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Proposal would cut county’s road and bridge fund by nearly half to pay for jail, criminal justice projects

info2018-06-26T06:51:56-05:00June 26th, 2018|

A $1.4 million cut to the annual allocation used to improve county roads and bridges would require Douglas County Public Works to scrap some projects and reduce the scope or delay others, officials told county commissioners Monday during the first day of 2019 budget hearings. The $1.4 million cut was among the $3.12 million proposed in the 2019 budget County Administrator Craig Weinaug presented to Douglas County Commissioners last week. The money saved from the cuts is to be reallocated to pay for solutions to jail overcrowding in light of voters' rejection last month of Proposition 1 and the $44 million [...]

Douglas County’s proposed 2019 budget maintains current mill levy, provides $3M for criminal justice needs

info2018-06-26T06:50:40-05:00June 26th, 2018|

Douglas County Administrator Craig Weinaug has presented county commissioners with a proposed 2019 budget that maintains the current year’s 46.018 mill levy and identifies $3.12 million from spending cuts or reallocations to be used for criminal justice needs, including addressing overcrowding at the county jail. The $3.12 million plan doesn't call for significant cuts to social service agency funding, but rather would involve significant reductions in the amount of money the county sets aside for building and road improvements. However, some alternative recommendations Weinaug provided, which total more than the $3.12 million, would require cuts to some community partners. (Read more: [...]

Meeting involving future of Harvey county’s water source announced

info2018-06-25T07:51:52-05:00June 25th, 2018|

Area residents will have the opportunity to weigh in and ask questions about possible changes made to the entire region’s source of drinking water. That opportunity takes place at the Halstead High School Auditorium, at 7 p.m., Thursday, June 28. The City of Wichita has proposed changes allowing it to draw down the Equus Beds aquifer further than it has in the last 25 years,to depths that would possibly impact shallow domestic wells in Harvey County. The entire county draws its water from the aquifer located beneath its western half. Wichita also wants the State of Kansas to approve a new [...]

City of Atchison discusses potential local tax windfall with Supreme Court decision

info2018-06-25T07:50:31-05:00June 25th, 2018|

Governments at every level throughout the nation can be expected to lick their chops after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned this week a loophole on online retail sales tax. “The Kansas Legislature should greet this with arms wide open,” said Atchison, Kansas, City Commissioner Dave Butler. He reacted to Thursday’s news that states will be allowed to force online retailers to act as brick-and-mortar shops for sales tax purposes, even if they have no physical presence in a state. The court had previously ruled in 1992 that businesses with no such presence had no tangible connection, and so didn’t necessarily owe [...]

Kansas National Guard to haul bottled water to Norton

info2018-06-25T07:45:26-05:00June 25th, 2018|

The Kansas National Guard has been called upon to haul 26 pallets of bottled water to a northwestern Kansas town where toxic algae has compromised the water supply. The bottled water was donated by Harvesters, a community food network, in Kansas City, Missouri and Topeka, and will be delivered to Norton on Saturday afternoon. Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer declared a state of disaster emergency on Friday for the City of Norton due to harmful algae blooms in Sebelius Lake. The toxic algae is affecting the surface water intakes for the city's public water supply. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment [...]

City of Augusta discusses alternatives on splash pad project

info2018-06-25T07:44:00-05:00June 25th, 2018|

Perhaps due to feelings of frustration from the lengthy cemetery discussion or the news of snags in a construction project, tempers flared a bit near the conclusion of Monday’s meeting. Most visitors had left the meeting when City Manager Josh Shaw began discussion on the Splash Pad and drainage channel at Shryock Park. He explained that the discharge water from the Splash Pad can not be routed to the lake as planned. “No action is needed tonight, but we now have to reconsider things and take a look at the cost and how to handle this,” Shaw said. Councilor David Bates [...]

City mayor delivers Winfield’s status

info2018-06-25T07:39:57-05:00June 25th, 2018|

The City of Winfield “is in pretty good shape, but there are things we can do to make it in even better shape going forward,” Mayor Greg Thompson said Thursday at the “State of the City” address. These things include construction of the new public safety facility and new housing construction to keep up with good employment numbers, highlights of Thompson’s presentation. Around 45 people attended the event at the Winfield Area Chamber of Commerce, part of the monthly Lunch Bites series where local government and industry representatives give an update on their organization’s latest happenings. Thompson said funding public safety [...]

Land bank approved by Fort Scott city commissioners

info2018-06-25T07:38:59-05:00June 25th, 2018|

After months of discussion and consideration, Fort Scott City Commissioners on Tuesday approved creation of a tool that could be used to address the issue of dilapidated, vacant or tax-foreclosed properties. Commissioners approved an ordinance establishing a land bank and a seven-member land bank board of trustees, and also appointed a land bank manager. City officials have said the ultimate goal of a land bank is to bring these types of properties back to productive use and once again generate property taxes. Community Development Director Rhonda Dunn attended the meeting to request approval of the land bank. “This is something I [...]

Public forum in El Dorado held for plan to outsource management of youth sports programs

info2018-06-25T07:38:00-05:00June 25th, 2018|

Several citizens spoke out against a plan to outsource the management of youth sports programs currently managed by the City of El Dorado Recreation Department to the El Dorado YMCA at a public forum at the Civic Center Wednesday evening. Among the crowd were coaches, parents, concerned citizens and ElDorado Recreation and YMCA respresentives. El Dorado City Manager David Dillner said the plan was to transfer management of the youth sports programs to the El Dorado YMCA and use the resources previously allocated to Recreation Programming to upgrade the El Dorado parks and recreation facilities. The YMCA would be allowed to [...]

Bourbon County Commissioners release final numbers on jail project

info2018-06-25T07:33:39-05:00June 25th, 2018|

Now that the move into the Bourbon County Law Enforcement Center is complete, questions have been raised about the final cost of the project. During Tuesday’s Bourbon County Commission meeting, Commission Chairman Lynne Oharah shared information he has gathered from the treasurer’s office regarding the cost of the new Bourbon County Law Enforcement Center. He also shared additional information with the Tribune on Thursday. Commissioners said all figures regarding the jail and bond issues are open records and available to the public. On April 7, 2015, a bond issue was passed, which allowed Bourbon County to implement a .40 percent retail [...]

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