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Herington’s City Manager will become the new City of Ottawa City Manager. The city commission, in a unanimous vote Wednesday, selected Thatcher Moddie from an initial group of 40 candidates to replace Brian Silcott. He will start working for the city next month. “I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to serve the community as city manager,” Moddie said. “I appreciate the city commission and staff for trusting in me to help lead this organization. My family and I are excited to call Ottawa home. I look forward to engaging with citizens and working with staff and the governing body to [...]

City Commissioners were impressed with the low-income housing options at the February 7th Commission Retreat in Lawrence. Mayor Mason Ruder, Vice Mayor Alaina Cunningham and fellow Commissioners Shaun Musil and David Vilaysing all used their personal time last week to comment on the retreat’s focus and speakers. Read more: Hays Daily News

A Kansas House committee offered bipartisan support for legislation authorizing a protest-petition option for taxpayers eager to block city or county property tax increases that pushed revenue more than 3% above the previous year’s total. A key amendment approved Monday by the House Taxation Committee deleted from House Bill 2745 provisions for relying on special public votes — an idea sharply opposed by cities — to resolve objections to property tax growth above the threshold. In the bill sent to the full House, the election option was replaced by a protest-petition process for contesting property tax revenue growth over the artificial [...]

It’s time to bite the bullet and address the city’s outdated water and wastewater plants, Chanute City Manager Todd Newman told Chanute Commissioners last week.  “We have no choice. We’re lucky they’re still standing,” The Chanute Tribune reported Newman saying.  The projects have been delayed since 2010, Newman told commissioners. By now the wastewater plant no longer meets regulatory requirements. Estimated costs are $26 million for water plant improvements and $36 million for wastewater upgrades, The Tribune reported. Read more: The Iola Register

A Kansas property owner wants to impose a restriction across the entire state because of one city’s rules. Stan Weber, CEO and president of Tower Properties, was one of several housing industry professionals who pushed for twin pieces of legislation Feb. 5 during back-to-back hearings, which centered on whether landlords should be required to accept federal rental assistance payments. House Bill 2504 and Senate Bill 391 seek to overturn a city of Lawrence ordinance that outlawed the practice of turning away renters solely based on their source of income, which allows people participating in federal rental assistance programs to be equally [...]

Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland today announced the launch of two new grant opportunities through the Kansas Community Empowerment (KCE) program. KCE, which is housed within the Quality Places Division at the Department of Commerce, supports locally driven projects that strengthen quality of place, volunteer engagement and long-term community vibrancy across Kansas. Applications for the KCE Kickstart Grant and Impact Grant are now being accepted. For the first round of funding, the Kickstart Grant will have $40,000 available and the Impact Grant will have $30,000. “While we bring opportunities and prosperity to all parts of our state, these [...]

By many measures, one could argue the Kelly-Toland years have been the biggest economic boon the state has ever seen. Pick any measure…$30 billion of private sector investment (most per capita in nation), almost 80,000 new or retained jobs that pay 7.7% more than the average private sector wage in Kansas, highest ever Kansas exports, four consecutive Golden Shovel awards, a recent $3 billion budget surplus, or the coup de grace…securing the biggest economic win in state history, luring the Chiefs from Missouri. Just don’t pick population growth. At least on its face. Read more: www.ctnewsonline.com

The city of Shawnee will increase its transient guest tax ahead of the World Cup and the expected boost in tourism this summer. Shawnee’s increase takes effect on April 1, raising the city’s transient guest tax from 8% to 9%. The tax applies to hotel rooms and short-term rentals. “So on an annual basis, the transient guest tax develops about $950,000 for the city in total. We expect this additional 1% over the course of a full year to bring in an additional $100,000 for the City of Shawnee,” said Doug Donahoo, the Communications Director for the city of Shawnee. Shawnee [...]

Southwest Kansas might take a big step toward water conservation in ways previously thought to be impossible. Groundwater Management District 3, headquartered in Garden City, is looking for feedback from local farmers on its plan to use less water for crop irrigation in the region. A discussion on proposed water cuts recently attracted farmers from counties across the southwest part of the state, who filled a small community building. Trevor Ahring, civil engineer for the district, told the sea of Kansas State University baseball caps and flannel shirts the details of the plan – all with the objective of easing the [...]

Near Ashland, along the state line south of Dodge City, flames and heavy smoke pushed closer to town. For one small business owner, it meant abandoning her dream home and storefront. Just after 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Tammy Lawrence took a video of the smoky sky and texted her husband, “Do we need to start packing?” At first, they decided to stay put, but then Ashland Hospital began evacuating patients, the school cleared out, and the fire jumped Highway 283. Soon after, Highway 160 and the main road out of Ashland were shut down. Read more: KSN-TV