Although Douglas County adopted new zoning regulations last year to limit residential development in rural parts of the county, that effort did not go exactly as planned. Tonya Voigt, the county’s zoning and codes director, told the County Commission recently that new codes that were adopted in early 2020 slowed the number of residential subdivisions into land parcels of 10 acres or smaller, but vastly increased the number of divisions into 20-acre lots. She said that meant the codes didn’t create the situation the county staff had hoped for. “It has not slowed down development; it has just changed the way development is happening,” Voigt said.
Source: LJWorld.com.

The Garden City Commission declared a financial emergency at its regular meeting Tuesday. Melinda Hitz, Garden City finance director, said the cash balance of the electric fund is low, sitting around $100,000, when typically the balance is between $4 million and $5 million. There is a reserve fund that has a little over $4 million, but the operating fund is concerning, Hitz said. Mike Muirhead, Public Utilities director, said the fund is low for several reasons. First, retail and commercial sales are down approximately $1.75 million from projected utility costs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. …Declaring a financial emergency is the right step to take in this situation, Muirhead said, as if the city becomes eligible for some relief from the federal government or elsewhere, everything is in place.
Source: Garden City Telegram.

Bourbon County Commissioners on Wednesday approved a resolution that could help the city of Uniontown address issues with natural gas following a winter storm that saw an increase in gas usage. Bourbon County Emergency Manager William Wallis met with commissioners to discuss the recent storm. Later in the meeting, commissioners approved a resolution and proclamation for a State of Local Disaster Emergency. Wallis said he received a call from the Kansas Division of Emergency Management on Monday, and he learned that 22 Kansas counties would have issues with conservation of natural gas. Wallis said the city of Uniontown purchases natural gas in bulk from the Kansas Municipal Gas Agency, then sells the gas to customers. The gas is purchased during the summertime when the price is lower and city o:fficials have said the reserve is gone. “I found out in 22 other counties, the natural gas conservation and accumulation that most small towns have procured, their reserve is totally gone,” he said. Wallis said some cities purchase natural gas in bulk when the price is lower, and then sell the gas to their customers. However, due to the recent cold weather, many areas have used all of their bulk supply, and the purchase price for the gas will be much higher for those cities.
Source: Fort Scott Tribune.