BonnerSprings.com

Photo by Nicole Kelley

Tom Cooley, chair of the Mid-America Regional Council Board of Directors, claps for a group of people honored at a MARC meeting Tuesday, March 3. Cooley, a Bonner Springs resident, was recently named chair of the board.

It’s been a couple months, and Bonner Springs resident Tom Cooley is fitting in nicely to his new position as chair of the Mid-America Regional Council Board of Directors.

The District 7 Commissioner of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kan., had been the first vice chair for the last two years before being nominated for the new position of chair.

“I’m very proud of it,” Cooley said. “I’ve been associated with MARC a number of decades.”

Cooley, who moved to Bonner Springs in 1975 and served as city manger until 1998, first got involved through an organization called Metro Plan. When MARC was formed, Cooley said he was well versed in the topic. It wasn’t until April 2000 that he joined the board of directors, however.

For the new position of chair, Cooley said he was looking forward to continuing his work of uniting area cities and counties toward their common goals.

“The beauty of MARC is it allows us the opportunity to share issues,” he said. “I’m looking forward to continuing an arena for dialogue and coordination for various issues.”

One of those most recent issues for MARC has been the stimulus package, which must be allocated out to various cities for certain projects. Cooley said the board’s work on that subject was a great demonstration of MARC’s ability to bring entities together.

“One of the things MARC has done a lot of is to bring city and council administrations together to create an effective government,” Cooley said. “(MARC) allows us to have one voice. There is a tremendous amount of sharing and support, and that’s what I think the number one goal and the number one mission is: to continue effective government.”

Comments