What a Year!

Published on March 31, 2021

While the year 2020 will be marked for many of as one of hardship and loss, so much good occurred in Belton that all of its uplifting and revitalizing effects will carry on into this and many years to come.

It was the year of first responders. Our police and fire departments answered more than 5,000 calls for service for medical needs, fires and vehicle accidents. First responders and our medical care givers were and continue to be the front line in helping us all be safe and healthy.

Our small businesses showed resilience. Our city pool stayed open, youth sports continued, Theater in the Parks performed and meals formerly served to our seniors in communal setting were hand delivered by City Councilwoman Lorrie Peek and her husband, Ron, along with city staff, to seniors’ homes.

More than $100 million in residential housing investment across nearly every type of housing choice – single-family and single-family attached, townhome, luxury apartment and senior villas – was announced. That translates into more than 900 new doorways for our residents to open into their best lives.

More than 2,000 Belton-based jobs went into the pipeline for our community at a time when the pandemic has 10 million fewer people employed in the U.S. than this time a year ago. These positions come from three major employers – national brands Progress Rail, a Caterpillar Company; BoxyCharm, a Beauty For All Industries company; and Chewy.com – that committed to invest millions here. This job-related news has been years in the making, born of the city’s long-term, strategic commitment to diversify its economy.

It is crushingly competitive to successfully attract employers offering high-value jobs and Belton is gaining ground in helping others see that our city is an attractive place to bring their business. For our own citizens, quality jobs and career choice make a difference. So does a growing tax base. Just one of three new companies, the pet food supplier Chewy.com, is anticipated to bring the city $2.6 million in sales tax annually.

A healthy, growing tax base helps an older and comparatively large city like Belton do the hard, gritty work of replacing and maintaining its infrastructure. The new residential and commercial projects just announced would not have come to us unless those companies were confident in the city’s commitment to the upkeep of its roads, water and sewer systems. Belton is proactive in doing the planned and budgeted maintenance and repairs despite having to react to and fix unanticipated failures of our aging water and roadway infrastructure.

Water line breaks continued to plague the city with around 40 for 2020. These breaks result from generations of “kicking the can down the road” and redirect personnel and budget from their planned purposes. Even so, the city carefully planned the use of citizen-approved Proposition S stormwater bonds and completed multiple sewer and storm water projects. So, while Public Works fixed water line breaks as they occurred, crews carried out planned projects as well as completed the scheduled replacement of one mile of old and corroded cast iron water line pipes.

While those underground improvements are hard to see and appreciate, 2020’s reconstruction and resurfacing of 7 miles of residential streets, replacement of 3.25 miles of curbs and 45 sidewalk ramps brought into ADA compliance – well that’s right under our feet, or tires, for all to see. Public Works completed Phase Two of Belton’s Street Preservation Project. Approximately 13 miles of roads have been replaced since citizens passed Proposition R in 2018.

There is always more to do than dollars to do it. To help extend the impact of invested tax dollars, Belton professional staff have worked hard to secure public and private grants. From public safety equipment and personnel to renovations at the Belton Senior Center, these grants fund services and improvements that otherwise would not occur. Most recently, Belton applied for and received a Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) grant that will fund 80 percent of the nearly $2 million cost to alleviate congestion on Missouri Route 58, near the I-49 interchange. While awarded in late 2020, it will be 2023 before the grant funding is received.

It is good to look ahead. We look forward to the good that is coming as we continue to work together to make a better Belton.