Category Archives: Uncategorized

Brief Summary–Armour Hills Annual Homeowners Assn Mtg

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Last night was the Armour Hills Annual Homeowners Assn meeting.  Happy to say, we had our best attendance–over 60 people!  I think this was due to some extra promotion and a little different format as well.

In the past year, Armour Hills  HOA has accomplished quite a bit:  new wind screens on the tennis courts, new picnic tables in the park, the pool was sandblasted and painted, there’s a new island and sign  just off Brookside Rd at 70th (landscaping coming in the spring next year), and we signed a contract for snow removal for the winter of 2010/2011.  Still, at last night’s meeting we wanted to hear more of what the homeowners would like to see the association do–what are the priorities?  So Gunner Hand broke up the attendees into small groups and we all spoke out about some possible improvements and concerns for the neighborhood. 

All four breakout groups would like to see better contact and cooperation with the City of Kansas City MO when reaching out for information, complaints, problems.  A number of residents would like to see a better public school option and expressed concerns about the ongoing upheaval at Southwest High.  Better codes enforcement was mentioned, along with a printed Armour Hills directory, appointment of block captains, park improvements and neighborhood clean-up/sustainability workshops.  The board will take all of these suggestions, narrow them down to the top 4 or 5 we feel we can tackle, and report back to the residents through the Clarion.

Our city council representative Jan Marcusson was in attendance–she actually joined one of the break out sessions and listened to comments from the group.  Mayoral candidates Deb Hermann, Jim Rowland and Mike Burke also came by.  Deb and Mike left early–Jim stayed almost to the end of the meeting.

We elected two new board members, Dan Newman and Mistie Costaker.  David Pucci was re-elected to the board and serves as treasurer.  Finally, it was almost unanimous vote that a small annual increase in dues was passed.

Armour Hills is the Brookside subdivision with the largest number of homes. Overall, we have a great neighborhood and a very active HOA with so many caring residents who love living here.  Thanks to everyone who came to the meeting in support of our HOA!

Thanks for reading my blog–your comments are appreciated!  Reach me at maryhutchison@prukc.com.

Waldo Home for Sale – A Real Bargain!

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Out on Realtor tour yesterday, I saw this new listing in Waldo–wow, it’s a bargain!  Five bedrooms, two full baths for $179,900! A lot of space for the money at 7316 Main.

Lacks some curb appeal but don’t let that stop you–the large wrap around screened porch in front is a great feature.  Sip a beer and watch the foot traffic go by!  Inside, the living room and dining room are very open, and the kitchen has a small eat in area.  In back you’ll find a carport with private drive and a deck.  There is a hi efficiency furnace, 200 amp electrical and almost 2000 square feet per tax records.

Great location too–walk to school, church,  library, Trolley Track Trail, Waldo hot spots, bus stop.

This house is priced to sell.  You’ll be impressed.  It’s not my listing. ..of course I can show it to you…just email me.

Brookside’s Iron Chef

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Yes I’m hooked on “The Next Iron Chef”…because fellow Brooksider Celine Tio is in the competition.  She’s a formidable competitor for the male chefs on the show–even though they don’t seem to think so.  As of last Sunday, there are five competitors left–and Celine is the only female. 

I’ve eaten at Julian, Tio’s restaurant located here in Brookside,  and interviewed Celine for this blog.  She’s a friendly, no-nonsense, dedicated chef and doesn’t have the drama personality so many reality shows attract.  Each week I watch her and think, ‘good for you–just crank out the food, stay above the bickering and go for the win’.  She’s so unlike the men who seem to be much more cut-throat and ego-driven. Celine has had to face an unruly outdoor flaming grill of fire and a plastic coated bowl melting at the stove–of course she’s frazzled but manages to overcome the problems and create winning dishes.  I suspect she cringes at some of the staged antics she had to go through on the show–the promo photo of a tough-looking, intimidating chef isn’t her at all. 

Last Sunday’s episode had the chefs preparing four dishes, representing the north, south, east and west areas of the U.S.  Celine cooked various representations of a lobster roll, dirty rice, pork belly pot roast and a Philly snack cake.  She didn’t win the challenge, but she ‘survived to cook another day’ –meaning she wasn’t eliminated.

