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| Some
Key City Council
Accomplishments in 2008
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Want
to see more year-in-accomplishments for
2008?
Go
to the Winter 2009 issue of the Blue
Springs Magazine.
View
it here!
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|
 News
Happenings
Around Town
A
monthly message from your
Blue
Springs Mayor and
City Council
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Greetings!
Hello and welcome to
another informative
edition of News Happenings
Around Town, your one-stop
source for City
information and news
updates, including those
items most important to
you.
As we are now into the
second month of the New
Year, we can see how
things are constantly
changing in our national
economy, our American
government and even in our
local community here in
Blue Springs. These times
have proven to be
challenging not only for
Blue Springs, but also for
a number of communities
and local governments all
over the nation.
As your Mayor, citizens
can rest assured that City
has not only prepared for
such challenges, but
continues to engage in
anticipatory planning for
the future and things yet
to come. While the market
is changing, citizens can
be confident in knowing
that your local city
government is working for
you. Our main goal has
always been and will
continue to be focused on
maintaining the level of
basic city services that
our citizens need and
expect.
As always, please continue
sharing this timely
publication and spreading
the word about what's good
and going on in the City
of Blue Springs.
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City
Approves New Programs and Services
for 2009
 During
the Tuesday February 16 meeting of the
Blue Springs City Council, Council
members heard and approved several
items related to a number of annual
city services and community
improvement projects. Items include:
Approval of 2 Community
Development Block Grant (CDBG)
projects:
Installation of 58 new street
lighting units along Main street
from Highway 7 to 15th Street, and
2009 Sidewalk Infill Project in which
new sidewalks will be constructed on
the west side of 10th Street from
Walnut to South Avenue, east side of
9th Street from Walnut to Jones, and a
portion of roadway along the
north side of Kingsridge Drive
Approval of 2009 Street
Overlay Program:
The 2009 street
rehabilitation and overlay program
will consist of milling, patching
and overlay on approximately 15
miles of residential collector
streets in Blue Springs.
Each council district will
receive five miles of street
overlay. Streets qualifying for
overlay are prioritized by City
staff, based on several different
factors including but not limited
to: age of street, condition, amount
of local traffic use, and last
overlay completed on the street.
This project is designed to address
residents' roadway concerns and is a
part of the City's commitment to
improve the quality of streets
throughout Blue Springs. The 2009
program is a project approved in the
Capital Improvements Program (CIP)
fiscal year 2008-09 to 2013-2014,
which will yield a total of 75 miles
of completed overlay over the 5-year
period.
Approval of annual service
agreements for mowing services for
City sites and rights-of-ways:
This will help in maintaining the
beautification and visual upkeep of
city streets.
Approval of 2009 temporary
art exhibit,
"Serendipity":
Presented by the Blue Springs Public
Art Commission,
"Serendipity" will be the
fourth temporary exhibition of art
in Blue Springs. The exhibit will
open in April 2009 and run thru
September of 2009.
This year's exhibit will be very
unique, as it is the first year the
Art Commission has partnered with a
local business entity (St. Mary's
Medical Center) to house the
temporary exhibit on a private
business site. Look for more
information about the exhibit to
come soon, including featured
artists and pieces, on the City's
website at www.bluespringsgov.com/art.
Other projects and services approved
at Tuesday's meeting included annual
maintenance and service at Centennial
Pool-Plex and the Bike and Pedestrian
Trail Project. See the next article
for more information on this
long-awaited recreation amenity for
Blue Springs.
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Bike
and Pedestrian Trail Project,
on
the Move!
In 1992, the City began
its planning efforts to
complete a combined bike
route and trail plan for
Blue Springs. Supported by
the Out of the Blue into
the Future Visioning Plan
of 1998 and a number of
subsequent annual Citizen
Survey Reports, the plan
identified the potential
for 24.5 miles of bike
routes and 29.1 miles of
trails throughout the
City.
In 2000, the City received
a bike/trail grant from
the Mid-America Regional
Council (MARC) for a
little more than $500,000.
The City Council then
matched the grant with
$500,000 in designated
funds, making total
funding for the project
more than $1 million.
After more than 10 years
of plan development and
complex decision making,
the vision for the Bike
and Pedestrian Trail
project has come to
fruition, as it was
approved by City Council
during Tuesday's meeting.
Next steps for the project
with include all required
land work necessary to get
the bike and pedestrian
trails under construction.
Many thanks are owed to
Parks and Recreation
Director Roscoe Righter
for his many years of
labor and planning to get
this project underway. For
more information or to
view the entire Bike and
Pedestrian Trail project
presentation go to www.bluespringsgov.com/trails.
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Citizens
Honored
at
Annual Chamber Banquet
 Last
month, the Blue Springs
Chamber of Commerce held its
2009 Annual Chamber banquet.
Each year, the Chamber
organizes the event to
celebrate its organizational
achievements from the
previous year, and present
its goals for performance
and service excellence for
the year to come. A special
'congratulations' is due to
the following honorees from
this year's recognition
celebration:
Steve
Steiner: 2008
Outstanding Citizen of the
Year
Bill
Wrisinger: 2008
Business Person of the
Year
Side
Pockets: 2008
Outstanding Business of
the Year
Christine
Smailys: 2008
Chamber Connector of the
Year
Congratulations once again
to all the 2008 Chamber
award nominees and
winners.
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Blue Springs
Takes a Step toward  Street
Safety
February 19 marked the first day
Blue Springs street crews rolled out
its new portable automated traffic
control system. The system provides
a significant safety advantage for
crews and motorists alike.
The new device was used for a
majority of the day as crews closed
a single lane of traffic on 10th
Street north of 40 Highway. The
closure was necessary for workers to
complete repairs to two large water
main breaks.
The signal, with advanced warning
signs, remained operational without
failure during the lane closure. In
the event that motorists attempted
to circumvent the signal, or go
around the signal - which often
happens with roadway flagmen, a loud
horn sounds at the vehicle from the
signal.
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I hope you
have found this issue of News
Happenings Around Town to be
both informative and timely for
your City information needs. Is
there anything we missed? Do you
have questions about any of the
articles from this issue? Share
your thoughts with me and the City
Council by calling City Hall at
(816) 228-0110. Know that we truly
value your time and support for
our City and hope you join us for
the next issue of News
Happenings.
Sincerely,
Carson Ross,
Mayor
City of Blue
Springs
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