Category: Opinions

Fringe Festival to open this week

by William Crum

OK, it’s one hot summer, so what do you do? Well, there is something that is going on, the annual Fringe Festival.

This is where various acts such as vaudeville, comedy, dance and theater perform at various venues in Kansas City, Missouri. It runs from July 20 to 30.

Every year this event attracts people from all over the world and this year is going to be no exception to that.

According to the Fringe Festival officials, over 120 acts will be performing at various venues in the Kansas City, Missouri, area and two of the acts include people with ties to Wyandotte County. One play is called “Check Mate,” by David Hanson, who happens to be the assistant director of the Kansas City, Kansas, Public Libraries, and it will be performed at the Arts Tech studio in Kansas City, Missouri. The other play is called “My White Son” and is performed and written by Lewis Morrow. It is at the Arts Asylum theater in Kansas City, Missouri.

Every year a lot of people from Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, also volunteer for the Fringe Festival. The cost of the show is $10 per person and for $5 you can buy a Fringe button, which allows you to go to late-night of the Fringe, plus when you buy a button you get a discount at certain merchants within the community, such as Chez Elle, the restaurant best known for their crepes, and the Musical Theater Heritage, where you can get 20 percent off your ticket and this offer includes a Christmas show.

This year is even more special because according to the Fringe Festival authorities, they are talking about expanding and one place that they’re looking at for a venue is the Alcott Arts Center on 18th Street in Kansas City, Kansas. This will be the first time in the 13 years that the Fringe Festival has been going on that it is considering expansion, and where else but Wyandotte County. Nothing is official yet but negotiations are underway.

On Thursday, July 20, at the Folly Theater in Kansas City, Missouri, they’re going to have an event called the Fringe Teasers where you can see various samples of acts that perform in the festival. It is a free event that starts at 5:30 p.m.; get there early.

If you want to go to a place where they have good quality entertainment for all members of the family, this year’s Fringe Festival is for the young and old alike, and I highly recommend it. If you can’t go Thursday night you can always visit their website, https://kcfringe.org/.

County administrator to present 2018 budget

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Opinion column

by Murrel Bland

County Administrator Doug Bach will present the proposed 2018 Unified Government budget when the Unified Commission meets at 5 p.m. Thursday, July 6, in the Commission Chamber at City Hall.

Bach, who spoke at a membership meeting of Business West Wednesday, June 28, didn’t reveal what the dollar amount of the budget might be. However, he did confirm that the city-county mill rate—used to compute property tax bills—would be two mills less than 2016. Kathy Briney has confirmed that property valuations generally have increased.

Bach said, consistent with a strategic plan, the Unified Government is increasing efforts to eliminate blight. The “SOAR” program (Stabilization, Occupation And Revitalization) focuses on eliminating vacant, abandoned and poorly maintained property. This is part of a five-year plan to reduce the negative impact on neighborhoods.

Bach said that thanks to the sales tax revenue from businesses in the Village West area, the Unified Government has more than $12 million it can invest in services.

Bach said the Amazon warehouse, which should be operational later this month, will provide 2,000 new jobs. This development is one that could be the keystone for other development along the Turner Diagonal from K-32 to State Avenue. However, better access to I-70 will be necessary for this area to expand and truly realize its potential.

Construction on the U.S. Soccer National Training Center is expected to be completed by the end of the year, Bach said. Proposals for a convention center in the Village West area have been received, Bach said, and are being evaluated.

Property owners complained about the “city hall bureaucracy,” particularly for the small investor. Joe Vaught, a commercial Realtor, said he has lost prospects because of “slow walking” in dealing with officials at City Hall.

Bach has been county administrator for the past 3.5 years. He has been with the Unified Government since 1997.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is executive director of Business West.

State looks to better times financially

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Opinion column

by Murrel Bland

After flirting with bankruptcy, the Kansas Legislature took the necessary action to restore financial stability to state government. At least that is the way State Rep. Kathy Wolfe Moore, D- 36th Dist., sees it.

Rep. Moore was among the state legislators who were panelists at the monthly meeting of the Congressional Forum Friday, June 16, at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.

Moore said since 2012, the state has spent all of its reserves and failed to fund transportation and the state pension fund adequately. She said that by increasing the income tax and eliminating the “LLC loophole” for business, the state should be solvent. She said the state income tax will have three brackets rather than only two brackets that Gov. Sam Brownback proposed.

The “LLC loophole,” which allows business owners to escape paying any state income tax, was approved in 2012 by a Legislature that was much more conservative and aligned with Gov. Brownback. The 2016 election yielded a much more moderate Legislature, particularly from Johnson County. Political observers saw this repeal of the “LLC loophole” as a very major defeat for the governor. Gov. Brownback is expected to accept a position in President Donald Trump’s administration as an envoy to the United Nations.

About half of the $6 billion budget that the legislators control will go to fund education. The Kansas City, Kansas, School District received about $139 million from the state for the 2016-2017 school year—nearly half of its $300 million annual budget. The Legislature has suggested that the district receive an additional $9 million for the coming year. The Kansas Supreme Court will have to approve the amount that the Legislature spends on schools. A decision is expected soon.

State Rep. Valdenia Winn, D- 34th Dist., who is a history professor at Kansas City Kansas Community College, and also a member of the Kansas City, Kansas, School Board, said the proposed state funding is not enough.

Only about two-thirds of the students in the district graduate with their class. The Community College must spend a considerable amount of money in holding remedial classes in reading and mathematics. Most of these students are from the Kansas City, Kansas, District. Even some students from Sumner Academy, a college preparatory school, must take such classes, according to J.D. Rios, a former administrator with the school district who is now chairman of the Board of Trustees at the college. In past years, Sumner Academy has been recognized as one of the top high schools in the United States.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. His is executive director of Business West.