Curt Skoog Seeing the Future in Overland Park, KS

Overland Park is a suburb of Kansas City, both Kansas Cities and is a city growing. Our industry is office space, the mayor says. Listen to how they plan growth and improve quality of life

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Transcription

David Martin: This is the good government show.

Curt Skoog: You know, we’re one big metropolitan area here in the Kansas City metropolitan area, made up of, primarily nine counties in 119 cities. And we, work and play well with each other. From a government point of view. What attracts people here from all over the country is we’re ranked as one of the best places to raise a family, to start a business by.

From the new York Times to all kinds of different organizations. We deliver a high quality of life. That’s always been the focus of Overland Park. We’re not perfect. But I’m hopeful that, that we can resolve, most situations pretty quickly. Potholes are not Republican or Democrat. They just need fixed. Right? So that’s what I tell people who are interested in government or they’re getting involved is just raise your hands.

Just show up.

David Martin: High quality of life. That’s the focus in Overland Park, Kansas. It’s a suburb of both Kansas cities, and a recent survey voted it its sixth best city, citing quality of life, amenities, economy and transportation, among other things. So let’s hear how the mayor can keep that going and improve on it. Welcome to the good government show. I’m Dave Martin.

First, help us share the message of good government by liking us and sharing us where we are on Facebook, Instagram and Blue Sky. Please share our show with your friends and don’t forget to review us! Let’s get everyone excited about good government. On today’s show, I talk with Overland Park, Kansas Mayor Kirk Skoog. He’s lucky. Everything seems to be going well in this city, but the pressure is on to keep it that way.

One of the things he’s doing is looking to the future. And as he will tell you, the industry of Overland Park is office space. They have an active business corridor which brings people to the city to work. But he says they have to provide a city that supports both today’s workforce and the workforce. The future. Listen to the mayor talk about how they helped to make a city more office worker friendly.

Retain their status as a great place to live and plan towards future growth. My conversation with Mayor Kirk Skoog of Overland Park, Kansas that’s coming right up. To I. The cloud security solutions. All hot topics that are transforming how government works. Amazon Web Services is here to help government on the federal, state and local levels figure out what’s next and what’s right for them.

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Welcome to the Good Government show. I’m happy to have with me Mayor Curt Skoog of Overland Park, Kansas. We’re in Kansas City, Kansas. No, we’re Kansas City, Missouri. Correction Kansas City, Missouri. And you’re, just on the other side.

Curt Skoog: That’s right.

David Martin: All right. A little bit of a rivalry between Missouri in Kansas. Yes.

Curt Skoog: So, from time to time, from time to time, going back to pre-Civil War days. But, that’s a long story.

David Martin: That’s it’s a long story. It is a long time ago. How often you come into, Kansas City, Missouri.

Curt Skoog: Well, my day job is down here, so I’m down here all the time. Have been, you know, we’re one big metropolitan area here in the Kansas City metropolitan area, made up of, primarily nine counties and 119 cities. And we, work and play well with each other from a government point of view.

David Martin: And we’re here at the Conference of Mayors, as I said, in Kansas City, Missouri. What brings people here?

Curt Skoog: Well, besides being the Midwest, one of the best places to live, except for right now, we have high humidity today, but everybody does. What attracts people here from all over the country is we’re ranked as one of the best places to raise a family, to start a business by. From the New York Times to all kinds of different organizations.

And so we attract people who are wanting to make a change in their life, either professionally or family. Okay. We have, especially.

David Martin: One of those people. Are you born and raised here?

Curt Skoog: Well, I grew up in Topeka, which is an hour away, so I choose I chose to come here about 35.

David Martin: The big city. Did you?

Curt Skoog: Yeah, I did all right. Yeah. And then, but what attracts people is, we have great public schools on the Kansas side. And we have, great jobs and great neighborhoods, affordable housing. And so, it’s a it’s an easy way of life. I was talking to somebody who moved here from Los Angeles a couple days ago.

Wow. And they go, I go, why are you here in, Overland Park, Kansas? And she goes, my cousins moved here a couple of years ago, and I came and visited, and I didn’t. She said, this is a quote. I couldn’t believe that you could live like this, because what traffic we have is minuscule compared to major cities.

David Martin: I live in New York City.

Curt Skoog: Yes, exactly. Yeah. And you can afford a house. You can afford to live and, and, we have great public schools. So you’re not, writing big checks to send your kids to public schools, not to private schools.

