City News

Lee’s Summit Mayor Bill Baird will deliver the State of the City address on Wednesday, Sept. 7 at The Aspen Room at the Stanley in downtown Lee’s Summit, 308 SE Douglas St. The Lee’s Summit Chamber of Commerce is hosting the luncheon. The event begins at 11 a.m. with the mayor’s address scheduled to start at noon. During the State of the City, Mayor Baird will reflect on his first term, the progress the City has made and how the City will continue to build on that progress to improve the quality of life for every citizen of Lee’s Summit. He will highlight the investments made in public safety, infrastructure, and community health and well-being. He will share the economic opportunities created as a result of smart development growth and strategic decisions based on reinvestment in existing infrastructure and buildings. The State of the City address...

The City of Lee’s Summit has selected Ryan Elam as assistant city manager, infrastructure and development effective Aug. 20. Elam will replace Mark Dunning who will begin serving as the city manager on Sept. 17. For the past six years, Elam has served as the director of development services, where he oversees planning, codes administration, development engineering, inspections, property maintenance, business services and grants administration. Prior to joining the City of Lee’s Summit, Elam spent nine years in the private sector taking on progressively responsible roles including project manager and project engineer with BHC Rhodes, and design engineer with Schlagel and Associates, P.A. "Ryan has a keen understanding of infrastructure and development and has demonstrated he has the experience to lead these environments as we continue to provide quality growth...

It is my understanding that a full investigation is underway by Lee’s Summit Parks and Recreation regarding a scheduled private event at Summit Waves this past Saturday, August 6. Based upon my initial observations in connection with that investigation, I have urged Parks and Recreation to not only address certain processes that should have been undertaken, which could have alleviated obvious safety concerns, but I have also encouraged them to reevaluate their approach to communicating and interacting with patrons of our park system, including Summit Waves so that everyone is treated with dignity and respect.    Unfortunately, statements were made by a Parks and Recreation manager at Summit Waves that were inappropriate and insensitive. We must intentionally embrace a culture that is welcoming and inclusive, and we must continually denounce any urge or impulse...

A teen party rental scheduled for the evening of August 6 at Summit Waves was canceled by Lee’s Summit Parks and Recreation after it became aware of social media posts advertising the event. This raised serious concerns about the safety of party guests and the possibility the event would grow beyond the capacity of staff.

After multiple attempts to reach the renter in advance of the event to discuss safety concerns, a connection was not made until the hours leading up to the event. At that point, the only recourse was to cancel the event. Despite the cancellation, approximately 500 teens arrived in the Summit Waves parking lot.

Lee’s Summit Parks and Recreation is committed to ensuring the safety of all patrons and will continue to work with the renter. 

Crews moved into the new Lee's Summit Fire Station No. 3 at 2023 NW Shamrock Ave. in August 2020. Unfortunately, due to COVID, there wasn't the usual open house we would have for such a project. Since then, crews have settled in, and we have a video to give you a brief look inside the modern facility serving all of Lee's Summit and a rapidly developing west side.  Voters approved the replacement of old Fire Station No. 3 as part of the no-tax-increase bond question in 2016 to fund public safety improvements. The 16,000 square-foot facility features four apparatus bays with additional bunk rooms and workspace, which will allow the department to grow in the future to meet service demands. The station currently houses Pumper 3, Chief 102, and unstaffed units Grass 3 and Squad 1.  The Lee's Summit Fire Department is grateful to the citizens of Lee's...