Chef Tio is a master at marketing her restaurant and, along with her appearance in the show, is  featuring a special Sunday seating at 7pm.  Dinner is served that includes food she cooked on the show; at 8pm diners stay to watch the next episode on tv.  The Next Iron Chef tapings concluded months ago–we don’t know at this point if she was the ultimate winner. But the fact that she’s made it this far–and turned  the appearance into a smart publicity tool for her restaurant–surely makes all the frantic competition worth it.

I would love to interview her again about the Iron Chef experience–some good behind-the-scenes stories that any viewer would relish hearing! In the meantime, I’ll just have to make another date for dining at her place and hope she can pass along a story or two as she table-hops through the restaurant. Even if she doesn’t ultimately become The Next Iron Chef, at least more local Kansas City folks are discovering–and patronizing–Julian. It’s every chef’s dream to open their own restaurant.  She did it during the economy’s collapse and survived, thrived through her own hard work, great food and dedicated staff. Support local businesses…dine at Julian for lunch or dinner. And don’t forget dessert…mmmm, the chocolate pudding and ginger donut!

Thanks for reading my blog–you can comment here or reach me at mary.hutchison@prukc.com

Why to Vote Yes on MO Amendment 3

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Here’s the issue, no spin:

Voting Yes on MO Amendment 3 will prevent government entities in the state of MO from imposing and NEW taxes on real estate transactions.

Many states already impose a tax on real estate transactions–Kansas being one of them.  Typically this is a precise figure  (in Kansas it’s $2.60 per $1000)          or a percentage of the sales price.  Because states are always looking for new sources of revenue, and usually that new revenue comes from additional taxes, this admendment would prevent additional taxes on these transactions. 

Current closing costs on home sales run into thousands of dollars.  Future taxes would only add to these closing costs–for buyers and sellers.  In Missouri we already pay property taxes on real estate every year.  A so-called ‘transfer tax’ would add hundreds of dollars more to each transaction. 

Exact wording of the amendment reads:  “Should the Missouri constitution be amended to prevent the state, counties and other policial subdivisions from imposing any new tax, including sales tax, on the sale or transfer of homes or any other real estate?”

Thank you for carefully considering your vote on this issue!  You can reach me at mary.hutchison@prukc.com

Southwest High School Thoughts–Part Two

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Looking over that last blog post, I decided some of the incidents mentioned (sex in bathrooms, pot smoking, defying authority, truancy) are probably happening at every Kansas City high school.  These are teenagers, right? Yet when the Kansas City MO police department get called to the school over 50 times in two months–that is not a common high school occurance.  It’s the frequency of the incidents and the lack of discipline/respect for education that is most worrisome.

So, what to do?  As much as I would like to say the parents need to be pro-active in solving these problems, I think the school district and Southwest school administration need to take the lead.  Here’s a few suggestions:

1.  Teachers must have control of the classroom for effective teaching. If they can’t control the class–get help and/or get a new teacher.  How many unemployed teachers would be willing to come in and help out on a contract basis? 

2.  Take the troublemakers out of the classroom.  Don’t just send them to the principal’s office.  Have a separate detention room or send them home. There MUST be consequences ENFORCED for bad behavior.

3.  Absolutely all teachers must take the lead from the principal and maintain (relatively) quiet, orderly classroom changes and hall atmospheres. 

4.  Identify the five most pressing problems.  Tackle them one at a time.  Hold staff accountable for the action steps that need to be taken to get a handle on the problems while working towards the solutions.  Form individual task forces to work on the problems with clear action plans.

5.  Try to involve the parents.  This one could be tricky.  There are some parents who  have disciplined their children and taught them how to behave in school, who have taught them the value of education, who provide a stable home life and teach values. There are parents who do not.  Still, involve as many parents as you can to help institute changes at the school.

6.  Involve the students.  What ideas do they have for solving the problems? They are living it every day–involving the kids in the discussion will win the school district more support from the very kids they claim to serve.

I’m very tempted to wander the halls and classrooms of Southwest myself –just to experience it.  I’m curious and yes, fearful, at the same time. Still, I just might do it–and that would be another blog post.

