City of Lee’s Summit Announces New Public Works Director
The City of Lee’s Summit is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael Park as director of public works effective May 29. Park has shared interim director duties since June 2020. He replaces Dena Mezger who retired in August 2020 after 20 years with the City.
Over the past 15 years, Park has served as the city traffic engineer and senior staff engineer. Prior to joining the City of Lee’s Summit, Park spent five years in the private sector as a traffic/transportation engineer for Bucher, Willis & Ratliff (BWR) Corporation.
As public works director, Park will oversee five divisions, 100 employees and a $19 million operational budget. Park will provide leadership and strategic planning in the design and construction of the City’s infrastructure, and the operation and maintenance of the City’s stormwater systems and traffic control network.
“As our community moves into the future, it is important we continue building our strengths to match the needs created by continued growth while protecting the quality of life currently offered to our citizens,” said City Manager Stephen Arbo. “The director of public works is a critical player in balancing these demands with rather limited resources. Michael has the leadership traits and knowledge base to support our organization in this way.”
“During his 15 years as the city traffic engineer, he has found solutions to allow growth to continue while minimizing the impact to our traveling public,” said Arbo. “Michael has also served as an organizational leader through his service on committees and task forces to address broader needs for the City of Lee's Summit. I have been impressed with his drive towards continual improvement and ability to communicate to our employees, citizens and elected officials. We are looking forward to seeing his contribution to our Management Team and his leadership of the Public Works Department.”
Park is recognized for his expertise in traffic engineering, operations and transportation planning. He has planned, scoped, designed and managed projects and programs in scale that spans neighborhood traffic calming to the U.S. Highway 50/Route 291 South Interchange Project and the Blackwell Road/U.S. Highway 50 Interchange Project. Park has led major funding grants and cost share applications resulting in more than $30 million in federal funding and state cost shares for the City of Lee’s Summit. His leadership was critical in the adoption of various long-range plans and policies; such as Livable Streets, Bicycle Transportation Plan, Transit, ADA Transition Plan for Public Right of Way, Thoroughfare Master Plan and Downtown Parking.
“Our Public Works Department has an outstanding workforce that shares our community values and support for each other in the delivery of many diverse programs and services,” said Michael Park. “I’m honored to be alongside so many good and talented people. I am very proud of what the organization has done in the past and I look forward to this opportunity to lead our continued improvement. I would like to thank Mr. Arbo and his Management Team for their confidence in my selection. I would also like to thank our entire team at Public Works for their example, dedication, hard work and care throughout the last year.”
Park is a licensed professional engineer and a registered professional traffic operations engineer. He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Missouri. He formerly served as chair of the Transportation Professional Certification Board and represents the City on numerous Mid-America Regional Council committees.