She isn’t technically gone quite yet–tradition says the new mayor gets sworn in next Tuesday–but what I’ll miss most about Mayor Nan are the temper tantrums and the fake tears.
If she ever gets back into politics The Landmark will be here to bring you the curse-by-curse coverage. In the meantime, look for Nan at a speakeasy near you.
I’ve had a couple of positive phone conversations with him and he seems self-assured and low-key, so I’m not expecting the new mayor to publicly cry crocodile tears or start dropping F-bombs, but if things get weird I’ll let you know.
Housecleaning? Or adding to the roster?
Under Nan, Parkville has had so many attorneys on the payroll that we’re not quite sure if this is a call to replace some of the existing or a call to add to the stable, but what we can tell you is that the City of Parkville has put out a request for proposals for city attorney services.
From a posting on their Facebook page:
“The City of Parkville is soliciting proposals for a municipal law firm or individual attorney to provide city attorney services for general municipal counsel, basic legal services and advice on special projects on a contract or in-house basis.”
Let’s be honest, the past couple of years there have featured some not-so-proud moments for attorneys on Parkville’s payroll. Between public records disputes and the city getting its butt kicked in court by a man serving as his own attorney during a lawsuit over Sunshine Law matters, you could certainly understand if the new regime wants to move in a different direction with its legal team.
Growth and change.
Last week our front page gave a you a screaming headline about Hunt Midwest’s plans for the largest logistics park in the state to be developed east of Interstate 29 and south of Hwy. 92, basically northeast of KCI Airport.
This week, the screaming headline deals with what will go in east of Interstate 29 and north of Hwy. 92. And this development will be within the city limits of Platte City. City officials are excited about it, and rightfully so.
“This is easily the largest single private sector investment and largest single development in the city’s history,” DJ Gehrt, city administrator, says.
The planned development north of Hwy. 92 east of I-29 will cover 300 acres, with 160 of those acres to be used for multi-million square feet of light industrial buildings, while 140 of those acres are scheduled to be used for single family housing development.
This is big news, folks.
As we mention in the front page story, the City of Platte City is and will continue to be in a major push to get Hwy. 92 expanded to four lanes from I-29 east to Bethel Road. Call it an urban highway. Getting that done will require some partnerships, Gehrt emphasizes.
“The city would like to identify highway financing options/partners by the end of 2023, with potential construction in 2025-26,” he told me this week. Gehrt acknowledges that “this is an extremely aggressive schedule with a lot of ‘hope’ involved in both funding participation and the highway improvement schedule.”
More on this in the near future as the situation warrants, but county officials are talking about alleged jail overcrowding again (see news release on page 4), which means voters should probably be bracing themselves for some kind of tax proposal to build a new/expanded prison.
A proposed half cent sales tax to fund a $65 million jail expansion was soundly kicked by voters in 2019.
For several years there has been a retired federal agent who monitors the Platte County Jail population numbers and general details about those incarcerated. He typically can’t understand why the county jail is allegedly so populated and offers insights as to why he feels it shouldn’t be that way. He calls me with thoughts when anything related to the Platte County Jail comes up in the news. In other words, I’m expecting my phone to ring in three, two, one. . .
My wife has a friend named Tally and every time she says her name I immediately ask “Tally Wacker?”
I sleep on the couch a lot.
Your occasional fuel price update: Gas prices in Kansas City have fallen by 12.6 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.54.
That’s 97 cents higher than a year ago at this time.
Gas is always free with your purchase at Taco Bell.
You may want to fact-check this but I read on the internet that in Florida BENGAY has been forced to re-brand as BENSTRAIGHT.
(Get updates on hope and growth and change and whatnot from Foley by emailing ivan@plattecountylandmark.com )
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