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Leawood to do away with pet licensing program — What that means for pet owners

2025-01-08T09:12:44-06:00January 8th, 2025|

The Leawood City Council may soon end the city’s standard pet licensing program, in part because the money it brings in does not cover the costs to administer it. Councilmembers, in a meeting held virtually Monday night due to Sunday’s blizzard, voted to move forward on staff’s recommendation to do away with issuing annual tags for cats and dogs. That would mirror a step that other Johnson County cities Mission and Shawnee have already taken, City Administrator Stephen Powell said. Ending the program would free the city of its administrative costs. However, pet owners would still have to identify their pets [...]

These Johnson County cities require you to shovel snowy sidewalks

2025-01-08T09:11:06-06:00January 8th, 2025|

As of Friday morning, forecasters were warning that parts of the Kansas City region, including areas of northern Johnson County, could see upwards of a foot of snow by Sunday night — an unusually high but not unprecedented amount for a single storm here. With that comes the responsibility for local homeowners to get their driveways and sidewalks adjacent to their properties cleared in a timely manner. Some Johnson County municipalities have rules about how soon you should get that done after a winter storm. Source: Johnson County Post

Developer suing Shawnee over rejected apartment plan takes plea to Kansas Supreme Court

2025-01-08T09:09:39-06:00January 8th, 2025|

On Dec. 10, the Kansas Supreme Court heard oral arguments from attorneys representing Austin Properties, a development company wanting to build the 29-acre Woodsonia West multi-family development off Kansas Highway 7, and the city of Shawnee, on whether it should overturn rulings from two lower courts. The arguments stem from a lawsuit filed by Austin Properties in 2020, alleging the city acted unreasonably and unlawfully by denying the project’s application. The suit contends that at least one councilmember, who is not named, “pre-judged” their decision by assisting neighbors with the protest petition and sharing statements on the project before the city [...]

Wichita to begin stronger enforcement of illegal camping law despite concerns from some

2025-01-08T09:07:49-06:00January 8th, 2025|

Some Wichita City Council members made a last-ditch effort Tuesday to prevent a revised ordinance for stronger enforcement against illegal camping from going into effect. The ordinance passed on its second reading along the same lines of its first vote. Council members Mike Hoheisel, Maggie Ballard and Johnson voted no. The new limits, which go into effect this month, allow for rapid removal of reported encampments by law enforcement, city workers and contractors by eliminating the need to post notices to vacate. A particular focal point will be locations that “pose health and safety concerns” such as doorways, sidewalks, areas near [...]

Kansas Attorney General Opinion 2024-8: Reclassifying cities based on a decrease in population

2025-01-07T22:11:11-06:00January 7th, 2025|

Synopsis: K.S.A. 15-101, K.S.A. 14-101, and K.S.A. 13-101 do not provide for reclassifying a city based on a decrease in population. But K.S.A. 14-901 does allow for a city of the second class to be reclassified as a city of the third class if the population falls to 1,000 or less and a majority of voters approve of the reclassification. There is no similar mechanism for reclassifying a city of the first class to a city of the second class. Source: Kansas Attorney General Opinion 2024-8

City of Wichita wants to add 80 miles of bike lanes. Here’s where

2025-01-06T10:02:17-06:00January 6th, 2025|

More than 80 miles of bikeways could be added to streets and shared-use paths in Wichita over the next 10 years, according to a draft of the city’s bike plan. Many of the paths will connect to existing bike lanes in the city. The bike paths may mean fewer car lanes on major roadways, most commonly known as a “road diet.” The draft plan also calls for connecting to bike networks outside the city, including Andover and Derby. Source: Wichita Eagle

How did Wichita, Sedgwick County use federal ARPA funds? Here are some of the projects.

2025-01-06T10:01:16-06:00January 6th, 2025|

In 2021, the city of Wichita received $72.4 million and Sedgwick County received $100.2 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds. At the time, it was a lifeline for the local governments, allowing them to continue services and to pay staff who would have otherwise been laid off for an extended period. As part of accepting the funds, local governments agreed to two deadlines: Dec. 31, 2024, to obligate all of the funds and decide where they will go, and Dec. 31, 2026, to spend the money that was allocated. The funds have to be returned if not obligated or [...]

They traded California for small-town Kansas then opened a restaurant people travel to try

2025-01-06T09:58:44-06:00January 6th, 2025|

Nearly six years ago, the Biggs family decided it was time to leave California – a move they’d been planning for awhile. All they knew when they left is that they wanted to end up in a small town. They found it in Garden Plain, a small community of just under 1,000 people that sits about 20 miles due west of Wichita. And now, just two short years after opening a restaurant on the town’s main drag, the Biggs are some of the best known people in town. Halagains opened a year ago at 501 N. Main in Garden Plain and [...]

Tenant rights educator included in $1.2M the City of Lawrence will spend on housing initiatives in 2025

2025-01-06T09:53:35-06:00January 6th, 2025|

The City of Lawrence is doling out $1.2 million from its sales tax coffers for affordable housing and housing-adjacent projects. New this year will be a community educator to help renters learn their rights. The city’s Affordable Housing Advisory Board heard presentations from organizations and developers in October. They deliberated and decided on their recommendations for projects and initiatives that they believed the city should fund in 2025, and the Lawrence City Commission approved the recommendations earlier this month. Source: The Lawrence Times

Kansas attorney general blocks school bond funds in state’s smallest county

2025-01-06T09:51:57-06:00January 6th, 2025|

The Kansas Attorney General’s Office blocked millions in school bond funds to a district in the state’s smallest county based on a rigid interpretation of a 2023 elections law. Voters in the Greeley County school district, headquartered in Tribune near the state’s westernmost edge, approved in May a $4.6 million school bond for renovations and new construction, but the Attorney General’s Office refused to approve the funds. Source: Kansas Reflector

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