A Riss Lake resident recently spoke to the Parkville Board of Aldermen about a proliferation of power outages on one block in the neighborhood.
At the Tuesday, June 16 meeting of the board of aldermen, Mike Green said he’d lived in his home since 2006, and ever since he moved in his block has suffered from power outages not seen by other streets in the Riss Lake subdivision. Residents complained in the past, and Green said there has been improvement, but the outages still occur far too frequently, including a recent outage of about 24 hours after a recent storm. He said while he understands the storm is outside of power company control, the extended outage shows the need for help on his street.
Green, who said he spoke for several of his neighbors, asked the city’s help in talks with Evergy to investigate the cause of the outages and to address the situation.
Mayor Dean Katerndahl said the city could add its voice to the call for answers and directed Green to provide any documentation to the board so they can send it along to public works.
At the Tuesday, June 2 meeting of the board, board members heard an update on the city’s efforts to update its policies on e-bikes and scooters on streets and trails. Currently, e-bikes are permitted on multi-use trails and city streets, just as non-electric bikes are. They are prohibited in both nature sanctuaries.
In 2019 the board identified e-bikes as class one vehicles, but technology has advanced since then, allowing e-bikes to travel much faster than the 20 mph limit for such vehicles. Additionally, some people have modified their bikes to travel faster, and some have eliminated pedals altogether. The city reached out to the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) to determine if the city’s ordinances need an update. MARC is in the process of analyzing the motorized vehicles in use in the Kansas City metro area, including e-bikes, scooters, skateboards and more. According to Parkville Community Development Director Stephen Lachky, the MARC recommendations will help the city to determine if it needs to update its ordinances.
The city also approved its agreement with Platte County Parks and Recreation for the stormwater grant awarded to the city by the county last month. The city has identified nearly 20 galvanized steel drain pipes, mostly in the Riss Lake area, in need of replacement or repair. Instead of a costly replacement, the city has opted to line the pipes with a resin lining. The project has yet to go to bid, but if conditions and prices are favorable, more pipes could be added to the project.
Also at that meeting, the board approved the purchase of about 200 “no soliciting” stickers that will be available to those in the community who want the stickers. This comes from an amendment to city code, eliminating the city’s “no visit” list prohibiting solicitors from knocking on doors whose addresses were on the list.