Public commenters urge commercial development to lower taxes; commissioner criticizes city Pride proclamation and children’s library displays

During the meeting’s public-comment and administrative segments, speakers urged the county to prioritize commercial development to reduce residential property tax burdens and raised a separate concern about a municipal Pride proclamation and materials displayed in the city library.

Paul Frommer of Leavenworth (address read on the record) told the commission that Leavenworth County’s tax base is heavily weighted toward residential property and urged commissioners to “embrace and vigorously encourage commercial and industrial development” to bring jobs and help stabilize property taxes. Frommer told the board the county’s current property mix is “90% residential and only 10% commercial” and argued that concentrating on business and industrial development would ease tax pressure on homeowners. He closed his remarks by reading a Bible passage (Proverbs 6:16–19) on values.

Separately during administrative business, Commissioner Vanessa Reed told the board she was “extremely disappointed” that Leavenworth City Mayor Holly Pittman issued a Pride proclamation the prior evening. Reed said she expected elected officials to “represent the people” and questioned whether the proclamation and materials in the city’s children’s library were appropriate for young children without explicit parental permission. Other commissioners and speakers joined portions of the critique by raising concerns about content on display in the children’s department (titles referenced in discussion included items described generically as children’s books with LGBTQ-themed titles), and some commissioners suggested such materials be placed in a separate stack available only with parental discretion.

Meeting audio shows that commissioners discussed the matter in the context of public concerns; the county board did not take formal action affecting Leavenworth City policy. The comments from Reed and other speakers were framed as expressions of concern and calls for the city commission and the library board (which the city commission appoints) to reconsider how materials and proclamations are presented to the public.

The meeting record shows the public-comment segment included both the citizen appeal on economic development and the local elected official’s criticism of a neighboring municipality’s proclamation and library display decisions. No county policy change was proposed or adopted on either item during the meeting.