A few members of the Scarritt Renaissance Neighborhood Association are peeved that Parks Board commissioners failed to seek their input when they decided to rename Benton Circle in honor of the late Ruthanne Harper at their June 23 board meeting.
The traffic circle at St. John Avenue and Benton Boulevard, which lies within the boundaries of the Scarritt Renaissance Neighborhood, is called Benton Circle by the area's residents. (A monument to Missouri Sen. Thomas Hart Benton stands at the traffic circle's center.) But the traffic circle had never been named "officially," according to Cheryl Bisbee, president of the Cliff Drive Corridor Management Committee (CDCMC), the group that proposed changing the name to Harper Circle.
Harper, who died at age 74 on March 29, had been a champion of the historic Northeast. Commissioner Meghan Conger called her a dear friend and political mentor. "She was one of the founders of the Kessler Society and a very active and integral Kansas Citian, particularly in the northeast," Conger tells The Pitch. "She worked tirelessly."
The CDCMC was looking for a way to honor Harper when they learned that improvements were being made to Benton Circle. "We had a unique opportunity, given the construction schedule, to do this," Conger explains. "It dovetailed into the construction at the right time, and the CDCMC brought it to us at this serendipitous moment."
On June 23, the Parks Board commissioners voted to rename the traffic circle for Harper immediately following a presentation by Bisbee and other CDCMC members. Parks Board president John Fierro said that additional research wasn't necessary, according to the meeting's minutes.
But at the July 6 meeting of the Scarritt Renaissance Neighborhood Association, the group's president, Adam Scheiber, asked how many of those in attendance were in favor of naming the circle for Harper. No one raised a hand. When he asked who was against it, 18 hands went up.
"They (the Parks Board) didn't have their ducks in a row when it came to community relations," says David Remley, a photographer who lives near St. John Avenue and Benton Boulevard. He thinks the board bypassed its own protocol, which should have allowed for a public comment period before adopting the name change.
"There's no opposition whatsoever to honoring [Harper]," Remley says. "That's not what this is about. It's about common sense."
The other argument against naming Benton Circle for Harper is that it's not a very fitting tribute for her, Remley says. He doubts people will get out of their cars in the middle of a busy roundabout to read a plaque describing Harper's contribution to the community. "A lot of us thought, 'There's got to be something better,'" he says.
Harper was deeply devoted to the care and preservation of Cliff Drive, Remley says, so why not place a plaque on a bench there in her honor, or add one at Concourse Fountain, which marks Cliff Drive's northern entrance? A tribute to William Royster, another active community member, is already in place there. "There could be memorials placed all around Concourse Fountain for people who contribute to the Northeast," Remley says. "Then people would actually see it."
Northeast News publisher Michael Bushnell weighed in on the subject
in an editorial in the paper's July 22 edition. "If Ruthanne Harper was about
anything, she was about process and public testimony," Bushnell wrote.
"Not allowing that is a discredit to her good name as well as a black
eye on the Parks Commission and the Cliff Drive Corridor Management
Committee -- the folks charged with 'public' oversight of how the drive
is maintained."
Conger points out that the naming of the traffic circle was plainly marked on the agenda for the June 23 Parks Board meeting, and comments against the naming of the circle would have been considered then. "I'm sorry if a neighborhood feels excluded, but I feel confident that someone giving input like suggesting naming a bench after Ruthanne would not have changed the outcome of what happened," Conger says. "I can understand why they maybe felt ignored, but that was completely unintentional. The pieces just fell into place a little more quickly than normal, I think."
Remley says that perhaps the speed in which the circle was named had to do with the board members' close relationship with Harper, noting that Conger is the trustee in charge of Harper's estate. (Conger confirms this but notes that she didn't benefit in any way from Harper's will.)
But if people in the neighborhood will likely continue to refer to Harper Circle as Benton Circle for years to come, does it really matter which name is the "official"one? "No, it doesn't matter, in the great scheme of things," Remley acknowledges. "I just fault the process and think there are better ways to honor her."
Last week, Scarritt Renaissance neighbors met with the CDCMC. Conger says she heard a very condensed report of the meeting's outcome, in which "they (the neighbors) said they didn't love it, but they were going to live with it."
As for honoring Harper, Conger says, "This idea wasn't originated by me, but did I embrace it? Yes. Would I have thought of it myself? Probably not. But do I love it? Absolutely."
Showing 1-14 of 14
WOW! This is all a bunch of nonsense. I agree, Ruthann is looking down and wondering what the heck is going on... She was a behind the scene person and never expected people to fuss over her. Maybe that is why many people of NE never knew who she was. So STOP fussing... If those people who made the decision to re-name Benton Circle- Harper Circle knew her so well- please ask yourself- is this what Ruthann would have wanted? From what I know and from what I hear from the other long- time residents of NE who really knew Ruthann- they say this is not what she would have wanted- So please give this lovely lady some respect- the respect she deserves- who cares about who got what...or who didn't get anything... It doesn't matter, what matters is RESPECT for Ruthann Harper DON"T RE-NAME SOMETHING- give something to Ruthann. in her memory, in her honor. Give me a break people- do something nice for Ruthann not something fast and bad and without thought. Put some thought into it...respect Ruthann...
