• About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Pickem Terms and Conditions
Saturday, January 28, 2023
The Platte County Landmark Newspaper
  • Home
  • Local News
  • Opinion
  • Landmark Pickem!
    • Weekly Pickem Updates
    • Results by Week
    • The Leaderboard
    • Pickem Rules and Help
  • Landmark Live!
  • Looking Backward
  • es_MXSpanish
  • Home
  • Local News
  • Opinion
  • Landmark Pickem!
    • Weekly Pickem Updates
    • Results by Week
    • The Leaderboard
    • Pickem Rules and Help
  • Landmark Live!
  • Looking Backward
  • es_MXSpanish
No Result
View All Result
The Platte County Landmark Newspaper
No Result
View All Result

Frustrated Dearborn mayor calls it quits

Ivan Foley by Ivan Foley
August 7, 2003
in Dearborn
4
SHARES
88
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare via Email

A few days after expressing frustration over what he sees as a lack of support from aldermen in controlling labor costs, Dearborn Mayor Marvin Landes turned in his resignation.

The mayor had been on a medical leave of absence from his position for a couple of weeks.

RelatedNews

Like big butts?

Northern Platte County getting a farmer’s market

REAL ID enforcement pushed back to 2023

Landes’ resignation became effective Friday, Aug. 1.

In an open letter to the mayor pro-tem, all board members and the general public, Landes wrote:

“Due primarily to health reasons, and the apparent lack of support from the council in trying to curb spending, I resign my position as mayor of the city of Dearborn effective Aug. 1, 2003.”

Recently, Landes had sent a memo to three city employees outlining steps he wanted taken to reduce employee costs now that the city has completed connection to Kansas City water and no longer operates its own water plant. The memo spelled out a reduction in work hours, stated that overtime needed to have proper authorization, told the employees to use city vehicles instead of personal vehicles to avoid the need for mileage reimbursement.

The three employees—Billy Clay Davidson, K.C. Davidson and Frank Dovel—walked off the job for a few days after getting the memo. They came back to work after meeting with the board of aldermen.

Landes was extremely disappointed that aldermen made a decision not to back his memo.

“There’s no trust now,” he told The Landmark last week prior to announcing his resignation.

Donald Swanstone, Jr., president of the board of aldermen, will assume duties as mayor now that Landes has resigned.

Landes was elected mayor in April of 2002. The mayor’s position will be on the ballot in April 2004.

Landes had been wanting to cut city expenses in an effort to help pay the debt the city has incurred for the water connection to Kansas City, and to help meet other financial obligations that are taking a toll on city funds.

He had proposed the idea of contracting with a firm that would take care of the city’s water system needs. The company would read meters, perform meter repairs, do shut-offs for non-pay accounts, turn on new installations, perform water testing for state compliance, monitor the city’s wastewater and pull all samples, and would apply chemicals as needed.

The company would provide those services at a cost of $9 per meter per month. The city has 250 water meters, so the estimated annual cost per the contract would be $27,000.

Landes said the contract would allow the city to significantly reduce its employee work hours and save thousands of dollars for the city per year, perhaps as much as $27,000 per year, even after the cost of the contract is figured.

Landes said he leaves with no hard feelings.

“I have no animosity in any way. It’s over. I appreciate all the calls and letters I’ve received since my resignation,” he said Tuesday.

Dearborn is “coming into a new era,” he said.

“We’re actually running water without pumping it.”

  

Tags: elections
Ivan Foley

Ivan Foley

Ivan Foley, owner/publisher of the Platte County Landmark, has been on the news beat in Kansas City's Northland for 40 years. He provides weekly observations in his Between the Lines column and serves as host of Landmark Live, a light-hearted videocast featuring newsmakers in the Northland.

Related Posts

Eight apply to fill circuit judge position

Judge Dennis Eckold retiring

by Landmark Staff
January 12, 2023
0

PROCESS SET FOR NAMING REPLACEMENT The Sixth Circuit Judicial Commission is accepting applications for the position of associate circuit judge, Division V of the Sixth Judicial Circuit (Platte County) beginning Jan. 10, 2023. This position is created by the retirement...

2022 in review

Elections, power outages, new structures

by Ivan Foley
January 6, 2023
0

IT'S PART 3 OF THE 2022 YEAR-IN-REVIEW The final four months of 2022 continued an onslaught of local news, with highlights ranging from a state election that saw recreational marijuana legalized, to progress on a City Hall for one local...

Platte County R-3 School Board

Six candidates jump in R-3 school board race

by Ivan Foley
January 6, 2023
0

ONE OF THE SIX HAS DECIDED TO WITHDRAW There is a lot of interest in the Platte County R-3 Board of Education election this year. Filing deadline for school board candidates was Tuesday, Dec. 27 at 5 p.m., and when...

New developments arrive; an iconic structure destroyed

New developments arrive; an iconic structure destroyed

by Ivan Foley
December 29, 2022
0

SEVERAL NEW RESTAURANTS OPENED LOCALLY IN 2022 The middle months of the year 2022 in Platte County featured a bevy of news highlights, including the Parkville Farmers Market getting struck by trucks not once but twice, as well as several...

Next Post

Dearborn delays decision on mayor's post

Popular News

  • East side Hwy. 92 will become four-lane stretch

    East side Hwy. 92 will become four-lane stretch

    16 shares
    Share 6 Tweet 4
  • GET READY FOR TAKE-OFF

    23 shares
    Share 9 Tweet 6
  • Lawsuit claims toxic heavy metals in herbs and spices

    20 shares
    Share 8 Tweet 5
  • Southbound U.S. 169 to close for bridge project

    9 shares
    Share 4 Tweet 2
  • Nation’s oldest polar bear dies at KC Zoo

    5 shares
    Share 2 Tweet 1
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Pickem Terms and Conditions
Call us at 816-858-0363

Copyright © 2019-2020 The Platte County Landmark Newspaper - All Rights Reserved

No Result
View All Result
  • Subscribe Online
  • Home
  • Local News
  • Opinion
  • Landmark Pickem
    • Login / Sign-up
    • Results by Week
    • The Leaderboard
    • Pickem Rules and Help
  • Landmark Live!
  • Looking Backward
  • es_MXSpanish

Copyright © 2019-2020 The Platte County Landmark Newspaper - All Rights Reserved