Blue Springs

Blue Springs, Missouri
—  City  —
Motto: City of Cooperation
Location of Blue Springs, Missouri
Coordinates: 39°1′4″N 94°16′28″W / 39.01778°N 94.27444°W / 39.01778; -94.27444Coordinates: 39°1′4″N 94°16′28″W / 39.01778°N 94.27444°W / 39.01778; -94.27444
Country	United States
State	Missouri
County	Jackson
Incorporated	1880
Government
• Mayor	Carson Ross (R)
Area
• Total	22.27 sq mi (47.2 km2)
• Land	22.27 sq mi (47.1 km2)
• Water	0.4 sq mi (0.2 km2)
Elevation	974 ft (297 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	52,575
• Density	3,066.8/sq mi (1,185/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes	64013-64015,64064
Area code(s)	816
FIPS code	29-06652[1]
GNIS feature ID	0714434[2]
Website	www.bluespringsgov.com

Blue Springs is a city located in the U.S. State of Missouri and within Jackson County. Blue Springs is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri and is located nineteen miles east of downtown Kansas City. As of the 2010 United States Census^[update][1] the population was 52,575, making it the 10th largest city in the state of Missouri and the 7th largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. In 2010, CNN/Money Magazine ranked Blue Springs 49th on its list of the 100 Best Places to Live in the United States.^[3]

History

Blue Springs’ history is tied to the migration of settlers on their westward journey. Pioneers found the area to be an ideal stopover due to the abundance of cool, clean water from a spring of the Little Blue River - hence the name Blue Springs. The presence of water and a need for pioneer supplies led to the construction of a grist mill and permanent settlement at the current site of the City’s Burrus Old Mill Park, on Woods Chapel Road.

The Jackson County Court granted the incorporation of Blue Springs on September 7, 1880, making the City the fourth settlement in the county. An early settler, Franklin Smith, arrived in Blue Springs from Virginia in 1838 and became a leading figure in the community’s development. He established the first post office in 1845, naming it after the well-known springs.

The settlement continued to grow near the springs until 1878, when the Chicago and Alton Railroad announced plans to build a station about one mile east of the original settlement. To take advantage of the commerce the railroad would bring, the town moved its center to the site of the new station and continued its development as a rural trading center. The Chicago & Alton Hotel built in 1878, located on Main Street west of the railroad tracks is the oldest business in the City of Blue Springs.

Historical attractions near or in Blue Springs include: Missouri Town 1855, Fort Ossage National Historic Site, Dillingham-Lewis House Museum, Chicago & Alton Hotel Museum, and the Lone Jack Civil War Museum. The Blue Springs City Hall was once located in a very small block building under the old water tower until 1965 on the nothwest corner of 11th and Walnut Streets. That City Hall and water tower were torn down not long after vacating that building. A new water tower was built near that location and still exist today. From 1965 to 1968 the second City Hall was a metal building located in the 200 block of 11th Street, across the street from the current Blue Springs Post Office. It also has since been torn down. In 1968 the current City Hall was built at 903 W. Main Street as the Blue Springs Municipal Building. The Blue Springs Municipal Building held the Blue Springs Police Department in the lower level and city hall functions on the main level until 1988 when the Police Department moved to a new police station at 1100 SW Smith Street. The Municipal Building was remodeled in 1989 and was renamed the Blue Springs City Hall. In 1970, Blue Springs had a population of 6,779. Today Blue Springs continues grow in population and area and now has a population over 52,000.

Past Mayors of Blue Springs

• 1881 John A. Webb - Elected 1st Mayor of Blue Springs (Deceased)
• Term Unknown John K. Dodson (Deceased
• Term Unknown D. C. Herrinton (Deceased)
• 1910-1918 Benjamin Franklin Boley (Deceased)
• 1918-1924 Joseph Edward Quinn (Deceased)
• 1924-1940 R. J. Lowe (Deceased)
• 1940-1944 J. L. Wells (Deceased)
• 1944-1948 Hansel Lowe (Deceased)
• 1948-1950 W. E. Calloway (Deceased)
• 1950-1952 G. G. "Chief" Garrett (Deceased)
• 1952-1954 W. C. Hatfield (Deceased)
• 1954-1955 W. E. Calloway (Deceased)
• 1955-1956 G. G. "Chief" Garrett (Deceased)
• 1956-1958 Wilson P. Edmonds (Deceased)
• 1958-1960 William H. Rissler (Deceased)
• 1960-1962 G. G. "Chief" Garrett (Deceased)
• 1962-1966 J. O. Jackson (Deceased)
• 1966-1970 Virgil L. Wills (Deceased)
• 1970-1978 Dale Baumgardner (Deceased)
• 1979-1982 Thomas E. Woods
• 1982-1990 John R. Michael
• 1990-2004 Gregory Grounds
• 2004-2008 Steve Steiner
• 2008-Present Carson Ross