David Martin: So you’re the mayor of Overland Park on the Kansas side, a suburban community. What are the biggest challenges you’re facing there?

Curt Skoog: So, we’re in a transition. So we’re a 64 year old city. We were created in 1960. And, have grown from 30,000 to 200,000 in that time. Okay. And so we are, a city of, of growth over that time. And so we have aging infrastructure, like all cities. Sure. But, the biggest challenge that we face, besides just what every city does about how do we maintain our streets, how do we make sure that, that the quality of life stays high is, our industry?

So our industry is office space. So we’re not a warehouse town. We’re not a manufacturing town. We have office space.

David Martin: Well, office space, that is a challenge because people still haven’t returned to work from, you know, Covid. And a lot of people don’t want to return to office.

Curt Skoog: Well, in the Midwest, we have a little different attitude than the coasts about going to work. Okay. So, we have many employees who employers who have returned their employees to work.

David Martin: How’s that.

Curt Skoog: Going? It’s going well. Yeah. There’s others that are, you know, working their way through it, through hybrid schedules. And the word I hear from all of these employers is if you’re hiring young people, you need to have them in the office with the more experienced folks so they can learn the business. Sure, they can learn the culture of the company.

So one of our biggest industries in Kansas City is engineering firm. So engineering and construction and the culture of engineering and construction requires learning from people who’ve been doing it for a while.

David Martin: And having them in the.

Curt Skoog: Office and having them in the office.

David Martin: You mentioned something, some renovations or, you know, revitalization on something called College Boulevard. Can you explain that?

Curt Skoog: Yeah. So we just finished, our, comprehensive plan update. And, it’s, community driven activity. And one of the big focus is College Boulevard, which is where 90% of our office space is. Okay. And, we are a town that was built primarily in the 80s and 90 seconds. So we have a lot of suburban office space that is still the premier office location, in the region, in the Midwest.

But, companies are wanting to attract talent, and they talent today doesn’t want to go sit in a cubicle for eight hours. So they’re looking. So what we’re doing is we have the we have the jobs, we have the office buildings. We want to bring the live and play. Right. So we want to bring living opportunities, to the corridor where right now all we have is the giant parking lots.

We required those buildings to build, and, and entertainment and lifestyle to the corridor.

David Martin: Well, I was going to ask, is this spawning? You know, new growth in restaurants and shops and retail.

Curt Skoog: And.

David Martin: Other things.

Curt Skoog: It sure is, because, again, the employers are the ones driving this. Is that, to attract talent to come to Overland Park instead of Nashville or Dallas or Chicago or New York, we need to have, the kind of amenities that, this younger workforce wants.

David Martin: What about bike lanes or alternative transportation?

Curt Skoog: Right. We’re working on that now. We’re a typical Midwest city where we have currently very poor public transportation. And so that’s why in our comprehensive plan, we talk about mobility. Yeah. Where we’re getting it, we’re improving and our walkability, our bike ability, and starting to work on, on transit options. Hopefully we’ll we’ll move forward with the streetcar, much like they have down here, Kansas City.

David Martin: Our bike lanes, being asked for. Are they something that you’re talking about for the future?

Curt Skoog: Yeah. And we’ve, we’ve implemented, starting ten years ago, we started to do.

David Martin: That’s why. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. And I ride a bike in midtown Manhattan.

Curt Skoog: Yeah. And, so we have that shared bike lanes currently, right? We don’t have dedicated bike lanes. Okay. So that’s one thing that we’re working towards is, is where is the right place for us to put dedicated bike lanes as a bike rider to to.

David Martin: Dedicated bike lanes.

Curt Skoog: Improve, bike riders comfort and riding around our city.

David Martin: What’s the some of the things that you have, created that you’re especially proud of?

Curt Skoog: Well, in this redevelopment mode, our downtown, which is, you have to remember where Midwest city, right? A small downtown, small. We’ve transformed into a gathering place. Right. We took empty parking lots and have built mixed use buildings that have, apartments and offices, with street, side to retail and really created a dynamic, gathering place that includes, our bar, number one in the country ranked farmer’s market.

So, well, it’s one of our farmers country, are we? Well, we are, we are what?

David Martin: What do they have at the farmer’s market? What’s the local produce?

