Dear Parkville residents,

I hope this letter finds you and your family safe and secure. I will start out by saying what a challenging time it has been. It goes without saying that we are living in a time of daily uncertainty that most of us have never experienced. As a community, we are all in this together and that we will get through this together.

Your City government is here to help. We continue to provide your essential services and are working closely with public health officials in responding to this emergency and providing a coordinated community response. We are also doing our best to regularly update our citizens on constant changing conditions.

I offer many thanks to everyone in the community who is stepping up during these difficult times:

• First, and foremost, I thank the tireless commitment of our front-line health workers, first responders and other essential service providers for their continued effort to care for us and keep us safe.
• I would like to personally thank each and every one of you for doing your part to help us battle the virus. Our residents and businesses are being diligent in staying home as much as possible and following the guidance of public health officials in practicing social distancing to prevent exposure and the spread of the disease. It will help contain the spread and get us through this.
• Citizens are selflessly responding to the needs of others, checking up on vulnerable family members and neighbors, or simply helping people out in the smallest of ways, or in the biggest of ways.
• Businesses and retail workers are working hard to make goods and services available to us.
• As we adjust to a new daily routine, it warms my heart to see so many of our residents continue to find ways to help in our community through our various organizations. Locally, there are a number of residents making face masks to deal with the nationwide shortage. Feed Northland Kids, a nonprofit organization, has teamed up with northland school districts to continue providing meals to kids who are now home bound. Our dedicated Parkville Animal Shelter volunteers continue to ensure our homeless animals are walked and fed. I am grateful to these residents and organizations that, despite new social distancing guidelines, have found innovative ways to continue to serve our community. Just because our daily life has changed, these organizations and others have the same, or even increased, financial needs. Please consider donating to Feed Northland Kids at https://www.feednorthlandkids.org/get-involved/donate/ or the Parkville Animal Shelter at https://www.parkvilleshelter.com/.

The City of Parkville is doing its part in responding to this emergency.

• Parkville, along with other cities in the metro, are collaborating with each other and working closely with the health departments in implementing orders that will help keep us safe.
• The City is providing regular updates on our social media sites and through our electronic mail system. I encourage you to sign up for updates to keep track of ever-changing news pertaining to COVID-19. Visit the City’s website at http://parkvillemo.gov/email-signup/ to sign up for e-mail and/or text message updates.
• The Stay at Home order continues to be implemented. The City is working with businesses and communicating with the public on providing guidance in our effort to abide by the order, yet let residents engage in permissible activities.
• I have issued an emergency order that will help facilitate the use of City resources in responding to this crisis.
• Our Police Department and Public Works Department are on the job, keeping our community safe and maintaining the City’s infrastructure.
• While City Hall is presently closed to the public, staff continues to work to serve the resident’s needs, practicing social distancing guidance including having a number of staff members working from home.

In addition to grocery shopping, or medical care, there are other essential services that are available to us during the time of Stay at Home and other social distancing orders. Among them are:

• English Landing Park, Platte Landing Park, the Sullivan Nature Sanctuary, the Parkville Nature Sanctuary and neighborhood parks are all open. We understand that our citizens may feel isolated as they follow the advice. Our parks are an opportunity for residents to get out to take a walk, do some exercise, or simply get outdoors and enjoy our beautiful parks. I encourage you to take advantage of this, and please, follow the social distancing guidelines.
• Most of Parkville restaurants are open for carry-out service and many of our other businesses are open online – please support our local businesses
• For updates on our business community – go to:
  • Main Street Parkville: ParkvilleMo.org;
  • Parkville Area Chamber of Commerce: ParkvilleChamber.com;

I assure you the City of Parkville will do all it can to keep the community safe and to respond to your needs. I encourage you to remain strong and to continue to help each other during these challenging times. Our faith will help guide us. We will soon get through this together. I look forward for our citizens to be able to resume the vibrancy of their lives and to enjoy the things that are most important to them, including living in our great community. 