Geography

Blue Springs is located at 39°1′4″N 94°16′28″W / 39.01778°N 94.27444°W / 39.01778; -94.27444 (39.017778, -94.274444)^[4]. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 22.27 square miles (57.7 km²), of which, 22.27 square miles (57.7 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km²) of it (0.16%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000^[update],^[1] there were 48,080 people, 17,286 households, and 13,362 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,642.7 people per square mile (1,020.5/km²). There were 17,733 housing units at an average density of 974.7 per square mile (376.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.18% White, 2.93% African American, 0.43% Native American, 0.97% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 0.83% from other races, and 1.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.76% of the population.

There were 17,286 households out of which 42.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.1% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.7% were non-families. 18.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.16. In the city the population was spread out with 29.5% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 31.9% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 7.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $55,402, and the median income for a family was $61,008. Males had a median income of $41,373 versus $29,688 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,444. About 3.9% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.0% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The City of Blue Springs has a Mayor-Council-Administrator form of government as set forth in the Home Rule City Charter. The City Council is the governing body of the City, elected by the public. The City of Blue Springs employes a workforce of more than 285 employees who serve the City and its residents under the leadership and direction of the City Administrator. The City Administrator is appointed by the City Council and is responsible for the implementation of policies and decisions made by the Mayor and City Council. The elected governing body for the City of Blue Springs is composed of a Mayor and six Councilpersons. The current elected officials (as of March 7, 2012 (2012 -03-07)^[update]) are: Mayor Carson Ross, District 1 Councilman Dale Carter, District 1 Councilman Jeff Quibell, District 2 Councilman Chris Lievsay, District 2 Councilman Kent Edmondson, District 3 Councilman Grant Bowerman, District 3 Councilman Ron Fowler.

Public Safety

Blue Springs has a Municipal Police Department and two Fire Districts providing public safety services to Blue Springs.

• Blue Springs Law Enforcement duties are performed by the Blue Springs Police Department. B.S.P.D. was formed by the City of Blue Springs in 1966 and started with just three employees. Today (BSPD) has grown to 137 employees, 99 sworn law enforcement personnel and 38 civilian support personnel. (BSPD) is located at 1100 SW Smith Street.
• Fire and ambulance service for most of Blue Springs is performed by Central Jackson County Fire Protection District. (CJCFPD) was formed in 1961 and is an Accredited Fire Agency by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International. It is 1 of only 4 agencies in the state of Missouri to be accredited.^[5] (CJCFPD) has 5 fire stations that serve the community. (CJCFPD) Headquarters is located at 805 NE Jefferson St.
• Fire and ambulance service for the very southern portion of Blue Springs, roughly south of Liggett Road, is served by Prairie Township Fire Protection District. (PTFD) was established in 1954 and has 1 fire station to serve the community located in unincorporated Jackson County at 11010 Milton Thompson Road.

Transportation

• The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, KCATA provides public bus services to Blue Springs.

Major Highways & Roadways

• Interstate 70 - Major east/west interstate highway, connecting Blue Springs to Kansas City, Columbia, and St. Louis
• US 40 -Connects Kansas City to Independence and then enters Blue Springs at Bolin Road to the west, then east of Adams Dairy Parkway enters Grain Valley.
• Route 7 - Links U.S. 24 Hwy with Blue Springs by first traveling through Independence entering Blue springs at Pink Hill Road and is the main north/south Highway through Blue Springs, leaving Blue Springs at Colbern Road and entering Lake Lotawana then Pleasant Hill and Harrisonville.
• Adams Dairy Parkway is a important trafficway that runs from the northern portion of the Blue Springs to the southern portion of Blue Springs.

Culture/Parks and Recreation

Fleming Park is home to Blue Springs Lake, and Lake Jacomo. The park is operated by Jackson County. Fleming Park offers many recreational features. Fleming Parks total land area is 7,809 acres of which 1,690 acres is water. Blue Springs has 22 city parks which offer vast array of recreational activities and they are:

• Adams Pointe Golf Course
• Baumgardner Park
• Blue Springs Park
• Burrus Old Mill Park
• Burrus Old Mill Skate Parks
• Central Park
• Dog Park at Gregory O. Grounds Park
• Franklin Smith School Park
• Gregory O. Grounds Park
• Hidden Valley Sports Complex
• James Walker School Park
• James Walker Skate Park
• Keystone Park
• Pink Hill Park
• Rotary Park at Railroad Lake
• Ward Park
• Wilbur Young Park
• Wood Chapel Park
• Undeveloped Parks or Green Spaces without amenities include the following:
• Northeast Park Site, Valley View Park, Stone Creek park, and Rosco Righter Park.

