In This Issue

Groundbreaking Ceremony and Construction for the Howard L. Brown Public Safety Building Renovation Project

Human Relations Commission

Blue Springs Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) Program

Contact Your

City Councilmember

District 1

Dale Carter

Jeff Quibell

District 2

Kent Edmondson

Chris Lievsay

District 3

Ron Fowler

Susan Culpepper

Need Information?

Stay Connected.

www.bluespringsgov.com

Spring Cleaning Recycling Events

Household Hazardous

Waste (HHW) Program

April 19, 8 a.m. to noon

Pink Hill Park, 2715 NW Park Dr.

This event continues to be one of the most successful recycling programs in Blue Springs. Materials collected this year include antifreeze, batteries, motor oil and paint ONLY.

This event is free and open to Blue Springs residents and will accept the first 420 vehicles.

Blue Springs is a member community of the MARC Regional HHW Collection Program. Residents can use the HHW facility in Kansas City or Lee's Summit
year round, free of charge. For more information, click here.

DEA Rx Take Back Program

April 26, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Blue Springs Municipal Annex
1304 W Main Street

Cosentino's Price Chopper
1100 S Highway 7

Cosentino's Price Chopper
1305 N Highway 7

Blue Springs Police Department has partnered with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and both Blue Springs Price Chopper locations to give residents an opportunity to rid their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs.

Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

Due to the drop-off nature of this program, no needles of any kind are accepted.

KCP&L Home Appliance Recycling Rebate

Earth Day is quickly approaching on April 22, and KCP&L wants to help keep the region environmentally friendly by giving customers $225 for recycling their old, inefficient appliances.

The KCP&L Home Appliance Recycling Rebate lets customers recycle up to three refrigerators, freezers, dehumidifiers and/or room ACs for $75 each. This program helps keep old appliances out of nearby landfills, while saving residents energy and money.

More recycling and program information can be found by clicking here.

Upcoming Parks & Recreation Events

Easter Egg-stravaganza

Saturday, April 19

Rotary Park at Railroad Lake

Activities start at 10 a.m.

Egg Hunt begins at 11 a.m.

This free annual event is cosponsored with the Blue Springs Rotary Club. Activities include a bunny petting zoo, train rides around the lake, crafts, play structures, and face painting. The egg hunt has four hunting areas: 2 & under, 3 & 4, 5 & 6 and 7 & 8 years-old. Bring cameras for photos with the Easter Bunny.

Senior Health & Fitness Day

Wednesday, April 28, 10 a.m.

Vesper Hall

Join us as we set a Vesper Hall record for most people exercising at one time! Practice simple stretching exercises then get ready to exercise to Richard Simmons DVD, "Sweatin' to the Oldies."

Participants will be in a drawing to win a Vesper Hall Weight Room pass for the month.

Mega Mom Contest

The Buy Blue Springs Program is running a contest! To enter, simply click here and enter your email address on the left hand side of the website.

The Buy Blue Springs Program aims to keep local dollars in our community. Did you know that dollars spent in our economy have three times the impact on Blue Springs as dollars spent outside of the area?

When shopping in businesses in Blue Springs, you simultaneously create jobs and fund more city & county services through sales tax. This is investing in neighborhood improvements, police, fire and ambulance services as well as cultural arts, parks, and libraries. Buying locally promotes community development.

2013-14 LEADership Class Project

Rolling out the Red Carpet for

Food For Thought

April 23, 5-8 p.m.

Blue Springs Theatre 8

Each year the Blue Springs Chamber's
LEADership program is required to do a project to graduate the program. This year, the class has elected to do a
fundraiser for the Food for Thought Program.

Food For thought is Blue Springs School District Program funded by donations made to the Education Foundation c/o Food For Thought.

This program is designed for school age children who do not meet the financial requirements of the Free and Reduced Lunch Program, but their families are in financial distress. These students would typically not be able to eat the lunch served by the school during the day, yet good nutrition is a key component of learning. To see a video about the program, click here. To learn more about the Blue Springs Education Foundation, click here.

Tickets for this event are $15 and include admission, a light dinner from local restaurants and games! There will also be silent auction items for you to bid on. Guest can choose which movie they would like to see upon arrival.

To purchase tickets or for more information, click here or call (816) 229-8558.

Upcoming Community Events

Family Health Celebration

Saturday, April 26, 9 a.m. to noon

St. Mary's Medical Center

Join St. Mary's Medical Center for a FREE Family Health Celebration! Meet Kansas City Royal's Mascot, Sluggerrr from 10 a.m. to noon.

Free health screenings include cholesterol checks, blood pressure, blood sugar, bone density, BMI, foot screening, stroke risk assessment, sleep assessment, balance and grip testing, and nutrition information. A limited number of carotid Doppler screenings are available. Those interested in the carotid screening may sign up for an appointment the day of the fair.

Let's Move! Saturdays!

These events are free and open to the public! (unless noted) To view the entire Winter/Spring schedule, click here.

Club 7 Fitness

1241 SW Highway 7

April 19, 9-11 a.m.

Join us for a morning of Kids Fit Boot Camp, fitness activities and open gym for adults.

Rink Ratz

513 SW Keystone Dr.

April 19, 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Join us open roller skating.

Gage Center

1101 NW Jefferson

April 26, 10:30 a.m. to noon

Join us for a morning in Bump City.