Curt Skoog: Well, right now. Right. We’re right in the middle of, summer produce. So tomatoes and, lettuce and. Okay. You know, it’s almost corn time, so that’s always the best time. Melons are starting to show up. And then we have, some, boutique manufacturers, like cheese, and, and, microgreens, all of the, all of the things are coming into the market right now.

It’s an exciting time.

David Martin: You mentioned before that you were recently at, I think it’s saw the Bloomberg leadership conference. Tell me about that. And how did how did what you learned there come back to Overland Park?

Curt Skoog: Sure. Yeah. Well, I was honored to be selected one of 40 mayors or from around the world to be part of the Harvard Bloomberg City initiative. And so it was a year long program where we, met with, and shared, experiences with those 40 mayors from around the country. And, it was, it was a great experience.

Learned a lot about, about the cities of the future, and what cities are going to need to be because, as you may know, during the show, yeah, cities are one of the last respected government entities in the country. And so we have a heavy burden to make sure that we continue. So yes. Yeah. So we have a heavy burden, every day, right, to, to deliver services.

And so one of the most interesting conversations we had in a roundtable, I was with some mayors from older, American cities as well as European and South African cities. And, we they talked about the challenges that they have being older cities. They lost their industry shirt. Right. They lost, textile or shipbuilding or whatever their longtime industry was.

And our industries, office spaces. I mentioned that, I said my job is to not be turned into you. Right. And 50 years where we lost our industry and we didn’t, right. Our economy goes to hell. And we’ve got to figure out how to how to bring it back. We want to maintain it and improve it so we don’t.

David Martin: How do you look. at this space?

Curt Skoog: Well, it’s as I mentioned, it’s about bringing the office place up today and tomorrow, which is have bringing the living and working to, to the office space where, where

David Martin: What’s the what’s the office space going to look like in ten years?

Curt Skoog: Well, it’s more collaborative, right? I in my first job, I sat in a cubicle for eight hours a day. Right? Yeah. And then eventually they brought me a computer. Right. That’s show my age a little bit. Okay. My.

David Martin: First job, I had a typewriter.

Curt Skoog: Yeah. Right. Exactly. And so, and so the workplace of tomorrow is a more collaborative space, right? Where you maybe don’t have a dedicated cubicle that you show up to. But you and your coworkers have, shared spaces, and shared workspaces, that, allows that collaboration and interaction and the kind of interaction you can get when you work at home.

That’s how you learn your trade or your industry is from others that have.

David Martin: Been, I guess if you’re going paperless, all you have to do is just bring your laptop, turn on the Wi-Fi and.

Curt Skoog: Yeah, right, you can.

David Martin: Sit anywhere.

Curt Skoog: You can sit anywhere and interact and share and be creative and solve.

David Martin: Problems. Still have way too much paper, I’m sure.

Curt Skoog: Yeah.

David Martin: What does coming to the conference do for you? What what what are the benefits, especially, you know, when your, your citizens are paying for it.

Curt Skoog: Right? Sure. Well, you know, there’s not very many conferences that is focused around the job of being a mayor. Right, right. It’s a little bit different of a role than being a CEO of a company. Or, you know, other, city issues. So it’s, the best part is interacting with other mayors and learning from what they’ve done and me sharing what I’ve done to see how we can continue to improve, provide quality, service and quality of life to residents in Overland Park from stealing ideas from other people.

David Martin: First of all, what’s your background in that? Yeah. Then what got you into running for mayor?

Curt Skoog: Yeah, so I’m a business guy, so I’ve done, you know, management and sales and business development my whole career in multiple industries. Okay. Today I work on an industry where we provide services to cities and counties. Okay. And so, I’ve been on the I was on the Overland Park City Council for 16 years, before our, our past mayor, decided not to run for reelection.

And so people suggested I run, and here I am, two and a half years later.

David Martin: The first time they suggested. Do you say no?

Curt Skoog: Come on. Yeah, yeah.

David Martin: Did you or was it something you were thinking? Maybe you want to.

Curt Skoog: Get it up, you know, I, I think that I’ve been a leader on the city council and had some important initiatives. And so I was comfortable being mayor, if that’s what people wanted to do. And they thought I’d be good.

David Martin: And is it a full time position?

Curt Skoog: Oh, no. No, no, no, it’s, it’s, it’s, I call it my hobby job. So, I have a full time job, and then I’m mayor.

David Martin: Do you have a city manager?

