Kansas Municipal News
Augusta Public Library receives Artemis moon tree
On October 25 the Augusta Public Library announced they had been chosen as a recipient to receive a NASA Moon Tree. The trees are unique in that the seeds were flown in the rocket used for the Artemis I mission around the moon in 2022. The seeds traveled 270,000 miles from Earth aboard the Orion spacecraft. Several species were flown on the mission including sycamores, sweetgums, Douglas firs, loblolly pines, and giant sequoias. Since their return to Earth, the seeds were germinated and raised into seedlings by the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service as a NASA project until their new homes were determined. “What an incredible journey these future Moon Trees have already been on, and we’re excited for them to begin the final journey to permanent homes on campuses and institutions across the country,” said Forest Service Chief Randy Moore in a NASA press release. “We hope these trees will stand for centuries to come for the public’s enjoyment, inspiring future generations of scientists and land stewards.”
Source: Andover American
New focus on Burrton contamination plume
After years of monitoring the Burrton plume, the state’s renewed focus on water quality might lead to progress on contamination. This is the hope of Tim Boese, the manager of Groundwater Management District 2. “I’m hoping the steam we’ve got going doesn’t diminish,” Boese said. Boese said there’s been a statewide focus on water quality that he hopes will lead to some changes. Most recently, the Kansas Water Office hired a consultant to conduct a feasibility study to determine what the options are to deal with the plume. Boese said the state had a study done in 2020, but it was broader. He said the current study is more focused and will provide actual options and costs involved. “It’s very preliminary,” Boese said. “But it’s a step that’s never been taken before.” The Burrton plume formed after concentrated levels of chloride seeped into the Equus Beds Aquifer from the early 1930s to mid-1940s. During that time, it was common practice for the Burrton Oil Field to use evaporation pits to dispose of brine. The brine then spread into the groundwater of the aquifer.
Source: Harvey County Now
Applications being taken for Sedgwick Citizens’ Police Academy
Sedgwick’s police department is accepting applications for a Citizens’ Police Academy, starting on Jan. 23, 2025 through March 13, 2025. The cost is free for interested people, and the academy takes place every Thursday night from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Sedgwick Police Department office at 505 N. Commercial. “Lots of agencies do Citizen’s Police Academies, and I had the pleasure of hosting it for several years when I was in Newton,” Police Chief Bryan Hall said. “It’s a program that community members can learn why police do the things they do. Most complaints come from unrealistically high expectation and low information, so if you can raise their information, lots of times their expectations come down to a balance point, to a reasonable level.”
Source: Harvey County Now
County sued for seizing, holding hemp products
The Harvey County Board of Commissioners is facing a suit for damages and the return of property from a Kansas hemp product distributor. According to district court documents, Sugarleaf Distributing LLC, based in Hutchinson, alleges that the Harvey County Sheriff’s Department seized $44,915.15 worth of hemp products legal under Kansas law in a March 2022 traffic stop and has since not released the items. Jonathan Nicol, an attorney for the company, said that the products have since spoiled. “The difficulty is it’s a big chunk of product,” he said. “Much of it is spoiled at this point.” Nicol said the driver of the vehicle that had the items seized was a contractor for SugarLeaf Distributing, LLC. The company sources hemp-derived products from other states and supplies them to area hemp, smoke, and CBD shops in Kansas. Nicol said that the products seized are legal under the law and contain no more than .3 percent Delta 9 THC on a dry weight basis. He said they have filed affidavits attesting to the legality of the items. The suit states that the products are legal under federal law and that law enforcement improperly applied the state of Kansas’ definition of industrial hemp in a more restrictive manner than is allowed under federal law. The suit asks for a judgment against the county for the property’s value, as well as damages for wrongful detention. It also asks the court to declare the property legal under both Kansa and federal law, declare portions of the Kansas Hemp Act to be preempted by federal law, and award the plaintiff its cost in attorney fees.
Source: Harvey County Now
Hesston moving forward with new strategic plan
With expiration of the former strategic plan, the City of Hesston needed a new plan put into place. When the council adopted the new strategic plan, it was the culmination of a lot of work and discussion to map out a path for getting to the established goals. “The planning process has been ongoing for the last eight months,” City Administrator Gary Emry said. “A few work sessions were facilitated by a consulting firm. We felt it was important to use the same consulting firm used in creating the expiring plan, because of his familiarity of Hesston and the organization. The premise of our planning is based on the four sides of ‘The Public Square,’ which is made up of four sectors: business, government, health and human services, and education.”
