The No-TIF District

By Mark Forsythe The Kansas City Post It seems there isn't a week that goes by in Kansas City without some sort of announcement about tax incentives being asked for or awarded. Whether it be a small tax credit to move the nomadic NAIA headquarters from downtown; to Tulsa; to Olathe and back to downtown, a 353 Tax Abatement to reward a politically active local electrical contractor, or the usual TIF plans for building more "public" parking structures there is no end to the public subsidy gravy train. So much time and energy is expended creating, expanding and modifying TIF Districts. Check the docket of any weekly council meeting and you'll most likely see the words "amended" and "TIF district" in the same ordinance. An economic development tool that was meant to revitalize has actually created a new welfare state. TIF Districts tend to grow and multiply rather then retire quietly. Have you ever heard of a TIF district being eliminated or at least reduced? Why can't we create no-TIF Districts? It seems to me it might save some time if we red-lined some places on the map and told developers they're definitely on their own in these areas. It doesn't take the charade of an Economic Development Task Force to understand what areas of Kansas City do not need to be incentivized. Why is it that any Kansas Citian with a pulse will shake their head in disgust at the prospect of TIF incentives on the Country Club Plaza, or greenfields in the northland yet the incentive party continues ahem... unabated? The answer, in my opinion, is simple economics. You, the average Kansas Citian do not write large checks to political campaigns. Developers, their attorneys, construction companies, contractors, and unions do. The organizations that benefit the most from the actual construction activities are the ones controlling the lifeblood of our politicians. Money. These groups have your elected officials' cellphones on speed dial. You don't. It would seem the mayor and council could go a long way towards restoring public faith in our economic development policies by declaring a moratorium on tax incentives in just one area of Kansas City. I recommend starting with the Plaza, but there are other areas that would qualify. Sure there will be much wailing and hand-wringing from the developers, and maybe even a threat or two about withholding campaign dollars, but in the end even they will realize that it's a level playing field and there is plenty of opportunity to go around.

Passenger Rail: The Northern Flyer Alliance

By Mark Corriston Kansas City Director Northern Flyer Alliance Everyone has an opinion regarding rail travel. Most people express strong enthusiasm, commenting that they desire trains similar to what operates today in Europe and Japan. When these people open to deeper beliefs the issues and opinions take on interesting twists; quite often reflecting assumptions that are repeated from coast-to-coast. John Q. Public often states: “Train travel is more viable on the coasts. We need bullet trains to cut travel times.” Opinions about High Speed Rail typically follow. Further discussion drifts to ever more specific issues including airline-rail line comparisons, costs, and ridership considerations. Understanding of passenger rail service has seemingly vaporized over the past 37 years since Amtrak ran its first passenger trains. This is especially true in Kansas City where only four daily passenger trains currently operate from Union Station. Quite a few organizations are promoting passenger rail expansion in the Kansas City area and nationwide. A recent article in Parade magazine clearly revealed where this is happening; revealing how much public support is emerging for an intercity passenger rail rebirth. Yet, this strong public referendum, as revealed in Parade’s on-line poll (97% in favor of increasing government funding for trains), seems to have little impact upon elected officials. A collective belief is growing nationwide that energy costs, affecting everything from food to transportation, will only grow. The energy crisis facing the nation will not be solved through singular improvements in fuel efficient personal transportation or alternate fuel technology. We are on the cusp of a paradigm change in how America travels and will be unable to continue along the path of highway expansion behind the curve of traffic congestion. This will require leadership not seen in today’s average politician. Many are awakening to the fact it was a mistake for the United States to turn its back and abandon its passenger rail services. Highways improvements have not improved connectivity for all American cities. Transportation planners now are actually bypassing many communities in the name of speed. This hastens rural decline but does not hide the effects. Fringe development, along the bypass highways promotes the transport of goods, but spells doom for the community. Major highways now only connect major cities, which are also connected by the major airlines. Airlines and highways provide critical supports for transportation. However, in Europe, as should be in America, a third transportation foundation exists. For the moving of freight it already exists on rails as well as highways. Expansion of passenger rail service is important and can be done at a fraction of the cost of other transportation development. The Northern Flyer Alliance is a political action association providing a communication conduit and a call to action for Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas communities. Our mission is to reconnect communities and major cities along an uninterrupted intercity rail transportation corridor from Illinois to Texas through Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. The State of Kansas holds the key to this expansion through a repurposing of the rail corridor between Newton, Kansas through Wichita and south to Oklahoma City The U.S. Senate recently passed a bill that can provide major funding increases for Amtrak, including provisions for intercity passenger service compacts between states. Kansas and Oklahoma are in a perfect position to share in up to an 80% federal match for the cost of corridor development mentioned above. For Kansas this translates into an estimated $8 million dollar requirement, of which $6 million would originate from the federal match. Ridership is projected in the neighborhood of 75,000 the first year likely higher based on similar routes that have developed in recent years. On Saturday, December 8th from 10:30-noon, the Northern Flyer Alliance will hold an open public meeting in the Jarvis Hunt room in Kansas City Union Station. This convocation and discussion will include representatives from regional rail advocacy coalitions whose efforts are supported by the NFA. All are welcome to attend, listen, learn, and share ideas that support our passenger rail expansion initiative.

