Traffic Safety Neighborhood Meeting

Just saw this on my mailbox so I thought I'd put it up on the Web Site:

What: Meeting to discuss traffic safety results.
When: September 19, 2007 @ 6:00 PM
Where: Lee's Summit City Hall
22o SE Green Street
Strothers Room

Questions? Rebecca or Russ @ 246-5328

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Legoland continued indefinitely in Planning Commission

From The Lees Summit Journal: Legoland continued indefinitely in Planning Commission
A Legoland public hearing scheduled for last night's Planning Commission meeting was continued indefinitely at city staff's request.

Planning and Development Director, Bob McKay said the indefinite continuance is because the city has not been given any new information from RED Development or Merlin Entertainment about the proposed theme park."If they do (give us anymore information) they will have to comeback with a new application," McKay said. "But for now, we can't keep continuing them meeting after meeting."

A Legoland public hearing was removed from the July 12 City Council agenda at the applicant's request.

Damn those Grinches...

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What can Lees Summit learn from Independence

Independence has reinvented itself, once on the verge of being broke, with large employers downsizing or shutting down. City officials became so ashamed of their city that they often tried to find alternate ways to take VIP's from KCI to the Truman Library

The city council knew that they needed to expand the tax base but they could never reach a consensus on how to do it. “State senators and representatives would say, ‘Why should we give you money when the City Council can’t get four votes on anything?’ It was humiliating.” said Ron Stewart, former mayor.

Now Independence, some 15 years after the city, "reached a critical juncture", ranks fourth in the state in taxable dollars behind St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield. In 2005, it generated $1.6 billion in taxable dollars, representing about a 50-percent increase from just a decade earlier. And as anyone who has driven down I-70 through Independence can see, Independence is booming.

Once, an isolated boondoggle, Independence Center, is now surrounded with new development and a new highway interchange. Soon an Arena with a minor league Hockey Team to play in it will join the expansion. All of which was built with the aid of TIF's, State Aid and I dare say supported to a great extent by sales made to residents of it's wealthy but stupid neighbor to the south, Lee’s Summit.

But more than that, the Independence City Council found the secret of cooperation amongst them, for the city’s benefit. The Council has worked together and gained the respect of state legislators and real estate developers alike. Now, they have a reputation as a city that can, and does.

Though wealthier, and not as in as dire straits as Independence was some 15 years ago. Lee's Summit finds itself in a similar predicament, it needs to expand it’s tax base. But instead of Independence, now it's Lee's Summit that has State senators and representatives saying, why should we give you money when the City Council can’t get consensus on anything. Instead of pulling together for the betterment of Lee's Summit, we find the City Council divided on whether it should offer developers, who want to invest in Lee's Summit, TIF's, for fear a group of local "Grinches" will disapprove and hurt their chances of re-election.

Meanwhile, sales tax revenue that should be staying in Lee's Summit continues to flow into Independence coffers, and I fear soon, if not already, State Officials, and Developers, alike will write off Lee's Summit as a city that could, but won't.

Will the Lee's Summit City Council learn from the experiences of Independence over the past few years or will it remain Independence's wealthy but stupid neighbor to the south. Only time will tell.

Thanks to Brian Burnes of the Kansas City Star and his article, "Independence reaches a critical juncture" for relating the experiences of Independence over the past decade and a half. My hope is that his words and mine will awaken a spirit of courage and cooperation that the Lee’s Summit City Council lacks.

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Dan Hall - My Legoland Experience in England

Dan Hall has just returned from England after visiting Legoland - Windsor and he has related his experiences in a special report for the Lees Summit Journal, for the article in its entirety read My Legoland experience in England.

This article really relates what Legoland is like better than any brochure could. Please take the time to read the article in its entirety. Dan relates visiting Legoland - Windsor made him feel,

"like I was a 6 1/2-year-old boy again brimming with curiosity and creativity."

He tells us the park is very close to the same size as what would be constructed here and it is successful even in a "Northern" climate when he says,

"Legoland Windsor attracts about 1.5 million annual visitors. London has similar seasons to that of Lee's Summit. Legoland Windsor opens in the second week of March and ends its season in early November"

Dan states that this Legoland draws visitors from all over Europe and the World as he continues,
"We took public transportation to the park located about 25 miles west of London adjacent to Windsor Castle. About 10 percent of park visitors use the train/bus with the balance coming by auto. Our train dropped us at Windsor Castle, so we took a Legoland bus from the castle to the park. With us on this bus were people from Kuwait, Ireland and the U.K. The bus followed a winding road into the park with child-size Legoland characters (all made of Legos called, "Lego Friends") situated at nearly every curve. "

Merlin Entertainments who would run Legoland - Lees Summit also runs Legoland Windsor and therefore he expects our park would be very similar. Dan continues,

"We were hosted during our visit by Legoland employee Alison Bledge. Alison, we learned, has worked for the park for several years.