Blue Springs City owned or ran recreational facilities are:

• Centennial Pool Plex
• Vesper Hall

Private clubs or organizations

• Blue Springs Family YMCA
• Elks Lodge #2509
• The American Legion Stanley-Pack

Newspapers

• The Examiner, Eastern Jackson County Daily Newspaper. Also known as the Blue Springs Examiner.
• The Blue Springs Journal
• The Kansas City Star

Education

Blue Springs is served by three public schools districts and three private schools. Public Schools are as follows:

• Blue Springs R-IV School District, has two high schools, which are Blue Springs High School and Blue Springs South High School.
• Lee's Summit R-VII School District, has three high schools, but the only one that serves Blue Springs and it is Lee's Summit North High School.
• Grain Valley R-V School District, has one high school, which is Grain Valley High School.

The private schools are as follows:

• Timothy Lutheran Schools, K-8, North Campus
• St. John La Lande Catholic School, K-8
• Plaza Heights Christian Academy, K-12

Climate

Blue Springs experiences a colder variation of a four season humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with mild days and cold nights during the winter, and hot days and muggy nights during the summer.

Infrastructure

Utilities

Blue Springs is served by the following utilities:

• Natural Gas Service-Missouri Gas Energy, MGE.
• Electrical Service-Kansas City Power and Light, KC&PL.
• Water & Sewer Service-City of Blue Springs Missouri supplies most of water to Blue Springs and sewer service to the entire city.
• Water Service Only-Jackson County Public Water Supply District #13 is the supplier of water for the southern most portion of Blue Springs.
• Cable Television-Comcast Cable, and AT&T U-verse
• Telephone Service-AT&T, and Embarq south of Mason School Road.

Hospital

St. Mary's Medical Center

Libraries

• Mid-Continent Public Library operates two library branches in Blue Springs, Missouri.

Notable residents

• David Cook, winner of American Idol Season 7
• Ladell Betts, NFL player for the New Orleans Saints
• Jim Eisenreich, former Royals, Phillies, and Marlins baseball player.
• Ivana Hong, Alternate Olympic Gymnast Beijing 2008
• Brandon Lloyd, NFL player for the St. Louis Rams
• Russ Morman, former major league baseball first baseman; currently hitting coach for Richmond Flying Squirrels
• Tech N9NE, Kansas City, Missouri rap artist.
• Carson Ross, first African-American Mayor of Blue Springs
• Jon Sundvold, former NBA player and University of Missouri basketball standout
• Doug Terry, former Kansas City Chiefs and University of Kansas football player
• Ricky Vega, former Pro Wrestler and WWE Champion

References

External links

• City of Blue Springs Official City Website
• Blue Springs Economic Development Corporation
• Central Jackson County Fire Protection District
• Prairie Township Fire Protection District
• Blue Springs Historical Society
• Blue Springs R-IV School District
• Historic maps of Blue Springs in the Sanborn Maps of Missouri Collection at the University of Missouri

v t e Municipalities and communities of Jackson County, Missouri, United States County seat: Independence Cities Blue Springs Buckner Grain Valley Grandview Greenwood Independence‡ Kansas City‡ Lake Lotawana Lake Tapawingo Lee's Summit‡ Levasy Lone Jack Oak Grove‡ Raytown Sugar Creek‡ Villages River Bend Sibley Unity Village Unincorporated community Blue Summit Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

v t e Kansas City Metropolitan Area's cities and counties Central city Kansas City, Missouri Largest cities (over 100,000 in 2000) Independence • Kansas City, Kansas • Olathe • Overland Park Medium-sized cities (10,000 to 100,000 in 2000) Blue Springs • Belton • Excelsior Springs • Gladstone • Grandview • Lansing • Leawood • Leavenworth • Lee's Summit • Lenexa • Liberty • Merriam • Ottawa • Prairie Village • Raymore • Raytown • Shawnee Counties Jackson • Clay • Cass • Platte • Lafayette • Ray • Clinton • Bates • Caldwell • Johnson • Wyandotte • Leavenworth • Miami • Franklin • Linn

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