General Meeting Notice

Do you have neighborhood news to contribute? Contact editor, Shelley Labrado by phone: 913 342-4071

or email: letsdanceamerica@yahoo.com

General Meeting Notice

Tuesday, June 4, 2002
7:00-8:00 pm
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
18th & Washington Blvd.
(Enter through back door in the alley)

June Meeting on Traffic Calming
The Unified Government has said that the traffic-calming petitions will be ready for our June meeting. We will also have on display a map showing which structures are in the benefit district and drawings of what the traffic-calming devices will look like when completed.
The traffic calming benefit district, as submitted to the Unified Government, consists of these addresses:

N. Washington Blvd - 1120
Washington Blvd - 2433, 2429, 2426, 2425, 2421, 2420, 2415, 2414, 2410, 2407, 2406, 2401, 2400, 2314, 2310, 2300, 2235, 2231, 2225, 2219, 2208,
2204, 2108, 2103, 2101, 2100, 2024, 2010, 2009, 2005, 2001, 2000, 1831, 1830, 1829, 1828, 1827, 1825, 1824, 1823, 1820, 1816, 1811, 1800
Everett Ave - 2202, 2206, 2214
Hoel Parkway - 1313
Nebraska - 2515
State Avenue - 2500, 2512

If you live at one of the above addresses, you will be directly affected. Come and make your desires known.

2002 HWNA Activity Dates

June 4, 2002, General Meeting
June 8, Garage Sale
July, No Meeting
August 6, General Meeting
September 3, General Meeting
September 21, Fall Picnic
October 1, General Meeting
October 30, Halloween Party
November 5, General Meeting - Election of Officers
December 3, Children’s Christmas Party
December 3, General Meeting and Christmas Party
December 15, Holiday Homes Tour

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When Building, Be Aware

By Wayne Walden
For those of you who are thinking of adding on (or otherwise significantly changing the exterior of your house) please keep in mind you may need a building permit (phone 573-8620).

For a contributing structure in a historic district such as ours, the city will submit plans to the Kansas Historic Preservation Office, based on your permit application. These plans will be reviewed and must be approved before a building permit can be issued.

Your failure to comply may/will cause the following:

1. Since you are in violation of the state statute it will change the status of your property from contributing to non-contributing within the historic district, meaning it will no longer be eligible for either grant assistance or the state investment tax credit.

2. The statutes governing the granting of a (permit) variance states that a request for variance may be granted by the Board of Zoning Appeals only upon finding that the variance is not created by an action of the property owner. Improper compliance by the owner will cause the denial of a variance request.

See me at any neighborhood meeting for further information on the grant or tax credit.

Holiday Homes Tour

The Westheight Christmas tour will be Sunday, December 15, 2002. This date was chosen because it's the only Sunday in December that the Kansas City Chiefs are away. Anyone who would like their home on the tour please contact Melva Willett at 913 321-7768 or rwillett@kc.rr.com ----------

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Code Corner

by Mary Smith
I have had several people inquire regarding tall grass and weeds on private property. In order to make Kansas City, Kansas an attractive place to live and work, the city has adopted minimum requirements for mowing or trimming grass and other vegetation on private property.
(Ordinance #65619) A violation exists when weeds or grasses are more than 8 inches in height or more than 12 inches in length if matted down. A violation also exists if there is any vegetation which is poisonous to the touch, such as poison ivy, sumac. Other types of vegetation such as vines, or shrubs may also be a violation if they exceed the 8 inch height and are clearly uncultivated.
What areas must be mowed?** In addition to the principal yard or lawn areas, you must also mow any areas between your property and the paved area of all adjacent streets, including ditches, easements, alleys and unpaved rights-of-way. Storm drainage ditches or easements are also the maintence responsibility of adjacent property owners.
What is the penalty if a violation exists? The inspector may issue an immediate citation with a minimum of $100.00 fine or may issue a summons to appear in municipal court in 10-14 days. The case will be settled by the judge.
If a property owner cannot be located by the City, the property goes on the city's abandoned property listing.

**If anyone needs help mowing I have had several neighborhood children inquire about mowing jobs for the summer. Call me and I will gladly tell them so they can get hold of you.

Westheight Neighborhood
Garage Sale This Weekend

Our Annual Garage Sale is set for Saturday, June 8th from 8am to 2pm. Ann Tomellari (342-1296) is the chairperson, and Melva Stine (321-6682) is the board member assisting her. Persons interested should call to sign up and should take their $5 fee to Ann at 2219 Washington Blvd. Information needed - Name, address, phone, and special interest items. Deadline for group permit rate - Wednesday, June 5, 2002 NOON. Ann will drop permits and yard signs off Friday, June 7, 2002. She will also be at the June 4 meeting to collect fees and sign people up for the sale.