Thank you and be well.

Mayor Nan Johnston

The City of Parkville is pleased to announce that the 2019 Annual Report is now available on the City’s website. The 2019 Annual Report is intended to record the important events, projects, accomplishments and statistics of Parkville over the last year. It also helps illustrate how staff time and taxpayer resources were spent over the calendar year. The full report can be found at https://parkvillemo.gov/download/2019AnnualReport.pdf.

Some of 2019 major accomplishments include:

• Voters approved a parks sales tax to fund new and expanded park projects;
• The master planned Creekside development was approved and is under construction; the development agreement includes provisions to help the City repay the neighborhood improvement district debt, providing relief for taxpayers;
• The CBC Apex Plaza shopping center, Six at Park office project and Park University’s Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise Center all were under construction;
• A record year for building permit revenue, exceeding the previous year by 23 percent. Since 2017, property assessed valuation has increased to approximately $254 million;
• Staff managed two major flood events in the riverfront parks and then restored the parks;
• Construction activity began on the first phase of the Route 9 Corridor Street Improvement Plan;
• Approval of a Chapter 353 Redevelopment Program for downtown Parkville;
• The Parkville Master Plan update was initiated and will continue throughout 2020;
• The City continued to be recognized for its livability. In 2019, it was named one of the top 20 Best Places to Live in Missouri. Our Nature Sanctuary was named the Best Kept Secret by Kansas City Parent Magazine;
• Continued investment in streets, sanitary sewers and storm water improvements.

In 2019, the City also saw successful creation of the 2020 budget and 2020-2025 Capital Improvement Program and continued commercial and residential development in the community.

City Administrator Joe Parente said “I encourage you to flip through the 2019 Annual Report to see what Parkville accomplished over the last year. I am thankful of the support and hard work of our staff, volunteers and elected officials. Parkville is a small community with big ambitions. It is incredible to realize how much was accomplished this past year and the desire to continue this effort into the future. I look forward to what Parkville will accomplish in 2020.”

For more information about the report, contact Assistant to the City Administrator Anna Mitchell at (816) 741-7676.

Parkville City Hall will close for public access, effective Tuesday, March 24, 2020, and will remain closed until further notice. City government services will continue during the period of closure and citizens are provided alternate ways to communicate with City staff.

Services including Police protection and maintenance of the City’s infrastructure will continue under normal operations. Public access to other City government services, and general inquiries, may be made via telephone, e-mail and mail, following the contact instructions provided at the bottom of this release. 

With the “Stay at Home” order issued by Platte County, effective March 24, residents are restricted to movement for essential activities only and must follow social distancing requirements. Essential activities includes a list of permissible activities, including visits to the grocery store, medical providers and other essential needs identified in the County order. Because essential activities include the ability to engage in outdoor activity, the city parks and nature sanctuaries will remain open.

The City Hall main telephone line will continue to be operated Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Most City Hall support staff will work remotely during the “Stay at Home” order, in accordance with the guidance provided for the protection of people and the avoidance of the spread of COVID-19.  The public is asked follow the contact information below. Any inquiries will be forwarded to the appropriate staff member to respond. Interim building permit and inspection instructions may be found on the City’s website.

The public may contact City Hall:

• By phone at (816) 741-7676, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• By email at cityhall@parkvillemo.gov, or
• By regular mail at 8880 Clark Avenue, Parkville, MO 64152.

Residents may pay their sewer bill by mail, by using the drive-up drop box located on the north side of City Hall, or by using the online sewer billing payment system found on the City’s website.

To remain informed about any changes, please sign up for our text and/or email notification updates. To sign up for e-mail updates, visit the City’s website at http://parkvillemo.gov/email-signup/. To sign up for text notifications on your phone, visit http://parkvillemo.gov/departments/police-dept/emergency-management/.

The Platte County Health Department has issued a Stay At Home Order for Platte County residents, beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, March 24, 2020. The order includes a list of “essential activities” that people may leave their home for.

