info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

City of Gardner pays for sod, 3-phase extension at golf course

info2019-05-20T10:10:20-05:00May 20th, 2019|

The Gardner City Council awarded an $120,000 contract to Topeka Sod Farm to perform fairway rehabilitation work at Gardner Golf Course during a meeting May 7. The approval was part of the city’s consent agenda. According to Jason Bruce, parks and recreation director, the city is contractually obligated to finance goods and materials for turf reseeding on the golf course greens, tee boxes and fescue seeding. The city is also responsible for the cost of enlarging, dredging and digging a wet well in the irrigation pond at the course. In a 2018 agreement between the city and GreatLIFE, the operators of [...]

Cut in funding means cuts to Newton Chamber

info2019-05-20T10:06:21-05:00May 20th, 2019|

For the past several budget cycles, Newton City commissioners have been openly questioning funding outside agencies like Health Ministries, the Grand Central senior center and the Chamber of Commerce. And that has Chamber director Pam Stevens concerned. “I know that the next couple of years will be tight, and it will be hard to keep that funding,” Stevens told The Kansan on Thursday afternoon. The Chamber office is running with her and two part-time staff. A full-time position is sitting open and Stevens is not sure about filling it. At one time the chamber operated with a director and three full [...]

Repeal of pit bull ban on Monday night’s UG committee agenda

info2019-05-20T10:01:50-05:00May 20th, 2019|

The repeal of the ban on pit bull dogs in Kansas City, Kansas, is on the agenda for the 5 p.m. Monday, May 20, Unified Government Public Works and Safety Committee meeting. According to the agenda, the ordinance repealing the pit bull ban is sponsored by Commissioners Melissa Bynum and Jane Philbrook. Currently, anyone with a pit bull in the city could be fined $300 to $1,000, and could be sentenced to as much as 90 days in jail, according to the ordinance now in effect. Kansas City, Kansas, put a pit bull ban into effect in 1988. At the last [...]

Municipal ID would make Wyandotte County residents count in 2020 census

info2019-05-20T09:59:59-05:00May 20th, 2019|

The 2020 U.S. Census offers the best argument yet for a Wyandotte County municipal ID ordinance. A higher, more accurate count of our community means more federal resources, since the government apportions those resources according to population. A municipal ID would help identify people whom the count likely would miss, such as the elderly, immigrants and the homeless, among others. We have so much to gain by doing the appropriate thing, and so much to lose if we don’t. A municipal ID card is a form of photo identification issued by a city or county government. It can be used to [...]

Drop in Topeka sales tax revenue could lead to tax hike proposal

info2019-05-20T09:57:05-05:00May 20th, 2019|

Topeka’s sales tax revenues are decreasing, and city officials consequently might consider raising property taxes. After five straight years in which Topeka’s city manager proposed an annual budget that would keep the city’s property tax levy the same, city manager Brent Trout said Friday he might suggest an increase next month in his proposed budget for 2020. “The budget numbers are not complete enough to determine if a mill levy increase will be requested,” Trout said. “It is still a possibility the proposed budget could include a mill levy increase at this stage in the process.” The mayor and council learned [...]

Hospital debt rating improves refinancing for South Central Kansas Medical Center in Ark City

info2019-05-20T09:55:30-05:00May 20th, 2019|

City of Arkansas City officials were notified Wednesday by S&P Global Ratings that the Ark City Public Building Commission’s refunding revenue bonds, Series 2019, estimated at $19.035 million, will be assigned a bond rating of “A,” with a stable outlook. The Public Building Commission (PBC), which is composed of the five city commissioners and four other members of the public, is the entity that issued the debt service for South Central Kansas Medical Center’s new facility, which opened in March 2011 in the Patterson Park Subdivision. The original $23.205 million in hospital financing was secured by an unconditional lease payment from [...]

City may renew contract with Parsons Pet Hospital

info2019-05-20T09:52:25-05:00May 20th, 2019|

An arrangement with a local veterinarian to operate a dog pound for the city of Parsons has proved to be successful enough to renew the agreement. The Parsons City Commission will consider authorizing a new contract with Eva Dudek’s Parsons Pet Hospital, 5021 Main St., during a regular meeting Monday evening. The original agreement approved last year has expired, but the vet clinic continues taking in stray animals at the same price, $15 a day for dogs and $10 a day for cats. The euthanization fee is $40 per dog and $20 per cat. During a Thursday work session, Ross Albertini, [...]

Area resident catches tornado on video Friday

info2019-05-20T09:51:11-05:00May 20th, 2019|

As strong storms rolled across the state Friday night one area resident captured video of a tornado on the ground near Dodge City on Highway 54 between Bucklin and Minneola. (Read more: Hays Post)

Wichita police raising money for new Clydesdale horse for mounted unit

info2019-05-20T07:07:55-05:00May 20th, 2019|

With the retirement of one Wichita police horse and the impending retirement of a second, the department wants to add a new horse to the mounted unit — a Clydesdale. “This is a need that needs to be fulfilled now,” said Becca Boldra, executive director of the Wichita Police Foundation. Boldra said the department doesn’t have money in its budget to buy a new horse, so the police foundation has organized a Horse for Heroes campaign to raise $20,000 for the Clydesdale and tack. The foundation has already found a horse that meets the department’s basic requirements, though it would go [...]

Paola City Council modifies food truck ordinance after residents speak out

info2019-05-20T07:06:33-05:00May 20th, 2019|

Paola City Council members recently approved an ordinance regulating food trucks, but not before modifying it after listening to multiple food truck operators voice their opinions. It was a packed house during the May 14 council meeting at the Paola Justice Center, with many of those in attendance wanting to comment on a proposed ordinance regulating the operation of food trucks. The ordinance offers the city’s Parking Lot No. 1 off the northwest corner of Park Square as a public location that food trucks could set up at on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. This would be in addition to private property, [...]

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