Tuesday, Jan. 22 2013 4:34PM

COMMENTARY

Part of a community that cares

By Ajia Mignon

Guest columnist

As a six-year resident of Lee’s Summit, I consider myself an unofficial ambassador. I love the parks and trails, historic downtown, commitment to the arts, and variety of dining and shopping throughout the city. What brought me to Lee’s Summit was the progressive and family-oriented atmosphere that supports my lifestyle as a young professional. These are the same reasons that I accepted the appointment to the Livable Streets Advisory Board.

Some may wonder why I serve my city. I serve for the same reasons that I moved here. Lee’s Summit is an amazing and welcoming city and I would love for it to become a preferred community for young families to move to and invest in.

As we grow, strategic plans need to be put in place to outline the expansion and our elected officials and city staff do an incredible job. But the components I am most concerned about needed a champion. The advisory board I sit on is passionate about insuring all residents have equal access and opportunities to enjoy the community we share. I was concerned about how we educate residents on the opportunities our livable streets afford us all to get healthy and stay active. I needed to know that pedestrians, seniors, and bicyclists were considered in our plans moving forward.

With the recent snow, I was proud to see that the main and arterial streets of Lee’s Summit were exceptionally clean and treated well in advance. This can be credited to our city staff which works tirelessly on every resident’s behalf. I would love to better integrate livable streets to the point where each of us, as neighbors, worked to shovel our sidewalks clearing paths, to mailboxes or the store, for our non-driving neighbors.

It’s a collaborative effort that would even further set Lee’s Summit apart as we strive to create a dynamic, vital city. I serve because I care about my community.

Ajia Mignon is chairperson of the Livable Streets Advisory Board, a Mayor-appointed, volunteer board whose goals include working to make our community and our streets more “livable,” safe and accessible for all of our citizens. Mignon is an attorney and a Lee’s Summit resident.