As usual there will be a neighborhood map listing all the garage sale sites, large signs and publicity for the event. This sale is usually well attended, so if you have anything to "re-cycle" this is a great time to do it!

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Traffic Calming

by Wayne Walden

The May general membership meeting had a positive impact with many of the neighbors. The membership saw color drawings of our proposed permanent installations; we saw color photos and a Power Point presentation of permanent installations of other locations in our town. It is a general consensus with those who attended the meeting and of those of the traffic calming committee that the permanent installations will be much more effective than the temporary installations.

We also agreed that the permanent installations will add to the aesthetic appeal of our already-impressive neighborhood.

Your traffic calming committee submitted the boundary for the benefit district. We expect the Unified Government to submit the petition package to us before the June 4 meeting.

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Meet a Neighbor

Rich Lilley is one of our current HWNA Directors at Large. Rich and Kim Hannigan have been coordinators of all the children’s activities the past two years. These include the Easter Egg Hunt, Halloween parade and party, and the Children’s Christmas party. Rich also headed up the Spring Park cleanup. Rich and his wife, Kim, live at 2009 Washington Ave. A BIG thank you to you two for making the children’s activities a success. They always do a great job. If you would like to pitch in and help or volunteer with any of these activities I am quite sure they would love to hear from you.
WHEN did you move to Westheight? They moved to Westheight in February, 1999 from Pittsburgh, PA.
WHY did you move to Westheight? Rich’s job was relocated to the Overland Park office in late 1998. After looking at properties in Johnson County, they stumbled upon Westheight by “accident”. They immediately loved their house and the previous owner was very enthusiastic about the neighborhood.
Do you have children, grandchildren or pets? Rich and Kim have two sons; Duncan is 6 and Conor is 4. Rich says the current pet population is made up of two 10-year-old yellow labs named Maggie and Reba, a mixed breed pup named Bernard, Willow their gray cat and a “fluctuating” number of fish.
What is your occupation? Rich is employed as a Project Administrator for a local engineering company.
What are your hobbies or passions? The boys and the house keep them too busy to have a lot of time for hobbies, but Kim enjoys gardening and cooking (especially Thai and Mexican cuisine). Rich has a sports card collection and is a fan of several sports (mostly Pittsburgh teams). Rich would love to have more time to fish.
Name your favorite KC restaurant. They like Sol Azteca and Bo Lings, but the boys like Fire Wok’s buffet.
Name your favorite KC site. The Zoo is the family favorite. The boys also love any park where they can ride bikes, and they like the Roeland Park pool in the summer.
What is the best part of Westheight for you? According to Rich, Westheight has many strengths. The mature trees and the well-maintained homes are lovely. The neighbors are friendly and considerate. Rich also says they enjoy the diverse mix of people in our neighborhood, which for them is an added bonus to their home.

Introducing Joan and Ray Daniels who live at 2235 Washington Blvd.
WHEN did you move to Westheight? Joan and Ray moved to the KC area in 1965 from Salina, Kansas. They have lived in Wyandotte County that entire time. They actually were Westheight “neighbors” from 1977 to 1986 as they lived at 25th and Washington Avenue. They then moved into their present address in November of 1986.
WHY did you move to Westheight? They were looking for a neighborhood with older homes.
Do you have children, grandchildren or pets? They have two grown children and one grandchild. Their married son lives in Arlington, Texas and their daughter lives in Wisconsin. The Daniels also have a dog named Sophie and two cats named Jeni Win and Luci Electric.
What are your occupations? Ray has been our Superintendent of Schools here in KCK (USD 500) since 1998. Ray has been with the school district since they moved here in 1965. His prior positions were Junior High School teacher, Assistant Principal and Director of Personnel. Joan is a retired teacher of German and French. She is currently taking Spanish classes.
What are your hobbies or passions? Ray loves fly-fishing and is looking forward to his summer trip to Canada to do just that. Joan loves knitting and she is a Certified Knitting Teacher. She also is in a spinning guild. Joan usually has something in her hands.
Name your favorite KC restaurant. Saigon 39 is their favorite place to visit and it is owned by one of Joan’s former students. For a special occasion and a wonderful night of gourmet dining Joan said that they love to go to Café Allegro on 39th Street
Name your favorite KC site. The Plaza, especially when the Art Fair is going on.
What is the best part of Westheight for you? The neighborhood organization that continues to help make our neighborhood the best.

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