BLUE SPRINGS magazine 2020 FALL
BLUE SPRINGS STRONG How local businesses and organizations are finding success amidst a pandemic
WWW.BLUESPRINGSGOV.COM
CONTENTS 3
My Blue Springs Photo Contest
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Blue Springs Strong Sandy's
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Blue Springs Strong East Forty Brewing
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COVID-19 Resources
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Blue Springs Strong - Parks and Recreation
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Development and Construction
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Community Calendar
OVERCOMING CHALLENGES This spring and summer has been an extremely challenging time for our country and community. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and threw Jackson County into a Stay-At-Home order in March, we were unprepared and unsure of what would come. But I am proud to say, we are Blue Springs Strong. Our community is in the midst of recovery - both economic and socially. We are seeing businesses open back up after shutting their doors to weather the COVID storm and some activities are beginning to resume. Sure, life looks a little different. We are getting use to wearing masks everywhere and we still need to be mindful of spreading this virus to those in our community who are most at risk. But I am thankful that we have seen our residents and community coming together to support our local businesses and organizations who have been hit hardest during this pandemic. In this issue, we are introducing #BlueSpringsStrong, a series of stories about local businesses and organizations who have been hit hard, but are still pushing through the challenges to bring their services to our community. The three stories highlighted in this issue of the Blue Springs Magazine are just the beginning. You can follow more stories on our social media pages, at the Blue Springs Chamber of Commerce website at www.bluespringschamber.com/bluespringsstrong and in the Examiner. I am proud serve as Mayor of this wonderful community, and I urge you to continue to stay safe, and stay strong as we continue to recover from this pandemic.
Gratefully in your service, Mayor Carson Ross
ON THE COVER
CITY OFFICIALS CONTACT INFORMATION City of Blue Springs 903 W. Main Street Blue Springs, MO 64015 816-228-0110 www.bluespringsgov.com
Owner of Sandy's Restaurant in Blue Springs, Erika Lucas. Photos by Jaime Russell, Anthem Photography. See pages 4-8 for more.
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Miranda Austerman, editor mausterman@bluespringsgov.com
2020 FALL • WWW.BLUESPRINGSGOV.COM
Carson Ross, Mayor Eric Johnson, City Administrator
DISTRICT 1
Galen Ericson Jerry Kaylor
DISTRICT 2
Kent Edmondson Chris Lievsay
DISTRICT 3
Susan Culpepper Ron Fowler
816-210-8293 816-220-0599 816-215-8175 816-674-5108 816-916-5696 816-228-1568
MY BLUE SPRINGS Photo by Elaine Jones, 2019 My Blue Springs Photo Contest
PHOTO CONTEST
We are proud to announce the eleventh annual ‘My Blue Springs’ Photo Contest! We’d love to see photos of your kids, your neighbor or your classmates enjoying their favorite Blue Springs pastimes and locations. There will be one winner in each age category and one overall winner. Photos will be judged by a panel of City of Blue Springs employees. Winners will be published in the 2020-21 winter edition of The Blue Springs Magazine. And may appear in other City of Blue Springs materials. The contest entry deadline is Oct. 1, 2020. Email entries to photos@bluespringsgov.com. For questions, contact photos@bluespringsgov.com or 816-655-0497.
STUDENT (UNDER 18)
CONTEST RULES: •
This contest is for Blue Springs residents only.
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All photos must have been taken inside Blue Springs city limits.
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Limited to 5 entries per person.
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Each entry must include the category and contact information of the contestant.
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All photos must be original work of the contestant and never been the subject of a copyright.
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Photos of people must include written consent of subject or of subject’s guardian.
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Digital Photos: jpg files at least 300 dpi at 5” x 7.”
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Standard Prints: must be at least 5” x 7.” Prints can be dropped off at City Hall, 903 W. Main Street or mailed to Photo Contest, 903 W. Main Street, Blue Springs, MO 64015. Photos will not be returned.
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All photos submitted shall become the property of the City of Blue Springs upon submission and may be used in future publications.
This category is for students under the age of 18 to showcase their best photography using Blue Springs as the subject. Photos can include cityscapes, wildlife, events, parks and community life here in Blue Springs.
