July - Hyde Park Neighborhood Association

The Hyde Parker
Volume 38, Issue 7
A publication of the Hyde Park Neighborhood Association
July 2011
Q&A with a new neighbor:
Cornerstones of Care’s CEO
Great day for
a leisurely
lawn sale:
A 36th Street
family relaxes
in front of their
treasures during the annual
HPNA garage
sale Saturday,
June 11.
Academie Lafayette parents
voice hopes for Longan reuse
Dozens of parents, Hyde Park neighbors and other stakeholders attended a June 7 hearing to voice support for turning
the vacant Longan French Magnet school in North Hyde Park
into a K-2 program for the Academie Lafayette charter school.
The meeting, sponsored by the Kansas City Missouri School
District’s school repurposing team, was the latest step in what
is likely to be a multi-year public process to secure new uses
for more than 30 public schools that the district closed a year
ago or earlier.
Academie Lafayette’s leadership has expressed interest in
purchasing Longan and submitted an initial proposal last fall.
However, the charter school appears to be facing obstacles that
include state and district rules regarding property reuse.
“I would hope than any agreement could be structured in such
a way so that the user can invest additional resources in the
facility,” said David Cozad, president of the Academie Lafayette board of directors. “Short-term leases don’t allow that.”
Academie Lafayette, now based in Brookside, has grown even
as district enrollment has declined. The charter school has 600
students (K-8). Cozad says the school has the potential to grow
to as many as 1,300 students within five years. As part of that
growth, Academie Lafayette would also like to add a high
school with between 400 and 500 students.
If a sale or lease is approved by the elected
KCMSD board, the deal would still need to
pass muster with the School District of
KCMO Building Corp. KCMSD leases
schools from the Building Corp., which issues municipal bonds.
Continued on page 2
At left: A school crossing sign near Longan.
In April, the Catholic
Diocese of Kansas City
-St. Joseph sold the
McGraw-Reid mansion at
300 E36th St. to
Cornerstones of Care Inc.
for its new headquarters.
Below, the social services
group’s CEO discusses
what’s next.
Q: How is your move
progressing?
A: We have 10 employees
here now and hope to
have 115 to 120 by the
end of summer from multiple locations, including
4901 Main and 31st and
Main Sts.
Denise Cross is Cornerstones of Care’s CEO.
The non-profit group
has a nearly $47 million annual budget and
serves more than 2,000
at-risk children in
Missouri and Kansas.
Q: Why Hyde Park?
A: The site is very wellsuited to our needs. We
had been looking for new space for three years to
bring together our administrative operations. We’re
excited to be part of a great neighborhood environment. Our due diligence went very smoothly once we
learned the site was available a few months ago.
Q: Are you planning changes to the property?
A: We’re going to do some minor updating such as
new carpeting and painting. The third floor (where
the diocese had a chapel) will become office space.
We are also reviewing parking options.
Continued on page 2
Inside- Hyde Park Garden Tour
——————————————————————–———————————————
Fridays Until July 22
Hyde Park Children’s Film Festival
July 19 HPNA Ice Cream Social
Aug. 2 Night Out Against Crime
Sept. 17 HPNA Fall Festival; Live band
THE HYDE PARKER
Page 2
Q&A with Denise Cross
Neighbors: Vive Academie Lafayette!
Continued from page 1
Q: What specific work will be done on site?
A: Administration. Our Foster Care and Adoption program
will also be headquartered here.
Cornerstones of Care: Services at a Glance
Gillis: Provides mental
health intervention, residential treatment and education
for children with emotional/
behavioral disturbance Marillac: Hospital, residential and outpatient services
for children with mental illness, emotional/ behavioral
disturbance. Spofford: Intensive residential treatment, communitybased services and summer
programming for children
with severe emotional/ behavioral issues or mental illness.
Continued from page 1
At the meeting, one audience member suggested that the
district might consider using the property for its administrative offices, a use that would require zoning changes that
meeting attendees said would generate concern.
Healthy Families Counseling and Support: Provides
parenting programs, outpatient treatment and school
resource counseling. Special
emphasis on in-home support
for parents of infants and for
fathers. The Longan site has been a school site for more than 100
years. Until the KCMSD tore it down in the 1950s, the
Cherry Street locale housed the Hyde Park School, a multistory Victorian-era public school similar in exterior design
to larger surrounding homes.
