In addition to developers hitting the pause button on the Raymore Commerce Center South project, the last Raymore City Council meeting included a budget amendment that will increase the cost of trash and recycling services.

Raymore Commerce Center South tabled

On June 27, VanTrust Real Estate requested that a first reading regarding a Planned Unit Development and preliminary plan be removed indefinitely. The PUD is for the Raymore Commerce Center South project, which has many residents worried about a variety of concerns.

The Raymore Journal reported details on the Raymore Commerce Center South project after the city council held a public hearing on May 23.

VanTrust wants to construct five buildings ranging in size from more than 300,000 square feet to about 1.2 million square feet. Rezoning will pave way for light-industrial development, including manufacturing and warehousing. Raymore is a desirable place for distributers as the city is located off of an interstate and surrounded geographically by major freight hubs across the nation.

However, that likely means an influx of truck traffic moving into the area, something those nearby residents are not too happy about. As of press time, Zubin Talib has acquired more than 150 signatures on a Change.org petition to keep tractor-trailer trucks off 195th Street.

According to Talib’s petition, if VanTrust moves forward with its proposal, 500 additional vehicles will be moving across 195th Street each day. That includes semi-trucks and other large commercial vehicles.

Submitting public comments during the May 23 council meeting, Talib also expressed concerns over the draft Memorandum of Understanding. Although the MOU address issues like landscaping, Talib said it does not go far enough to specify exactly what is required.

Other residents are concerned about noise and light pollution. Residents and a few council members proposed building a sound wall. However, VanTrust representatives suggested that such a requirement could be a poison pill.

After about a full hour of discussion, the council narrowly agreed to table Bill 3725 to permit city staff and VanTrust to address council concerns relative to traffic mitigation, berming and landscaping. The public will receive a two-week notice once the bill is removed from the table and reintroduced.

That was supposed to happen on June 27. However, only about half of the council was present. Mayor Pro Tem Reginald Townsend noted that such a hot topic needs the attention of the full council. Consequently, the item was removed from the agenda and will be reintroduced at a later date to be determined.

Modest increase to trash services cost

Another item discussed on June 27 deals with the contract with Constable Sanitation.

Specifically, Bill 3731 amends the city budget to accommodate Constable Sanitation’s request for an adjustment in the fee for trash and recycling services. The proposed rates will increase trash service by 73 cents a month and will increase recycling by 28 cents per month. After the fee increase, trash service will cost the city $14.28 per month with recycling services costing $5.48 per month.

That may sound like a lot, but consider the following: Annual increases are based on the Consumer Price Index, i.e. inflation, which has skyrocketed by nearly 9% over the past 12 months. However, Constable Sanitation is proposing an increase of only 5.38%.

Other business items

The City of Raymore has renewed its contract with the Raymore-Peculiar School District to provide SROs to certain schools.

According to city documents, the agreement includes one SRO assigned to the northern portion of the school district within the city limits of Raymore. The contract includes the school district paying the city $262 per 8-hour day or $131 per half day for a maximum of 212 full workdays.

One key difference to previous years is that the Cass County Sheriff’s Office will be providing an SRO for East Middle School rather than the City of Raymore.

Public Works Director Mike Krass noted that infrastructure activity in at least three subdivisions: Alexander Creek, Edgewater at Creekmor and Timber Trails. Krass is hoping to see some building permits pop up in those subdivisions sometime around fall.