Curt Skoog: We do. We have a city manager form of government, and and, and it’s interesting to experience the transformation of, like I said, from a city in 1960 of 30,000 to 200, our residents have different expectations of not only city government but of the mayor. And so trying to find that balance of, hey, I still got to do my day job and still be, interactive with our residents and businesses.

David Martin: Oh, their days when you’re at work, it’s still like being.

Curt Skoog: There all the time. It’s. Yeah, it’s it’s a balance, right? It’s a balance. And, luckily I have a very, understanding employer.

David Martin: Like, okay. All right, we’re going to take a break of the we’re going to the back and we’re going to get to the heart of your philosophy of government. All right?

Curt Skoog: Okay.

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David Martin: This is our good government show questionnaire. In a minute we’re going to find out your thoughts on government. Are you ready? I hope so all right I do too. 60 years on city council. And now the mayor to find good government.

Curt Skoog: Well, good government is all. And what you deliver, right. And we, so, we deliver a high quality of life. That’s always been the focus of Overland Park. In London. The last survey that we just completed of our residents, we had a 90% satisfaction or a rate.

David Martin: Wait a minute, wait a minute. You had a 90% satisfaction rate?

Curt Skoog: Yeah.

David Martin: That’s sort of the opposite of what we’re seeing nationally.

Curt Skoog: Well, it’s it’s the benefit of having reliable, good government for 60 years and over the past.

David Martin: Reliable, good government, 60 years. Good. How do you judge your success? How do you know if you do it? How can you tell if you’re doing a good job?

Curt Skoog: Well, you know, it’s a business of instant, feedback. So, number one is, what are people talking to me about?

David Martin: Yeah.

Curt Skoog: Right. And so our emails. Right. Or vote messages. What what are people talking to me about? That’s number one. Number two is, I go out and meet with neighborhoods and residents all the time. I think that’s the it’s my favorite part of the job, and it’s the best part of the job, and the feedback that we receive.

And then, you know, there’s always, some loud voices that have certain opinions that are important to listen to and consider. But when we did this survey, right, of all of a statistical sampling of our residents and, and, match the, the louder voices, in the community with the feedback of the rest of the community. Is a way to make sure that we are doing the right things for our community.

David Martin: If people don’t like what they see, if they don’t like what they hear, if they don’t like you, what you’re doing, what would you like them to do?

Curt Skoog: Just talk to me this time. I usually if I I’m easy to find. Yes, I get coffee with everybody all the time. So let’s let’s have a conversation about what your challenges are. What would you like for us to improve? What are we doing poorly. And, give us a chance to correct it if we if we’re not perfect.

But I’m hopeful that, that we can resolve, most situations pretty quickly.

David Martin: Do you have conversations? I mean, are you able to continue to have conversations because this part of the country, you can’t.

Curt Skoog: Yeah. I mean, you know, in, in, Overland Park, we have nonpartisan elections.

David Martin: Okay.

Curt Skoog: And so we work really hard to say, hey, we, we deal with, you know, potholes are not Republican or Democrat. They just need fixed. Right? That’s so story.

David Martin: Everybody tells us. Yeah.

Curt Skoog: Right. And so, so we, we work really hard on that sometimes there are political issues, the different philosophies of what government should do, what tax rates should be and, yeah, what we shouldn’t spend money on. And, you know, all of those. So it’s it’s a I’m able to have discussions. I can’t think of one I’ve not been able to have in the last two years.

David Martin: Okay. Well that’s good.

Curt Skoog: We don’t always agree. Don’t get me wrong.

David Martin: Yeah. So sometimes you have to agree to disagree. Yeah. Good portraits. Yeah. All right. That’s the hard part. They agree to disagree and part friends.

Curt Skoog: Right. Exactly.

David Martin: What’s the difference that you saw from city council to being mayor?

Curt Skoog: Well, we are Overland Park again. We’re 64 years old, so we’re in transition, right? The the leaders who lead our community for the first 55 years or so. Yeah, are, moving to the background, retiring, doing whatever they want to do. Not city related. And so we’re having to rebuild the civic infrastructure and the leaders in our community, and, in the last two and a half years, we’ve really done a nice job of, bringing new people into, local government activities.

Our committee systems, our community boards, to make sure that, that drives us thinking about tomorrow. Right. Cities have, often get stuck in the past. Right. You pick your decade overland Park. It was the 1990s. Right? Right, right. And, which is make.

David Martin: Overland Park great again. Yeah.

