News – Page 2126 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Finney County to create lactation rooms as part of remodel

info2019-05-20T10:17:20-05:00May 20th, 2019|

When Finney County commissioners gave the go-ahead last week to have a pair of storage rooms at the county administrative building remodeled into lactation rooms, not only was the timing right, but County Human Resources Director Darlene Lucas says it was just the right thing to do. Commissioners on May 6 unanimously approved a work change order that added $26,429 for the development of the lactation rooms to what is now expected to be a $245,727 overall remodel of the administrative building, 311 N. Ninth St. The plan is to convert a pair of first-floor storage rooms into lactation rooms that [...]

GreenPlay to present parks master plan to Hutchinson city council on Tuesday

info2019-05-20T10:15:31-05:00May 20th, 2019|

The Hutchinson City Council will hear the final report from GreenPlay regarding the parks and rec study that was performed over the past several months. Officials with GreenPlay will present their findings that are part of a 180-page report. The study was conducted after Hutch Rec received a grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas to pay for the work. The study is part of an overall master plan for Hutch Rec and city facilities. During the initial report presented in April, GreenPlay addressed some issues it feels the city needs to do a better job addressing. GreenPlay suggested more [...]

Missourians subsidize KC stadiums to tune of $3 million per year. When will Kansans chip in?

info2019-05-20T10:14:30-05:00May 20th, 2019|

Professional sports teams play an integral role in our region’s economy. Thousands of local sports fans from both Kansas and Missouri cheer on the Chiefs and the Royals at the Truman Sports Complex each year, and the economic benefits from the two stadiums ripple across the metro area. But when the bill comes due for the upkeep of Arrowhead and Kauffman stadiums, only Missourians are chipping in. Last week, Missouri lawmakers approved House Bill 677 requiring the state to shell out $3 million per year for the next decade for maintenance at the Truman Sports Complex. Jackson County pays $3.5 million [...]

JoCo sees hospital building boom while underserved areas of Kansas City are ignored

info2019-05-20T10:11:42-05:00May 20th, 2019|

AdventHealth is set to build an 85-bed hospital in a wealthy area of south Overland Park that already has four full-service hospitals within 10 miles. Last month it announced plans to build yet another one: a 200-bed hospital in Lenexa, just west of the Interstate 435 loop, also a well-to-do area. AdventHealth leaders said they were responding to demand from a growing part of the metro. But there’s another reason to build on the far edge of the area’s wealthiest county. “By putting your hospitals beyond the outside of the ongoing growth or sprawl within a metro area, you have eliminated [...]

City of Gardner pays for sod, 3-phase extension at golf course

info2019-05-20T10:10:20-05:00May 20th, 2019|

The Gardner City Council awarded an $120,000 contract to Topeka Sod Farm to perform fairway rehabilitation work at Gardner Golf Course during a meeting May 7. The approval was part of the city’s consent agenda. According to Jason Bruce, parks and recreation director, the city is contractually obligated to finance goods and materials for turf reseeding on the golf course greens, tee boxes and fescue seeding. The city is also responsible for the cost of enlarging, dredging and digging a wet well in the irrigation pond at the course. In a 2018 agreement between the city and GreatLIFE, the operators of [...]

Cut in funding means cuts to Newton Chamber

info2019-05-20T10:06:21-05:00May 20th, 2019|

For the past several budget cycles, Newton City commissioners have been openly questioning funding outside agencies like Health Ministries, the Grand Central senior center and the Chamber of Commerce. And that has Chamber director Pam Stevens concerned. “I know that the next couple of years will be tight, and it will be hard to keep that funding,” Stevens told The Kansan on Thursday afternoon. The Chamber office is running with her and two part-time staff. A full-time position is sitting open and Stevens is not sure about filling it. At one time the chamber operated with a director and three full [...]

Repeal of pit bull ban on Monday night’s UG committee agenda

info2019-05-20T10:01:50-05:00May 20th, 2019|

The repeal of the ban on pit bull dogs in Kansas City, Kansas, is on the agenda for the 5 p.m. Monday, May 20, Unified Government Public Works and Safety Committee meeting. According to the agenda, the ordinance repealing the pit bull ban is sponsored by Commissioners Melissa Bynum and Jane Philbrook. Currently, anyone with a pit bull in the city could be fined $300 to $1,000, and could be sentenced to as much as 90 days in jail, according to the ordinance now in effect. Kansas City, Kansas, put a pit bull ban into effect in 1988. At the last [...]

Municipal ID would make Wyandotte County residents count in 2020 census

info2019-05-20T09:59:59-05:00May 20th, 2019|

The 2020 U.S. Census offers the best argument yet for a Wyandotte County municipal ID ordinance. A higher, more accurate count of our community means more federal resources, since the government apportions those resources according to population. A municipal ID would help identify people whom the count likely would miss, such as the elderly, immigrants and the homeless, among others. We have so much to gain by doing the appropriate thing, and so much to lose if we don’t. A municipal ID card is a form of photo identification issued by a city or county government. It can be used to [...]

Drop in Topeka sales tax revenue could lead to tax hike proposal

info2019-05-20T09:57:05-05:00May 20th, 2019|

Topeka’s sales tax revenues are decreasing, and city officials consequently might consider raising property taxes. After five straight years in which Topeka’s city manager proposed an annual budget that would keep the city’s property tax levy the same, city manager Brent Trout said Friday he might suggest an increase next month in his proposed budget for 2020. “The budget numbers are not complete enough to determine if a mill levy increase will be requested,” Trout said. “It is still a possibility the proposed budget could include a mill levy increase at this stage in the process.” The mayor and council learned [...]

Hospital debt rating improves refinancing for South Central Kansas Medical Center in Ark City

info2019-05-20T09:55:30-05:00May 20th, 2019|

City of Arkansas City officials were notified Wednesday by S&P Global Ratings that the Ark City Public Building Commission’s refunding revenue bonds, Series 2019, estimated at $19.035 million, will be assigned a bond rating of “A,” with a stable outlook. The Public Building Commission (PBC), which is composed of the five city commissioners and four other members of the public, is the entity that issued the debt service for South Central Kansas Medical Center’s new facility, which opened in March 2011 in the Patterson Park Subdivision. The original $23.205 million in hospital financing was secured by an unconditional lease payment from [...]