Animal Control: It's Just That Simple

By Brent Toellner The Kansas City Post In 2006, Kansas City Animal Control Services answered only 20% of incoming requests for service. KCACS is underfunded, under-staffed and some employees lack the skills, or the desire to properly prosecute animal cruelty cases. The few ACS officers who are caring and competent are not given the support they need. Pet licensing revenue, while earmarked for animal control operations is routinely siphoned off into the general fund by elected leaders who have no concept of the fallout from their decisions. KCACS is forced to kill approximately 8000 pets a year – that’s 22 pets a day, yet still our leadership refuses to act. Forget the fact that we’re already paying for these services and that money is being redirected, we live in a civilized society and treating animals like disposable napkins is unacceptable. What if I told you all of these issues could be solved with no prohibitive restrictions on pet owners – including no breed-specific restrictions, no pet limits, no anti-tethering ordinances and no mandatory spay/neuter programs and no increase in taxes? If it sounds too good to be true, it’s not. These are exactly the results that have been achieved in Calgary, Alberta. At the recent Kansas City Dog Advocates' Canine Legislation Conference, Bill Bruce, from Calgary, Alberta outlined the details of how his program has achieved these amazing results: 1) Created a 50% decrease in the number of dog bites/attacks/chases (during a time when the city’s population has doubled). 2) Brought euthanasia rates down to where only 256 animals were killed last year in its entire animal welfare system (including all shelters). All of the animals that were killed were due to behavior or health reasons. The city of about 1 million people did not kill one adoptable animal last year. 3) 90-95% dog licensing compliance KCMO’s is less than 10%) 4) The animal control department's $3.7 million budget is 100% funded through licensing fees and fines. 5) Nearly 80% of stray dogs returned to their owners. 6) 140 dedicated off-leash areas. In 1990 Calgary raised the fines for getting caught with an unlicensed dog from $30 to $250. They made it very easy to license your dog -- online, via phone where “customer service representatives” will take your calls, at your vets office, and kiosks at the animal control office, etc. Every dollar raised from animal licensing (and fines for non-compliance) GOES back into funding animal control -- not back into the city's general fund. Calgary strongly encourages all people who license their dogs and to also have them micro chipped. When a stray dog is found, the animal control officer can instantly scan the the chip, and deliver the dog home free of charge. This home delivery service saves the city money in time and resources by not having to provide food, sheltering and care for these stray animals. If a dog does end up making it to the shelter, its photo is taken and placed on their web page within 15 minutes of the reaching the shelter. It is also given medical care by a licensed veterinarian. If you have a pet I’m sure you just said “Wow!” The security of knowing your pet will be cared for and returned to you is well worth the licensing fee. While Calgary sounds like a utopia for pet owners, the situation in the KC metropolitan area is quite different. I hear stories about local animal controls breaking through locks to steal people's pets based on what breed they think it might be, the massive killing of dogs in our shelters, dogs that are returned to abusive owners, shelters that are supposed to care for these animals even attempting to find the pet a new home; staff not following policy of scanning for a micro-chip; dogs being taken out of someone's loving home and “euthanized” because someone was over the pet limit -- the list goes on. Kansas City should emulate successful animal control programs instead of wasting tax dollars on restrictive, ineffective policies. While I realize that simply taking one city's approach and applying it here would be ill-advised, there is much about Calgary's system that would greatly improve what most of us would admit is a failed policy. Increasing citizen satisfaction of the city services was a campaign promise of Mayor Funkhouser. In order for a revamped animal control policy to be successful, we will need leadership that will demand the policies be followed and laws strictly enforced. We will have to be diligent in our efforts to keep the city council from raiding animal control funds. We must rebuild trust in the system. With the proper leadership in place to implement these self-funding policies we would live in a safer city, decrease the needless killing of healthy animals and create a climate of trust between the city and its citizens. As Bill Bruce would say, “It’s just that simple.”

Thanks Frank

By Mark Forsythe The Kansas City Post 41 years is a long time to do anything. 41 years in service to the city of Kansas City is an amazing accomplishment. Frank Pogge has put in a lot of hours (and after hours) of community meetings, dealing with upset citizens over flooded basements, and generally serving behind the scenes in the not-so-glamorous world of water services. He will be missed and I certainly wish him a long and peaceful retirement. News from City Hall City Communications Office City of Kansas City, Mo. www.kcmo.org CONTACT: Mary Charles, City Communications Officer, (816) 513-1356 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 7, 2007 Water Services director to retire After a 41-year career with the City of Kansas City, Mo., Water Services Department, Director Frank Pogge will retire Dec. 31, City Manager Wayne A. Cauthen announced today. "Frank has served the Water Services Department well, having started as Laboratory Services director in September 1966 and advancing to director in March 2003," Cauthen said. Pogge held numerous positions within the department including: assistant chief and chief of the Water Supply Division, Water Treatment Plant manager, assistant department director and deputy department director. Throughout his tenure, Pogge oversaw major improvements such as reorganization of the department; the relocation and consolidation of engineering and administration offices to the 63rd Street location; implementation of capital improvement projects funded by voter approved bonds, including small main replacements, construction of a second trans-Missouri river tunnel, upgrades to the water distribution system, and improvements to the water treatment plant and wastewater treatment facilities. Pogge also directed implementation of a new billing system and the current installation of a state-of-the-art automatic meter reading system to better service Kansas City water and wastewater customers. Pogge also has served the industry on a state and national level as officer and board member of numerous organizations such as the American Water Works Association, National Association of Clean Water Agencies, Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, National Association of Corrosion Engineers and Missouri One Call Systems. Several of these agencies have awarded Pogge's service with state and national awards. "Frank's leadership and historical knowledge will be missed, but we wish him well in his new endeavors," Cauthen said.

