From the Desk of Mayor Griff Martin

Happy New Year, Leavenworth!

I'm hoping this note finds you and your neighbors well … and warm! It’s hard to believe we are already past the holidays and are now working on our New Year’s resolutions. As we ring in the new year and say goodbye to 2023, it’s still a great time to reflect and look back on everything we were able to experience, work on and work through together here in Leavenworth.

We’ve made a lot of great memories, but it’s clear we’ve had our challenges as well. We continue to feel the effects of our global economy and the impact it has on our local Leavenworth economy more and more every day. Our dollars are putting less in our shopping carts, less in our pantries and less in our gas tanks. Our local businesses continue to feel the strain of rising costs, and a tough labor market. It’s true we are in some challenging times, but I do remain very hopeful and optimistic about our future and what we can do together here in our city.

As a city government, challenges are definitely forcing us to think outside the box. Stretching outside our comfort zone can be a great thing though. It can become the perfect breeding ground for new ideas and innovation. Identifying ways we can strengthen our local economy will be another focus in 2024. Last year, the City of Leavenworth was able to award $106,775 in Small Business Economic Development Grants to support more than 20 businesses with improvements such as exterior façade work, window replacement, interior remodeling and new signs.

In addition to our grant support, the 2nd Annual Leavenworth Business Symposium hosted over 75 attendees for an event that brought key resources and emerging ideas to our local businesses and future business owners. Planning for the 2024 Symposium is already in the works and promises to be another enriching experience.

Our Leavenworth infrastructure continues to be a constant area of focus. As we look ahead to 2024, our Public Works department will be concentrated on the following:

- Complete reconstruction on Fourth Street from Choctaw to Seneca (starts this Spring)

- Installation of new ADA sidewalk ramps on Vilas from 10th to 20th Street

- New roadway with sidewalks, curbs and stormwater take place on Vilas from 20th to 22nd Street

- State mill and overlay of Fourth Street from Eisenhower to Limit

- Construction for the replacement of Fire Station No. 3 at Second Avenue and Limit

Our Parks and Recreation Department are working on the Cody Park Sports Court Project with dedicated pickleball courts and a new basketball court. As a Commission team here to serve you, we want to continue looking ahead at ways we can work with you to raise the quality of life for our families while creating a safer community for our children. We want to strengthen our infrastructure without weakening your wallets. We want to do everything we can to grow our Leavenworth economy by exploring new and creative opportunities with our business owners and entrepreneurs. We want to continue building a pipeline of new investors who bring new jobs and visitors to our city, while always holding to and preserving the rich history for which our City is known.

As we start off the year with many new resolutions, please keep those ideas coming! If something doesn’t make sense, ask why. If you think something could be changed for the better, let’s talk. Please bring your ideas to the table and feel free to come to a City Commission meeting (or two) to share. I am very excited and honored to work with you again in 2024!

May God richly bless you, Griff

Column shows the Five Leavenworth City Commissioners and contact information, shared below:

Griff Martin 913-705-0775 griff.martin@firstcity.org

Holly Pittman 913-449-8991 holly.pittman@firstcity.org

Nancy Bauder 913-675-7166 nbauder@firstcity.org

Edd Hingula 913-775-0635 edd.hingula@firstcity.org

Jermaine Wilson 913-617-3667 jwilson@firstcity.org