Pregont, Warren Present at League Conference

 In Featured News, General News, News

Two City of Atchison administrators were included in the programming during the League of Kansas Municipalities annual conference this past weekend in Overland Park.

Assistant City Manager Justin Pregont was one of three instructors during a Municipal Training Institute class on Economic Development, then teamed with the Kansas Historical Society to lead a workshop on rehabilitation of historic buildings.

Meanwhile, Director of Administrative Services Joe Warren was one of three panelists during a workshop on communicating with the media.

The MTI course on Saturday was taught by Pregont, former Atchison city manager and current League deputy director Trey Cocking, and Lenexa assistant to the city administrator Mike Nolan. The course focused on the different levels of economic development, state incentive programs and how to utilize outside sources to help spur growth in cities.

“There are many approaches to economic development,” Pregont said. “I just wanted to share the approach that we take, the success we’ve had with it so far and how cities can use the array of resources out there to help themselves.”

The Sunday workshop in conjunction with the Kansas Historical Society focused specifically on downtown revitalization and how to use historic, national, state and local programs to rehabilitate old buildings. Pregont talked about the recently completed Fox Theatre Project and the current project under construction at the 1913 Apartments – where the old YMCA was located.

Warren joined Topeka Media Relations Director Molly Hadfield and Edgerton Media Coordinator Tara Banks on a panel aimed at helping city officials be more proficient dealing with the media. Warren, Hadfield and Banks each are former media members now working in local government.

“That we had two members of our leadership team called upon to help educate government officials from throughout the state is just one example of the strength and depth of the team we have here in Atchison,” City Manager Becky Berger said. “In addition to the presenters, we had a number of staff and elected officials attending the conference, trying to improve their own skillsets and bring new ideas back to our community.”

The League of Kansas Municipalities is a statewide association that focuses on advocating on behalf of cities, providing guidance for cities and providing training and education opportunities for city staffs and elected officials. Most of the more than 600 cities in the state are members of the League.

For more information please contact Joe Warren at (913) 367-5500 or joew@cityofatchison.com.