KC Water is set to begin the Town Fork Creek Sewer Rehabilitation Project this fall (2016), which affects many homes in our neighborhood. When complete, the collection system will be restored, with a life expectancy of up to 80 years of service. It will:
Learn more about water, wastewater and stormwater work taking place in our neighborhood
Come learn what to expect during the Town Form Creek Sewer Rehabilitation Project. Refreshments will be served.
Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016 | 6 p.m.
St. Peter’s Legacy Center Chapel
815 E. Meyer Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64131
Questions? Contact Julie Jenson at 816-513-0446 or julie.jenson@kcmo.org.
The Ward Parkway Homes Association is a terrific neighborhood, and we hope you’re proud to call it home. We invite you to renew your annual membership in the neighborhood association by Oct. 1, 2016 (which is when our fiscal year starts) — or join for the first time if you are not currently a member.
The budget for operating your association for a year is approximately $24,000. This includes our private security patrol, beautification and maintenance of common areas, social events, newsletters and a website for communicating important information. Your neighbors on the WPHA Board of Directors work hard to be good stewards of those funds while keeping dues and fees at a minimum.
Our security patrol service was set up several years ago because residents wanted more of a public safety presence in the neighborhood. Not only do off-duty and former officers patrol our streets throughout the week, but if you’ve paid for the service, they will also keep an eye on your home when you are out of town. From February to June of this year alone, the patrol service did 145 vacation house checks. And after observant neighbors recently called 911 about separate incidents, the WPHA’s security patrol was able to arrest one individual for having stolen property from vehicles and another man for multiple charges after trespassing at a resident’s house.
The security patrol service costs $60 per year, or 16 cents a day. We encourage you to share the load for providing this safety benefit to our neighborhood. Help us continue to maintain some of the lowest crime rates in the city.
If you’d like to get more involved, there are many volunteer opportunities to choose from. You could even become a board member! We are always looking for new energy and fresh ideas.
On a personal note, after living in this neighborhood for 37 years and serving on the board for seven years as president, my wife and I will be moving to a retirement condo by the end of the year. It has been a pleasure to serve you, and rest assured that I leave the association in good hands.
Thank you for investing in our neighborhood. Hope to see you at some of our events this fall.
Yours truly,
Frank Haar
WPHA Board President
P.S. Many of you asked for an online membership payment option, and this year we’ve got one!
The Ward Parkway Homes Association recently discontinued using eNeighbors (paid service) and focus on using Nextdoor (free service!) instead as a private social network for our neighborhood. In addition to saving the homes association nearly $1,000 per year, Nextdoor gets far more activity than eNeighbors has. If you like that type of community forum in addition to Facebook, encourage your neighbors to sign up!
For those who aren’t already familiar with Nextdoor, here is a quick overview. After creating an account and verifying your address, you can post events, lost and found items, classifieds, request or share recommendations, and much more. Under account settings, you can customize how often you receive notifications and on what topics. There’s also a handy Nextdoor app for your smartphone.
Have questions? Let us know.
Sidewalks are a vital link throughout our community. They connect us to jobs, schools, and neighbors. They provide a safe place for children to play and people to thrive. Having good sidewalks is a matter of safety, mobility and equity. Sidewalks are a key ingredient to a healthy community. But in many Kansas City neighborhoods, the sidewalks are upheaved, crumbling or nonexistent.
BikeWalkKC is partnering with several agencies and neighborhoods on the new SidewalksKC initiative to design a plan to fix our sidewalks. Get involved by attending planning sessions at The Whole Person:
Learn more about SidewalksKC
Let us know if you’d like to help represent the WPHA neighborhood in this effort!
The City of Kansas City, Mo. is milling and resurfacing several streets in the Ward Parkway Homes Association neighborhood from Sept. 1-10, 2015. Many residents have received door hangers instructing you not to park on the street (or else cars may be towed). You may also see “Emergency No Parking” signs temporarily erected in the area.
By Jon Rand
As the weather gets hotter, it’s full steam ahead for the Ward Parkway Homes Association. Two of our most popular events — the Garden Tour and 4th of July Picnic — are just around the corner.
Most people living or passing through our neighborhood cannot help but notice the exquisite care given to so many lawns and gardens. But they perhaps do not realize that some of these gardens are among the city’s most impressive.
That is why we showcase some of our beautiful gardens every two years. This year’s tour is free and open to the public Sunday, June 14, from 1–4 p.m.
Seven hosts, all located within easy walking distance of each other, have graciously agreed to show their gardens, serve snacks, answer questions and offer advice upon request.
The hosts and their addresses will be listed on fliers being delivered to all WPHA households and area businesses, including the Soil Service at 7125 Troost.
Just a few weeks later, WPHA will be host to the annual Fourth of July picnic, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Hale Cook School on 73rd Street between Jefferson and Pennsylvania.
This has been for decades one of the neighborhood’s most popular events.
Sluggerr, the Royals’ mascot, will return as a special guest to lead the youngsters in their traditional bicycle parade and entertain with his delightful antics.
There will be prizes for the best decorated bikes, as well as a raffle for everybody. The picnic also will feature games, face painting and an appearance by Kansas City fire fighters, who will offer the youngsters a hosing down and chance to sit behind the wheel of a truck.
WPHA will provide grilled brisket from McGonigle’s Market, hot dogs, condiments and bottled water. Neighbors are invited to bring side dishes.
Partly because of loud music blasting from bars, including those in the vicinity of Wornall Road and 75th Street, the Kansas City Council in early May voted to revise its ordinance regulating noise at commercial and residential properties.
Bert Malone, deputy director of the Kansas City Health Department, in testimony before the Council’s Committee on Neighborhoods, Housing and Healthy Communities, identified excessive noise as a “public health problem.”