Ozanam: Serves children and
young adults struggling with
severe emotional, behavioral
or learning problems. Gwendolyn Grant, CEO, Urban League; Lee Barnes,
Black United Front director; Jae P. McKeown, tech consultant; Ryan R. Reid, officer, Mazuma Credit Union;
Estella Morales, Pastoral Council, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception; Sheryl Guth, retired teacher; Michael Mayberry, CEO, Community Health Council;
Karen Curls, co-owner of a property management firm.
2011 Children’s Film Festival
New Venue: Hyde Park (36th/Gillham)
First Four Fridays in July
Concerts: 7:30pm
Volume 38, Issue 7
Movies: 8:30pm
Prizes, refreshments, safe family fun. See our HPNA
website for movie titles. Volunteers are needed!
Call Amelia McDaniel 816.531.8116 for more info
Go Behind the Scenes at
KC’s Paul Mesner Puppet Theatre
HPNA’s Annual Ice Cream Social
July 19th 7pm 1006 E. Linwood Ave.
Who gets final say on what happens to Longan?
The Board of Directors of the School District of
Kansas City, Mo. Building Corp. They are:
HPNA member honor roll
We regularly recognize new and renewing Hyde Park
Neighborhood Association members. Three levels are
offered: Commercial, $100, Patron, $50 & Household $35.
New and renewing May and June households will be
recognized in our August issue. Updated membership data
was unavailable at deadline for the July issue.
Volume 38, Issue 7
THE HYDE PARKER
A Walk in the Gardens of Hyde Park
Growth around the neighborhood: Vegetable crops were
looking robust in mid-June at the Notre Dame de Sion
children’s garden off Locust St. as well as the Marvin
Parker Community Garden on 40th and Holmes.
de Sion students labeled beds with colored stones and
art. Crops include onions, beans, broccoli, pear & apple
trees, tomatoes, squash, pumpkins, kale and lettuce.
Thanksgiving Appetite Builder
5K run and walk to benefit children's
programs at Pilgrim Center.
Date: Thanksgiving morning, Thursday, Nov. 24
Time:
9:00 am
Location: Start and finish at Pilgrim Chapel
at 38th St. and Gillham Rd.
Price: $25 until Nov. 12.; $30 Nov 13 - Nov 23.
$35 race day (family discounts available)
Course: Gillham Park, Harrison Parkway and historic
Hyde Park; Chip timed and certified by the USATF.
T-Shirt:
Long sleeve
Awards:
Overall male and female winner, 1st,
2nd, and 3rd place age group winners.
Post-Race: Food and drink, live entertainment
Sign up details coming soon.
Page 3
Important Meetings
Monthly Meetings —
Central Presbyterian Church, 3501 Campbell
HPNA Board: Second Mondays, 6:30 p.m.
General Membership Third Tuesdays, 7:00 p.m.
Crime and Safety The Kansas City Police’s Central Patrol
offices on Linwood Ave has responsibility for Hyde Park.
These officers can be reached at 816.719.8297 daily, Officers meet with neighbors monthly at 7pm on the last
Thursday of each month from January to October.
The HP Playgroup: Every Friday at 10:00 a.m. Please
contact Steffany Kerr at [email protected] or Amelia
McDaniel at [email protected] for more information.
Friends of Gillham Park are holding their monthly meetings and park clean-ups on the last Saturday of each
month. Check their website for information:
www.friendsofgillhampark.org.
Reach nearly 2,000 households in the heart of KC. Advertise in The Hyde Parker. Call 816-960-1492 or see our
website for details.
Your 2011 Board Members
President
David Kimmis
561.7766
[email protected]
1st Vice
President
Kevin Sullivan
913.231.
4873
[email protected]
2nd Vice
President
Kerrie Tyndall
561.7339
[email protected]
Treasurer
Clara Keller
960-4669
[email protected]
Historian
Pat Alley
531.7777
[email protected]
Recording
Secretary
Nancy Lowdon
753-8664
recordingsecretary@
hydeparkkc.org
Corresponding
Secretary
Gene Morgan
753.5336
correspondingsecretary@
hydeparkkc.org
North Area
Directors
Joe Denes
Abigail FitzGerald
853-8557
785.383.
2566
[email protected]
Central Area
Directors
Paul Stevermer
Ben Nemenoff
756.3422
665-5993
[email protected]
South Area
Directors
Chris Harper
Jeff Scurlock
547-7308
718-0700
[email protected]
Share your viewpoint
email [email protected] or [email protected]
Hyde Park Neighborhood Assoc., Inc.
P.O. Box 32551
Kansas City, Mo 64171
The Hyde Parker is a monthly newsletter published
by the Hyde Park Neighborhood Association, Inc.
Volume38 Issue 7
THE HYDE PARKER
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