Jasmine Hendrix is 19 years old and currently studying at Johnson County Community College. She studied abroad in Rome, Italy for her junior year in high school. It was the best and most life changing experience for her. She made many friends and so many loving memories.
She recommends studying abroad because it will take you out of your comfort zone and make you do things you never would have dreamed of. Unfortunately, her study abroad was cut short due to the Covid pandemic. She hopes to travel the world again soon to visit her friends across the world.
Join us for the inspiring experience she will share.
Mark Your Calendars for Parkville Microbrew Fest
Please mark your calendar for Saturday, April 22! We need volunteers to work the Parkville Rotary Retail Tent.
This is a wonderful event for The Parkville Mainstreet Association. Kelly Putnam the Executive Director for the Association will be leading this great fundraiser. Several volunteers are needed to make this tent work smoothly for the participants to enjoy.
Sandy K will be looking volunteers in the very near future so be ready to sign up for a two hour slot!
Fifth Friday @ Knuckleheads Saloon
Jeff Bergen's Elvis Show
Join us for fun, food, drink and entertainment! It is a terrific show and there also should be concert.
You must purchase your tickets in advance. See the email that Sandy K. sent out on March 1st for more information.
Parkville Voters to Decide on Propositions U & P for Infrastructure, Capital Improvements & Public Safety Funding on April 4th Ballot
Parkville citizens will have the opportunity to vote on two ballot initiatives in the April 4 election. Proposition U is a use tax placed on goods sold online or out-of-state that would provide dedicated funding for infrastructure and capital improvements; Proposition P is a ½% sales tax that would provide dedicated funding for public safety initiatives.
“Our job as civic leaders is to ensure Parkville continues to move forward, balancing the City’s budget while continuing to deliver the quality services our citizens desire, ” said Parkville Mayor Dean Katerndahl. “However, quite steep inflation, especially for police salaries and public works construction projects, has made it difficult to balance the budget and provide the quality services that are key to keeping Parkville the charming community we all want. In addition the city is growing, which adds to the richness of the community, but also requires added investments to maintain what we love about the community.”
Recognizing the need to modernize revenue sources, the Mayor and Aldermen approved placing Proposition U and Proposition P on the April 4 ballot.
Proposition U would create a local use tax, which is a tax imposed on the storage, use or consumption of tangible, personal property. If approved, a local use tax would be applied to goods and services purchased, delivered, and used in Parkville from online and out-of-state vendors. The local use tax would not increase or change Parkville’s local sales tax – it would only be collected when sales taxes are not collected. Buyers would never pay both a use tax and local sales tax on the same transaction. It is estimated the use tax would generate $250,000 -$300,000 per year. These revenues would help provide the required local match to receive federal grants through the recently passed Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Proposition P would create a Citywide ½% increase in the sales tax to be placed on all retail sales made in the City of Parkville. Due to the large number of visitors to Parkville, the City’s Aldermen chose a sales tax rather than a property tax to capture the revenue needed for the City’s public safety improvements. Visitors to Parkville benefit from the services of the City’s Police Department and a sales tax is a way for visitors to contribute funding to public safety services. It is estimated the public safety sales tax will generate about $325,000 in the first year due to partial-year collections, and approximately $650,000 annually thereafter, providing the Police Department with a dedicated funding source to continue to keep the City safe.
“One of the activities our Parkville police officers enjoy most is spending time in the community, interacting with their fellow citizens. But lately, due to an increase in call volume and police staff shortages, our time to engage in relationship building has been reduced and we strongly embrace the community policing philosophy,” said Parkville Chief of Police Kevin Chrisman. “With the passage of Proposition P, we would have dedicated funds for the two open positions and two new positions added in 2022 for a total of four more police officers, along with efforts toward a satellite location to provide representation across the City.”
If both measures are approved, the City has identified a list of projects that will benefit from the revenues generated by the use tax and public safety tax:
9 Highway/East Street/First Street triangle project
Improvements to Bell Road including sidewalks to improve pedestrian connectivity
New satellite police location
Upgraded police vehicle fleet
Upgraded, state-of-the art police department equipment to stay current with policing trends
More competitive salaries and the opportunity to fill four new police officer positions above what is currently on the Police Department roster
“I think we can all agree we have something special here in Parkville – the community charm that draws people in from all over the region; our unique local shops, walkable streets and safe neighborhoods,” said Mayor Katerndahl. “We’re all Pro Parkville – we love where we live.”
The deadline to register to vote in the April 4 election is March 8; those interested can register to vote online through the Missouri Secretary of State’s website. On April 4, Parkville registered voters can vote from 6 am – 7 pm at the Parkville Presbyterian Church, 819 Main Street.
For more detailed information about the ballot initiatives, visit www.ProParkville.com.
For More Information, Contact: Melissa McChesney, City Clerk/Communications Specialist
Member News!
Member News is a new section in the weekly newsletter. Have news you want to share with Parkville Rotary members? Email Dalyn Novak at dnovak@wskfarch.com to have your news added.
The Membership Committee has been hard at work putting together new membership forms! All members can `access the forms by clicking on the blue box below which will take members to a dropbox link with the forms. Give these to potential members! The new spouse forms can be found here as well.
The following forms can be found in the link:
Standard Rotarian Membership Packet
Corporate Membership Packet
Spouse Membership Packet
Please submit the forms filled out to Dalyn Novak (dnovak@wskfarch.com) so she can get new member information added to ClubRunner after the board's approval!