Thanks for reading this blog–you can reach me at mary.hutchison@prukc.com

What’s Really Happening at Southwest High School?

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Last night I attended the monthly board meeting of the Armour Hills Homes Association.  A resident came and shared with us copies of two long email messages, written by a community volunteer, about her experience at Southwest. Her email outlined several disturbing incidents in and around the school: kids getting off the bus but not going into the school; open pot smoking just outside school doors;  extremely loud hallways filled with foul language and name calling; dress code not being enforced;  video of students having sex in the bathroom; sex on cars; verbal and physical harassment of persons walking by the school; teachers call for security but no response; students refusing to comply with requests from administration; truancy;  fires being set…you get the picture. There are security officers at the school but they  cannot keep up with the non-stop chaos. I have no way to verify these incidents but surely school officials are following up with more investigation.

What’s interesting about this email is that the author was asked to leave the school and discontinue her volunteer role. She seems to feel that she was asked to leave because school officials do not want the general community knowing about the extent of the problems at the school. Here is someone who is trying to make a difference, who isn’t being paid, who is willing to try, in a small way, to help out on a regular basis–and she is no longer welcome at the school.  Is there another side to this story as to why she was asked to leave?

The Brookside community made a very deliberate effort to reach out and welcome the students at Southwest.  Volunteers cleaned up the grounds and painted the walls; communication was started, residents offered their time in the school.  Brooksiders  would love to have a local  public school middle/high school it could  show off.  A few years ago when the SWECC reopened with an emphasis on preparing kids for college, there was real hope for success. Teachers, students and parents had to make a commitment to the challenging college prep education. Now, it appears the school has many more students who really don’t care at all about paying attention in the classroom. A high percentage of the students who  wanted to take advantage of the college prep program have left this year.  As a community we reached out  to the students and administration at Southwest–was that just a wasted effort?  It’s so bad that Steve Scraggs, Southwest’s principal, had enough and quit over the weekend. 

What to do?  That’s what I’ll be thinking about for the next blog post.

Armour Hills Home Sales Stats

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Hey neighbors–here are home sales stats for August/September 2010 in Armour Hills:

9 homes sold, average price $203,983.

38 active homes for sale as of today, ranging in price from $145,000-$469,950.

In comparison, 10 homes sold in August/September 2009, average price of $236,643.

(information taken from Heartland MLS–deemed reliable but not guaranteed.)

Lower average price reflects the constant amount of foreclosures in the area and sellers who keep lowering prices to move inventory.

There is still a lot of competition out there …if you are thinking of selling your home, my advice is to spend the next few months cleaning, painting, decluttering and making needed repairs…then put it on the market in February/March.

Thanks for reading my blog; you can reach me at mary.hutchison@prukc.com

Habitat ReStore Comes to Waldo

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Everyone loves a bargain…especially Brookside/Waldo folks.  It’s always a pleasure to walk into area homes that have trashed furniture they have turned into chic decor.  That’s one reason why Habitat ReStore will be very successful with their new Waldo store at 303 W 79St, opening mid November.

The 24,000 square foot facillity will carry gently used furniture, building supplies, fixtures, hardware and appliances.  Although the store isn’t open yet, it is accepting donations of furniture.  Private individuals, contractors and building suppliers are encouraged  to donate unused and unwanted materials to the store. It will be open six days a week (Monday through Saturday) and have a volunteer staff.

Four years ago when I remodeled my kitchen, I had Habitat Restore come out and do the kitchen demo.  They took the old unwanted everything:  sink, oven, fridge, countertop, cabinets–and the work was done in a professional, friendly manner. I paid a fee as a donation and then took the donation off on my income taxes. This year Habitat ReStore is charging me $500 to demo my bathroom (a contractor quoted me $900) and again, I’ll get a tax donation from their work.  It’s a win – win situation for each party.  Habitat ReStore gets materials, I get the tax benefits.  And they do a great job.

Remember Habitat ReStore when it’s time to remodel your home or business–they are doing a great community service that benefits everyone. 