You'll have your coal plant, and like it!

By Mark Forsythe The Kansas City Post Governor Sebelius has demanded an apology from the group Kansans For Affordable Energy for taking out full-page ads in major newspapers equating opposition of coal-burning power plants to supporters of Iran, Venezuela and Russia. While I agree this ad was ridiculous, I think the governor is going to have a long wait for that apology. Keep in mind this is a group that thinks risking people's lives to dig rocks out of the ground so they can be set on fire to boil water and generate electricity is a really good idea. When you're dealing with that kind of logic the concept of doing what's right may be beyond their grasp. Supporters of the coal-burning plants, and subsequently recipients of huge amounts of campaign contributions from the coal lobby, argue that economic development has been stifled in western Kansas. Perhaps. But what kind of economic development? Is a coal-burning power plant really the type of economic development a community should desire? Perhaps coal plant proponents should remember the old adage that necessity is the mother of invention. Yes, setting rocks on fire is the cheap and easy way, but Kansas has told you to find a safer, cleaner method. The pessimist packs up and goes home, taking out a full-page attack ad on the way. The optimist sees opportunity. There must be a way. New technology. New industry. New jobs that don't require risking your life for a paycheck. Pacific Gas & Energy (PG&E) has signed a long-expected solar power deal with Silicon Valley startup Ausra, agreeing to buy 177 megawatts of green electricity generated by a solar thermal plant to be built by the company on California's central coast, called the Carrizo Solar Energy Farm. Ausra claims that its Compact Fresnel Linear Reflector system -- long flat mirrors that focus the sun's rays on water-filled tubes to create steam that drives electricity-generating turbines -- will produce power at costs competitive with natural gas-fired plants. The Carrizo solar farm will be a boon for the San Luis Obispo County economy, employing 350 workers during construction and creating 100 permanent jobs, according to Ausra. [source Green Wombat] By using new technology, the state of California is creating jobs, generating electricity and protecting the environment. As for coal and natural gas? I'm sure once upon a time there was a powerful lobby centered around the production and installation of asbestos. There were probably some very persuasive arguments as to why that industry needed to be protected. It provided jobs, provided cheap insulation for efficiency and even protected children with flame-resistant pajamas! Change is difficult and huge industries are loathe to admit that time may be passing them by, but perhaps the coal and natural gas proponents should consider investing in the future and distancing themselves from the past.

Light Rail: Please don't muddy the waters

By Mark Forsythe The Kansas City Post Everybody has an opinion about light rail in Kansas City. Today's As I See It editorial in the Kansas City Star is just one more. In what I perceive to be an attempt to inject themselves into the realm of civic relevance, Dave Scott and his Urban Society have thrown their support to the Star's own proposed starter line. As a member of the Citizen's Task Force on Light Rail I find this latest opinion piece to be ill-timed, and frankly, irrelevant. Lest anyone be misled by the name, the Urban Society is no large force of citizens working for the common good. It consists of about five or six individuals who meet in private and then come forward to espouse an opinion on some civic issue, make a few PowerPoint presentations, write an editorial or two and then disappear. Five guys with a laptop and an overhead projector does not a society make, and their opinion, just like mine, should be given no more weight than anyone else's. Not all my ire need be directed at the Urban Society though. The Kansas City Star is also a worthy target. Jeff Spivak and Mike Mansur, while nice enough people, have had the privilege of sitting in on every Task Force meeting since its inception. The northern and southern terminus of the Star's plan are not unique. Any person with a pair of eyes and ears could see the Task Force heading in that direction. The same can be said for the modern streetcar technology. From the beginning of our meetings it was apparent that most of us were intrigued at the possibilities a lightweight rail vehicle offered. An east-west spur has also consistently been in the realm of discussion because of its consistent appearance from citizen input forums. Publishing a route just ahead of the Citizens' Task Force recommendation, and then using Kansas City's paper of record to promote that plan, prematurely announce upcoming Task Force recommendations, and broadcasting gushing editorials by a self-proclaimed "society" goes far beyond the bounds of ethical journalism. It goes beyond the bounds of journalism period. Let the Citizens Task Force do the job we were appointed to do. We are very close to completing our proposal. In fact, we should have most, if not all of it completed next week. After that, people can jump in and take credit, cry out in indignation, agree, disagree or do whatever else they want. Until then, maybe The Star should consider reporting the news, instead of manufacturing it.