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Governor Kelly Announces More than $10M to Build Community Multi-Purpose Facilities, Expand Access to Child Care

Governor Laura Kelly and the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund today announced the first round of Capital Projects Fund Accelerator (CPF Accelerator) awards, which will go to three Kansas communities to build or renovate multi-purpose community facilities. These facilities will create 313 new licensed child care slots; provide access to high-speed internet; and house programs that facilitate work, education, and health care monitoring. “Kansas parents need safe, affordable child care so they can join the workforce without worrying how they’ll make ends meet,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “That’s why we’re investing in these community centers, which will offer more options for child care along with providing essential health, educational, and technological services.” The CPF Accelerator Request for Proposals remains open for a second round of submissions through December 18, 2023. Approximately $28 million remains available to continue supporting the expansion of multi-purpose community facilities that meet all program criteria. Combined with the Child Care Capacity Accelerator Grant programs previously announced this year, the Kelly administration is on track to infuse more than $94 million towards expanding access to child care for working families.
Source: Governor of the State of Kansas

info2023-11-10T12:26:59-06:00November 10, 2023|News|

In Garden City, 20-year-old son of Vietnamese immigrants wins city commission seat

Tom Nguyen wanted to run for office after his parents, both Vietnamese immigrants, became U.S. citizens in March. “What’s more American than to run for public office?” Nguyen said. Nguyen, 20, won a seat on the Garden City city commission according to unofficial results Tuesday from the Finney County Clerk’s Office. Nguyen secured his seat with 1,682 total votes, more than any other of the five candidates who were up for three open seats. “My heart is so full of all of the love that has been offered to me by our community,” Nguyen said. “My win has plowed the ground for the younger generation to see how important and invaluable their young voices are.”
Source: KAKE – News

info2023-11-08T10:37:11-06:00November 8, 2023|News|

Voters decide on sales tax issues across Kansas

Voters decided on sale tax issues across Kansas. Derby increases its sales tax by 1%, with 55% percent of voters approving it. The new tax will bring in $5 million a year for roads, parks, new police cars and fire equipment. In Fowler, voters approved a one-cent sales tax. Most of the money goes to the school district for art and music teachers. The rest will pay off debt and lower property taxes. Conway Springs voters gave approval to a 2% hike. The money will be used to fix roads. Plains in Meade County rejected a half-cent sales tax that would have been used to repay a $500,000 loan the city received to open a grocery store in 2021.
Source: KSN-TV

info2023-11-08T10:36:36-06:00November 8, 2023|News|

Solar developers are flocking to Kansas. But many communities are skeptical of their proposals.

About 10 miles north of El Dorado on U.S. Highway 77, a break appears in the rolling cattle ranches and farmland of the Flint hills. It’s a different sort of farm – a solar farm. It supplies electricity to several small towns throughout Lincoln Township in Butler County. “We’re not anti-solar,” said Terry Lowmaster, a trustee of the township, which gets some of this electricity. “We have a one megawatt here in our backyard that benefits our local residents.” At the same time, he and other local residents protested earlier this year when a Chicago-based developer applied for a permit to build a new solar farm – a $550 million dollar, 3,500-acre project. His reasoning for his opposition to one, and not the other? The existing solar farm is just 12 acres. Plus, it’s run by a local rural electric cooperative. “They have an office downtown. The employees live in the area. Their kids go to school with our kids, our grandkids,” Lowmaster said. “It’s home, you know? It’s a community, and they’re part of it.”… Lowmaster doesn’t see why he should trust solar corporations from out-of-town. He wondered how they could be held accountable on certain promises, like the number of jobs the project is meant to create or training for local firefighters. “They swoop in, they develop, they sell, and they’re gone,” Lowmaster said.
Source: KCUR News

info2023-11-08T10:35:24-06:00November 8, 2023|News|

Kansas Attorney General Opinion 2023-11: Submission of Land Surveys

Synopsis: A register of deeds cannot require a submitting land surveyor to certify that a survey complies with all zoning ordinances and regulations.
Source: Kansas Attorney General Opinions

info2023-11-08T10:34:07-06:00November 8, 2023|News|

Derby votes to approve a higher sales tax

Derby voters approved a sales tax increase expected to generate around $4 million to $5 million annually with the aim of alleviating property taxes while supporting public safety, streets, sidewalks, parks and trails. The tax increase was approved by 55% of voters, according to Sedgwick County unofficial election results Tuesday night. The “1% Derby Difference sales tax” will replace the current half percent sales tax that expires on Dec. 31, 2024, according to the city’s website. The new 1% sales tax would start on Jan. 1, 2025 and run through Dec. 31, 2034. Derby’s overall sales tax rate now is 8%, with most of that going to the state. The increase will push Derby’s overall sales tax rate to 8.5% in 2025. “I’m excited for the City of Derby, I can’t help it,” Derby Mayor Randy White said in a phone call after the vote. “I’m excited that the citizens can see what good things we can do with this 1% sales tax.” In a survey earlier this year, a majority of Derby residents said they prefer sales tax over property taxes. Sales tax dollars would go to public safety equipment, capital improvements and maintenance, and improvements to streets, sidewalks, parks and trails.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle

