KCRag Forum

Signs with that advice about locking valuables in the trunk as a deterrent to break-ins are expected to be going up soon. Merchants also are being encouraged to install cameras to monitor parking lots and alleys, and also better lighting.

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It would have only one paid staffer, and additional help would be contracted as needed, mostly for security. Steeb said the Crossroads doesn’t need the daily cleaning such as that provided downtown by the yellow-jackets, although he does acknowledge those maintenance people add to the eyes and ears on the street.

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A simple fee system is being proposed: $550 per year for properties smaller than 10,000 square feet; $950 per year for those larger than that; and $250 per year for parking lots or vacant lots.

ron and Steeb said a survey was being circulated to gauge interest, and if enough people are behind it, a formal petition drive will start in a couple of months.

It’s a two-tier process to assure big owners don’t dominate the process and vice versa. You must obtain 51 percent of the people or entities who own properties, and 51 percent of properties based on assessed value. There are 750 properties in the Crossroads.

Signs with that advice about locking valuables in the trunk as a deterrent to break-ins are expected to be going up soon. Merchants also are being encouraged to install cameras to monitor parking lots and alleys, and also better lighting.

...

It would have only one paid staffer, and additional help would be contracted as needed, mostly for security. Steeb said the Crossroads doesn’t need the daily cleaning such as that provided downtown by the yellow-jackets, although he does acknowledge those maintenance people add to the eyes and ears on the street.

...

A simple fee system is being proposed: $550 per year for properties smaller than 10,000 square feet; $950 per year for those larger than that; and $250 per year for parking lots or vacant lots.

ron and Steeb said a survey was being circulated to gauge interest, and if enough people are behind it, a formal petition drive will start in a couple of months.

It’s a two-tier process to assure big owners don’t dominate the process and vice versa. You must obtain 51 percent of the people or entities who own properties, and 51 percent of properties based on assessed value. There are 750 properties in the Crossroads.

Eon Blue wrote:Parking lots have cars.

Cars attract thieves.

Thieves necessitated the CID.

Therefore, parking lots should pay at least as much as buildings for the district.

TheBigChuckbowski wrote:Yeah, this seems kind of half-assed.

The crossroads doesn't have any litter?

Aron is working to convince a majority of the Crossroads' 970 property owners to sign off on the idea. She says residential properties and some of the bigger business owners have given their blessing.
But there are some prominent opponents.

Jeff "Stretch" Rumaner, owner of Grinders, in the East Crossroads, says taxes in the Crossroads are already too high.

"Right now, we pay 11 percent [sales tax] in our restaurant, which is the highest anywhere around," he tells The Pitch. "There's a difference between the East Crossroads and the West Crossroads, and there's nothing proven that says the CID makes the area safer."

Rumaner is already trying to buck another special tax covering his property, the transportation-development district set up to fund the $100 million, two-mile downtown streetcar route. He's tied up with a lawsuit pending against the city, claiming that the TDD is unconstitutional because it would be stacked atop one that already exists.

Steeb said a cop once told him it wasn’t necessary to have every security measure at your house, it was just important your place was a more difficult target than your neighbors.

bbqboy wrote:customers pay sales tax, not the business. hmmmmm.

flyingember wrote:It's been two years. Has anything happened with this?