Both Tonganoxie Police Chief Greg Lawson and Fire Chief John Zimbelman have made a commitment to having each of their public safety be forward facing to the community and to be as fiscally responsible and accessible as possible. To that end, the Tonganoxie Fire Department (TFD) has been diligent in the pursuit of grants to offset taxpayer burden. In 2025, TFD was awarded a FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant in the amount of $169,272 for the purchase of new Air-Pak equipment; due to a Federal Government closure and delay in funds, we were able to make that purchase this year. Additionally, this year TFD was awarded a $5,000 grant from the Henri Masonic Lodge presented to the TFD for the purchase of smoke detectors. The fire dept will install these free of charge for qualified residents. The Tonganoxie Police Department (TPD), continues the focus on community based policing, and participates in and has attended numerous community outreach activities. Specifically, TPD promotes participation on the Crime Stoppers program sponsored by the Kansas City Crime Commission, and the “P3 Tip” program geared for high school and middle school students. TPD also invited the public to participate and use the Multiple Interactive Learning Objectives (MILO) program, which is the interactive tool used for training for de-escalation tactics in deadly force encounters. Locally, TPD continues to work with the County Counselor’s Office to increase the safety of our citizens. Tonganoxie continues trend as a leader in Community Safety
TPD Officer Jones and Detective Taylor had the opportunity to stop by and support some amazing young entrepreneurs!
Firefighter Alexis McNeill accepts a check for $5,000 from the Henri Masonic Lodge presented to the TFD for the purchase of smoke detectors. The fire dept will install these free of charge for qualified residents.
Main Street mill and overlay project In June 2026, City staff prepared a RFP for a street maintenance project for Main Street, from US 24/40 to 4 St, for a mill and overlay. Mill and overlay is a structural rehabilitation process that grinds off 1.5 to 2 inches of damaged asphalt and replaces it with hot-mix asphalt. The City was glad to receive three bids for the project, and advanced a contract with Little Joe’s, the low bid in the amount of $148,351. We were fortunate to coordinate that work to be completed while USD 464 was not in session. th As the work was being performed, we received questions and feedback about previous Main Street maintenance work. To clarify, in 2021, the City contracted for micro-surfacing work in many locations throughout the city, including this stretch of Main St. Micro-surfacing is a thin, preventive maintenance slurry applied as a 1/4-inch wearing coat to seal good roads. This process extends the life of the asphalt, and costs about 25% of what a similar mill and overlay project costs. In this case for Main St, this cost saving measure allowed for 5 years of extended use without incurring the cost of a mill and overlay project.
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