‘Troy Schulte Way’? Kansas City considers honorary street name, but mayor is doubtful
For all the grandeur of City Hall’s south entrance, the street it sits on bears an unassuming name: 12th Street. But soon, that block of 12th between Oak and Locust streets could be named, honorarily, “Troy Schulte Way.”
Schulte, who ranks among Kansas City’s longest-serving city managers, announced in September that he would retire. He left City Hall in December after more than 10 years in the role and more than 20 years at City Hall. He assumed a newly created role of Jackson County administrator.
Schulte’s service to the city, Councilwoman Heather Hall said, should be honored.
“He’s been a really great public servant for the city for all these years, and this is just a nice way to say thank you,” Hall said Wednesday.
Schulte assumed the interim city manager role in 2009 after the surprise ouster of his predecessor Wayne Cauthen, who butted heads with then-Mayor Mark Funkhouser. Schulte saw the city through its recovery from the Great Recession, numerous tight budget years, continued downtown development, passage of an $800 million bond package for infrastructure, the launch of the streetcar and construction of a convention hotel and the $1.5 billion single terminal at Kansas City International Airport.
When Schulte retired, the City Council honored him with a resolution. Hall’s office then took a request to the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners, which governs the city’s boulevards, to honor him with a street. The move would rename the block of 12th street that runs between City Hall and the Jackson County Courthouse.
Officially, the block would still be 12th Street. City Hall’s address wouldn’t change. But the city would hang brown signs on that block with the word “honorary” above “Troy Schulte Way.”
Mayor Quinton Lucas voiced doubt about the proposal in a written statement.
“I have great respect for Troy and his years of service, but given recent controversies over street renaming, it is my view that — even if an honorary designation — we should take more time to evaluate any name change,” Lucas said, referencing to the uproar last year over the City Council’s decision to rename The Paseo for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
In November, residents voted overwhelmingly to remove King’s name.
The board held public testimony about the proposal Tuesday, but no residents attended to voice their opinions. The board will again take public testimony Jan. 28 before its vote.
Hall said the issues of honoring Schulte and King are not comparable. She argued honorarily renaming the one block in front of City Hall would affect no one. Meanwhile, renaming the nearly 10-mile Paseo for King would force numerous residents and businesses to change their addresses.
“It’s apples and oranges,” she said.
Hall voted against naming The Paseo for King because, she said, the city didn’t follow the correct protocols to rename the street and instead “bulldozed” it through.
That’s a complaint voiced frequently by the residents who opposed the move and put it to a citywide vote.
Schulte would not be the first former city manager with a street named for him. Cookingham Drive, which leads into Kansas City International Airport, is named for L.P. Cookingham, who held the office for 19 years following an era of heavy influence at City Hall by political boss Tom Pendergast.
According to the parks department, the City Council does not have to vote on the move. The final decision rests with the parks board.
