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THE BRUSH CREEK BULLETIN Volume 9, Issue 1 January/February/March 2007   KCAI CLASS PROJECT GAINS APPROVAL FOR COMMUNITY RAIN GARDEN ALONG BRUSH CREEK Most college courses end with a term paper or final exam, but a Kansas City Art Institute class entitled “Community as Client: Persuasive Ecology and Design” will culminate with the creation of a rain garden in Theis Park, located at Volker Boulevard and Oak Street. The Kansas City Parks and Recreation Commission approved construction of the 150-foot long garden studded with ecological messages this month. The garden will be planted Saturday, April 14. KCAI students designed the rain garden last fall in collaboration with Brush Creek Community Partners and representatives of several of its member organizations; the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department; and the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Discovery Center. Several prominent Kansas City businesses have offered advice, hands-on assistance and materials, and individuals from city departments and local organizations, including the University of Missouri-Kansas City, have all donated time and expertise to the project. KCAI-Brush Creek Community Raingarden At the outset, the goal of the class was to provide an opportunity for students to learn about the ecology of the region, address community needs and learn how to communicate basic ecological principles to the general public in a “fresh, appropriate and persuasive manner,” said Julie Metzler, director of Community Arts and Service Learning at KCAI. In keeping with CASL’s goals, Brockett Horne, director of the college’s School of Design, and Julia Cole, chair of the KCAI interdisciplinary arts department, pursued the rain garden concept. Consistent with Mayor Kay Barnes’ 10,000 Rain Gardens initiatve, the garden itself is designed to lessen the effect of storm-water runoff by pooling the water and using native plants to absorb the runoff. As outlined by the students, the rain garden will consist of a 150-foot-long bioswale in the southwest corner of the park, about 60 feet east of Oak Street. When it rains, water will gather in a rocky catchment area in the northernmost tip of the bioswale and flow downhill in a gently curving path toward a garden that will be planted with aromatic caster, slender mountain mint, purple poppy mallow, blazing star and other native plants chosen for their ability to withstand both wet and dry conditions in northwest Missouri. Along the way, buffalo grass will form an apron around the bioswale’s landscape of river rock and wetland plants, and a stone bench will be built into a berm so that passersby can sit and view the garden. EVENTS TO DRAW COMMUNITY TO BRUSH CREEK CORRIDOR AS THE CITY’S CULTURAL DISTRICT IDENTITY EMERGES Kansas City Literary Festival Stages Inaugural Run May 17 - 20 In and Around the Country Club Plaza The Kansas City Literary Festival, the first of what organizers hope will be an annual event, will launch a celebration of books, reading and writers in mid-May in the Brush Creek Corridor. With activities on Saturday, May 19 in the Country Club Plaza anchoring the four-day event, the festival is designed to connect people of nearly all ages and reading interests with national and local authors. In addition to a Main Stage, Culinary Stage, Kids’ Stage, poets, specialty authors and exhibitors located in venues around the Plaza on May 19, locations such as the Plaza Branch Library, the Linda Hall Library of Science Engineering and Technology and the Kauffman Foundation will hold special events. BOOK-A-FRIEND (BAF) is the founder of the Kansas City Literary Festival. BAF is dedicated to enhancing the literary landscape of a community by establishing an annual festival or signature event that focuses attention upon and encourages reading as a daily habit. In looking at Kansas City, BAF’s President and Founder David Ernst found that although the community did not have a signature literary event, Kansas City has ranked as high as 14th in Central Connecticut University’s “Most Literate Cities” study and second in library utilization. More specific details are on the festival’s website at www.kansascitylitfest.org. Kansas City’s Cultural District to be Celebrated June 2 Along Brush Creek Several of Brush Creek Community Partners’ members are collaborating on a day to heighten awareness of the Brush Creek Corridor as the community’s Cultural District and premiere regional destination location. On Saturday, June 2, several institutions that are open to the public will offer special programming and activities to visitors. Centralized activity for residents and visitors is being planned with these institutions and the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department in Theis Mall between Oak and Locust Streets from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Entertainment, education, food and fun will be part of the day’s events along Brush Creek from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. In addition to the Parks and Recreation Department, organizations contributing to the Cultural District Day include the Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, The Kansas City Art Institute and the H&R Block ArtSpace, the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, the Kansas City Public Library-Plaza Branch, the Linda Hall Library of Science, Technology & Engineering, the Ewing and Muriel Kauffman Memorial Garden, the Toy and Miniature Museum of Kansas City, the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance, Rockhurst University, and