point of view

When I was young, I said to myself. "You've got to make the most of your life." It's all about taking risks. Push yourself to do as much exploration as possible. Find yourself. Because sometimes we think we've found ourselves, but it's only part of ourselves we've found. We haven't pushed ourselves far out there where we make mistakes & things don't work out, but at least we've discovered something. I felt that's what my life had to be.

Robert Redford

Tuesday, 10am - Fire Training Facility Dedication Ceremony; 4pm - Municipal Court; 6pm - Park & Recreation Board; 7pm - Neighborhood Engagement Team/Crime Prevention through Environmental Design with Lt. Dowdy

Wednesday, 4pm - Farmer's Market

Thursday, 10am - Housing Authority Meeting

Friday, 8:30am - Special Council Meeting to set property tax rate; 2pm ES Aging Well Task Force

Saturday, 6pm - ES Night Out Against Crime

Fire Training Facility Dedication Ceremony - Please join us for a dedication of the Excelsior Springs Fire Department's Regional Training Facility @ 1120 Tracy Ave. The facility replicates the conditions of a burning building - complete with heat, smoke, & low visibility. This immersive environmental allows fireghters to build technical & mental skills critical to safe operations. Scenarios include fire suppression, victim rescue, & confined space navigation; teaching firefighters to stay calm, think clearly, & act decisively.

Farmer's Market @ VFW Parking Lot, Wednesday 4-7pm

Special Council Meeting to set the property tax rate for 2025. This is a reassessment year, property values increased by 11% reducing the tax rate from $1.0567 to $1.0051; followed by closed session.

ES Night Out Against Crime - Family Fun block party with ESPD & ESFD, Hall of Waters Circle.

Celebrating work anniversaries this week - Kaitlyn Glidden, Child Watch Attendant - 6 years; Dirk Jeffers, Construction Services Foreman - 5 years; Stephanie Marcum, Nutritionist - 5 years; Caleb Anderson, Police Corporal - 3 years; Emerson Yarbrough - Lifeguard - 2 years; Rachel Fincher, Public Works Administrative Assistant - 1 year.

• Question/answer session was held today with neighbors residing west of ES city limits between Hwy 69 & 136/140th Street & Rhodus Road that is subject to annexation. Excelsior Springs voters will decide in November whether to annex the area, which supports planning & development occurring in the adjacent area inside Excelsior Springs.
• City Council approved the FY 2025-26 Budget
• Clay County Senior Services Fund approved a grant to the ES Senior Center to operate a Meal & Visit program using volunteers to deliver meals to homebound seniors. Thank you Jesse Hall for dedication to finding a solution to bring this great program to our community.
• The water line in the Dry Fork Greenway project is complete and 150 LF of sidewalk is being installed/day. We are still on schedule to open back up around mid-October.
• Redgate trash carts are here, 4800 trash carts were delivered, 600 carts/semi at a time. The carts are being distributed throughout the community so customers can begin to use the new carts the week of September 29th
• Hall of Waters experienced a sewer pipe blockage this week that occurred the same day there was an event planned in the building; the blockage was resolved the next day and clean up will be complete this week.

This week's episode of Destination Heartland, KCTV5 took a virtual trip to Excelsior Springs. Mentioned were present day attractions - The Elms Hotel & Spa, Hall of Waters Museum, Superior Well & Pagoda, Jesse James Farm & Museum, Salem Christian Union Church, ES Museum & Archives, Shamrock Hills Vineyard & Winery, Shamrock Ranch, Ventana Gourmet Grill, Willow Springs Mercantile, The Tavern, Van Till Family Farm Winery, Warbird Whiskey, Butterfly Kisses Boutique, Kilgore's 414 Company, Sturm Bros Custom Design & Fine Jewelry, Wine & Shine Tasting Room, ES Golf Course, Hiking opportunities, Payne Jailhouse Bed & Breakfast, & The Rock Vacation Rental. Lyndsey (DEP) gave an interview with Sharon Chen - thanks for bringing attention to these fabulous attractions.