Source: Harvey County Now
Beneficient gives update on Hesston grocery store
Beneficient Heartland Foundation Director Brad Heppner hopes to see a ground breaking for a new credit union building in May, opening up space for a long-discussed grocery store in Hesston. Heppner provided an update this week to Harvey County Now on plans for a project that will alter Hesston’s core business district. “We’re working really hard,” Heppner said about the grocery store project. “In the last two years, we’ve undertaken 17 different agreements to make this a reality.”
Source: Harvey County Now
House numbers required in Goessel
At the City Council meeting on Oct. 21, the city council passed Ordinance #312 requiring houses to display numbers identifying the address. The city will begin enforcement after Jan. 1, 2025. Failure to comply with the ordinance could result in a $25 fine per day out of compliance with each day constituting a new violation. The city has a limited number of house numbers to give out that will be given on a first-come first-serve basis.
Source: Hillsboro Free Press
Siding with resident, Kansas Court of Appeals sends Westwood park case back to lower court
A Johnson County judge’s decision in a case regarding the sale of Joe D. Dennis Park in Westwood has been reversed. On Friday, the Kansas Court of Appeals ruled that a Westwood resident suing her city over the sale of the city’s main park should have a chance to argue her case. Back in February, resident Beckie Brown filed a motion to intervene in the proceedings after she and others voiced opposition to a Karbank Real Estate Services plan that calls for an office-retail development to be built on top of Joe D. Dennis Park. Later that month, Johnson County District Court Judge David Hauber dismissed Brown’s motion to intervene in legal proceedings regarding a protest petition against the sale of the park. The appellate court’s decision last week to reverse and remand Hauber’s dismissal effectively sends the issue back to district court for a retry. Still, the decision only addresses Brown’s motion to intervene rather than the validity of the protest petition itself.
Source: Johnson County Post
Overland Park City Hall was built in 1960s. Will city move to newer, bigger space?
Overland Park is mulling options for a new, larger city hall that would be more centrally located and potentially put more city departments under the same roof. During an Overland Park City Council Committee of the Whole meeting Monday evening, councilmembers and city staff shared broad consensus that something new is required. However, no specific action has been taken, and exactly what it might look like remains unclear. Based on a 48-page planning study completed by PGAV Architects, the prevailing recommendation from city staff that the city council supports at this stage is to acquire an existing building somewhere in the city and renovate it to match Overland Park’s city staff needs.
Source: Johnson County Post
De Soto considers incentive request to add more housing north of Panasonic plant
More developers are hoping to tap into tax incentives to build housing in De Soto near the Panasonic EV-battery plant. Rick Oddo, CEO of Lenexa-based Oddo Development Co., and Dan Taylor, president of Taylor Sterling Construction Co., have submitted an application to create a reinvestment housing incentive district (RHID) covering about 67 acres north of 89th Street and south of 83rd Street between Kill Creek Road and Waverly Road. The proposed development would abut the existing Arbor Ridge subdivision. An RHID allows a city to redirect property tax gains generated by a development to pay for eligible construction and infrastructure expenses. The developers request a 60% RHID for 25 years to support creating their mixed housing development, also called Arbor Ridge.
Source: Kansas City Business Journal
What Johnson County is doing about housing after homeless shelter defeat
Johnson County has until the end of the year to spend $6 million of federal COVID relief funds that were originally bookmarked for a Lenexa homeless shelter. Johnson County Commission chair Mike Kelly wants that money to still go towards housing solutions. When the Lenexa City Council voted against approving a permit for a new low-barrier homeless shelter in September, Johnson County Commission chair Mike Kelly feared it meant a major need would go unmet. “That’s where we have our biggest gap,” Kelly told KCUR’s Up To Date. “An opportunity to help unhoused adults not only receive safety and shelter, but an opportunity for wraparound services.” Now, Johnson County has $6 million worth of federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act left over. The money must be obligated by Dec. 31, or else be forfeited back to the federal government.
