Leawood is considering whether to use federal COVID-19 relief funds to pay for more pickleball courts for public use. The Leawood City Council in a Monday work session reviewed multiple city projects — including installation of new pickleball courts — for which the city wants to pay with funds earmarked for its use from the American Rescue Plan Act.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Prairie Village is now the second Johnson County city to adopt a resolution formally defining antisemitism in response to an ongoing uptick in reported instances of antisemitic hate both nationally and around the Kansas City region. Leawood is the only other Johnson County city currently with such a resolution on the books, which uses the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism as a means for guiding public response to any potential acts of hate.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Doug Gerber, a long-time municipal government administrator with Kansas roots, is Shawnee’s new city manager. Gerber, whose hiring was approved in February by an unanimous city council vote, was formally sworn in last week. His path to becoming a city manager wasn’t always a clear one. As a junior at Kansas State University, he was a chemistry major. Each day, he went to labs, and Gerber found he actually hated it. On a whim, he decided to take an introduction to public administration course, discovering a new path.
Source: Prairie Village Post
A few more Prairie Village residents could get some relief on their city property taxes. The Prairie Village City Council last week approved adding $5,000 more to its property tax rebate program fund, bringing the 2023 funding total to just over $30,000. The program, which began during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to ease the burden on the most cash-strapped property owners, reimburses eligible residents for 100% of the Prairie Village portion of their annual property tax bill.
Source: Shawnee Mission Post
The Seward County Sheriff’s office said goodbye to one of its own Friday afternoon. Capt. Rob Gant began working with the sheriff’s office in 1984, and Friday, county staff, local law enforcement, family and friends gathered in the commission chambers in the Administration Building for a reception for the long-time officer. Before Gant was given a few presents for his retirement, Sheriff Gene Ward recalled he and Gant’s early days in law enforcement.
Source: Liberal First
A community conversational at Gas offered a look at the benefits of living in the small community, with few complaints. It’s a neighborly community, residents said. There’s much to appreciate about living in Gas, a handful of residents agreed Tuesday evening. And in a refreshing look at its citizenry, few had much to complain about, either. Perhaps some residents can be a bit more diligent in keeping junk and trash out of their yard, but for the most part, residents here are polite, friendly, and clean, locals Larry and Shirley Robertson agreed.
Source: Iola Register
What comes next with the Derby Difference sales tax? That is the pressing question the Derby City Council began to tackle at its March 28 meeting, discussing potential next steps toward implementing a new city sales tax with the Derby Difference coming to an end. Following the results received from a community survey, City Manager Kiel Mangus brought forth a few items for the council to chew on at its latest meeting, including election options and rates with the new sales tax to potentially go into effect in 2025. The Derby Difference is scheduled to sunset on Dec. 31, 2024.
Source: Derby Informer | News
In an effort to more equitably spread out costs for public improvements such as streets, sewer improvements, etc. – the Derby City Council looked at and approved a new policy resolution at its March 28 meeting. Last updated in 2016, Assistant City Manager for Development Dan Squires presented the adjusted public improvement financing policy on March 28. The policy specifics financial guarantees from developers, the term of special assessment taxes (which help recover part or all of the costs of public improvements) and the cost split between the city-at-large and the developer/benefitting properties. … Squires pointed out the current policy is good at addressing routine subdivision projects (streets, water lines, etc.), but doesn’t really touch on regional infrastructure – such as lift stations and interceptor sewers. … With such hefty price tags (as construction costs continue to increase) and an eye on balancing feasible development with more affordable housing, updates in the policy included a 75/25 split for projects such as regional sewers, lift stations, bridges, etc. The larger portion would fall to city, with 25% left to be assessed to current and future developments.
Source: Derby Informer | News
Another set of Barton County Facade Improvement Grant applications were approved by the County Commission Wednesday morning as commissioners harked back on a program that has become a popular one. “We were right in the middle of COVID,” said commission Chairman Shawn Hutchinson, District 3. “The federal government decided that they wanted to give us a whole pot of money. We had to figure out how to redistribute that throughout the county.” They conceived a way to utilize some of the funds to “reinvest it into our main street business owners. “What better way to have a lasting impact on our communities than invest in those that are stepping up and trying to make a difference in our community.”
Source: Great Bend Tribune
A proposed new Hillsboro dog ordinance will be considered April 18. The ordinance would change the definition of “securing” a dog in the open bed of a truck. The proposed ordinance also would change who designates a dog to be “dangerous.” Under current ordinance, the designation is made by police, but the proposal changes that to municipal court. … An ordinance to permit chickens to be kept in town was approved. Residents to keep as many as 10 chickens on a lot of less than 15,000 square feet and one additional chicken for each additional 1,000 square feet. They would have to be kept in clean, dry, and sanitary coops.
Source: HILLSBORO Star-Journal
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