Riverside City History
Building from Scratch

Most 20th century communities could count on well-placed organizations to help support their city. Incorporated in 1951, Riverside had to build its own from scratch. Judge Dan Czamanske, now an associate circuit judge for Platte County, was the second mayor of Riverside. Like mayors before and after, he presided over a great deal of "building" that had nothing to do with brick and mortar.

During his two terms from 1972-76, he oversaw creation of Riverside's Public Safety Department and other major steps toward city improvement. The joint police/fire operation was typical of the kind of decision making early mayors and aldermen made. "It didn't make sense to have a fire chief and a police chief," he recalled. "We just didn't have the budget for that." But even then, Riverside had a lot to offer, he recalled. "This is a wonderful community."

Czamanske also served on the city's Planning Commission and was a city judge for more than five years. Other accomplishments included naming Northwest Gateway, the city's main thoroughfare.

One of his administration's biggest accomplishments may have been hiring Betty Burch as city clerk. Burch served for years as clerk then went on to serve on the Board of Aldermen and as mayor. "Betty was so good at what she did. We found that the more we used her, the more we liked her. Betty Burch was the best thing that happened to the city," Czamanske recalls.

Another key staff member was Irene Paulhe, secretary to the board. Don Witt was city attorney and Gary Hohimer was first director of the Department of Public Safety. About the same period, John West served on the planning commission, including service as its first chairman in 1972. He also served as an Alderman, but his term on the planning commission may have been the most dramatic. "We wrote the first zoning ordinance," he recalled. "We basically modified Kansas City's. That gave us a start." Early city work was "exciting" in many ways. "We prepared the first city budget," West recalled. "The city had never had a budget. According to state law you can't operate a city without a budget! " West went on to serve five successive terms on the Board of Aldermen without opposition. He said the early city leaders were a unique group. "Most were small businessmen and we tried to run the city like a business," he recalled. "We didn't have an unlimited source of funds. I was finance chairman and they had created a $200,000 reserve as a passbook savings account!"

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