Excelsior Springs, Mo. – With the November 4 annexation vote nearing, residents continue to share sharply differing views on the proposed quarry expansion near Mosby, Missouri. In this week’s letters to the editor, Doreen Rhodus, wife of property owner David Rhodus, whose land is under consideration for the proposed quarry expansion, defends her family’s long farming legacy and argues that annexation into Excelsior Springs would harm family farms. In contrast, Chris McClaskey, a homeowner living directly adjacent to the proposed expansion and member of the Cameron Road Homeowners Association, responds to an anonymous letter she received, clarifying her support for annexation and her concerns about the impact of continued mining on nearby residents.
Responding to an Anonymous Letter About the Quarry and Annexation
To the person who sent me the anonymous letter. I appreciate your concern; however, your points stem from a lack of information about what’s happening. I would love to speak to you and fill you in on multiple points.
Anonymous letter:
Mrs. McClaskey,
I’m writing this letter to inform you of a couple of matters concerning the annexation and the quarry. First off, I feel like we’re being lied to about the reasons Excelsior wants the annexation. I think they have been in contact with Ideker and know that regardless of the vote the mining will not stop. Ideker can dig within the boundaries they already have for upwards of 20 years and continue to get rock, the blasting is not going to stop, it’s just going deeper. If Excelsior gets the annexation, they can then approach Ideker and approve different things and get their hand in the amount of rock they take out. Think about it, if Ideker says, “hey if you let us do xyz we’ll give you $.10 a ton”, Excelsior would be crazy to say no. We gain absolutely nothing by getting annexed into Excelsior except higher taxes and being forced to get trash service. They’ve already stated that they don’t have the manpower to improve the roads or anything else. As far as stopping the Rhodus’, that isn’t going to do anything either, David and Ideker have said they’re willing to fight in court for as long as it takes. David has a case against Excelsior, and I don’t think Excelsior is willing to spend the money on legal fees to fight very much. I just think Excelsior is in on it and is trying to gain access to the quarry money, I may be wrong, but I don’t think so. There is no economic development available to them except the money from the quarry. You may not like the Rhodus’ and I don’t care, but I’d rather see a hard-working family get the money than a greedy city that is lying to its citizens. I think the whole thing being rushed like it has been is suspicious, I’m not on any side I just think the truth needs to be told.
Sincerely,
A concerned citizen and neighbor
My Response:
#1 We, the neighbors of the Quarry, went to Excelsior and asked for help. We know it is a benefit to Excelsior; we know our taxes will be higher. This isn’t what we want, but it is the lesser of 2 evils.
#2 We know the annexation won’t stop the quarry, but it will stop it from coming closer.
#3 I don’t hate the Rhodus. I do not respect them for what they are doing, and the fact that David Rhodus stood up in the Clay County Commission and basically told us I don’t care about my neighbors. You can find that video on Excelsior Citizen.
#4 The Rhodus family thinks that they are special and we should all bow down to them because of their heritage. My husband and his family have lived on this property for over 50 years, and they deserve to be here another 30 years
#5 There is an opportunity for growth along 69hwy that the quarry is causing other companies to back out of, due to the seismic activity.
#6 It was rushed because they tried to beat Mosby. Unfortunately, Mosby got in at the same time. What is suspicious is that one day Mosby had no filling and the next day they did.
But I would love to get into more detail. Message me.
Chris McClaskey
Cameron Road Homeowners Association
Resident directly adjacent to the proposed quarry expansion
“Voting NO” does protect our Family Farms.
There are NO farmers that want to be in a city limit under city regulations. Even the proponents have stated they would really prefer NOT to be Annexed. It changes things you can’t do on your land.
Annexing into Excelsior Springs WILL NOT STOP the mine. The mine can continue for decades with the current land they have. Even the City Manager stated she nor anyone could promise there would never be a conditional use permit issued for mining. All of that changes as City Council Members change.
Voting to annex does NOT guarantee the mine will never expand. Do all of the people in that area want to give up the freedom to hunt on their land since the city doesn’t allow it? And we never know what additional ordinances will be approved any given year. But then the mine continues and maybe even expands anyway?
They say they won’t be providing sewer nor ever require the area to hook up to one. But they also cannot make that promise. Another council in a few years might require it. I was told that happened to houses close to the development by the golf course. They were forced to hook up and now they pay the big water and sewer bill. Farmers couldn’t afford that.
For the people questioning if David would lease to the Quarry, David is NEVER leasing his actual farm ground to the Quarry. He farms it and grows thousands of trees on it for his nursery. But he does have a natural resource underground. He would like to lease underground only. Similar to Worlds of Fun or Park University that sits on underground caves from mining. His ground above would be ok and can be farmed. It is ok for a farmer to sell a natural resource on his land. Just like when a farmer hits oil, they have the right to sell it and make money.
No one minded when they were breaking their back to put food on your tables. The Rhodus family bought that land in the mid 1800’s. There were lots of hard years. Farm life was rough but they did it. Farming has become so expensive with the price of equipment, fertilizer, etc… they have been forced to diversify just to maintain their farms. The price of a new combine is $600,000 to a million dollars today. Can you imagine trying to make a living farming? But they do it because THEY ARE FARMERS!
This annexation is not just to take in David’s ground. Mike Rhodus owns over 250 acres of that ground and he has nothing to do with the mine. Harold and Colleen own a lot of farm land trying to be annexed, so does Greg and Stephanie Rhodus. So yes, the Rhodus’ are against the annexation and a majority of the Rhodus’ have nothing to do with the mine.
These are 5th and 6th generation farmers farming the majority of this land. And none of their land will be up to sale for development in the foreseeable future. So, there would be no city growth that direction.
Annexation to Excelsior Springs is not the answer.
Submitted by Doreen Rhodus
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