

As the Memorial Day Weekend approached, I knew I could get the phone call at any time and it came at 4:00 pm late Friday afternoon. By 8:00 am Saturday morning, I was in Joplin, Missouri at ground zero of the recent F-5 tornado assisting the City of Joplin and the State Emergency Management Agency with public safety issues related to damaged buildings and homes. Now you’ve seen the reports and stories all over each of the news networks and CNN. But the real story is the sense of community and the wonderful spirit that we experienced as we went house-to-house and block-to-block. The property owners, families, friends, and the multitudes of volunteers were working hard and were bound and determined to not only clean up what was left of their lives but to make the city even better. Everyone was grateful and appreciative of our support. It was clear to me that the city leadership, local public safety leaders and employees, and the local building engineers and inspectors were not only dedicated to their jobs and their community but also lived within the city limits of the community they served. Their leadership was not outsourced to non-residents and you could tell it from the touch of their handshakes and the quiver in their voices. I was proud to stand with them in their important work. But this experience got me thinking. How would Independence handle a similar situation? If entire blocks of homes in my neighborhood were wiped off the face of the earth, would those displaced families and souls choose to rebuild their lives here? How would our leadership handle such a catastrophe? Would the high concentration of absentee landlords help or hinder a successful recovery? Is having only one hospital better than two? Is Independence a community with character? Local folks need to ask these questions now about the preparedness of our community instead of pointing fingers in the aftermath of such an event. The photo above was taken six days after the tornado and you can see the overwhelming task the good folks in Joplin have ahead of them. Please support the recovery efforts in Joplin, “A Community with Character.” They need supplies, financial support, and your prayers.