Action Martial Arts

2416 S Highway 7

April 26, 1-2:30 p.m.

Join us for kickboxing and cross training for kids ages 7-13. Class is capped at 25 participants, call (816) 224-4105 to register.

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News Happenings
Around Town
A bi-weekly message from your Blue Springs Mayor and City Council

Greetings!

Hello and welcome to News Happenings Around Town, your one-stop source for City information and news updates, including those items most important to you.

Last week municipal elections were held throughout the metro area, including Blue Springs. Congratulations to Councilman Jeff Quibell, Councilman Kent Edmondson and Councilman Ron Fowler on their re-elections. All elected officials will be given their Oath of Office at the April 21, City Council meeting. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Municipal Annex, 1304 W Main Street.

I hope to see you at one of the many upcoming recycling and community events here in Blue Springs! I hope you have a safe and Happy Easter this weekend.

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.

Groundbreaking Ceremony and Construction for the Howard L. Brown Public Safety Building Renovation and Expansion Project

The City hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, April 7 to celebrate the beginning of the Howard L. Brown Public Safety Building Renovation and Expansion Project. Construction on the project has begun and I look forward to seeing the dramatic changes over the next 18 months.

Just a reminder that the City Council and Planning Commission meetings have moved to the Municipal Annex, 1304 W Main Street, Blue Springs, Mo. As a result of this relocation, City Council and Planning Commissions will not be live broadcast, but an audio recording of the meetings will be posted to the City's Web site. Click here to see the our Webcast archives.

For more information on the Howard L. Brown Public Safety Building Renovation and Expansion Project, click here.

Construction Around Town

Top Two Photos: 10th Street Sidewalk

Bottom Two Photos: Railroad Crossing at Woods Chapel Road

As you know, spring means many things - to us it marks the beginning of the construction season.

10th Street Sidewalk
The federally-funded Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program provides communities with financial resources to address a wide range of unique community development needs. One of this year's CDBG
projects is the installation of a sidewalk along the east side of 10th Street from Vesper Street to R.D. Mize Road. This new sidewalk will provide a pedestrian path along 10th Street and visually enhance the downtown corridor.

Woods Chapel Road, Phase 2 (Briarwood/Castle Drives to Walnut Street)

This project includes realigning and widening the roadway, improving

the railroad crossing, adding a roundabout at the Walnut Street intersection, and creating bicycle and pedestrian pathways.

This week, our project partners Kansas City Southern Railway Company are performing railroad crossing upgrades and repairs at the Woods Chapel Road railroad crossing.

We appreciate your continued patience as we work to make these infrastructure improvements. For both the safety of construction workers and drivers, we urge commuters to be cautious in work zones.

Human Relations Commission

Dr. Ngomsi leading the discussion at the City-based focus group.

The City of Blue Springs' City Council unanimously approved the
establishment of a Human Relations Commission at the March 3, 2014 City Council meeting.

The establishment of an active Human Relations Commission will help foster and preserve the individual rights and liberties of the citizens of Blue Springs regardless of their race, sex, sexual preference or orientation, familial status, disability, religion, age, color, language, national origin or ancestry, and make the City a better place to live.

The Commission will be made up of 3 citizen members, 4 community sector members and 2 student members (non-voting). Commissioners will serve staggered terms of three years each.

The City has contracted with Dr. Emmanuel Ngomsi, Ph.D. to provide training for the commissioners and to help establish the City's Human Relations Commission.

Dr. Ngomsi just completed focus groups to gain a deeper understanding of the environment, challenges and opportunities in Blue Springs from the citizens' point of view in the areas of cultural diversity and inclusion. Findings will be reported back to the commission through the notes taken during the focus group meetings.

For more information about the Human Relations Commission, click here.

Blue Springs Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) Program

Top Photo: Blue Springs VIPS present Mayor Carson Ross with a volunteer hours check at the April 7 City Council Meeting. Second Photo: VIPS members Jerry Kaylor and Tom Echerd pose with a school mascot. Third and Fourth Photos: Blue Springs Police Department and VIPS participate in emergency services day at Cordill-Mason Elementary School. Bottom Photo: Sgt. Allen Kintz displays the BSPD's Mamba.

At the April 7 City Council Meeting, Volunteers In Police Service (VIPS) members presented a check to Mayor Carson Ross for the 2013 assessed value of VIPS service to the Blue Springs community. In 2010, VIPS members logged a total of 7,978.25 hours of service that was valued by the Department of Labor at $176,638.45!

The VIPS program began in May of 2008 as a natural progression from the
former Non Commissioned Officer Program. This core group of the VIPS
Program consisted of over 25 people and ranged in age from 17 to 64.

Duties include database management, teaching training classes, crisis
response and assisting Animal Control. VIPS members also assist at
community events such as the Police Department outreach events, Fall Fun Festival, DWI Checkpoint operations and National Night Out Against Crime.

If you are interested in joining the VIPS Program or would like more
information, click here or contact Sgt. Allen Kintz or Ed "Doc" Golden at (816) 228-0178.

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

Our
Mission

The City of Blue Springs is a unique community where families, visitors and businesses share a special quality of life and an abundant spirit of community closeness and cooperation.

Our number one goal is to ensure that our residents, visitors and patrons receive quality customer service and attention with every program and service the City provides. Just as you stand by a community that strives to meet your family's needs, we promise to do our best to meet these needs and anticipate what's best for you and our community, to the best of our ability.