Point of View

A pastor attended a men's breakfast in the middle of a rural farming area of the country. The group had asked an older farmer, to say grace for the morning breakfast: “Lord, I hate buttermilk," the farmer began. "Lord, I hate lard." Without missing a beat, the farmer continued, "And Lord, you know I don't much care for raw white flour." The pastor opened an eye to glance around the room and saw that he wasn't the only one to feel uncomfortable. Then the farmer added, "But Lord, when you mix them all together and bake them, I do love warm fresh biscuits. So Lord, when things come up that we don't like, when life gets hard, when we don't understand what you're saying to us, help us to just relax and wait until you are done mixing. It will probably be even better than them biscuits. Amen."

CCPHC Order - Masks are required indoors until further notice; 50% occupancy; parties limited to 10

Monday, 6:00 PM - City Council Meeting (ZOOM) - Consider Approval of Clacton Estates Final Plat

• Extending appreciation to Community Center Front Desk Staff for treating everyone with kindness.
• Sympathy to family of Leonard Chilcutt of Hardin, who lost his life this week in a car accident. Leonard, 25, worked at the Community Center as Personal Trainer/Fitness Attendant.
• Congratulations to Councilman Andrew Kowalski Family, son, Elam Job was born on Monday morning, weighing in at 9 lbs. 13 oz.
• Community Center shares a wonderful compliment about the positive energy Theresa Happy brings to her classes. “ I fell in love with Theresa’s style of training as well as her super inviting & positive, uplifting attitude.” Thank you, Theresa for making the ESCC such a great place & encouraging others to join the fun. If you’ve been considering adding some exercise to your routine we encourage you to check out one of Theresa’s classes or one of our many other class offerings. We don’t think you’ll be sorry you did!
  

Communities of Excellence Strategic Plan organized under four working committees is aimed at increasing life span in 64024 zip code by reducing chronic disease. The committees are Healthcare, Economic Vitality, Housing & the newest committee Ethics & Equality. City contributing activities this year include:

• Community Center partners with Parkinson Foundation, Liberty Hospital Diabetic Clinic & Excelsior Hospital Wellness Coordinator to build Health Strategies at the Center
• Community Center Fitness Instructors offered remote fitness instruction to continue support of healthy activity when COVID closed much of the community early this year
• Wellness Café opens as part of a larger strategy to improve nutrition

Fiscal Reserves will be improved in part by securing outside funding to complete our priorities & seeking cost-saving opportunities, contracts have been extended this year for the following needs:

• Refinance Water/Sewer Bonds, saving $2.5M in interest over the life of the bonds [Funding: Water, Sewer Rates]
• Received $750K grant to construct a 2nd digester at WWTP [Funding: Sewer Bond, CIP, CDBG]
• Received $900K in grants to improve roadway access to Miller Cabinets' new building [Funding: CDBG, EDA, CIP]
• Received $500K grant to repair water bar structural concern, tower stability & exterior façade of Hall of Waters [Funding: SAT, CIP]
• Received $1M in CARES funding to obtain PPE, Cleaning supplies/services, signage, strengthen capabilities for remote work, Small Business Grants to Museum, Slightly Off Broadway, DEP, Chamber of Commerce, Elms, Good Samaritan's Center, plasma filtration in city buildings to clean air, reimbursement of COVID sick/family leave, & public safety salaries

Planning was initiated to secure funding to improve travel in the northwest segment of the community. We are studying how people travel between schools, community center, westside commercial & adjacent neighborhoods. Will be seeking citizen input & funding next. [Funding: CIP]

Protecting Capital Investments is an ongoing priority, many projects were postponed due to COVID, but those projects completed this year include: Sewer extension to St. Louis/Shirewood neighborhoods completing 3rd of three sewer projects [Funding: CIP]; Replaced City Bus [Funding: FTA, Trans. Trust]; Replaced Ambulance [Funding: PSST]

Community Investments to Attract Private Investment

• MML Magazine features article about ES Opportunity Zone designation to attract private investment, Hall/Waters placed on National Historic Properties Endangered Property List & featured in Citizen's Institute of Rural Design Magazine
• Brent McElwee receives Preservation Award for Buckley Hotel restoration; Grace Wins Home & Loft at Grace Wins receives CCEDC Keystone award; Awarded Standard's 2019 Best in Class Awards for Best Golf Course & Best Fitness Facility, Police Lt. Paul White named Local Hero. Shannon Stroud placed on General Code Municipal Clerk Honor Roll
• Approved Price Chopper CID, Final Plats for Lynn Park Apartments & Clacton Estates
• Converted abandoned Rainbow Pool into Splash Park [Funding: Piccadilly Fundraisers, LWCF Grant, Park Tax, CIP]

Investments to streamline internal processes, knowledge sharing, problem solving & customer experience include:

• Completed conversion to MARRS public safety communication system [Funding: CIP, PSST], upgraded dispatch consoles and RSM software to improve police information systems [Funding: PSST]
• Renewed 20 year Contract with Ray County PWSD #1 to sell water [Funding: Water], Renewed contract for residential refuse collection [Funding: Refuse rates], & received Rapid ID Devices for fingerprint scans
• Converted Cemetery Records to GIS to provide public access [Funding: CIP]
• Initiated dedicated non-emergency medical transportation services [Funding: FTA, Trans Trust]

Communication

• Started monthly topic specific Listening Posts for Marijuana Ordinance development, Hall of Waters Visioning, Wyman School Potential before COVID made it impossible to gather
• ZOOM has been incorporated into our daily method to conduct business remotely
• Weekly Point of View newsletter intends to share ongoing city activity

Its unique history is well preserved in the Hall of Waters & Cultural Museum (an Art Deco masterpiece built in the 1930s) & the Elms Resort and Spa. The Excelsior Springs Museum & Archives has a 20,000-pound vault door you can move with one finger. Tours highlight the mineral water history, the local wine industry, the best restaurants in the area, and explore the paranormal stories of the historic downtown. www.visitmo.com

Email: mmcgovern@excelsiorsprings.gov
Website: cityofesmo.com
Location: Hall of Waters, 201 E. Broadway, Excelsior Springs, MO 64024
Phone: (816) 630-0752