Platte County Order

At last night’s Board of Aldermen meeting, Mayor Nan Johnston declared a State of Emergency concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. The action enables City government emergency authority to deal with the outbreak.

The COVID-19 outbreak and the spread of contagious disease conditions is a threat to lives and property of our citizens. The declaration invokes and declares in full force and effect all laws available for the exercise of emergency authority, for the protection of the lives and property of the people of the City of Parkville. The declaration further enables the City of Parkville to access any state or federal government financial assistance in carrying out our emergency duties during this time of crisis.

Mayor Nan Johnston said, “The COVID-19 outbreak and the conditions associated with it constitutes a threat to the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Parkville. Through this emergency declaration, I have authorized all public offices and employees of the City of Parkville to exercise the utmost diligence to discharge duties required of them in the execution of the City’s emergency management ordinance, other regulations and authority under state law, and other directives from federal, state and county governments. I furthermore call on all citizens to comply with necessary emergency measures and to cooperate with city officials, public health officials, and emergency management forces in executing emergency operation plans and efforts to protect public health.”

The City is in communication with the Platte County Health Department and Emergency Management Division and will pass along updates as they become available. It encourages citizens to continue to follow the advice of public health officials and to be safe.

State of Emergency Declaration

The Platte County Health Department has directed all restaurants in Parkville and all of Platte County to close dine-in services until April 1, 2020. The order is effective immediately. Restaurants may continue the operation of delivery services, customer curbside pickup, and drive-through window service during this time. The City of Parkville supports this action by the Health Department and continues to encourage residents to take precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to others.

 

Mayor Nan Johnston announced today that public meetings and city public events will be cancelled beginning March 18, 2020, continuing through April 15, 2020. Cancellations include City board and commission meetings and organized events on City property, including an upcoming recycling event and two races in the park. The cancellations are an effort to protect public health by discouraging the assembly of people while the COVID-19 outbreak is occurring.  English Landing Park, Platte Landing Park and neighborhood parks and the nature sanctuaries will remain open.

The City is presently engaged in contingency planning to assure the continuity of government services during the crisis. We have taken steps to protect our employees from exposure and preserve our ability to provide essential services. We are coordinating our activities with county, state, and federal officials and will cooperate with directives they issue concerning the protection of public health.

In an effort to promote social distancing between the public and our employees, the public is encouraged to transact City business via the telephone, mail, or email. A drive up drop box for sewer bills is located on the north side of City Hall. It may also be used for any City correspondence. The public may contact City Hall at (816) 741-7676, by email at cityhall@parkvillemo.gov, or by mail at 8880 Clark Avenue, Parkville, MO  64152. 

For individuals who have a need to visit City Hall, we ask that they come to the Clark Avenue entrance located on the lower level to City Hall. The lower level lobby will be open to the public and City personnel will be available in glass enclosed reception area. The upper level entrance will be closed to the public.

Mayor Johnston said, “We appreciate the understanding of the public as we deal with this unprecedented event. The citizens of Parkville are our first priority and we will do all we can to protect them and provide vital services during this urgent time of need. We encourage our citizens to continue to follow the advice of public health officials and to be safe. We will also do our best to keep you informed as we work our way through this.” 

The City is in communication with the Platte County Health Department and Emergency Management Division. We will pass along any updates on closures, or other impacts of COVID-19 in Platte County. As the situation changes, and as conditions warrant, additional steps may be taken to further ensure the safety of our citizens. To remain informed about any changes, please sign up for our text and/or email notification updates. To sign up for e-mail updates, visit the City’s website at http://parkvillemo.gov/email-signup/. To sign up for text notifications on your phone, visit http://parkvillemo.gov/departments/police-dept/emergency-management/.

The Platte County Health Department is monitoring the COVID-19 situation locally with all of their regional partners, including schools, law enforcement, fire/EMS officials, emergency management, local officials and hospitals. Planning and protocol discussions with these groups are underway and will continue moving forward.