Don’t forget there is a retirement reception for DJ Gehrt, city administrator for Platte City, scheduled for next Thursday, June 15 at the current City Hall at Fourth and Main Streets in Downtown Platte City. Starts at 3 p.m. The public is invited to drop in to wish Gehrt well in his retirement. His tenure in Platte City has been a productive one for the city.
Gehrt’s last day on the job is June 30. Though the new City Hall is one of only a few projects he has been involved in during the final couple months of his regime, he tells me he will not be hanging on till the new building is opened, which is tentatively scheduled for late July.
Gehrt’s replacement, Marji Gehr, has basically taken over all city administrator duties recently with the exception of the new building and the future Hwy. 92 improvement project from I-29 to Bethel Road.
Summertime means the live music options increase considerably.
This weekend, Zona Rosa begins its Summer Concert Series with a performance by one of my favorite local bands, The Zeros. They’ll be performing Friday night from 6:30 to 8:30 in the green space next to the Bravo patio at Zona.
Saturday night is the first performance in the Summer Concert Series sponsored by the Platte City Friends of the Arts. Concerts will be featured on the second Saturday night of the month during June, July and August. More details in the story elsewhere in this edition of The Landmark. Saturday’s performing band is Aera, who will entertain from 7-9 p.m. on the lawn of your Platte County Courthouse in Historic Downtown Platte City.
Platte City’s new City Hall will have 16,000 square feet. Quite a contrast from the building that served as City Hall when I began at The Landmark in 1982. That building, which is at 212 Main Street and currently owned and occupied by Steve Wegner’s real estate business, has 750 square feet total. Yes, that’s 750. Not 7,500. And a narrow portion of the 750 square feet housed the police department.
Platte City has grown in the past 40 years. So has City Hall.
One of my memories of the tiny ol’ City Hall at 212 Main St. is from the summer of 1982 when Truman Glenn, legendary mayor of Platte City, with a cigar between his fingers opened a city council meeting with these words: “Alright, let’s get this sonofabitch going.”
I was the only non city government person in the room. I smiled out of entertainment and also because I was somewhat flattered that he felt comfortable enough to say it with me right there, apparently knowing I wasn’t going to talk about it until decades later.
What about the existing building along Marshall Road that was part of the city’s purchase of the property? The one that didn’t get torn down to make room for the new facility?
“The future of the front building has not yet been determined. The city will make decisions on that building after having some time in the new City Hall. As in any new building, the work flow and operations will always be somewhat different than originally planned or intended,” Gehrt says. “The future uses of the new building will be reviewed after there has been some time to have ‘lessons learned’ from the new building.”
When the heat and humidity kicks up in July and August–and let’s don’t kid ourselves, it will– sometimes it doesn’t hurt to become the great indoorsman for a while. With that, you’ll need something to keep you busy besides that honey-do list your spouse has been compiling for you. So here are a few streaming recommendations for you.
Are you into politics? Try The Diplomat on Netflix. Some of the political scenarios occasionally get a little too deep (in particular because it deals with the foreign relations side of American politics), but the storylines are top notch. The Diplomat can be explained as primarily a show about talking and strategizing, similar to The West Wing in many ways. It also pulls you in. The acting performances are top-notch. Keri Russell plays a career diplomat who must juggle a new high-profile job amid an international crisis while potentially being groomed for an even more notable position. The show is described as a “political thriller.”
Another recommendation I have for you is called Shrinking and it is offered on Apple TV. It’s a comedy/drama and it stars one of my comedic favorites, whose name might not be familiar to you. His name is Jason Segel, and he might be best known from his role in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, a movie that came out in 2008. My son used to watch that movie on repeat in his late high school/early college days. And when I say on repeat I mean on repeat. I liked the movie. He loved the movie.
Anyway, a guy whose name is familiar to all of you is also in Shrinking. His name is Harrison Ford. Yes, Harrison Ford has a role in a comedy, which is fun to see. Segel plays a grieving therapist who starts to break the rules by telling his clients exactly what he thinks. Segel’s character has recently lost his wife and wants to try a new approach to his loss. Harrison Ford plays his mentor in the therapy business. We’re about six episodes deep into it at my house. Most episodes are just over 30 minutes, which is also an attraction for me.
A third recommendation is a show called The Watcher. It’s on Netflix. There has just been one season of The Watcher produced thus far, and it lasts seven episodes. The show is described as an “eerie ensemble drama based on a true story.” It can also be described as ominous and suspenseful. A family moves into their suburban dream home, only to discover they’ve inherited a nightmare. Ominous letters. Strange neighbors. Sinister threats. The show is addicting, as with each passing episode you’re trying to guess the identity of The Watcher.
(Find Foley at a live music event or hiding indoors after scorching summer heat rolls in)