Say More in Raymore

Small Business Week with Economic Development Director Jordan Lea, Plus Project Updates

• City of Raymore, Missouri Government • Season 1 • Episode 3

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Melissa Harmer shares updates on some of Raymore's infrastructure projects and Raymore's Economic Development Director Jordan Lea talks about celebrating local businesses with Small Business Week and the Workforce YOU initiative – all part of the ongoing efforts to make Raymore a great place to live, work and visit.

• More than $8.8 million is being invested in large infrastructure projects throughout Raymore this year
• Sunset Lane Extension Project creating a new north-south connection through town
• Annual curb replacement program replacing almost 23,000 feet of curb and ADA ramps
• More than $2 million budgeted for the annual street preservation program 
• Raymore celebrates Small Business Week and encourages residents to try a new Raymore business this week
• The Barn, an expansion of The Quilted Cow, having ribbon cutting on May 9 at 11am
• Workforce YOU initiative addressing barriers to employment in Cass County
• Economic Development Director Jordan Lea available at jlea@raymore.com

Check out the interactive map of local businesses at raymore.com/smallbizweek to discover restaurants, shops and services in our community.


Learn more about the City of Raymore's Communications Department at www.raymore.com/communications

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Threads @CityofRaymoreMO

Melissa Harmer:

Welcome to Say More in Raymore, the City of Raymore's official podcast. I'm your host, Melissa Harmer, the Communications Director at the City of Raymore. In this series, we're giving you an insider's look at the things happening in your city government, whether it's new developments shaping the community, upcoming events or the latest news that impacts everyday life in Raymore. We'll also introduce you to the people who work behind the scenes, our dedicated city staff who make it all happen. So stay tuned, because we're here to help you get to know the people, the projects and the programs that make Raymore a great place to live, work and visit. One episode at a time. Hello, it is May 2025. And this first full week of May, may 4th through 10th, is National Small Business Week. We're also, of course, celebrating small businesses in Raymore, and we're going to talk about that with today's guest, Raymore Economic Development Director, Jordan Lea, in just a little bit. But I also wanted to mention that this first week of May is Public Service Recognition Week as well. And think about the people in public service, from local government, like right here at the City of Raymore, all the way up to federal agencies. They are the frontline workers, the police dispatchers who work in 911 call centers, firefighters, paramedics, librarians, teachers and others who work in public education and public health. They're the people who fill the potholes, people who make sure your water is safe to drink, the ones who work at the wastewater treatment plants. They're the ones who take care of our local and national parks and other public spaces. There are so many different career areas in public service, but the goal is always the same to provide programs and services that represent the best interests of the public. And, speaking of services, maintaining infrastructure is one of those major services that is vital to our residents' safety and quality of life here in Raymore.

Melissa Harmer:

I do have some updates on ongoing projects in Raymore. Right now we have more than $8.8 million going into large infrastructure projects this year. We call those capital projects, so I'll start with right now the Sunset Lane Extension Project. This is extending Sunset Lane north to East 163rd Street from where it currently ends, which is just north of 58 highway, between Price Chopper and the Compass Health building. So this will add a new north south connection through town, which is nice, and you'll also be able to see a new entrance and parking lot on hawkridge park's east side there, so you'll be able to enter Hawk Ridge park from Sunset Lane. I know they've done the asphalt overlay and I believe currently they're working on some sidewalk work, so that project is progressing nicely and that will be done at some point this summer.

Melissa Harmer:

The largest investment area of these large capital projects this year is transportation. We have the annual curb replacement program which is replacing almost 23,000 feet of curb and a few ADA ramp replacements throughout the city. This year that project includes 10 different streets and then additional areas will be added as the budget allows. We also have our annual street preservation program. This year's budget is more than $2 million. Our contract amount came in just under $1.4 million. So right now we have more than two dozen streets on this proposed plan for mill and overlay and/ or microsurfacing and we will have additional streets added as the budget allows to get as much out of that budget as possible this year. If you would like to view a map of those proposed streets for this year's project, you can find one at www. raymore. com/ public works and we will also have that in our upcoming magazine called the Review that goes out to all Raymore addresses. It should be in your mailboxes in a couple weeks, otherwise you can view it very shortly raymore. com/ communications.

Melissa Harmer:

Another one of our ongoing projects that I want to talk about briefly is our hydrant replacement project. I was asked a few weeks ago by a resident, as they were kind of reflecting on the LA wildfires and some of the challenges that happened during the process of fighting those fires. They wanted to know do we check on our fire hydrants, how do we know that they are going to work if we need them? And I was happy to say that we do. Our public works staff perform routine hydrant flushing and maintenance and through that testing they're able to determine what hydrants will need to be replaced. So each year we replace an average of 12 aging water hydrants throughout the city. That project is not happening quite yet but we will be going into that this fall. So that is something that we do look at all the time.

