Unfettered Letters

Thanks for keeping KC fountains flowing

  On behalf of the City of Fountains Foundation, we are extremely grateful and want to thank the Parks and Recreation Department commissioners for their decision to turn on the fountains. Special thanks needs to go to Mark McHenry, director, and Heidi Downer, director of marketing, for their advocacy on behalf of the fountains. 

The overwhelming support of the citizens of the entire metropolitan Kansas City area indicated their agreement in your decision. The outpouring of letters, articles and comments to the media certainly substantiates your decision.

The City of Fountains Foundation has not only a monetary but also a philosophical investment in all the fountains in Kansas City. Again, we thank everyone for his or her efforts and contributions, which enabled the fountains to be turned on this spring.

Joel D. Vile
President and board of directors, City of Fountains Foundation
Kansas City

Let Funkhouser do his job

I was born and raised in the Kansas City area and moved away in 1984. I have been in contact with the Kansas City area and moved back after 20 years.

I have come to the conclusion that if Kansas City wants to become the great city it used to be, then the first thing that needs to be done is to have the entire City Council removed and let Mayor Funkhouser do his job. That is what he was elected to do.

The existing City Council has been so wrapped up with political behavior that they could not work with anyone.

Chuck Rusher
Shawnee

There goes the P&L …

Regarding the recent passage to relax the dress code of the Power & Light District, I say this to the City Council: what cowards! Those of us paying patrons were in favor of leaving the code alone. But again the city of Kansas City cowered to the threats of others.
 
Let’s all stand back and watch a great area to visit and patronize go the way of Westport, and be turned over to an underage group whose sole purpose is to intimidate the paying public.

Linda Clark
Kingsville, Mo.

Snow already gone after Eagles concert

I attended the Eagles concert at the Sprint Center on March 28, and there was a blizzard going on when I went. I expected the sidewalks and street to really be a mess by the time the concert was over.

Much to my surprise, the sidewalk and street were clear and clean. What an awesome job those working did to clear the snow. Also, I was quite impressed with control and flow of traffic in the area. I really couldn’t believe how smoothly everything went.

Hats off to all those involved!
 
Barb Mayfield
 Springfield, Mo.

Creative ways to trim KC budget

Everyone is concerned about budget cuts and their effects. No one wants to see services cut, rates raised or fountains turned off. Some alternatives to consider:

Plant wildflowers in boulevard dividers to cut mowing.

Convert city vehicles to propane or, better, switch from diesel to biodiesel. Even better, make your own biodiesel at a cost of about $1 a gallon.

Thin out the zoo herd, selling excess animals, increasing revenue and reducing food and care costs.

Put timers on fountains to run from 7 a.m. to midnight.

Hire a cost-savings consultant who thinks outside the box.

Sometimes it’s difficult to see the forest when you’re so close to the trees. If city leaders keep increasing costs of basic services as their only solution, it will only drive away those citizens they were elected to serve. It’s time to get creative.

Jim Summers
Kansas City

Funk’s family should stay home

Another day, another article about Mayor Funkhouser (3/30, Local, “Mayor pushes back; Funkhouser will ask court to throw out rule that City Council passed last year”). He needs to spend his time and resources doing the job he was hired to do instead of trying to institute a bring-your-family-to-work-day policy at City Hall.

If Funkhouser can’t part ways from his family during business hours, he should stay home and play games with them rather than waste our time and let city business tank even further.

Molly Gavin
Kansas City

KC’s fountains

I keep hearing the pros and cons on whether the Kansas City’s fountains should be turned on, or just left off to save money.

While I don’t live in Kansas City, I think that leaving the fountains off would be like having your front door boarded up. What a bad impression for anyone considering relocating to this area.

The remedy is simple: Get the public involved. The city could set up a “Flowing Fountain Fund” for the public to contribute to. You would then have businesses donating (they would oppose the negative image, too), “do-gooder” groups and children holding fundraisers, and even contributions from citizens like me who might send in a dollar or two.

This would go a long way toward paying the water bill. It would also have the added effect of fostering pride in our surroundings and a desire to help maintain them.

Esther Miller
Liberty
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I have read articles that Kansas City is considering turning off the water fountains in an effort to save money. With that in mind, why are they spending a pretty good sum of money to rebuild the fountain at Ninth and the Paseo?
 
Ferdinand Shore
Kansas City
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Turn off the fountains to save $160,000? Great idea. When the smoke clears, it will cost a quarter of a million to turn them back on due to the vandalism, graffiti and theft. The city won’t have that kind of money, so the fountains will sit idle.

Kansas City will no longer be known as the city of fountains. It will be known as the city of stupidity.

L.D. Mason
Kansas City

Make a difference

During difficult economic times, there are two ways that a city can improve its financial situation — cut expenses and increase revenue. But it takes much more than a balanced budget for a city to thrive. It takes citizens who care deeply and take action — people like Linda Callon and Mark Forsythe.

Linda Callon is an activist on the city’s West Side. She mobilized an effort to improve the neighborhood sprayground by adding shade so the children could enjoy the park all summer.

Mark Forsythe, a former neighborhood president, learned that an electric car company was looking to relocate, and he contacted the city’s Economic Development Corporation. Because of his initiative, an electric car plant is being built that will employ 200 people.

Look around and imagine what you might be able to accomplish. If we are going to weather this economic storm, we all need to be part of the solution.

Jan Marcason
Kansas City Council, Fourth District, in-district
Kansas City

Proposed KC budget cuts risky

I hope Deb Hermann and the rest of the City Council realize they are playing with fire (no pun intended) by wanting to close three fire stations to balance the budget (3/18, A-1, “Third budget in the mix”). Time is the most important element in the event of any emergency, heart attack, auto accident or fire. Lives are saved in a matter of seconds.

The National Institute of Standards and Technologies building research laboratory report, taken from large-scale tests, shows how fast fires grow in furnished rooms from ignition to flashover — when all combustibles in a room burst into flames and the fire spreads rapidly. For example, a dry Christmas tree in a room will flash over in 45 seconds, an upholstered sofa in four minutes, and a wastebasket in an office in five minutes. That is why fire stations are strategically located.

Surely the Council is aware of the severity of these decisions.

Jack Stokes
Kansas City

While reading assurances that Kansas City’s budget proposal would not reduce the number of our police officers, to whom do we go for assurance that a number of those officers will not be moved from the streets to desk jobs to cover for the dismissed civilians?

Not until we have been assured of our basic services can we responsibly consider the optional services, about which so many seem unrealistically concerned.

M.E. Bryan
Kansas City

Take responsibility

To all you “inner city” residents (and I am one of you), quit whining about special-interest programs that may be eliminated from Kansas City’s budget and start taking responsibility for yourselves.

It’s simply the right thing to do.

Charles Ballew
Kansas City