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Johnson County allocates additional $450K for community greenspace

info2022-12-15T23:35:43-06:00December 15th, 2022|

Johnson County will now pay more to renovate greenspace outside the county courthouse. Thursday the Johnson County Board of Commissioners (BOCC) voted 4-3 to allocate an additional $450,000 to support the second phase of the Johnson County Square project. In August, the board partnered with the City of Olathe for a $2 million renovation project to upgrade the property between the Johnson County Administration building at the Johnson County District Courthouse. Johnson County Square enhancements include things like a memorial plaza, a multipurpose stage, a playground and various art installations. Source: fox4kc.com | FOX 4 - WDAF

GCCC enters into energy savings agreement

info2022-12-15T08:48:30-06:00December 15th, 2022|

Garden City Community College Board of Trustees entered into an energy savings agreement with C& C Group at its regular meeting Tuesday. ... Ryan Ruda, GCCC president, said the agreement is a no-cost study with C& C Group for them to study and evaluate options regarding the GCCC’s HVAC system to be able to “automate and enhance our HVAC system. We’re really looking at cost efficiencies and where there could be energy savings.” ... There is no upfront cost to GCCC for this project, but GCCC will pay C& C Group through energy savings a total project fee of $1,109,232 that [...]

Local bitcoin mine hits zoning speedbump

info2022-12-15T08:45:54-06:00December 15th, 2022|

The Harvey County Planning Commission denied Butler Rural Electric Cooperative’s rezoning request Dec. 6 by an 8-0 vote. The utility was seeking to rezone its property at 84th Street and East Lake Road from agriculture to utility use for Print Crypto Inc., which is a bitcoin mining operation. Planning and Zoning Director Karen Rothe said nearby residents complained about the noise, which affected their quality of life because it was no longer fun to sit outside. ... Tim Wuthrich lives 635 feet directly west of the substation. He said the noise generated was not ear-piercing to the point where he has [...]

Renovation planned for downtown Pittsburg

info2022-12-15T08:30:12-06:00December 15th, 2022|

The Pittsburg City Commission ... heard from "DVLP Redevelopment Projects," who presented them with a $4.8 million plan to renovate three downtown buildings. ... Plans call for the construction of 35-to-40 apartment projects, ranging from studio size to two bedroom. The residential units will be located in the upper floors of the buildings, while commercial space is planned for the ground levels. After hearing the presentation, the Commission voted to approve funding 10% of the project, or $480 thousand. ... "We need housing. We need all kinds of housing, so to have some housing downtown is really complementary to the downtown [...]

The Fed projects raising rates as high as 5.1% before ending inflation battle

info2022-12-15T07:58:59-06:00December 15th, 2022|

The Federal Reserve will hike interest rates as high as 5.1% in 2023 before the central bank ends its fight against runaway inflation, according to its median forecast released on Wednesday. The Fed announced a 50-basis-point rate hike Wednesday, taking the borrowing rate to a targeted range between 4.25% and 4.5%, the highest level in 15 years. The so-called dot-plot, which the Fed uses to signal its outlook for the path of interest rates, showed 17 of the 19 "dots" would take rates above 5% in 2023. Seven of the 19 committee members saw rates rising above 5.25% next year. Source: [...]

Marion County pushes ahead with administrator

info2022-12-15T08:06:19-06:00December 15th, 2022|

Despite lengthy discussion of whether the public had had enough opportunity to weigh in on the subject, county commissioners cast a split vote Monday to create a county administrator position. ... The resolution does not specify a salary. Compensation is to be set out in an employment contract. The county has for several years budgeted $125,000 for an administrator and office staff. ... Commissioners don’t yet have a timeline for hiring an administrator. Mueller said the first step would be to decide how to conduct the search. Source: HILLSBORO Star-Journal

Newton considering changing government

info2022-12-15T08:08:55-06:00December 15th, 2022|

Residents should soon expect a survey asking them how exactly they want to structure their city government. In October, the city held a work session discussing making the mayor position a separately elected office. Tuesday, they circled back to the topic, as staff asked for more direction on the subject.... Currently, the top vote-getter in an election serves first as vice mayor for one year and then mayor for the next year in Newton. This isn’t in law as much as it is observed in practice. Technically, the mayor position is nominated by members of the commission and then voted on [...]

Hesston approves $6 million in IRBs for AGCO improvements

info2022-12-15T08:09:10-06:00December 15th, 2022|

Hesston City Council on Monday approved the issuance of $5.8 million in industrial revenue bonds for AGCO Corp. AGCO approached the city in 2021 with a request for support in the planned purchasing and equipping of improvements to its manufacturing facilities over give years. The city held a public hearing in June 2021 on the issuance of $72.8 million in IRBs and a tax abatement. The city issued $22.6 million in IRBs in 2021. The city has issued more than $242 million in IRBs for AGCO since 2001. Source: Harvey County Now

Westfall looks back on his 16 years in office as county commissioner

info2022-12-15T00:42:47-06:00December 15th, 2022|

George “Chip” Westfall offered sage advice for anyone who might be considering a run for local office. “Always listen,” he said. “You don’t have to discuss it in detail with them.” Westfall, who decided not to run again after serving four terms as a Harvey County commissioner, said it was hard to discuss an issue in detail with someone who appeared before commissioners. He said he tried to be friendly when he ran into somebody again because there’s no reason to be offensive. “You don’t have to become enemies and a lot of people think that you are,” he said. “Be [...]

Without enough drivers, Olathe schools to cancel certain bus routes on ‘blackout’ days

info2022-12-15T00:41:19-06:00December 15th, 2022|

Without enough bus drivers, the Olathe school district next month will begin eliminating routes on “blackout days,” requiring families to find alternative transportation on those days. The district has previously warned families that its bus driver shortage has reached an “all-time high.” Last week, officials said there is a “substantial waitlist of families unable to receive transportation, as well as several buses that regularly arrive up to 30 minutes late for pick up/drop off, impacting instructional time.” Source: KC Star Local News

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