Melissa Harmer:

A couple of our parks projects under design right now include the Dog Park. Finalization of that and opening will be in 2026, but the work is starting now. And then we also have our Hawk Ridge Park Plaza project under design, which includes the construction of an event plaza on the east side of Hawk Ridge Park, kind of to go along with that new entrance and parking area there. So we anticipate the completion of that project in the summer of 2026. You know this was just a quick touch on some of the things that are happening right now, but I did want to share that. We have all of our 2025 capital improvement projects in our capital improvement program budget online at raymore. com/ budget, if you would like to look at that and the associated costs and kind of a description of of the reasoning for why we have those projects in there and and what the project accomplishes. So check that out at raymore. com/ budget.

Melissa Harmer:

And one more important project that is becoming closer to being a reality that is not a Raymore project but that certainly impacts us and that we've been waiting for is the I-49 widening and Route 58 interchange project from MoDOT. So there will be a public meeting later this summer that we will share with you, just as MoDOT is going to share the information with you. But we definitely want all of our residents to know and that we'll talk about. You know, currently it's under design, so they'll talk about the design. They'll talk about maybe a potential timelines of when to expect the construction to start, what will be closed, what will be open. So so stay tuned. We'll share more information about that as soon as it's available. All right, and now let's talk to our economic development director.

Melissa Harmer:

Welcome Jordan.

Jordan Lea:

It's great to be here.

Melissa Harmer:

We're so glad that you could be here today to share a little bit about yourself and what you do for the city, so why don't you start with telling us a little bit about your background and how you came to be in Raymore?

Jordan Lea:

Absolutely. I graduated from Lindenwood University in May of 2020 with a marketing and an advertising degree and from there, I worked for the city of Belton as the economic development and communication specialist and in that role I learned a lot about economic development and how to find developments that will best fit your community, that your residents want to shop at, that will help support your community. And from there I just continued to learn. And the job opened here and I applied and I'm really glad to be here.

Melissa Harmer:

And here you are. So tell me about some of the businesses that have come on in the time that you've been here over the last couple years.

Jordan Lea:

Yes, well, Nuuly in the Raymore Commerce Center was already underway and pretty much near completion by the time that I started, but I was able to help them coordinate and execute their ribbon cutting last winter, so that was really exciting to see. And it's really cool to see where they've, where they started when I was at the ribbon cutting and then where they are now.

Melissa Harmer:

And Nuuly is a women's subscription clothing rental service and they have something like I don't know 4.3 million pieces of clothes or something crazy like that, in their warehouse down at the south end of town off of I-49. So it is really exciting to have them here.

Jordan Lea:

Absolutely yes, and it's cool because we speak to quite a few people who do Nuuly and are subscribers of Nuuly, if you will, in the Kansas City area, and it's so cool to them that their Nuuly comes a lot faster now, since it's just down the street. But then also just to see that, wow, I see Raymore on my shipping label, so it's really cool, yeah, yeah, I'll just also give a quick shout out to Chick-fil-A, one of our newer businesses as well. As you can see you drive by, it always stays pretty busy and they are not having really any issues with staff turnover either, so they're still have a hundred a little over a hundred employees staffed there. So just want to do a quick shout out to Chick-fil-a and the great things they're doing in our community.

Melissa Harmer:

And I think that's a fun fact that they have more than 100 employees, because I'm sure a lot of them are part-time, but we just have a little over 100 employees at the city, so that's kind of a very interesting comparison.

Jordan Lea:

Absolutely yes.

Melissa Harmer:

It just goes to show how how busy they're staying too.

Jordan Lea:

Yes, very busy, okay. And also, as you just alluded to, this week we are celebrating small business and restaurant week and just like every week, we love to celebrate our small business community. But most specifically, this week we are highlighting all of those businesses that make our community a place for people to come and enjoy a meal together, enjoy shopping or receive services from some of our great service providers. So if you are looking to find a new business to patronize or a new realtor or a car wash you want to use, you can visit raymore. com/ smallbizweek and that's raymore. com slash small b-i-z week, and on that web page we have a very cool interactive map that filters all the businesses by category and also by the area that you're in on the map. So if you only see a select few, maybe zoom out a little bit on the map and you can see more. But it's a great way to find a new place to eat, find a new place to shop and all things like that.

Melissa Harmer:

That's wonderful. And, speaking of one of our small businesses, there is one that's reinvesting in the city that has some special things going on this week, so tell me about The Barn.

Jordan Lea:

Absolutely so. The Barn is an expansion of the Quilted Cow, which is located just around the S-curve on 58. And we are very, very excited for Courtney and her team at the Quilted Cow. She's had this vision for the barn, which is a quilting community gathering place, if you will, for the patrons at her store, a retreat space for them and also a spot for them to work on their Project Linus quilts and also a spot for them to work on their Project Linus quilts.

