Tonganoxie’s reputation as a sleepy farm community is changing as it becomes a suburb of the surrounding cities, with an appeal not only to young families wishing to escape the cities, but also to businesses and industries looking for better locations.

The question Tonganoxie must deal with is how it wants to define itself in the future.

Is Tonganoxie a small town about to lose its identity to encroaching suburbia? Can we retain our center, attract our own growth and then control that growth to maintain those qualities that make the city so appealing? We know our city council members, city planners, city staff and residents actively involved in committees and growth will play a large role in answering these many questions.

What they all boil down to are these things. What do we like best about Tonganoxie? How do we keep those qualities, pay for the necessary infrastructure to keep those qualities and our city alive, and avoid the mistakes other overridden suburbs have made?

We can’t have it all, and trade-offs must be made. Making those trade-offs reasonably and with control are the answers.