Source: KCUR
Decision on paid parking in downtown Wichita delayed again. Here’s why, what’s next
Attempts to charge for public parking in downtown Wichita have stalled again. After four hours of discussion Tuesday night, the Wichita City Council deferred voting on a parking option until Dec. 10. Council members were in support of two different options: one that would implement paid parking uniformly across downtown, Old Town, and Delano, with up to 15 minutes of free parking. The other option would have implement paid parking downtown and likely created a new tax in the Old Town area to pay for parking. Delano was exempt from that plan until construction is completed on the multimodal center, which includes a parking garage with 400 spaces.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Wife of Sedgwick County commissioner-elect charged with electioneering
Meghan Blubaugh, wife of Sedgwick County commissioner-elect Jeff Blubaugh, has been charged with electioneering, a misdemeanor crime in Kansas. The charge stems from an Oct. 29 incident in which Meghan Blubaugh wore a T-shirt supporting her husband’s campaign while she was at an early voting location in west Wichita. Kansas statute prohibits voters at polling sites from wearing any article of clothing that clearly identifies a candidate.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
USD 259 starts talk Monday about cell phone ban for students in schools
No decision has been made on banning cell phone use in Wichita Public Schools, but school board leaders workshopped the idea on Monday. “We compared our current policy, which restricts cell phones during instructional time, versus the possibility of whether or not we need to do more,” said USD 259 Board President Stan Reeser. “There was a state task force on cell phones which dove into a little more than what our policy deals with.” Reeser is talking about a Blue Ribbon Task Force from the Kansas Department of Education. That task force made some basic recommendations in a report on screen time and students. “But what we need to do is circle back with our staff and our principals and our parents to find out whether they are satisfied with the current policy,” said Reeser. “Or whether or not there would be any marginal changes and efforts that could perhaps even make the situation with attention spans even better.” The current policy in Wichita Public Schools prohibits phone use in elementary and middle schools. However, high school students are able to use their cell phones during passing periods and lunch.
Source: KSN-TV
Scholarship program boosts enrollment and community spirit in Southeast Kansas
It’s a promise, made from one generation of Neodesha High School graduates to another. For five years, the “Neodesha Promise Scholarship Program” has helped remove barriers for kids looking to go to college. But it turns out the impact goes beyond just dollars and cents.
Source: KSNF/KODE
Topeka city leaders consider bringing common consumption area to new side of downtown
City leaders met Monday afternoon to discuss some changes to the downtown Topeka alcohol drinking zone. The City of Topeka Policy & Finance Committee, consisting of City Council members Spencer Duncan, Marcus Miller and Michelle Hoferer, gathered on Nov. 18 to discuss some updates to one of the local common consumption areas (CCA) or “social drinking zones.” City of Topeka Attorney Amanda Stanley was on hand to explain what these changes would look like. Duncan said the original layout for the CCA in downtown Topeka did not initially include the area in front of the Topeka Performing Arts Center (TPAC) located at 214 Southeast Eighth Street. He said TPAC’s board has put forward a request to be included in this area for multiple reasons.
Source: KSNT 27 News
Plastic bag bans can sometimes backfire: Study
Policies aimed at curbing the use of single-use plastic bags have sometimes accomplished the opposite of their intentions, a new study has found. When two Texas cities prohibited stores from giving away plastic grocery bags for free, the sale of such bags surged in response, according to the study, published in the Journal of Marketing Research. The longer a policy was in place, the longer the behaviors spurred by those regulatory prohibitions persisted, the researchers found.
Source: KSNT 27 News
Rural Kansas highway closure to bring more than 50-mile detour for local drivers
State transportation officials say part of K-4 Highway in Dickinson County will close later this month, bringing with it a large detour for locals to follow. The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) announced in a press release on Monday, Nov. 18 that a road work project is slated to run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 21 on part of K-4 Highway just south of the town of Hope. Workers will be replacing a railroad crossing that requires the highway to be closed to all traffic while the project is ongoing. Drivers will be unable to use K-4 just south of Hope and will instead be directed to take a signed detour route that uses K-43, I-70 and K-15, taking drivers through Abilene and Enterprise. The complete detour runs for 53 miles and will take about an hour to complete, according to Google Maps.
Source: KSNT 27 News
State banks seek better climate competing for local, state government deposits
The state’s banks are urging lawmakers to take steps to allow them to better compete for local and state government deposits that they say are now flowing to out-of-state financial institutions at a cost to the Kansas economy. The banks say state law is structured in a way that local and state governments are less inclined to invest their funds locally than they are with institutions from out of state, which they say reduces the amount of capital for Kansas businesses that want to expand. Source: Sunflower State Journal
Pott County considering economic incentives for new auto dealership
The Eck Auto Group out of Wichita is pursuing economic incentives for a new auto dealership at the southeast corner of Excel Rd and Hwy 24. The estimated cost of the project is just shy of $11 million. Tyler Ellsworth, attorney with Kutak Rock Law Firm, on Monday presented county commissioners with a brief overview of the proposed project. “We are not asking the commission to take any final action today,” said Ellsworth. “My goal is to provide a brief update on what this project entails and the two types of economic development incentives that the dealership group has requested.”
Source: themercury.com