the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center. This group, convened by Brush Creek Community Partners has collaborated with the Mid-America Regional Council to develop a map of the Brush Creek Cultural Corridor. The map identifies the various destinations open to the public in the Corridor. It is available by calling Brush Creek Community Partners at 816-523-2991. For more details about Cultural District Day or to view the Brush Creek Cultural Corridor Map, visit www.kcartswalk.com. PARTNER UPDATES Kansas City Power & Light has reached a groundbreaking agreement with environmental and community groups to reduce emissions and enhance clean energy development. The agreement reflects a set of initiatives for the utility to pursue offsets for global warming emissions associated with a new plant through significant investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy, and cut pollution from its existing plants in order to improve air quality in the greater Kansas city area. The agreement was reached with the Sierra Club and Concerned Citizens of Platte County. In other news, Great Plains Energy, the holding company for KCP&L, recently announced plans to acquire Kansas City-based Aquila, Inc.’s Missouri utility operations. Nan Tiehen Bone has been named the next president of St. Teresa’s Academy. Bone, a 1969 graduate of the school, is completing her third year as principal of St. Peter’s Catholic School. On July 1 she will take over from Faith Wilson, who has been teacher, principal and president of St. Theresa’s the last 30 years. Wilson plans to pursue consulting and promote her book Educating Our Daughters, which she co-authored. Midwest Research Institute has received one of three Distinguished Service Awards for volunteer support of physics, tutoring, and mentoring of FirstRobotics at The Paseo Academy from the Science Teachers of Missouri (STOM). STOM annually recognizes individuals and companies who go above and beyond to increase science understanding in the state. "The dedication and outstanding efforts that MRI has made to advance science education in Missouri are phenomenal,'' said Rebecca Cook, STOM president. MRI also has a partnership with Paseo Academy, providing after-school tutoring support to students. Julia Irene Kauffman has committed $1 million in support to the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Miller Nichols Library expansion project. Expansion and revitalization of the Miller Nichols Library has been the university’s top capital project. When it opened in 1969, the library was designed to serve a student population of 6,000. Today it is called on to assist more than 14,000 students and thousands more community patrons. An expansion will enable the library to address the needs of UMKC’s current student population and accommodate a 20 percent increase in enrollment without the addition of classrooms elsewhere on UMKC’s campus. Highlights of the project include a new 81,167 square-foot Information Commons, 75 percent of which is dedicated to individual and group learning spaces; a 300-seat lecture hall; and provide permanent homes for special collections, such as the Western Historical Manuscripts and the Marr Sound Archives. Total costs for the project are estimated at $70 million, which will be funded through $20 million in private gifts and $50 million in campus and state funds. The Greater Kansas City Community Foundation's donors have given more than $1 billion in grants to the nonprofit community since the Foundation's founding in 1978. "2006 proved to be a particularly special year for the Foundation. In just 28 years our donors have granted more than $1 billion to nonprofit organizations serving charitable causes important to them. It's truly a milestone to celebrate," said Laura McKnight, the Community Foundation’s president and chief executive officer. The Community Foundation increases charitable giving, connects donors to community needs they care about and provides leadership on critical community issues. Over the years the Community Foundation has grown to include more than 1,800 individual, family, organization or corporate funds. The Ivanhoe Neighborhood and the eastern half of the 49/63 Neighborhood are among the nine neighborhoods in which the City of Kansas City is piloting the use of trash carts. Kcart collection is a transition from the city’s trash bag collection. The carts, with up to 68 gallons of regular household trash inside, are picked up curbside weekly, along with contents of KC Recycles bins. Experience in these neighborhoods will help guide further refinements and expansion of the program. Research in the Corridor Midwest Research Institute has been awarded a $7.5 million contract from the U.S. Air Force to provide research and development for the Air Force Technical Applications Center. The work will include a variety of biotechnical research that could include protection, detection and preparedness. The work should be completed in September 2011. Saint Luke’s Mid America Brain and Stroke Institute has been chosen to participate in a clinical trail to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of cortical stimulation therapy for recovery of hand and arm function in stroke survivors. Saint Luke’s was selected to participate in the study because of its expertise in clinical trial management and extensive experience in treating patients who are survivors of stroke. Stroke is the number one cause of disability in the Unites States. The multi-site trial is sponsored by Seattle medical device company, Northstar Neuroscience. Scientists at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research