BLUE SPRINGS PARK LIFE (ANY AGE)
This category is to showcase the best photos taken within a City of Blue Springs Park or at a City of Blue Springs Parks and Recreation event. All ages.
PEOPLE OF BLUE SPRINGS (ANY AGE)
We want to see what makes the community so special – it’s people. Submit photos of your kids, your neighbor or your classmates enjoying their favorite Blue Springs pastimes and locations. All ages.
MY BLUE SPRINGS (18 AND OVER)
This general category is for any photo submitted that is taken within the Blue Springs City limits by an adult 18 or over. Photos can include cityscapes, wildlife, events, parks and community life here in Blue Springs.
INFORMING RESIDENTS, EMBRACING COMMUNITY, IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE
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Photos by Jaime Russell, Anthem Photography
Businesses and organizations find success amidst COVID-19 pandemic SANDY'S RESTAURANT “We’ve been blessed in so many ways during all of this,” said Erika Lucas, owner of Sandy’s Restaurant. But that isn’t to say being in the restaurant business during a pandemic, a stay-at-home order, occupancy restrictions and now a mask mandate has been easy. In March 2020, when Jackson County announced the stay-at-home order, Lucas had to weigh her odds. “We weren’t known for curbside delivery, and I had to ask myself, are to-go orders going to be enough to pay the light bills?” Lucas said. “I just didn’t see how it was going to work, and I had to – with tears in my eyes – tell my employees that we were going to shut-down Sandy’s completely until the stay-at-home order was lifted.” At the time, she thought it would just be a two-week closure. But the virus had other plans and the county health department extended the stay-at-home order for nearly two months. And that’s when the blessings came in. Lake
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[
“Our customers are long-time
and loyal and we always want them to feel safe and normal when they come eat with us – whatever option they feel most comfortable with.
”
[
City Ammunition needed catering for it’s essential workers and Sandy’s was able to provide that for three weeks. When the order lifted, and Phase 1 of the Jackson County Recovery Plan kicked in, Lucas was able bring all of her employees back and was thankful she had decided to take a risk the prior year and relocate into the bigger space.
“When we moved over here, people thought I was crazy for taking on this much space, but it’s been a blessing,” she said. Lucas said Sandy’s has been able to take advantage of their larger footprint by spreading all the tables apart and hosting “social distancing” banquets in the dining room for interested organizations. “Our motto through all of this has been to adapt and overcome,” Lucas said. And at one point that even meant selling toilet paper, paper towels, dairy products and dry goods out of the front of their restaurant in a make-shift general store. “As a small business, we can do those types of unconventional things,” she said. “We’ve been able to adapt and give our customers what they need when they need it.”
Now that the great toilet paper crisis of 2020 has subsided, Sandy’s has eliminated the general store and offers sociallydistanced dine-in options, curbside to-go and delivery to households and businesses in Blue Springs and Grain Valley. “Our customers are long-time and loyal and we always want them to feel safe and normal when they come eat with us – whatever option they feel most comfortable with,” Lucas said.
For more #BlueSpringsStrong stories, go to www.bluespringschamber.com/bluespringsstrong and follow us on social media.
INFORMING RESIDENTS, EMBRACING COMMUNITY, IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE
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EAST FORTY BREWING
Photos by Jaime Russell, Anthem Photography
How do you run a brewery during a pandemic? That’s just the question East Forty Brewing owner David Mann and his staff have had to figure out over the last five months.
go in growlers, so we were used to that,” Mann said. “But when the state opened up the ability to sell our pre-mixed drinks, we began canning those for to-go and delivery, which was great, because it had been something our customers had been asking about for a long time.”