Jordan Lea:

And so the barn will have a ribbon cutting this Friday, may 9th, at 11 am.

Melissa Harmer:

That is exciting. And you mentioned Project Linus, which is a really cool organization where people get together and make quilts and blankets for children in need, whether they're in the hospital or in need in another way. But I think that's really great, and they I just looked it up in the Kansas City area chapter I mean they've made thousands and thousands of quilts to donate to children in need. So that's a really awesome program that they do.

Jordan Lea:

Absolutely. And, Courtney, I'm sure would tell us at the barn ribbon cutting or if you just popped in. But I know they've made hundreds of quilts even since the Quilted Cow opened less than two years ago. Yeah, yeah.

Melissa Harmer:

Not, not too. It hasn't been that long and they're already expanding. So and then, of course, this is the second location, their expansion from the original location in Branson. So it's just really exciting how fast they've grown and how much the community has welcomed them in just a short amount of time.

Jordan Lea:

Absolutely, and the second half of Small Business and Restaurant Week is our restaurants, and no matter what you're looking for, what you're craving, we probably have it here. So check out again that map at raymore. com/ smallbizweek, and on there you'll see the restaurants we have, as well as any quick serve, and I just want to note that we also have like Big Daddy's Donuts and those type of establishments as well, listed under quick serve.

Melissa Harmer:

So one of the other initiatives you've been involved with for a little over a year now is called Workforce YOU. Do you want to tell us about that?

Jordan Lea:

Yes, I would love to. Workforce YOU is a collaborative effort between local government agencies, service providers, educational institutions and community stakeholders, and Workforce YOU is really working to break down the barriers to employment by looking at four key areas child care, housing, transportation and education. And Workforce YOU has really grown due to the involvement of key partners in each area. So with child care, we are trying to make sure we have as many providers as possible. DESE is very involved with us now With the transportation group. We are heavily involved with KCATA and they're helping us with some planning. So it's really just important for us to make connections, to be able to make small changes to create a big impact.

Melissa Harmer:

And tell me where we can find more information about Workforce YOU.

Jordan Lea:

Absolutely yes. Workforceu has a pretty up-to-date LinkedIn page and on there you can also find our website that is linked. All of our events that we post are on our LinkedIn page, Any updates we have or any opportunities to become a partner, and if you ever just want to reach out via linkedin as well, that'd be great

Melissa Harmer:

Wonderful.

Melissa Harmer:

So, and this is Cass County based. Yes, it is throughout the whole county.

Jordan Lea:

Yes, it is a Cass County organization and we do often joke sometimes that there are really no borders for people. I mean, if you are in Jackson County you're not, we're not going to turn you away because you're from Jackson County and we also have great partners that are from other counties. But our main goal is to serve Cass County citizens and to help break down those barriers within our Cass County borders.

Melissa Harmer:

All right, very cool.

Melissa Harmer:

So check out Workforce YOU on LinkedIn to get more information about that. In closing, I know that we have some new businesses coming to the city and some of one of them I know of, Some of them I don't know about, but you have all the juicy information and can you share a little bit about why you don't come running to me to share everything immediately, even though we really want to know?

Jordan Lea:

Absolutely yes, and we are always very, very excited to welcome new businesses to our community, and we never want to jump the gun and announce them before they're ready for that, and so a lot of times we wait and hold off on announcing to the public who's coming or where they're going, because they're still in the decision making phase. They might be still working out their lease, figuring out funding for a building that they plan to build, making sure that they have the skilled workforce that they need in our area, and many other factors go into play to make sure that Raymore is the perfect place for them, and so we like to keep that information close so that we don't spook them or share something with the public that isn't 100% approved, so that they're not looking forward to something that may not happen.

Melissa Harmer:

So you just have to make sure all your ducks are in a row.

Jordan Lea:

A very straight row.

Melissa Harmer:

All righty, all righty. Well, is there anything else you want to tell us in closing? Or actually, how can people get in touch with you if they want to talk to you about maybe bringing their business to Raymore or if they just have general questions about economic development in Raymore?

Jordan Lea:

Absolutely, the best way to reach me would be via email and my email is jlea at raymore. c raymoorcom Even just to have a quick introduction and then we can schedule a call from there if that works for you. But also sometimes it's really easy via email to kind of share a business plan or share a lot of your thoughts or ideas or links, and then from there we can expand the discussion and have a phone call. Like I said earlier, we love to welcome any business, especially small business, that help make our community the place that people want to live and be, and so we're happy to help you try and find a space that works for you or help work through any issues you may be having. So please email me at jlea at raymore. com.

Melissa Harmer:

All right. Thank you so much for being here today, Jordan. I appreciate your time.

Jordan Lea:

Thank you for having me.