Legoland Windsor was built in 1995 to 1996 entirely without public assistance on 150 acres of beautiful parkland of which 72 acres is accessible to guests. All four Legoland parks are owned by Merlin Entertainments Group. Merlin is the world's No. 2 visitor attraction operator and has vast experience operating other amusement enterprises. Merlin Group venues attract around 30 million visitors worldwide and operates 51 attractions and six hotels in 12 countries and employs more than 13,000 staff"

Legoland isn't the cheap theme park some have feared, concerning the park itself, he states,

"When we entered the park, we were at the top of a hill with a panoramic view of the park, Windsor Castle and the London skyline - truly a beautiful vista. Legoland Windsor park is built among hundreds of beautiful mature oak and other tree varieties. It reminded me very much of the Renaissance Festival site and of the Silver Dollar City site. This natural habitat, including several small ponds, was blended nicely into the various park attractions. It was clear the planners had taken into account the need to be ecologically aware as they built this theme park."
Concerning the educational experience, he states,

"Legoland is very much hands-on learning rewarded through achievement where the goal is to "let the child be the hero." The Legoland goal is to educate children in a fun way through play and doing.

In fact, having fun through education, we learned, was and is the primary goal of the Legoland founder. Today, that goal has manifested itself in various creative ways. In addition to the interactive rides, children can compete with parents at the Mole in One adventure golf course and in other events. Children with parents can challenge other families in friendly competitions such as driving a miniature fire truck to put out a "fire" in the least time at the Fire Academy. Children participate in Lego building workshops, live shows and in driving cars and earth moving equipment where they must take an educational class and be licensed before driving. The key concept is to let families have fun together - to learn to play together."

Sounds like Legoland, far from being just an over priced theme park is an educational experience for both parents and kids, and brings families together rather than what happens at normal theme parks where kids go one direction and parents another.

Combining our current school district with the additional opportunities that Legoland provides would make an unbeatable combination for our children and grandchildren. He discusses how Legoland works with the local schools to expand their curriculum,

"Legoland is closely tied into educational workshops supporting local school curriculum. These active learning workshops are specifically designed to support the learning needs of children aged 5- to 13-year-old children. These workshops are adaptable for pupils with special educational needs. In 2006, about 14,000 pupils took part in more than 600 Active Learning Programs. Each workshop lasts 45 minutes exploring different aspects of design, science and information technology."

Since both parks are similiar in size the economic impact should be similar as well, When discussing the economic impact of the park he states

"I learned that the park employment during the heavy summer months reaches nearly 1,000 seasonal staff and has more than 150 full-time staff."

Not the Worlds of Fun type of employment local opponents have warned us of, he discussed the types of people employed,

"Many of the seasonal staff are college students, seniors and mothers who every year spend their summer holidays working at the park. Legoland full-time staff are offered a "structured career" with jobs within the various entertainment venues of Merlin Entertainments."

Then he tells us,

"Employee pay is competitive with generous perks and benefits. At the Legoland park in Billund, Denmark, it is not unusual for three generations of a family to be employed at Legoland."

Sounds like Legoland works well with local governement as well, when he states,

"Communication, we were told, with local authorities is very important to Legoland management."

Dan concludes concerning Legoland - Lee's Summit,

"First, I think Legoland would place Lee's Summit in a favorable light on the world stage. It is a major attraction which will appeal to children up to age 13 and their parents and grandparents. It is much more educational in nature than any other theme park I have ever visited (which is most all of them). The most surprising thing is the close degree of cooperation Legoland has with the local government, the school system and area businesses. Would such a development be good for Lee's Summit and our economy? That answer depends on who you ask and what motivates that person."

And finally on an emotional level,

"no economic value can be placed on a child's smile gained through accomplishment. That, in the end, is what Legoland seems to be all about."

Dan did a masterful job of telling us what Legoland is, what it is about, how it made him feel, and why it can be so important to Lee's Summit. Lets hope that all the negative press given to Legoland has not convinced RED and Merlin Entertainments that Lee's Summit isn't the type of place Legoland should be. I know and you know it is.

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