Enriching the lives of our residents is at the heart of everything we do
4th Fastest Growing City in Kansas
Ranked 7th Safest City in Kansas
2022 AAA Community Traffic Safety Award: Silver Level
7th Best Place to Live in Kansas
19th Consecutive Tree City USA
Gardner is home to approximately 24,000 residents, and our goal is to offer quality-of-life amenities to address their needs. That’s why in 2022, we continued to expand leisure programs and activities for youth and adults, strategically planned steps to advance the city’s parks and trails system, and pursued implementing our first inclusive playground to create a space for children and families of all abilities. We also bolstered our police training to ensure that our officers are prepared to resolve the diverse situations they encounter on duty. And lastly, we resumed our outreach programs and initiatives provided by the Gardner Police Department to foster the relationship between community members and the police.
Jason Bruce
Parks & Recreation Director
The Parks and Recreation Department saw a record number of participants at various programs and events in 2022. In addition, the department secured funding for the city’s first-ever inclusive playground at Veterans Park. This playground will provide a place that goes beyond minimum accessibility to create experiences that meet a variety of needs and interests for children of all abilities to interact. This project is slated to be completed summer of 2023. The Parks and Recreation Department will continue to find new and fun activities to provide citizens with many options regarding their quality of life experiences.
Jay Belcher
Police Chief
In 2022, the Gardner Police Department continued its return to normal operations in the post-Covid era. We continued to improve our community engagement and outreach through our grant-funded Community Policing Officer. This includes partnering with the Gardner Chamber of Commerce to deliver gift bags to new residents and hosting two successful blood drives held at the Gardner Justice Center Community Room. The Gardner Police Department also worked in concert with our Public Works Department in education and enforcement of no truck route signage across the city. Lastly, in 2022, we addressed the financial compensation of our officers. City staff worked together to create a highly competitive pay compensation that addressed retention and recruiting. New sign-on bonuses for new hires and referral bonuses for current employees were created. With the help and support of the governing body and city administration, the compensation package was passed in November 2022. As of March 2023, every open police officer position had been filled for the first time in nearly two years.
Designed and completed landscape projects in various city parks, the Gardner Aquatic Center and City Hall
Constructed new ADA parking and access into Meadowbrook Park
Removed and recycled over 100 trees to be utilized at the Gardner Disc Golf Course
Replaced the exterior fence at the Gardner Aquatic Center to enhance safety
Completed several projects to conform to new ADA standards at the Gardner Aquatics Center
Achieved record-breaking numbers for 2022 spring soccer participants
Hosted first-ever soccer tournament in 2022
Created several new programs in 2022, including cornhole tournaments, charcuterie workshops, and dance classes
Gardner Gold Special Olympics returned from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022 and participated in several sports, activities, and special events
Dedicated Violence Against Women grant for a detective to work crimes against females
Detective appointed to Johnson County Officer Involved Shooting Team
Expanded interdepartmental training with a focus on de-escalation and active threat response
Attended Crisis Intervention Training to help better prepare officers to assist individuals struggling with mental health concerns
Expanded partnership with Johnson County Mental Health as part of their co-responder program
Did You Know?
The Justice Center public parking lot has a dedicated location for internet commerce exchange that is under video surveillance.
Join us for the best Independence Day Festival in the metro!
With food trucks, great music, activities for the whole family, and the best fireworks show in town, this is the free summer event that you don’t want to miss.