The Holden Image

Services

City of Holden provides safety, infrastructure, recreation
City services in Holden are on par with many other towns of its size, but over recent years, the council and voters of the city have been making efforts to improve services.

Over the past two years, the city has seen sales tax revenues climbing steadily as the economy grew nationwide and new stores emerged within Holden's city limits.

However, over that same time, costs associated with the city's ambulance service have also been high. To insure that other city services are funded appropriately, the city council has been forced to scale back staffing of the EMS department. There has also been discussion of developing a county-wide ambulance district to help take the burden of ambulance service off the shoulders of Holden and Warrensburg.

At present, Holden's city ambulance service takes calls throughout the western third of Johnson County, and the Warrensburg fire and rescue department takes calls EMS calls in eastern two-thirds of the county.
With hopes that ambulance service expenses will be decreased over the coming year, the city council has planned to make a number of steps to improve the quality of life within Holden.

One is to purchase equipment to begin laying hot mix asphalt, as used on larger state highways, for the city's streets. If undertaken, the Holden street department would slowly being the process of laying smoother, more durable asphalt on Holden's roads and avenues.

Another effort will be to reinstate the twice-annual city-wide clean up days. Historically, Holden has offered two opportunities each year to dispose of unwanted items for residents free of charge. City crews pick up items neighborhood by neighborhood on a set schedule during the city-wide clean up.

The city-wide clean up would compliment another service the city has implemented over the past two years: a recycling center. In conjunction with local recycling companies in rural Johnson County, the city of Holden offers a drop-off center for recyclables to area residents. The drop-off center is located at 108 N. Buffalo and is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the first Saturday of each month.

Materials accepted at the drop-off center include aluminum cans, tin cans, corrugated cardboard, plastics No. 1 and No. 2, mixed glass and mixed papers. City staff ask that all items are clean or cleaned before being dropped off.

The center was named the Heiman Recycling Drop-off Center in honor of Heiman's Home, Farm and Lumber, which operated a recycling drop-off service in Holden for several years. Construction of the facility was funded in part by a state grant.

Holden's water and sewer services are provided by O&M Enterprises, a privately-owned company contracted by the City of Holden.

In April 2000, a bond issue increasing water and sewer rates was approved to allow much-needed improvements to be made to these departments. The bond monies are currently being used to construct a new pumping station and treatment plant and to replace 11,000 square feet of sewer lines in the city. The project was started this summer and is expected to near completion in the fall of 2002.

O&M Enterprises is located at 900 South Vine St. in Holden. For questions or to have water and sewer services connected or terminated, call 816-732-4313.

Holden boasts a police department that is very involved in the community. The Holden Police Department, which currently has 8 full-time officers and 8 reserve officers, is led by Chief of Police Mike Vick and Assistant Chief of Police Rick Martin.

The department, which is available to the public 24 hours a day, includes a school resource officer and a codes enforcement officer, as well as other patrol officers. The C.O.P.S. program, designed to encourage citizens to work with the police department to decrease crime within the community, includes a neighborhood watch program.

The Holden Police Department, like the Johnson County Sheriff's Department and other police departments throughout the county, is supported in part by a quarter-cent sales tax. Proceeds of this tax are divided between the county and local police departments, and the proceeds given to Johnson County cities are based on population.

The Holden Police Department is located at 110 West Third St. If an officer is needed, Holden's 911 service may be utilized, or individuals may call 816-732-4154 for non-emergency matters.