Curt Skoog: Exactly. Yeah. Which is, a sure sign way of starting your demise. Because we have to build the city for today and tomorrow, not for 1990.

David Martin: So as the mayor, as someone who’s inside government, what would you like people to know about government.

Curt Skoog: Is that, that government is responsive, that good, that, at least from Overland Park to the local government, we listen, that we consider and we are gathering public feedback on items all the time. So, I want people to make sure that they know that we are listening and to participate. And share your thoughts on on how how we can continue to have such a high quality of life and such a great community in Overland Park, Kansas.

David Martin: What’s the best part of the job?

Curt Skoog: Talking to people. I love talking to people. Yeah. You being at a coffee shop or the front door or in front of the neighborhood.

David Martin: Great to stop by the hardware store or, you know, check out something in the grocery store.

Curt Skoog: No, not too much. Not too much. Sometimes, you know, you know, the great thing is that Overland Park, we’re not the big city, right? So, you know, I would guess a lot of residents may know my name, but they don’t know my face. So, when people find out who I am, then, you know, we have conversations, but, no matter where you are.

No. Yeah. No matter what.

David Martin: You start a little, which is great. Yeah. Okay. Yeah.

Curt Skoog: My wife is very understanding this.

David Martin: You good? What’s the hardest part of the job?

Curt Skoog: The hardest part of the job is making sure that we, our informing the public about what needs to happen for the future, so that they’re open minded to think about how we implement change for the future. Right. We live in, like I mentioned, right? Our satisfaction rates are off the roof, so. Right. It’s easy to say we should just stay the way we are, right?

Because we we’re we are a pretty special place. But, helping people understand that we can’t stay the way nothing stays the same. And that we need to make sure working so you have the.

David Martin: Community changes are coming. People. Here’s what’s going to happen and participate.

Curt Skoog: Right. And and you can be part of the conversation about change okay.

David Martin: What’s the hardest part.

Curt Skoog: So the hardest part is, making that connection with the residents to understand what’s going on. Right. And, we communicate left and right all the time about what’s happening. And as you well know, in this media environment that we’re in, there’s no longer really a local newspaper, right. And, well.

David Martin: That leads me to my next question. Where do you get your news from?

Curt Skoog: Yeah, well, I am a C-Span. Okay. YouTube, podcast addict dies. So, I listen to all different, conversations from the left, the right in the middle. Okay. And experts about, and that’s where I, I think it’s important that the mayor understands all point of views out there in the community.

David Martin: Who’s your political hero? Who inspires you to run for or guess, the city council in the first place? And you know, mayor now.

Curt Skoog: Yeah. You know, I’d have to say Bob Dole. Right. So Bob Dole is from Kansas? Yes, he is right. He was our senator forever. I grew up working on his campaigns with my parents.

David Martin: Okay.

Curt Skoog: And,

David Martin: You might be the first person that said answer that question that said Bob Dole.

Curt Skoog: Well, you know, I’m a good chance. I guess, and so, you know, Bob Dole lived a career of, moderation and, and served, the residents of Kansas well, for a long time in the state of Kansas was better for his service. And, growing up watching how he interacted with people and how he brought his, Russell, Kansas roots.

Right. Small town Kansas to the national limelight and and continued that his whole career. So.

David Martin: Okay. Bob Dole good. When you were growing up, were you president of, your your student council, did you aspire to someday run for office?

Curt Skoog: Yeah. You know, I,

David Martin: I’m a senator from Kansas, perhaps.

Curt Skoog: Yeah. I don’t I don’t know about that, but, so I grew up, my parents were involved in everything in Topeka, Kansas. Okay. And I was number 4 or 5 boys, so I got to go to everything. Had to go to the historical society. Right. Get the car. I’m getting in the car. And, And so I was student body president at my high school.

Yeah. And, so always was interested. And then what happened is I was on a school board. Shawnee Mission School District is one of our four great public school systems in Overland Park. Okay. I was on a, on a committee where we were looking to, reduce the number of school buildings. And we made recommendations to the superintendent.

Yes. And the superintendent accepted most, but not all. And it reminded me I’d rather be the decision maker. Okay, than the recommender. All right. And that’s, a seat opened up on the city council that year. And the public thought that I was the right guy, and here I am.

David Martin: So you did exactly what you know, you and others have advocated for. You got involved, and you saw some problem, and you said, I want to jump in.

