Last election the campaign slogan that won the day was Mayor Funky’s “City That Works” mantra. Years later it seems that this town is just as old and busted as ever.
Don’t get me wrong, there have been some pretty convincing efforts to fix local problems but most of them weren’t nearly as widely touted as City Hall fighting over Gloria Squitiro’s feet. Credit where it’s due: The Mayor and City Council came up with a steel plate ordinance early in their term that was aimed at fixing one of the most annoying and tire destructive aspects of local life. It was a good try and there’s been a minimal bit of improvement despite the fact that the Water Services Department has a laundry list of loopholes that they can use in order to avoid compliance.
Sadly, there are still a myriad of ways this town is crumbling and they’re becoming more obvious every day.
Let’s take a look:
First of all, Kansas City, Missouri’s infrastructure is literally killing people. A building collapse yesterday claimed the life of a dude walking by and it’s both interesting and obvious to note that complaints about the structure were ongoing and mostly lost in the system.
Mayor Funky touted the City’s “Action-Line” not so long ago and now that’s pretty much a running joke in this town along with scheduled bulky item pickup.
Let’s not forget about screwed up local sewers. Luckily, there is Obama-cash to address this problem and work should be completed sometime in the next 25 years. Just in time for the next generation to start thinking about all of the outdated technology used in the process.
Finally, this summer should see some rather epic weed growth in all of the abandoned buildings and lots in this town. It’s a reminder that we’re not so far away from Detroit’s fate as so many politicos would have us think.
So, this might still be a “City That Works” but most of that effort is going toward re-election without answering real questions about so much old, busted and ignored infrastructure.
Tony Botello
Figi
Lighten up dude.