Boy... the fix sure was in on this deal. After the meeting I attended tonight I've never seen more dirty dealing to get something accomplished of questionable virtue. Shame on the CDCMT and the Parks Department.
I think we should name something on Cliff Drive in memory of Mrs. Harper. We need to clean up the pond down there. It is awful. Trash and graffiti are everywhere! Let's honor her activism by cleaning it up and naming it after her. Harper's Pond sounds pretty cool. We could have a fishing derby there once a year for the children in the area. She cared more about people and children than plaques. There is also a grassy island as you come down the giant hill on Cliff Drive by the Kansas City Museum that would be a great place for a memorial. People could actually stop and read it. It would give her memory importance instead of a busy intersection no one will ever see!
The waterfall is named after Carl DiCapo so why not?
Bubba... knowing Ruthanne as I did... she would be aghast that Benton Circle was being renamed for her. She would be the first person to complain about the process too. A small, unreadable plaque on a traffic island is not an honor it's cheap and defies common sense.
I live on Gladstone Blvd and I'm quite active in our neighborhood association. This is so ridiculous. We were NEVER made aware of this "renaming" of Benton Circle until after the fact. Everyone in my neighborhood is so pissed off about this. I have yet to meet one person who thinks this is a smart idea. I'm sure Mrs. Harper was an amazing woman, and should be recognized in the Concourse Park like another community activist who has done so much for our neighborhood. This woman will not be remembered for all of the good things she did, -she will be remembered as the tool of political shenanigans. For those of us who know the true story (most of the residents) we will drive by that circle everyday and shake our heads at the memory of how sneaky and underhanded the Parks Board "process" was. I would think this was a conflict of interest if Conger is a trustee of Mrs. Harpers estate. Under Mayor Funkhauser, anything goes I guess. We have so many other problems to address in this area. We are a neighborhood made up of some of Kansas City's richest history - ready to be erased by two or three people on a Park's Board. Do they even live in this area?
Ruthanne is probably shaking her head right now wondering what all of this fuss is about. She never really sought attention. She just was a woman who cared a great deal about this city's history and the neighborhood she called home. Her contributions to this city do warrant more than a small plaque, but would she really want more attention?
Lost in all this is that fact that there are BETTER ways to remember Ruthanne than with a meaningless plaque at a busy intersection. Put a little thought into it and DO IT RIGHT! Oh crap, I forgot . . this is Kansas City.
I was at the CDCMC board meeting...I sure don't remember leaving the meeting with the additude "I didn't love the name change, but was going to live with it."
Hey Sportster, you forgot to say that Aggie should resign - she's the worst of the bunch. Of course, that means she'd be spending more time at home, screaming into the phone and planning "Victorian tea parties" (where I get locked in a room without so much as a biscuit because I guess they didn't have dogs at "Victorian tea parties") but hey, I'll take one for the city.
I'm still plotting my escape, anyway...
Information has come to light that the Cliff Drive Corridor Management Committee may not have had a quorum present when they decided to do this "naming." This is what happens when the few ignore the many.
This parks board is driving me right out of town, along with the buffoon mayor who appointed them. A parks board that selectively calls for "public input" when they don't want to do something (like give citizens off-leash parks) and then slams this through with zero public input needs to resign. They are a joke and an embarrassment to Kansas City. Did they post this agenda on the back door of the parks department the way they did when they violated the dog park people's rights two years ago? Maybe it was posted on a restroom stall at the parks department. Doesn't that meet the "minimum requirement" of the Sunshine Law they love to ignore? City of Fountains should be changed to City of Meeting Minimum Requirements.
More half-witted, pompus arrogance from Bisbee, Conger, Fiero and the Parks Board.
If they think we're going to live with it - they got another think comin.
So far, the weight of the pissed off on this include HKCF, the DAR and more than one Northeast neighborhood association.
Fiero just needs to resign, as does Conger. Both arrogant, out of touch appointees. Bisbee should go as well just for good measure.
Sportster
...not through just yet
Conger can think that the neighbors are going to live with if she wants, but that's not the case. Dream on.
Unbelievable. So, I guess you have to be a park's board member's BFF (you know, they're the executor of your estate, you babysat their kids) to have them take swift action on your behalf.
If you're just an ordinary citizen who, say, wants to bring your community into the 21st century by building a dog park, they'll violate your First Amendment rights, delay your project three years with all kinds of b.s. and basically give you the finger.
Nice. Glad to see Our Mayor appointed people who take seriously the concerns of "regular folks." NOT. Looks like I need a friend named Meghan Badwey Conger or Agatha Stackhouse or John Fierro or ...
like
dislike
