Point of View

“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” – Elliott Erwitt

“The camera is an excuse to be someplace you otherwise don’t belong. It gives me both a point of connection and a point of separation.” – Susan Meiselas

Monday, Noon - Hospital Board of Trustees; 6PM - Planning & Zoning Commission

Tuesday, 4PM - Municipal Court; 6PM - Park & Recreation Board

Wednesday, Farmer's Markets; 10AM - Job Corps Community Relations

Thursday, 10AM - Housing Authority

Friday, 7:30AM - Special Council Meeting, followed by Closed Session, followed by Work Session; Homecoming Parade

Planning & Zoning will consider a Special Use Permit to utilize the Old Roosevelt High School gymnasium for public events. Planning & Zoning Study Session to review Section 400.030 Definitions & discuss Cottage Housing

City Council will hold special meeting to set the property tax rate for 2022 & closed session for 610.021.9 if needed. Council business under development includes Proclamations for Knights of Columbus Tootsie Roll Drive & Fire Prevention Week. Consider code revisions for Universal Design. Several agreements under consideration include:

• Supplemental services under the Fishing Rivers Watershed Study ($39,320) to conduct a bathymetric survey of Crystal Lakes. The survey will be used to verify the bottom elevation of the lake to determine if the principal spillway can be lowered for flood storage & quantify the volume of sediment to be dredged from the lake to restore it to be used for recreational purposes. (Funding: Clay County ARPA)
• Renewal of Municipal Judge services agreement
• Payroc agreement to accept credit cards/online pay for development permits
• Renew agreement with Missouri American Water for sale of water to City of Lawson
• Emerson agreement for financial services, & Appropriations

Celebrating work anniversaries this week - Vonda Floyd, Finance Director & Alexander Hopper, Lifeguard - 2 years, John Hudgens, Refuse Coordinator - 3 years

Missouri Photo Workshop for their 74th year is visiting Excelsior Springs. You may have seen several visitors with cameras around town this week. The MPW is sponsored by MU Journalism School, faculty members have been many of America's leading newspaper & magazine photographers & photo editors, a roster of faculty & students reads like a Who's Who of photojournalism. The faculty for MPW.74 in Excelsior Springs were from The Washington Post, NY Times, Visual Thinking Collective, Eyes on Earth, San Francisco Chronicle, & Universities of Oregon, San Francisco State, & W Virginia. Faculty members mentor workshop attendees as they research, pitch & begin photographing a story they find. This time-tested process establishes the importance of having a solid story pitch before beginning narrative photojournalism. By the end of the week, you’ll have witnessed 40 documentary picture stories develop from pitch to final narrative. It has been fun to see the stories of our friends & neighbors from outside eyes.

Construction activities around town - The foundation & structural failures under the Water Bar at the Hall of Waters are receiving attention. Daily progress can be witnessed at the Community Center Aquatic Center construction site & dredging of Powell Lake at Century Park. Street improvements are underway in Cherry Hills & Westwood Hills.

If you're looking for something fun to do this weekend, consider taking a trip to Excelsior Springs. There's a great unique eatery there that JUST missed the cut for my new book. #uniqueeatskc MattStewartBooks.com ~ It's Willow Springs Mercantile. What makes their food so good? Besides being experienced chefs, the Bowmans put an emphasis on fresh. They buy many of their ingredients from local farmers & grow their own produce in a garden out back.