KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -
Preparations are under way as city leaders encourage others to spruce up the area before thousands of tourists make their way to the metro next month for the All-Star Game.
Windy days are the kind of weather that makes any spare trash whip up into the air, and that is exactly the kind of blight regional leaders announced on Thursday they are partnering to prevent.
City leaders from both sides of the state line, from Raytown to Merriam, are spending the weeks before the All-Star Game patching potholes, picking up litter, sweeping for illegal signs and clearing away brush piles. They are doing anything they can to make the areas that will be the most visible to visitors look presentable.
And city leaders say it is all covered within their existing budgets by allocating available resources to those specific areas during crunch time.
"Like the old adage says, we have got company coming. Time to put our best foot forward and show off the best aspects of our city," Kansas City, MO, city manager Troy Schulte said.
City leaders say they still have enough resources if there is a maintenance problem outside the targeted areas they will still be able to respond.
Schulte said they have spent a little more than $1 million so far for marketing, overtime security and watch parties, but they don't have a tally yet for what they will be spending from their existing budgets for these beautification projects.
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