have announced several findings: The Rong Li lab team has answered an important question about how mammalian eggs undergo maturation through an intricate process of asymmetric cell division. The study was published in the February 6 issue of Developmental Cell and examines how mammalian eggs undergo a maturation process to achieve genomic reduction, while maintaining as many useful building blocks as possible for later embryonic development. Tadahiro Iimura, senior research associate in the Pourquié Lab, is the lead author on a paper challenging controversial theories about the mode of formation of the vertebral column precursor, known as the paraxial mesoderm. The paperis posted on the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences web site. Limura said, “We believe this information will help us to understand the origins of congenital spine disorders, such as congenital scoliosis, and will eventually lead to better treatment options.” Ting Xie, associate investigator, and Zhigang Jin, postdoctoral research associate in the Xie Lab, have published results showing that the microRNA pathway is essential for controlling self-renewal of germline stem cells and somatic stem cells in the Drosophila ovary. The paper was recently published on the Current Biology web site. MicroRNAs are single-stranded small RNA molecules believed to regulate the expression of other genes. KANSAS CITY WET WEATHER SOLUTIONS PROGRAM PUBLIC OPEN HOUSES The City is potentially going to spend billions of dollars on sanitary and storm sewers with major impact to citizen’s Water Services bills and neighborhoods. Come learn about the options and provide input into the solutions. This program is addressing: sanitary sewer overflows flooding sewer back-ups water quality Brush Creek Basin Open House Tuesday, May 8 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center 3700 Blue Parkway Town Fork Creek Open House Tuesday, May 22 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Broadway United Methodist Church 406 West 74th Street CORRIDOR NEIGHBORHOODS TO BENEFIT FROM TAX INCREMENT FINANCING The Blue Hills and Ivanhoe Neighborhoods will be sharing a minimum of $5 million in tax increment financing (TIF) proceeds over the next ten years for neighborhood improvements, including housing. Funding will come from the former Health Midwest now HCA, TIF. An Advisory Committee has been established representative of area stakeholders including the neighborhoods, to work with the community and TIF Commission in determining the use of these funds. This action is a consequence of Brush Creek Community Partners' consistent advocacy for channeling development benefits to areas of the Corridor community that most need them. “BCCP and the neighborhoods were fortunate to have Fifth District City Councilman Terry Riley and Tax Increment Financing Commission Executive Director Gary Carter committed to doing what they could for Ivanhoe and Blue Hills,” said BCCP Executive Director Carol Grimaldi. “The job was easier as these neighborhoods are two of the city's best examples of neighborhoods whose leadership, vision, tenacity and organization have made tremendous strides in turning the community around. The Blue Hills Neighborhood Association and the Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council have already demonstrated to civic leaders that this will be a wise investment.” BCCP Board member and Blue Hills Neighborhood Association Vice President William Hart said this TIF plan should demonstrate how prudent application of this incentive will act as a catalyst for further revitalization of the urban core east of Troost and significantly stimulate additional reinvestment in the area. CELEBRATING NEIGHBORHOOD LEADERSHIP Swope Community Builders celebrated leadership in several Brush Creek Corridor neighborhoods in January. Dorothy Stroud, who retired in 2004 after decades of civic commitment including 30 years service as president of the Sheraton Estates Neighborhood Association, was honored with the Lifetime of Service Award. Stroud was a founding member of the Brush Creek Community Partners Board of Directors and also served on the Boards of Directors of the Housing and Community Development Financial Board, Swope Community Builders, the Family Resource Center, the Kansas City Neighborhood Alliance and Southeast Communities United. Brush Creek Corridor neighborhood leaders (from left) Becky Forrest, Dorothy Stroud, and Helen Bryant. Town Fork Creek Neighborhood Association President Becky Forrest was among those receiving the President’s Award. As the neighborhood’s president, she led development of the Town Fork Creek Neighborhood Plan, which was adopted by the Kansas City City Council in 2005. Other Presidents Award honorees were Cynthia Canady of the Swope Parkway/Elmwood Neighborhood Association and Glenda Russell of the Sheraton Estates Neighborhood Association. Helen Bryant, vice president of the Swope Parkway/Elmwood Neighborhood Association and a member of the Brush Creek Community Partners Board of Directors. Bryant accepted the Business/Partner of the Year Award on behalf of Realtors United. Bryant is president of Realtors United, which has provided both financial support and manpower to many neighborhood events. Dee Hamilton McCoy, vice president of the Town Fork Creek Neighborhood Association was named the Neighbor of the Year. Swope Community Enterprises Vice President for Development and Community Relations Crystal Williams said the Community Service Awards are presented in tribute to all the residents, volunteers and organizations that spend countless hours serving the community.