And…thanks for reading my blog.  You can comment here or contact me at maryhutchison@prukc.com

My (Current) Favorite Listing

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Oh I love this house!  I see a lot of houses every week, and this one keeps sticking in my mind.  It’s in Armour Hills (my neighborhood) and it is move in ready–which is what most people want these days. Totally updated.  It’s not my listing–wish it was!

Three bedrooms, two full baths, one half bath and a lovely screened porch.  A two car garage!  NOT a center hall plan–perfect for entertaining.  The kitchen opens to the dining room.

  Contemporary paint colors and tastefully decorated.  Plus, NEW WINDOWS.  That’s a big positive–to replace old windows is a chunk of money, usually around $500 per window. Listed at $289,950.  Why hasn’t this house sold? Oh that is the question these days.  I think it’s well priced, on a good block, has attractive curb appeal, a very  unique ‘hobbit’ door as I call it. The market has cooled considerably since the tax credit ended, and as we get closer to the holidays, sales naturally curl downward. People are hesitant to jump in, even though interest rates are at historic lows. Finally….if you have a house to sell, well,  most people nowadays won’t buy until they have a contract on the first one.

If you know someone looking for a beautiful Brookside house..this could be the one for them.  Email me for more details or a showing.  Thanks for reading my blog!

StoryCorps in Brookside

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Talk, talk, talk…how many conversations did you have today?  Anything out of the ordinary? Or was it the usual….how was your day? What’s for dinner? Stop fighting with your brother! Is your homework done?  My boss is a real __________ (insert adjective here). Did you make the sale? Was it just another day in the life?  Here’s your chance to have a different type of conversation.  One you will remember for the rest of your life.

What is that…  the shiny silver trailer parked in the lot just east of 63rd and Brookside Blvd? This is the mobile Story Corps booth, an oral history project that gives you a chance to record an interview with someone who is important in your life.  Most people using the booth have a conversation with a parent, child, co-worker, best friend or spouse, asking questions such as : How would you like to be remembered?  What life lessons would you like to pass on? Tell me about a very happy experience you’ve had.  Describe your first kiss. Tell me a special memory you have from school/childhood/your parents. Inside the StoryCorps booth, these are the type of  questions that get asked and answered between participants.  And it can be a very intimate, honest and emotional experience.

Three years ago I recorded a conversation with my (then) 13-year-old daughter at the permanent StoryCorps booth in Grand Central Station, New York City.  It was lively, funny, and yes, tearful.  It was fascinating to hear her answer some weighty questions and get her perspective on her life to that point: what did she want to accomplish in the future, what do you love most about your sister? What are your impressions of New York City?  This was  my daughter who I talk to every day…mostly banal conversations regarding school, homework, chores.  To take the time dive in deeper to her thoughts while recording–it’s a treasured conversation we can share from time to time  as we — I–get older and she grows into an adult.

StoryCorps was created by David Issay in 2003.  There have been over 35,000 interviews in all 50 states.  When you record a session in the booth, one disc is created for yourself to keep, and the other is archived in the Library of Congress. The StoryCorps booth will be in Brookside through October 3 and honestly, it’s tough to reserve a session.  There is no charge to record your story (although donations are appreciated); visit  the StoryCorps website and search for an open slot.  If all times are reserved—get on the wait list, there are cancellations. If you are lucky enough to score a reservation, prepare yourself for an emotional experience.  The recording area is very small, no windows, all is quiet.  Bring your questions, open up and listen.

StoryCorps is stopping in Kansas City for the second time, thanks to KCUR, our National Public Radio station at 89.3FM.  Thanks to the staff of the station for all of their hard work to bring Story Corps back to the area.   Also, thanks to these local Brookside businesses for their support of StoryCorps and KCUR:  Brookside Price Chopper, Blue Grotto, Mr. Goodcents, JULIAN, The Roasterie, Avenues Bistro, Sharps 63rd St Grill, Fiddley Fig, Brookside Barkery, James Hallmark, Brookside Party Warehouse.

You can hear recorded stories from the StoryCorps booth every Friday on KCUR; they are usually broadcast around 7:20am.  In addition, KCUR will broadcast select excerpts from the recorded Kansas City conversations through the Fall on air.

Thanks for reading my blog. You can contact me at mary.hutchison@prukc.com or please leave a comment.