“It all happened really quickly. We knew it was going to come here, but we weren’t really prepared to shut down,” Mann said. “That first month or so, we were figuring something new out every day. But we were able to pivot our whole service model and found little successes to keep us going.” During those initial months, Mann and his staff embraced the curbside pick-ups of food and beverages, taking advantage of the pandemic’s more open state liquor laws – which allowed selling pre-mixed drinks to-go. “As a brewery, we were already able to sell our beer to-
Mann was also able to keep all of his full-time employees working during the shut-down by providing the curbside and delivery options as well as using the down-time as a chance to address some deferred maintenance issues in the building and work on adding an event space to his property. When restaurants and bars were allowed to open in May, albeit with pretty strict guidelines on capacity requirements, Mann worked with the City of Blue Springs to expand his outdoor footprint through a special permitting process approved by the City Council. Now, East Forty offers live music, socially distanced of course, on the weekends in the new expanded outdoor patio – which used to be the back parking lot. “We’re really trying to keep everything and everyone outside right now to keep our customers as safe as
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COVID-19 RESOURCES FREE TESTING CLINICS
Continued
Free drive-through COVID-19 testing services are offered throughout Jackson County to provide symptom-based testing for residents. Check www.jacksongov.org regularly for an updated list of testing sites.
RECOVERY PLAN
For more information and details about the Jackson County Recovery Plan, go to www. jacksongov.org.
COVID-19 DATA AND TRACKING
The Jackson County Health Department provides information on COVID-19 rates in Eastern Jackson County through a data dashboard updated daily. Residents can find up-to-date information on COVID-19 numbers for the region and by zip code. Go to www.jacohd.org for more information.
QUESTIONS?
possible,” Mann said. “So when the weather is nice, we have been thriving. And now we are working on a plan to make our outdoor areas more ‘all-season’ so we can continue accommodating our customers safely if the pandemic continues through the fall and winter.”
Residents who have questions about COVID-19 can call the Jackson County Health Department hotline at 816-4049883 (during business hours) or the State of Missouri hotline at 877-435-8411.
While business may have been a bit slower and the everchanging pandemic restrictions and re-opening guidelines issued by the county health department have been a challenge, Mann says these have things have actually helped Easy Forty grow their team and capabilities. “We’re in a better place now than we were when this all began. We’re just trying to be safe and do our part not to spread the virus throughout the community.”
www.bluespringschamber.com/bluespringsstrong
INFORMING RESIDENTS, EMBRACING COMMUNITY, IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE
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BLUE SPRINGS STRONG: PARKS & RECREATION
This has been a highly unusual spring and summer for Blue Springs Parks and Recreation. Events were planned and cancelled at the last minute, playgrounds were closed, sports were not played. “We were as disappointed as our residents that we couldn’t deliver the programs we are use to offering or open the playgrounds that are an essential part of summer for so many children,” said Parks and Recreation Director, Dennis Dovel. “Our staff works year-round to come up with quality recreational programs and opportunities for our residents. It certainly was not our desire to cancel some of these programs or to have closed the playgrounds, but we understand the impact of COVID-19 and we have a social responsibility to the community as a whole.” Since lifting the Stay-At-Home Order in May, the county has slowly began allowing occupancy accommodations for many programs. And parks staff has been working with the county to find creative ways to still host many of the more popular programs. When parks staff knew the usual crowds of 200-300 would well-exceed the county’s limits on gatherings at the popular Movies in the Park programs, they shifted gears to offer a Drive-In version instead to allow for social distancing. For the Summer Day Camp program at the Fieldhouse, parks staff had to limit the number of children who could sign up each week and perform daily temperature checks, make sure that masks were worn at all times and the groups didn’t intermix to avoid potential cross-contamination. One of the biggest changes was that the counselors could no longer take the campers on the once-beloved field trips – so parks staff had to get creative. They brought in Kona Ice one day, the Young Rembrandts another for painting lessons, and even held a Summer Olympics for the campers. “We’ve had to really be creative and fun with the activities we were able to do in order to keep everyone safe,” Dovel said. “We’re doing the best we can to provide quality, and safe recreational programs to the community under the circumstances.” Dovel says that while there have been many challenges during this time, one positive thing the pandemic brought to the forefront was the importance of a healthy and strong Parks and Recreation system. “When we were in full lock-down and parks and trails were one of the only places people could go outside their home – it really showed the value of a robust parks system to our community,” he said. “Parks are essential for stress relief, socialization, meals and nutrition, childcare programs and creating healthier communities through fitness. They are an essential aspect of the community’s well-being.”
