The City of Lee’s Summit is moving forward with the latest phase of its Ignite! Strategic Plan. Over the next four to five months, the city will lead what has been dubbed C-4 committees. C-4 stands for citizens, City Council, city administration and community partners. The C-4 committees will be comprised of groups of 25 people that will focus on the seven critical success factors identified in the strategic plan. Those critical success factors are strategic economic development, strong neighborhoods and housing choices, cultural and recreational amenities, community engagement, community health and well-being, collaborative relations with education partners and city services and infrastructure.  

Mayor Bill Baird said the C-4 Committees are yet another opportunity in what the city has been striving for throughout the entire strategic planning process – community engagement. Baird said by including a diverse group of citizens and civil servants, the city will gain new perspective and encourage collaboration.

“We’ll see some innovation. I think people are going to have innovative ideas and I’m really excited to see what some of these ideas are,” Mayor Baird said.

The strategic planning process began in January 2019. Over the course of the following nine months, the city enlisted a consulting group to moderate numerous community conversations, interpret data and identify the critical success factors that citizens deemed as priorities.

“It’s really the fruition of a whole year’s worth of work,” said Mayor Baird.

The C-4 committees will take the critical success factors to the finish line by determining strategies that can be deployed to achieve the goals set forth in the strategic plan. The Mayor and City Council were diligent in ensuring that committee members were knowledgeable about the subject they are undertaking as part of the C-4 Committee.

The Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council is represented on three committees by President & CEO Rick McDowell and Director of Business Development Tina Chace. Mayor Baird said allowing participation from community partners like the LSEDC provides an opportunity to lean on the organizations’ expertise. It also maximizes resources, helps forms relationships and gives organizations a platform to ensure the city is equipped to support their endeavors. In the end, the strategic plan will be a blueprint for the next 10 years. Mayor Baird said he hopes by engaging citizens and community leaders, they will feel connected to the process and inspired to help make Lee’s Summit stronger.