New Administrator Starts in Kimberling City

Branson is not the only community in the Lakes Region with a new City Administrator on the job.

Last Monday, the same day that Cathy Stepp was introduced as the City Administrator in Branson, Dawne Gardner began her first day on the job in the same position in Kimberling City.

Gardner has previously worked with the Missouri Department of Transportation office in Springfield and also the City of Springfield Transportation Department before taking the Kimberling City position. 

Gardner tells the Branson Tri-Lakes News this is her first job as a City Administrator though her education and previous employment has involved managing projects that will be beneficial in this new position.

The full story from AJ Fahr of the Branson Tri-Lakes News is below:

The city of Kimberling City has filled the city administrator position, which has been empty since Jerry Harman resigned in May. 

Dawne Gardner started her first day on the job on Monday, Oct. 3. Kimberling City Mayor Bob Fritz said Gardner’s qualifications and resume made her stand out against multiple other candidates.

“She started on Monday and she was hired a few weeks ago. She has quite the resume,” Fritz told Branson Tri-Lakes News. “She has an outstanding resume and that’s why we are excited to bring her to the city. The board overwhelmingly liked her and with her background in public service, it was decided she would be the best for our city.” 

Gardner has a Masters Degree in Public Administration. She is a certified city planner with The American Institute of Certified Planners, who has years of experience in planning and project management. 

“This is actually my first job as a city administrator. It’s been a life goal. I spent my career working to get to this point,” Gardner said. “I worked for about 19 years at MoDOT in the Springfield district, where I worked a lot with federal funds, transportation, administering grants, and writing grants also. Then I went to the city of Springfield, working in their transportation planning. And again, I spent a lot of time managing projects, including capital improvement projects. I was basically the grant writer for any type of transportation project. I do have a master’s degree in public administration and my bachelor degree in public administration. I got my bachelor’s in 1990 then went back for my masters. I finished that in 2002. I then got my certification for city planning from the AICP.”

The American Institute of Certified Planners is the only nationwide organization to provide an  independent verification of planners’ qualifications. Certified planners pledge to uphold high standards of practice, ethics, and professional conduct, and to keep their skills sharp and up to date by continuously pursuing advanced professional education, according to the AICP website. Members of the AICP who become certified have gone through rigorous classes and an examination, which focuses on all areas of city planning including financial, planning and zoning, environmental, transportation, rural planning and more. 

“The certification gives a city planner or administrator more validation. I’ve gone to the level of expertise in helping city planning and zoning, environmental and so many different fields in planning,” Gardner said. “A certified planner gives you the credentials and it helps cities feel more comfortable and confident in your abilities. Having a planning background as a city administrator is the key for a successful city. It is the foundation. It gives people in communities who hire you more confidence that you are an ethical person with an understanding of the environment, the transportation, the city, the rural planning and the planning law. I take my job seriously enough, I want to be certified to make sure that people are confident in my skills.”

Gardner said she always knew she wanted to go into government and become a public servant.

“I knew from the get go in college that I wanted to work in government. I don’t know why, I was just drawn to that. I love public service,” Gardner said. “I love every job I have had. My goal in everything is to have a purpose and to make a difference. And if I’m not doing that, I’m not happy. I’ve loved every job I have had with my whole heart. And I feel that every job has prepared me for this.” 

Gardner said after finally achieving her career goal she is ready to jump in and help guide Kimberling City into the future with transparency and lots of public input. 

“The city is already in a good place. The city staff and Jerry (Harman) have set me up well. Hopefully I can take it from here and move the city where they want to be,” Gardner said. “I’m passionate about public engagement. I really feel like that if you go straight to the public and give them the information instead of them hearing bits and pieces as people start talking about things that might get misinterpreted. I really truly want to get out into the public and start meeting people. I want to do open houses and public meetings, so I can get the correct information, correct facts to the people. I think that brings in more community involvement to our community. Change is hard. But change is what keeps you a community so you don’t die out. It’s a planned change and is inevitable for growth. When people hear growth I think they get scared about what kind of changes. We’re not Branson, we don’t want to be a Branson. We want to be Kimberling City. We want to be known for our recreation, we want to be known for our friendliness. We want people to come here and enjoy the lake. We want people to come for events, like our Fireburst celebration for the Fourth of July.”

Generating revenue and providing services for residents and visitors alike are some of the areas Gardner wants to focus on first. 

“We would like to focus definitely on some additional revenue sources. I think that’s a really big need for this area being more of a residential area with a big population of people that come in on the weekends or who have second homes here. We still need to provide the services to our visitors even though our daily population is small, we still need to provide and be able to get services to a wide range of people,” Gardner said. “Creating outdoor recreational spaces are important for the future. Our Park Board has been working on a park plan for Hilltop Park and the design presented to the Board of Aldermen Monday looks incredible and I truly believe a good park in this community is going to be a destination for people. Parks bring communities together. It’s a place to gather. Even people that come in on the weekends will ask, ‘Where’s the park?’ So I think that’s going to be huge to move the city forward.”

Gardner said the city should build on its strengths, being Table Rock Lake and the outdoors living it encourages. 

“We want to have our own brand. We want to be our own city, known for our strengths,” Gardner said. “We want to build on those strengths. We have Table Rock Lake and that’s our draw, but we need a little more to go with that. The city has a comprehensive plan to do that, it is my plan to come up with strategies to get the plan in motion.”

For more information contact Kimberling City City Hall at 417-739-4903.