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For more #BlueSpringsStrong stories, go to www.bluespringschamber.com/bluespringsstrong and follow us on social media.
[DEVELOPMENT
& CONSTRUCTION [
Young Park gets space-age redevelopment
This new playground features three custom towers providing views and experience for the adventurous child. The Hedra structure is a brand new product line and Blue Springs is home to only the second one of it's kind installed anywhere — putting Blue Springs on the cutting edge of playgrounds today and into the future. The renovations at Wilbur Young Park also include the replacement of the shelter house and softball field lighting and total renovations to the basketball and tennis courts. Repaving of the trails, roads and parking lot for Wilbur Young Park will occur in the FY2020-21.
Novel Place - Senior Living
Tidal Wave - Car Wash
Stortropolis - Storage
Roanoke Drive - Completed as Promised
INFORMING RESIDENTS, EMBRACING COMMUNITY, IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE
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COMMUNITY
[CALENDAR [ www.bluespringsgov.com/calendar
*All Events and Programs listed in the Fall 2020 Blue Springs Magazine/Play Naturally Activity Guide are subject to change or cancellation due to the Jackson County Recovery Plan Mandates. Follow us on social media and bluespringsgov. com for updated program/event information.
SEPTEMBER Fall Un- Festival Sept. 18-19 Booths will be set up along 7 hwy to allow for social distancing. Sponsored by the Blue Springs Chamber of Commerce.
BLUE SPRINGS FARMERS MARKET
Will continue through October, Saturdays, 7 a.m. to noon, Downtown Blue Springs, Municipal Parking Lot bluespringsfarmersmarket.com
Blue Springs Night Ride Sept. 26, 8 p.m. Blue Springs Fieldhouse
OCTOBER Trick or Treat Main Street Oct. 31, 10 a.m. to Noon Downtown Blue Springs DEA Drug Take Back Day Oct. 24, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Blue Springs Police Department, North & South Consentino’s Price Chopper
HELPFUL INFORMATION Adams Pointe Conf. Center....................228-8100 Adams Pointe Golf Club..........................220-3673 Alarm Permits.............................................228-0217 Animal Control...........................................228-0149 Building Inspections.................................228-0104 Building Permits.........................................228-0118 Business Services Division......................228-0131 City Administrator’s Office.....................228-0111 City Clerk......................................................228-0111 Planning Department..............................228-0207 City Communications..............................655-0497 Codes (Compliance).................................220-4565 Codes (Permits)..........................................228-0118 Community Development.....................228-0207
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Haunted Candy Cruise Oct. 30, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Pink Hill Park
NOVEMBER Small Business Saturday Nov. 30 Downtown Blue Springs
DECEMBER Mayor’s Christmas Tree Lighting Dec. 1, 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. City Hall Movie on the Turf - Home Alone Dec. 19, 6:30 p.m. Blue Springs Fieldhouse
ALL (816) AREA CODES
Comm. Develop. Hotline........................228-0223 Comm. and Youth Outreach..................228-0178 Economic Development.........................228-0208 Engineering.................................................228-0121 Finance Department................................655-0320 Fire Depart. (non-emergency)..............229-2522 GIS - Mapping Division ...........................228-0119 Human Resources.....................................228-0190 Liquor License (Individual).....................228-0160 Liquor License (Business).......................228-0131 Mayor and Council....................................228-0111 Municipal Court Clerk..............................228-0274 Parks & Recreation....................................228-0137 Parks & Recreation Hotline.....................228-0116
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Police Administration...............................228-0164 Police (non-emergency).........................228-0151 Police Detectives.......................................228-0156 Police Records.............................................228-0160 Pothole Hotline..........................................228-0291 Public Works................................................228-0195 Sales Tax........................................................220-4542 Snow Removal Hotline............................228-0295 Street Department....................................228-0195 Swimming Pool..........................................228-0188 Vesper Hall...................................................228-0181 Voter Registration.....................................228-0110 Water & Sewer Billing...............................622-4444 Water/Sewer Maintenance....................228-0195