Free complimentary copy July 15, 2016 • Volume 3, No. 38
www.raytowneagle.com • 75¢
Main Street Association auction raises $10k, fundraising continues By Kris Collins The Raytown Main Street Association raised $10,000 this past weekend with its Let Our Light Shine fundraising auction. The money will go toward purchasing new commercial lighting and holiday decorations for the organization’s Annual Holiday Lighting Ceremony. The fundraising goal was $20,000, but Sue Frank, event chair for the auction, said the organization will continue its efforts. “We had a great event Friday night at the sneak-peek auction,” Frank said. “I think everyone had a good dinner and a good time, got to visit and whatnot. We didn’t have the turnout at all we had hoped for at the auction, but all things considered, to raise $10,000 on our first big fundraising effort, I’m real pleased with that.” She estimated the crowd at the auction to be around 50. The main street association was hoping for 300. The organization may likely hold future and similar fundraising events to get nearer to the $20,000 goal. “We still have a lot of things that are available for a sale, so we’re going to meet as a board and decide how best to go about that,” Frank said. “What were considering doing is having an estate sale or auction.” She said notices of future events will be posted on the main street association’s website, http://raytownmainstreet.org, once those decisions are made. “I still think $20,000, whether we have another auction or have an estate sale, I think that goal is very achievable,” she said. “We still want to collect donations and get our space filled up there again if people have items they are continuing to clean out or would like to donate.” Frank said she was overwhelmed by the support of the community in the quality and quantity of donations. She said thinks the improvements on 63rd Street as part of the Downtown Streetscape project are also getting people excited about the lighting ceremony, planned for Dec. 2 this year. “Everybody is just abuzz about the streetscape and how nice it
Photo by Kris Collins Sue Frank, event chair for the Raytown Main Street Association’s Let Our Light Shine fundraiser, said the recent improvements on 63rd Street as part of the Downtown Streetscape Project in Raytown are a boon to the organization’s fundraising efforts for new holiday lighting and decorations for the annual lighting ceremony.
looks,” Frank said. “I think it helped our cause as well for raising money for the Christmas lighting. I think it suddenly becomes more tangible, people can start to envision the lights on the trees and on the polls and the pillars there on the corners … I think it’s going to be fabulous. I’m very encouraged about it.” Though the fundraising target hasn’t yet been hit, Frank said
there will be an improvement to the lighting ceremony this year. The variable is to what extent. “If we don’t meet that [$20,000] then we don’t meet that, but at this point in the game there is definitely going to be holiday lights downtown, it’s just whether it’s as grand and glorious as we’d like it to be. “The ultimate goal was make Raytown a regional destination for people that love holiday lighting.
There would be word in the metro: ‘Hey have you been to downtown Raytown?’ And that, of course, is what we’d like to see.” Updates on future fundraising events may also be found at the main street association’s Facebook page. The Let Our Light Shine Go Fund Me account may be found at https://www.gofundme.com/raytownlight. Donation information is available by calling 816-353-4400.
AG closes file on Raytown aldermen Sunshine complaint, avows to keep eye on board By Kris Collins Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, in a letter to the Raytown Board of Aldermen dated July 6, said his office is closing the file on a Sunshine Law complaint it received in March in connection with meetings some board members had with Raytown Fire Protections District officials on the status of the Raytown Live Tax Increment Finance District. Though the file is closed, Koster noted at the end of his letter that his office “will continue to observe the actions of the Raytown Board of Aldermen with interest; and will carefully evaluate the causes of any future complaints.” Alderwomen Karen Black and Janet Emerson, Aldermen Josh Greene, Jason Greene, Steve Meyers, Mark Moore, and Eric Teeman met with Fire Chief Matt Mace and Deputy Chief Mike Hunley in February to review TIF information. In March, Koster’s office re-
Chris Koster
ceived a complaint that no notice or agenda was posted for the two meetings held on Feb. 15. Joe Willerth, the city’s attorney, told Koster’s office in a letter that there was no discussion and no public policy was formed during the meeting. Koster disagrees. He states in the letter that after reviewing email communication between the board
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members about the meetings that “it is not unreasonable to conclude that the members discussed public business at that time.” Furthermore, Koster stated the fire district posted all of the information presented during the meetings on its blogspot, which he rates as an indication the district believed the information to be of public interest. Hunley said the fire district first reached out to Jason Greene, as the board’s liaison to the fire board, and he organized the meetings, though he did not attend either of the meetings on Feb. 15. The meetings were strictly informational, he added. “Our perspective is that public agencies sharing agencies with each other is what should be happening and public entities shouldn’t be avoiding communication with each other,” Hunley said. Greene says he stands by his decision to organize the meetings, noting he was not as familiar with the information as Mace and Hun-
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ley and could not have explained the information to the other board members. “We have to address the problems,” Greene said. “This is a job about community service. Our job is trying to create dialogue and communicate with fire to address these issues. We didn’t want to do anything to hurt the community, we’re trying to better the community. This was all blown out of hand.” When asked why the meetings needed to be held immediately without public notice or any agenda posted the statutorily required 24 hours before the meeting, he said he wanted to act quickly to address a serious issue. In response to the complaint or any suggestion of wrongdoing or impropriety, Greene said Mayor Mike McDonough posted a public statement about the fire district’s TIF concerns on the city’s website. “For anyone to say there is some sort of cover up is completely erroneous,” Greene said.
Movies in the Park, July 15: ‘Lego Movie’
The July 15 installment of the Raytown Parks and Recreation Department’s Movies in the Park will be “Lego Movie.” The free showing will begin at dusk at C. Lee Kenagy Park, located at 79th Street and Raytown Road. The parks department requests attendees bring lawn chairs or blankets for the event. More information on Movies in the Park is available at the Raytown Parks and Recreation Department Office at 816-358-4100.
‘Field to Fork’ cooking lesson Aug. 16 The Missouri Department of Conservation is offering cooking tips and recipes for fish as part of it free program series Field to Fork. Registration opens July 19 for the mid-August course on cooking catfish and rough fish. Some sport fish favorites will be on the menu such as flathead catfish, channel catfish and blue catfish. But chefs will also tackle oft-ignored fish, sometimes called rough fish, such as gar, carp, buffalo, Asian carp and drum. “These fish may not be beautiful, but they can be delicious,” said James Worley, an MDC education specialist and food expert who organizes the series. Chef Brett Atkinson, of Wilma’s Real Good Food, and Chef Carlos Falcon, of Jaroscho Pescados y Maricos, will handle the cooking duties and share recipes and cooking tips. The course runs from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Aug 16 at the Anita B. Gorman Discovery Center, located at 4750 Troost Ave. in Kansas City. Registration is required with a $20 deposit for a spot in the class. Registration may be completed by calling 816-759-7300. Deposits will be returned to attendees or they may choose to donate it to the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation. Registration for the following Field to Fork session will begin after each class: • Sept. 20: pan fish and squirrel. • Oct. 18: Canada goose and wild turkey • Nov. 15: deer, • Dec. 20: waterfowl
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