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New KCK Mayor David Alvey outlines goals for city

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When David Alvey raised his right hand on Monday he said he was ready to get to work.

Three days later, the new KCK Mayor's days have been non-stop.

"I want people to, first of all, believe the mayor's office is accessible. We are not aloof and we are engaged in solving problems," he said in a one-on-one interview with 41 Action News.

On top of his list: investing in development across the city and tackling food desserts, especially downtown.

"Well, the grocery store is one of the top priorities. It's front and center every day," he said. "I would like us to see us fund incentives to solve the problem because I'm not sure one grocery, in fact, is going to be sufficient to solve the grocery problem. We need to find a model that can be replicated."

Additionally, the new mayor is looking for ways to attract new KCK police officers and compete with area departments.

But one major task Alvey is facing is putting out a fire from the previous administration.

Last week, his predecessor Mark Holland left office on a contentious note. After presenting a report on Thursday, Holland called the city's fire department "corrupt" and accused firefighters of being paid thousands of dollars for shifts they did not work.

"I really do not want to go into it too much because anything I say at this point adds fuel to a controversy," said Alvey, who confirmed the Unified Government will continue to review the report and make changes if deemed necessary. "No department gets an exemption from having operations looked at for what can be operational efficiencies. That's what we owe to our citizens."