Jeff Quibell’s Blue Springs Newsletter, March 21, 2008 – A Trusted Leader Who Listens
Spring has finally arrived! It is nice to be walking in our neighborhoods and visiting people on their door steps without rain, ice, sleet or snow! With over 5,400 homes visited in Blue Springs, each neighborhood is beginning to feel like home to me. By election day I hope to have visited 6,000 homes out of the 16,336 in our town. Obviously, there are still many households that I will not be able to reach personally. If I have not visited you yet, I hope you will join me at one of my town hall meetings on March 29th at the Park Shelter in Baumgardner Park. I will be holding meetings at 10:00am and 4:00pm on that day.
The Public Art Commission’s 2008 exhibit, “Reflections”, is available for viewing at Rotary Park and Vesper Hall. The pictures follow this paragraph, but the artwork is much more impressive in person. I hope you will drop by and see them for yourself.
Before moving to Blue Springs, I grew up in Warrensburg. Recently my mother came across an old photo of my freshman basketball team at University High in Warrensburg. As I looked at the photo, I noticed two other people, fairly well known in Blue Springs, are also in the picture.
The first person to accurately identify me in the picture will receive a gift certificate to The Coffee House at 8th & Main. The first person to identify me, along with the two other local residents will be treated to a free dinner with me and my wife Wanda at the Blue Springs Country Club. Hint: one is a Blue Springs resident. The other lives in Independence, but their children went to Blue Springs High School. To keep it fair, the individuals in the picture and my friends from Warrensburg are not eligible. I will publish the winners in my next newsletter!
The new proposed Woods Chapel Tax Increment Financing Plan will be presented to the Blue Springs TIF Commission on Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at the Public Safety Building. For those of you interested in a project that has the potential to finally bring a grocery store to the western side of town, I would encourage you to attend this meeting.
Pothole Hotline
The winter freezing and thawing cycles inevitably brings with it the aftermath of potholes. Did you know that the City has a hotline to report potholes? Call (816) 228-0291 to report a pothole anywhere in Blue Springs, and the city’s Public Works Department will be notified.
Buy Your Discount Season Swim Pass Now
Swim passes are now on sale for the summer 2008 season. During March, passes are discounted 15%. Contact the Blue Springs Parks and Recreation at (816) 228-0137.
At the March 17th meeting, Councilman Solon and I advocated sending the proposed property maintenance code back to committee. It is crucial that we have a plan for property owners who truly cannot afford to meet the requirements of the new property maintenance codes before we put them into effect. Our staff has been advised to move ahead as quickly as possible. I will continue to work with the Property Maintenance committee and our city staff to bring this important issue back to the Council in the very near future.
Lunar Bowl is hosting the 2008 Missouri State Youth Championship Bowling Tournament from March 15th thru April 27th. 465 teams with over 1800 bowlers will compete for 6 weekends in the USBC sanctioned event. I had the privilege of representing Blue Springs at the opening ceremonies, held this past Saturday. The presentation of the flag was performed by the Blue Springs South ROTC and Malena Marcase sang the National Anthem. The public is encouraged to come and watch the tournament free of charge. With the majority of bowlers coming in from out of the Kansas City area, it is expected that motel rooms will be booked the weekends of the event. Lunar Bowl has significant experience with hosting tournaments, having been the site for the PBA National Tour in 2003 and 2004. Don’t miss this exciting event, right here in our home town!
Election day is just over 2 weeks away. It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly 7 months since I made the decision to seek the office of Mayor of Blue Springs! I cannot even begin to tell you how much I have enjoyed meeting so many of you and hearing your encouragement and excitement as we have talked about the significant improvements that are happening in our community. I hope you will all join me on election night (AFTER YOU VOTE!).
