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Engaged citizens, investment in Old Town, and honors all around at Lenexa Mayor’s 2020 State of the City address

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A happy and engaged citizenry, paired with continued investment from commercial developers are the outcomes of a long-term “pro-growth” attitude in Lenexa, Mayor Michael Boehm said Wednesday in his 18th State of the City address.

Citizen satisfaction survey results consistently rank Lenexa higher than the average city in the metro area over such services as public safety, parks and recreation and snow removal, as well as its long-term vision of planning growth throughout the city, Boehm said.

“When you see outstanding results time after time, it might be tempting to think that great outcomes are easily achieved; this is simply not the case,” Boehm said. “Our tremendous results are the work product of dedicated individuals who work to make our community exceptional.”

Boehm thanked city leaders and staff department heads, especially those who have contributed several years to both the long-term development of the city and the making of Lenexa City Center, as well as the city’s “strong financial position” and commercial tax base that comprises nearly half of city revenue.

A few honors from 2019:

  • Paramedic Andrew Freisner and Fire Captain Dustin Moore received the Public Safety Medal of Valor at the White House for saving a family from an apartment fire in 2017
  • Court Manager Nicole Armstrong with the municipal court received the Outstanding Court Clerk Award by the Kansas Association for Court Management
  • Triple-A credit rating for the city’s finance department for the ninth year running
  • Doug Robinson was named 2019 Chief Financial Officer of the Year by the Kansas City Business Journal
  • Assistant CFO Jill Grube received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kansas Government Finance Officers Association

Boehm said Lenexa is not done yet. Much work remains, including plans for upgrading the city’s public safety facilities, new infrastructure projects guided by the city’s Complete Streets plan, review of the future of aquatics in the city (especially regarding Ad Astra Pool, which city leaders kept open this year during this process) and several projects in Old Town, including:

And Boehm received some applause when he announced that the Kansas Department of Transportation is planning to mill and overlay I-435 from K-10 to Midland this spring.

“The year 2020 has special meaning for Lenexa,” Boehm added. “As we talked about earlier, we have achieved much of what was imagined in 2020.”

A video of Mayor Boehm’s 2020 State of the City address is below:

About the author

Leah Wankum
Leah Wankum

Hi there! I’m Leah Wankum, and I’m the Post’s Deputy Editor. I’m thrilled to call Johnson County home, and I’m deeply committed to the Post’s philosophy that an informed community is a strong community.

I’m a native of mid-Missouri, and attended high school in Jefferson City before going on to the University of Central Missouri, where I earned a master’s degree in mass communication.

Prior to joining the Post as a reporter in 2018, I was the editor of the Richmond News in Ray County, Missouri. I’ve also written for several publications, including the Sedalia Democrat and KC Magazine.

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