Curt Skoog: That’s right. So that’s what I tell people who are interested in government or they’re getting involved is just raise your hands, just show up. Yeah. Right. Don’t I mean, show up and listen, if there’s a committee at the city you’re interested in or your county or your church, whatever it is, just show up and sit in the back row and and listen and watch and you’ll be surprised.

But the second meeting, if not the first, people will come over and introduce themselves. Why are you here? Because it doesn’t happen very often. Okay. All right. But just raise your hand and get involved.

David Martin: We are here in Kansas City. Kansas City is famous for its barbecue. What’s your favorite barbecue? Yeah, what do you what’s your order?

Curt Skoog: Right. So, so I’m kind of a simple person, right? So, my favorite barbecue was not at the event the other night. So, my favorite one is gates. Gates barbecue. And the reason I like it is, barbecue started out as a a, working man’s food. Right? They would take a smoker to the construction site and, it was an affordable meal, right, for workers.

And so gates is my favorite. And I just get brisket. Just a brisket. Same. It’s just a brisket sandwich.

David Martin: Is there any other cuisine that, Kansas City is famous for?

Curt Skoog: Well, we have, but.

David Martin: Listen, I’m fine with barbecue. I’m just.

Curt Skoog: Curious. Yeah. You know, steaks, of course. Right. We were, Kansas City. What? You know, we’re the second largest rail hub in the country. So logistics has always been a part of us because we were the slaughterhouse where, the Texas ranchers who were raising beef and western Kansas raising beef. They would bring them to Kansas City to be slaughtered.

And and so we were we’ve always been, meat Town. So, so, you can’t get a better steak than he can’t see.

David Martin: All right. This is the good guy for the challenge. We always like to bring it back to good government. Give me an example of a good government project. You you’ve completed or you’re. That’s going on in your town.

Curt Skoog: Well, I think the best that we’ve done recently is completing our comprehensive plan. So, the comprehensive plan is right, our roadmap for the next 20 years in the city. Okay. And it was all community driven.

David Martin: To be here for the next 20 years as mayor.

Curt Skoog: I will not, but, we, But it’s it’s a vision driven by the community, not the elected officials.

David Martin: Okay.

Curt Skoog: And the.

David Martin: Feel good participation.

Curt Skoog: Because we really great. We did. We had great participation. And, always want more. But we had great participation. And it’s, you know, the, the main themes are, high quality of life. That’s our number one priority. Okay. Economic vitality. And right now it’s housing, housing, housing, housing. We, the community said we need housing of all types in all price points.

And that’s what we’re focused on delivering in the next decade.

David Martin: Well, too bad you won’t be there to see it all the way through, but good luck and get started. Mayor Curt Skoog of Overland Park, Kansas, it was a pleasure having you on. It was great to meet you and, loving my time here in Kansas City.

Curt Skoog: Well, thanks for the conversation and, enjoy the rest of your time here. I get.

David Martin: Some barbecue.

Curt Skoog: Well, you know, yeah, there’s lots of different choices I enjoy. Enjoyed the selection.

David Martin: I certainly will, thanks very much. Yeah. The Good Government show is sponsored by our. That’s. Oh, you are for our community. Get involved. We hear that all the time from government leaders. Our co-branding with your governments name and logo, your staff and the people you serve are connected and part of your community. From any device. Your members provide reliable data and meaningful feedback.

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Not much traffic. Well, that’s certainly appealing. And they’re thinking about what will appear to residents the future. That’s good government planning, mayor. We like that. And his advice to the people of Overland Park is good advice anywhere. If you want to know what’s going on and make sure government is working effectively, go to a meeting, listen, and then raise your hand.

If we all did that, and especially the listening part, we’d all have good government, or at least better government. And by the way, I did a lot of barbecue in Kansas City. And yes, I tried a lot of brisket. Well, that’s our show. Thanks for listening. Please like us and share this with your friends and review us right here where you’re listening, and check out our website.

Good government show.com for extras. Help us keep telling stories of good government and action everywhere. Join us again for another episode right here. I’m Dave Martin and this is the Good Government show.

The Good Government show is a Valley Park production. Jim Ludow, Dave Martin, that’s me and David Snyder are the executive producers. Our show is edited and produced by Jason Stershic. Please subscribe then share and like us and reviews. That’s the best way to make sure we’re able to keep telling these stories of our government working for all of us.

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**This transcription was created using digital tools and has not been edited by a live person. We apologize for any discrepancies or errors.