After hearing from Malone and residents, including Maureen Hardy and Jon Rand of the WPHA board, the committee voted unanimously to send the ordinance to the full Council with recommendation for passage. The Council voted to pass it the next day.
Malone explained that excessive noise causes undue stress for residents, potentially contributing to heart disease. He also cited extreme frustration of residents kept up at night.
He reported that his department received 178 noise complaints in 2014 and receives between 125 and 180 in any given year. Most complaints are neighbor to neighbor.
The previous ordinance, Malone explained, had become out of date because of changes in development and technology. While bar areas formerly were relatively separate from residential neighborhoods, they now are often on top of each other, particularly downtown and in Waldo. Many downtown commercial buildings that once sat vacant after business hours have been turned into apartments and condominiums.
More sophisticated testing equipment, Malone explained, will give city inspectors better tools to measure both high and low-frequency noises.
Also, the current ordinance was passed before smoking bans inside city bars and restaurants, which prompted additions of outdoor decks featuring loud music.
Malone, who has helped mediate problems between bar owners and residents in Waldo, asked to hear from community representatives who could lend their perspectives to the proposal.
Hardy testified that after a meeting between Waldo residents and bar owners two years ago, most owners agreed to fix the problem. Chris and Andy Lewellen, owners of two popular spots, spent thousands of dollars adjusting the sound for the outdoor deck of The Well.
However, Hardy added, some other bars continue to emit excessive noise that can be heard from her home a few blocks away. Neighbors often call her to complain.
She said. “A lot of people call me and say, ‘We have children who need to get up and go to school in the morning and it’s 11o’clock.'”
Rand suggested that the uncooperative bars, if only a minority, made the revised ordinance necessary. He said that, in addition to loud music, neighbors have complained about noise from bottles being smashed into dumpsters after closing time and party buses standing in front of homes.
Malone added that although the revised ordinance spells out an enforcement process, he would prefer to first attempt mediation to resolve complaints.
“We will go out and say, ‘Do you realize what you’re doing? Here’s what you can do to comply,'” he said. “We will not order a citation until the second complaint within thirty days.”
Noise complaints, from loud music to barking dogs, can be directed to 311, the city’s action line. Residents seeking immediate action can call 911.
“Hopefully,” Malone said, “this will lead to a more peaceful environment.”
By Jon Rand
Police reports of crime within WPHA boundaries, which saw a disturbing increase over the winter, have since declined dramatically.
Just two crimes were reported in April, the latest month for which statistics were available at the May meeting of the Community Police Action Committee. CPAC meets the second Tuesday of each month at the Southtown Council offices at 6814 Troost.
The meetings, conducted by KCPD Sergeant James Pearce, allow residents to meet with police to gather crime reports, ask questions and solicit advice on preventing crime. Officers of private security companies also attend.
For April, WPHA experienced one report of stealing, in which a relative of the resident was found responsible, and a stolen van that was taken on Summit street when the keys were left inside. Also, a post on eNeighbors reports auto break-ins during May.
WPHA security patrol membership is a bargain for $50 a year, and residents are reminded to call 911 when they spot any suspicious behavior, or even annoyances such as aggressive solicitations.
The City Council in February passed a chronic nuisance ordinance that gives Kansas City residents an enhanced tool to address residences or businesses that become sites of criminal activity.
Under this ordinance, a location that fosters a misdemeanor or felony can face penalties from the city that could result in the property being seized and put up for auction.
“These are powers we haven’t had before,” said First District Councilman Scott Wagner at the February “Second Friday” meeting hosted by Sixth District Councilmen John Sharp and Scott Taylor at the Trailside Center at 99th and Holmes. The Sixth District includes WPHA boundaries.
Wagner, who represents the Northland, introduced the ordinance to replace a previous ordinance that he suggested needed strengthening.
Such lesser nuisances as barking dogs or overgrown yards would not be covered by this ordinance. It aims at such crimes as drug sales, illegal use of firearms, disorderly conduct, and incidents causing bodily injury.
Action from the city will result if police are called to a property for any of these alleged crimes three times within 30 days or seven times within 180 days.
Then the business or home owner cited will be required to appear before the city’s neighborhoods and housing services department. If the complaints are founded, the party cited will be given 30 days to produce a plan to correct the issues.
Those cited can be required to pay for repairs or subject to special assessments. Such assessments, Wagner said, “will go on their county property taxes and begin their trip to the courthouse steps.”
A property owner can take his case before a seven-member chronic nuisance board, which will be appointed by Mayor Sly James. Any community members who will to be considered can contact Sharp at john.sharp@kcmo.org or Taylor at katrina.foster@kcmo.org. The ordinance, No. 150044, can be found online.
Despite all the events and responsibilities undertaken by the Ward Parkway Homes Association, your board of directors would like to offer even more. However, with too few volunteers trying to tackle too many assignments, some popular services have fallen by the wayside.
A leaves and bulky items pickup complementing the city’s pickups was discontinued a few years ago when our coordinator stepped down and nobody would replace him. Our Easter Egg Hunt coordinator moved, almost forcing cancellation of this year’s hunt until Brian and Rachel Mason stepped up to replace her. Coordinating these events does not involve a great deal of time, just the willingness to make phone calls, send emails and stay on top of deadlines.
If you are willing to help your Homes Association, there is an assignment tailored to your skills and availability. We are always looking for enthusiastic board members or event volunteers and anyone interested in becoming one needs only to attend a monthly meeting and express your interest. The board meets the first Tuesday of each month, unless noted otherwise, at 7:30 p.m. at Ward Parkway Presbyterian Church at 74th Street and Ward Parkway.
For further information, please contact WPHA President Frank Haar at fhaar@kc.rr.com or contact the board through our eNeighbors or Facebook pages.