City of Joplin, Missouri

????We’re Working on Wellness??? ? At the City of Joplin, we care about the wellness of our team. Our municipal government is full of hard-working, dedicated public servants. We need to take care of the folks who take care of our community! ? So you can understand why we are so thrilled to announce the City of Joplin has achieved a prestigious Gold Level Award from the Worksite Wellness Program!???? ? This award reflects our dedication to promoting the overall health and well-being of our employees through various wellness challenges, stress-relief tools, healthy food options, mental health resources, and more. ? Megan Saba, our passionate Wellness Coordinator, is the driving force behind this success. She highlights the importance of fostering a healthy work environment.? ? "If employees feel encouraged to care about their mental and physical well-being, they’ll have better productivity and be more engaged at work. They won’t have to miss as many days because their mental and physical health will be better—that’s the goal," Megan says.???? ? ???Megan has brought fresh energy and new initiatives like park scavenger hunts and Olympic-style games, with participation levels continuing to rise! The wellness program is not only improving employees' physical and mental well-being but also boosting morale and productivity. The Wellness Works Committee, with staff from various city departments, also plays a huge role in these wellness programs, such as our annual employee Health Fair! ? We're excited for what's next—especially as Megan and the Wellness Works Committee look ahead to the Platinum Award in 2025! ? Stay tuned for more wellness events and initiatives!???

Attention Joplin residents! If you haven't done so already, please take 5 minutes to complete this survey, which will help us improve our website. We want to make JoplinMo.org more user-friendly, so we need to understand your frustrations with it. Thank you so much for your participation. https://lnkd.in/g4qrrqEU

We’ve heard you. We know our website needs work. We want to improve Joplinmo.org, and we need your help! In order to provide a city government website that is user-friendly and works for everyone, we need your input on this 10-minute survey. No matter how often you use our City website, we want your ideas for how we could improve it. Please be detailed and specific. This survey is just the beginning of our research phase for a major redesign of the City website. There will be more opportunities to provide feedback throughout the process. Thank you for your participation. https://lnkd.in/gjqEfP8V

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Developer Proposes Largest Mixed-Use Development in Joplin Since the 2011 Tornado. Property developer Woodsonia Real Estate Inc. is proposing an approximately $375 million mixed-use development located east of Rangeline Road and south of 20th Street. If built, it would be the largest such project in the city of Joplin since the 2011 tornado or even since the opening of the Northpark Mall in 1972. “The City of Joplin has seen an enormous amount of development over the last 13-plus years, and we thank so many partners, philanthropists, businesses, and developers who have helped our community rebuild,” says City Manager Nick Edwards, “But this development could further accelerate future growth and the opportunities that contribute towards a thriving community.” The project, Prospect Village, will redevelop over 78 acres to include a large indoor and outdoor sports complex, parkland, and a trail with water features, anchor retail space (ideal for a grocery store), 350 units of multi-family housing, hotels, and additional retail spaces. The project is located on the former site of the International Paper Company, land which has been unused for decades. The property presents various barriers to development which Woodsonia is willing to invest to overcome. Those barriers include an existing regulated floodplain and floodway that covers a majority of the property, a high-pressure gas main that runs through the site, a Waters of the U.S. assessment which found the site has 1.9 acres of wetlands and intermittent stream (which will likely require special permitting through the Corps of Engineers before work can begin), and the site’s status as an EPA Super Fund Clean Up Site since 1990 due to prior uses for mining, solid waste landfill and other environmental conditions requiring clean-up and other remediation before construction subject to Missouri Department of Natural Resources approval. Overcoming these barriers would also require commitment by the City of Joplin and the support of surrounding commercial property owners. Woodsonia, based in Omaha, Nebraska, has a successful history of developing projects in Joplin, including the recent 32nd Street Place development, which also utilized Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and a Community Improvement District (CID) to transform a previously blighted area of the city into a vibrant mixed-use development bringing new retail, housing, entertainment, jobs, and recreation. Similar TIF and CID financing are proposed for Prospect Village as a way to achieve those same goals. “This property has been very unattractive to developers for a long time due to all the complicating factors this land faces,” says City Manager Nick Edwards. “We are thrilled that Woodsonia is looking at this property and willing to go through extraordinary effort to polish this diamond in the rough. This may be the only chance this property gets to be renovated into something that could greatly benefit our community.”

Thanks to the Joplin team for giving me this opportunity to serve the community alongside you. I hope to help strengthen and expand proactive communications and transparency, help build public trust, foster constructive dialogues, and shine a light on the good work being done by the dedicated public servants across the City!

We recently created a new five-person communications and marketing team for the city! This team will be vital and help tell our stories and share information with the community. The Webmaster will be an essential member of the team helping ensure that both internal systems are seamless and organized, and our public facing website and citizen interfaces are modern, attractive, and functional. Check it out. This is an opportunity to be part of a creative team building a program from the ground up.

An interesting presentation shared by our Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce and team at this week’s City Council work session identified a strong future for Joplin and the region as we merge the area’s medical assets with our higher education resources for future economic growth. From 2017 through 2021, the health and biomedical industry in the seven-county region grew by 21%, rapidly outpacing the U.S. growth rate of 5.2%. The higher education sector is also emerging as a regional strength with a complete continuity of educational options. The higher education sector grew employment by 1.3% in the Joplin region from 2017-2021, bucking national trends as the U.S. average saw a 4.5% decline across the sector. Creating research and development, innovation, and business development opportunities based on pre-existing and evolving healthcare and higher education assets here is part of the strategies outlined in the TEConomy report. The Joplin megaregion’s future is looking brighter. Review the report at https://lnkd.in/giSVrZd6

The Joplin Outlaws held a press conference today to announce the transition of new ownership of the baseball team. The Outlaws will move out of the Mink League and into the Mid America League. This league includes a 68-game schedule which will offer fans 12 more home games compared to the prior league. Games are held at our very own historic Joe Becker Stadium and we are excited for this huge step. Play ball!

Such an exciting time with so many new developments and major projects underway! Just announced today is the new B&B Theatres luxury entertainment center in the 32nd Street Place development. The theater is part of the Woodsonia Real Estate Inc. development southeast of Range Line Road and 32nd Street in Joplin. In addition to the theater, the 70-acre mixed use site includes a massive Menards home improvement and building supply store, and a new 250-unit multi-family apartment complex. This area will be a major enhancement in the south Joplin area adjacent to the hotel district and our Range Line commercial corridor just off of I-44.? Stay tuned!