About a year ago, I sat down with the community over coffee to better understand what was expected from the Lake Lotawana Police Department. I met with citizens on a few week nights, and Saturday mornings.

From my perspective, these were extremely successful. So successful in fact, I will be doing them again. We will communicate details in a future News article, and on the City’s website. At these session, I will have two topics, both much less controversial than last year’s police services discussion, but arguably, just as important.

1 – What is Lake Lotawana?
2 – How do we ensure we have the financial capacity to get there?

In the next month, a final version of our Comprehensive Plan will be released. Alderman Tillema, and a number of dedicated, passionate, and respected citizens donated a significant amount of time laying out a long term plan for our community. Please take the time to read Alderman Tillema’s article in this issue of the Lotawana News. Alderman Tillema clearly articulates all the different areas that make our community.

In setting up the budget for this year, we brought in a Certified Public Accountant, who specializes in municipal accounting, to help establish a five-year general operating revenue forecast for our City. The State of Missouri legally forces cities to operate with a balanced budget. That said, because of the need to rebuild the Police department, and play catch up on a number of deferred maintenance items, the City dipped into the surplus funds we have established over the last few years to balance our budget.. This is not a sustainable equation. Over the next few Board of Aldermen meetings, the team will be discussing a number of options to increase City revenue. If your schedule permits, please attend our work sessions the first Tuesday of March and April.

On a completely different topic, in August of 2016, the Citizens approved a transportation sales tax to help maintain and improve the eleven miles of City owned roads. The City started receiving this revenue in late 2016. Last year, while we accumulated sales tax funds, we hired an engineering firm to analyze, and recommend how to best spend these funds. At our last Board work session, the Board decide on the two major road projects… 1) Old Lone Jack Lees Summit Road. 2) Langsford Road.

We do not have a huge industry base in our town, but a good number of our industrial employers reside on a short stretch of City owned road located just off the new Highway 50 frontage road. Old Lone Jack Lees Summit Road will be patched and chip sealed.

The second project is one of our major thoroughfares, Langsford Road. This road was resurfaced about seven or eight years ago, and needs some maintenance. We will properly patch the holes, and tar seal the entire stretch west of Highway 7.

As always, please drop me a note if you have a topic you would like me to cover in a future article.

Scott Miles, Mayor
City of Lake Lotawana
[email protected]
www.LakeLotawana.org