Mel's 10 Point Plan for a Better Kansas City
"With your vote on March 27th, I will begin putting it into place the day I am sworn in."
Improving our neighborhoods with better streets, curbs, and sidewalks.
As President of the Armour Hills Homes Association in Brookside, I led a public-private partnership to replace 90 percent of our curbs and sidewalks. This program needs to be replicated in every neighborhood. As your city councilman, I will bring neighborhood associations together with City Hall to do just that. I will also lead the effort to create a Street Utility Fund dedicated exclusively to street repair and maintenance.
Building light-rail (first from Downtown to the Plaza).
A light-rail system will connect our neighborhoods, strengthen our urban core, and make our attractions wonderful - from the City Market to the Plaza - more accessible to all of us. The recent ballot endorsement of Light Rail gives us a unique opportunity. We must cut through the obstacles and flaws and use this public mandate to, finally, get us started with light rail. As your city councilman, I will lead the effort to build consensus around a light-rail route, ensure a quality design, and work with the new mayor to secure the funds to build it.
Extending the Trolley Track Trail to the Riverfront.
The Trolley Track Trail, which I helped create, is a great urban resource for walkers and bikers that brings our neighborhoods together. I will lead the effort to extend the trail from the Plaza to the Missouri River, where it will link up with the Riverfront Heritage Trail. We need more green space and recreational opportunities in Kansas City.
Making Kansas City a 100-percent wireless city.
Philadelphia is doing it. So are Portland, Boston, and Tulsa. And Johnson County, Kansas is taking bids. I will lead the effort to get wireless Internet coverage for all of Kansas City. Being at the cutting-edge of Internet technology will encourage businesses to locate and stay in Kansas City, and will help all of us to stay connected.
Making our neighborhoods safe.
No one should be afraid to open their door at night or worry that their house might be robbed. Some years back, things got bad enough that I led an effort to hire a private security firm to patrol our neighborhood. We can do better. I will bring community groups and police together to develop individualized neighborhood crime prevention programs, and will lead the fight for the expansion of neighborhood bike patrols.
Making downtown a vibrant urban place.
As an architect and urban designer, I have long been passionate about invigorating downtown. We're making vital investments today, such as the Arena and the Performing Arts Center. Now we need to take on some of the less expensive, but still critical, tasks to finish the job.
I will lead the effort to ensure: attractive pedestrian areas with trees and streetscape; first-floor retail; a grocery store to support the new downtown housing; more programmed activities; more public art; and better signage. With these improvements, we will create a downtown that attracts new businesses, tourists, and people from all over the region.
Preserving our historic structures landmarks - and creating great new ones.
Kansas City has a great tradition of caring about our physical beauty and civic presence. Our parks and boulevard system, our great civic monuments, our charming neighborhoods, the Plaza - all make us a special place. It is important that this tradition be vigorously continued and expanded. As an architect and former Landmarks Committee Chairman, I will take the lead in ensuring this legacy be honored and strengthened. I will also ensure our new architecture is of the quality that a great city like ours deserves. I will advance an ordinance to set strong architectural standards that promote quality and energy-efficient design.
Planting more trees and creating better parks (including dog parks).
As leader of our association, I launched a tree-planting program that the Kansas City Star called a model public-private partnership. I will lead the effort to expand this program city-wide so we continue to have beautiful and easily-maintained trees lining our streets. I also led an effort to restore a key neighborhood park, and was active in creating a dog park in Penn Valley Park. I will work to improve our parks, and will make a special effort to create more parkshomes dogthey bring neighbors (and pets) together!
Making our public schools excellent.
None of us should rest when our public schools are failing our kids. There is no silver-bullet answer. What we need is leadership and commitment to take the issue head-on. I will bring parents, teachers, neighborhood leaders, and government leaders from every level of government together and we will come up with strategies to make progress with our schools. This cannot just be a challenge for the school board. It is a challenge for us all.
Ensuring honesty and integrity in City Hall.
As a small business-person, I have been appalled at the corruption within City Hall. How many elected officials must be indicted before we take these problems seriously? For nearly the entire last decade, the Kansas City Municipal Officials Commission Ethics - the entity whose job it is to investigate city officials - has been completely inactive. As city councilman, I will ensure that this commission is doing its job: holding our city officials accountable to the highest ethical standards.
I know this is an ambitious agenda. Some of it can be accomplished
quickly. Some of it will take longer. But I believe this is
an agenda worth fighting for, and I commit to working every
day as your city councilman to make it happen. If you have any
questions ab out these proposals, please give me a call at
816-256-8334 or send me an email.