Parkville will soon have a new city logo to identify the town by using one symbol on letterheads and inside the new city hall currently being constructed. Mayor Kathy Dusenbery said at Tuesday’s alderman meeting she would like to feature this new logo on the wall in the main boardroom at city hall.
“I have several designs to consider, but I like the idea of sharing the Chamber of Commerce’s logo because it has such a clean design,” Dusenbery said. “Alderman Deborah Butcher designed this logo and I think it would be a good representation of who Parkville is.”
During the early 1990’s, a city-wide contest was held for residents to design a logo to represent the city. Over 20 designs were submitted and the one chosen featured a picture of the depot next to the rail line with Park University’s Mackay tower seen in the background. The mayor said she would like to see this logo changed and asked for the alderman’s input and final decision at their next meeting in two weeks.
In othe rmatters, changes are taking place in Parkville’s business properties. A Pizza Hut restaurant has signed a lease in the Parkville Commons development at 6325 Lewis, Suite 102. Sean Ackerson, community development director, proposed the sign ordinance to the board and stated the chain restaurant is expected to open its doors for business by the end of this month.
Pizza Hut was previously located in Platte Woods, but the franchise has decided to move. This location will not offer dining room seating, but only pick-up and delivery orders. Dusenbery said this new tenant will be a positive aspect for the city since Parkville will begin receiving sales tax dollars from this tenant who will act as the home base for regional deliveries.
Another new business development is in the works and will be constructed on a vacant lot located on River Road one mile west of the intersection of FF Highway. These six acres were rezoned from an agriculture district to a planned business district. The planning commission heard the proposal at an open forum in September and recommended the board of aldermen approve the rezoning.
Forest Park Development, LLC requested the board’s permission to construct a neighborhood and office space overlooking the river bluffs and serving the nearby Thousand Oaks neighborhood.
This site was approved in 2004 as a tract for future development. Since then, a study has been conducted to learn the traffic impact of nearby FF Hwy. and River Road. This land will be used to build light retail businesses and offices such as small law offices, barber shops, and dry cleaning establishments.
In other news at the meeting, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe’s second rail line study is moving forward. Ackerson said the public information meetings held Sept. 28 were helpful to learn the opinions and concerns of citizens. He said over 60 people attended the three separate meetings and the city staff received good input.
“We heard multiple concerns and tried to address them,” Ackerson said. “Many citizens requested we have an open forum in front of the city administrator’s to discuss the rail line possibility. We are still trying to reach a broader audience to gather input and see where we go from here.”
Dusenbery said the goal should be set for the board to voice their concerns and gather more input by Nov. 1. After this date, it should be certain on the city’s part what they want to negotiate with Burlington Northern.
Many residents living in the Riss Lake development will be paying less for their sewer service annually. An ordinance was passed to reduce the special assessment rate for sewer customers by 23 percent. The number of lots in this development has continued to increase in the last several years.
The city has noted there are 850 lots in Riss Lake which are on the books. Since more homes have increased the number of people paying, the assessment per lot can be lowered. With lowering the rate, there will still be enough revenue to cover yearly bond payments of principal and interest.
Enough reserves are still present in the Special Assessment Bond Fund to cover any shortfalls. If your current payment is $35, it will be lowered to $27. However, if your payment is $100, it will now be $77. This change will not affect the city’s budget. The fund is separate from all other city funds.