info2023-11-08T10:23:32-06:00November 8, 2023|News|

Leawood sends funds to Israeli sister city amid ongoing war

The city of Leawood has stepped in to help Israelis during the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. The Leawood City Council on Monday approved a $25,000 donation to its sister city, the Gezer Region of Israel. The donation goes to the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, which will send the funds directly to humanitarian efforts in Gezer. The Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City has already raised roughly $2.6 million for Israel through its own efforts, according to representatives from the organization. Leawood and Gezer officially became sister cities in September 2003, after Leawood city representatives visited Gezer in 2002. In 2009, the city of Leawood built and dedicated Gezer Park at 133rd Street and Mission Road to its sister city, and the 10-acre park also features two public art pieces in tribute to Gezer. Gezer is one of two sister cities to Leawood — the other city being I-Lan, Taiwan. The $25,000 comes out of the city’s annual budget for both sister cities, Gezer and I-Lan.
Source: Prairie Village Post

info2023-11-08T10:12:12-06:00November 8, 2023|News|

Stop Rezoning-backed candidates win four seats on Prairie Village City Council

In some of Johnson County’s most-watched general election races this year, Prairie Village candidates backed by the Stop Rezoning group won four city council seats. A fifth Stop Rezoning-backed candidate remains in a close contest and will need to wait until provisional and mail-in ballots are counted for a final result. This year, the Prairie Village City Council election was in the spotlight as the 11 candidates vying for six seats were split on the hotly contested housing discussion, which has divided the city for more than a year. More than half of the candidates were supported by Stop Rezoning Prairie Village, the group of residents who banded together last year in opposition to the city’s ad hoc housing recommendations.
Source: Prairie Village Post

info2023-11-08T10:24:18-06:00November 8, 2023|News|

Darth Blader? Wichita has named its winter snow plows and you can track their progress

The weather may not feel like winter quite yet, but the first snow of the season could come sooner than you think. In preparation for slushy streets, the city of Wichita held a news conference Monday to discuss its plan for inclement winter weather and highlight some changes for the coming season. When the city experiences inclement weather that requires snow plows, it prioritizes the first 1,500 emergency routes and emergency facilities, major arteries, hospitals and schools. Wichita has 148 hired snow plow drivers to respond to roadway conditions, officials said. The city does not maintain state highways, like Kellogg and Interstate 135. It also doesn’t plow residential streets, and the city does not maintain a means for residents to request plow services. … community members can track where the snow plows are working at wichita.gov/snowremoval.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle

info2023-11-08T10:25:08-06:00November 8, 2023|News|

KwiKom cuts ribbon for $1 million fiber internet project in Paola

A recent ribbon-cutting event marked the completion of KwiKom Communications’ installation of 23 miles of new fiber optic infrastructure that will offer high-speed internet to residents and businesses in northern Paola. The project was made possible by a grant that KwiKom and the city of Paola received in May of 2022 from the Kansas Office of Broadband Development Acceleration Grant program. The 50-50 state grant allowed for up to a 50 percent co-investment of the matching funding, and KwiKom asked the city of Paola for a co-investment commitment of $250,000, which is 25 percent of the project’s nearly $1 million total. KwiKom’s plan was to deliver scalable, 10 gigabit capable fiber to more than 500 homes and businesses within the northern city limits north of Baptiste Drive and around Lake Miola, and the Oct. 30 ribbon-cutting marked the completion of that task. The ribbon-cutting took place in Paola’s Industrial Park, which is where discussions first began about the project.
Source: Local News | republic-online.com

info2023-11-08T10:07:55-06:00November 8, 2023|News|

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Governor Kelly Announces More than $10M to Build Community Multi-Purpose Facilities, Expand Access to Child Care

In Garden City, 20-year-old son of Vietnamese immigrants wins city commission seat

Voters decide on sales tax issues across Kansas

Solar developers are flocking to Kansas. But many communities are skeptical of their proposals.

Kansas Attorney General Opinion 2023-11: Submission of Land Surveys

Derby votes to approve a higher sales tax

Leawood sends funds to Israeli sister city amid ongoing war

Stop Rezoning-backed candidates win four seats on Prairie Village City Council

Darth Blader? Wichita has named its winter snow plows and you can track their progress

KwiKom cuts ribbon for $1 million fiber internet project in Paola

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