Municipal News & Jobs

Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland today announced the launch of two new grant opportunities through the Kansas Community Empowerment (KCE) program. KCE, which is housed within the Quality Places Division at the Department of Commerce, supports locally driven projects that strengthen quality of place, volunteer engagement and long-term community vibrancy across Kansas. Applications for the KCE Kickstart Grant and Impact Grant are now being accepted. For the first round of funding, the Kickstart Grant will have $40,000 available and the Impact Grant will have $30,000. “While we bring opportunities and prosperity to all parts of our state, these new grants will specifically target rural and smaller communities across Kansas,” Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said. “Whether it’s helping a small volunteer-led initiative or funding a transformational placemaking project — these grants are designed to meet the needs of the communities while building their pride, momentum and lasting impact.” The Kickstart Grant is designed to provide funding for smaller, community-driven projects that build capacity, engagement and momentum.
Read more: Press Releases Archives – Kansas Department of Commerce

By many measures, one could argue the Kelly-Toland years have been the biggest economic boon the state has ever seen. Pick any measure…$30 billion of private sector investment (most per capita in nation), almost 80,000 new or retained jobs that pay 7.7% more than the average private sector wage in Kansas, highest ever Kansas exports, four consecutive Golden Shovel awards, a recent $3 billion budget surplus, or the coup de grace…securing the biggest economic win in state history, luring the Chiefs from Missouri. Just don’t pick population growth. At least on its face.
Read more: www.ctnewsonline.com

The city of Shawnee will increase its transient guest tax ahead of the World Cup and the expected boost in tourism this summer. Shawnee’s increase takes effect on April 1, raising the city’s transient guest tax from 8% to 9%. The tax applies to hotel rooms and short-term rentals. “So on an annual basis, the transient guest tax develops about $950,000 for the city in total. We expect this additional 1% over the course of a full year to bring in an additional $100,000 for the City of Shawnee,” said Doug Donahoo, the Communications Director for the city of Shawnee. Shawnee uses its guest tax for tourism and economic development purposes.
Read more: FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV

Southwest Kansas might take a big step toward water conservation in ways previously thought to be impossible. Groundwater Management District 3, headquartered in Garden City, is looking for feedback from local farmers on its plan to use less water for crop irrigation in the region. A discussion on proposed water cuts recently attracted farmers from counties across the southwest part of the state, who filled a small community building. Trevor Ahring, civil engineer for the district, told the sea of Kansas State University baseball caps and flannel shirts the details of the plan – all with the objective of easing the strain on the Ogallala Aquifer, which stretches from South Dakota to Texas. “Our goals are to stabilize the aquifer over the course of 20 years; that’s a 27.7% reduction in use in this area,” Ahring said.
Read more: Garden City Telegram

Near Ashland, along the state line south of Dodge City, flames and heavy smoke pushed closer to town. For one small business owner, it meant abandoning her dream home and storefront. Just after 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Tammy Lawrence took a video of the smoky sky and texted her husband, “Do we need to start packing?” At first, they decided to stay put, but then Ashland Hospital began evacuating patients, the school cleared out, and the fire jumped Highway 283. Soon after, Highway 160 and the main road out of Ashland were shut down.
Read more: KSN-TV

Fire crews in Garden City will be working through Tuesday night to contain a wildfire in northeastern Finney County. The Garden City Fire Department said the fire stretches roughly 11 miles long and 1½ wide in some spots. The fire is currently at zero percent containment and has destroyed one shed. “No commercial structures. It’s sort of in a rural populated area of our county, so houses are pretty spaced out, so I think that’s what aided in not being able to lose any structures today,” Chris Talmadge, Windland Operations for the GCFD, said. Firefighting aircraft were grounded on Tuesday due to extreme winds. Talmadge said he hopes they will be able to use them on Wednesday to get to hard-to-reach areas.
Read more: KSN-TV

Liberal secured its third straight victory against Olney, England, on Tuesday in the 77th Annual International Pancake Day Race. Hannah McCarter crossed the finish line with an impressive time of 1:03.75, beating Olney’s top runner time by two minutes. Since the tradition began in the 1950’s, Liberal has won 43 times, Olney has won 31 times and three times there was no contest.
Read more: KSN-TV

A popular firefighting tool among Kansas firefighters can be found on their smartphones. The Barton County Fire District 2 chief said his team relies on the Active 911 app, especially during extreme wildfire weather. Chief Jerry Strickler said it provides accurate information straight to firefighters’ phones, connecting information from dispatch to deploying first responders and those already in the field. “This app can tell us where the fire’s at, exact location, hydrant locations within the city, mile markers,” he said. “Just about anything you would need to get to the scene.”
Read more: KSN-TV

Seward County is operating an evacuation center at the county’s activity center in Liberal for people fleeing fires in the area. Lynda Johnson, the center’s director, said the space had to be rapidly cleaned up and prepared to receive evacuees Tuesday after the city held its annual Pancake Run that morning. When Johnson spoke with KSN just before 5 p.m., the shelter was empty. But calls had started to come in from those wanting to know where to go or if there was shelter space for their animals. Capt. Jeff Wade with the Liberal Police Department said people were complying with the evacuations in the area. He urged curious residents not to go out and try to see what’s happening for the sake of their own health and safety.
Read more: KSN-TV

Three people were hospitalized after a house fire Tuesday in Holcomb, according to the Garden City Fire Department. It happened on Redford Drive around 7:15 a.m. Holcomb is just a few miles west of Garden City. Garden City firefighters, along with the Holcomb Fire Department, arrived to find heavy smoke coming from the home. Crews found two people who had escaped with minor injuries. Another person was heard yelling from inside the home and was rescued by firefighters.
Read more: KSN-TV

City officials are considering changing the zoning code to provide more flexibility on developing multi-family residential projects. The Topeka City Council voted to approve the ordinance introduced by City Manager Robert Perez on Feb. 17. It will provide greater flexibility for the development of duplex and multi-family housing in commercial, downtown and mixed-use zoning districts in Topeka. Current zoning code allows for residential units above ground level floors and in basements, but housing on the ground level is restricted based on special use requirements. These requirements include being located near non-residential zones and being located in a building meant for housing.
Read more: KSNT 27 News

Haven’s recreation department board no longer exists. During the Haven City Council’s special meeting on Feb. 17, City Council Member Nicole Sander introduced a discussion item regarding the city’s recreation department board. She said that, in her research, she had not found a formal ordinance authorizing the creation of the board. Scrutiny towards the rec board from city council was spurred by what City Council Member Corey Brock described as Haven residents’ discontent with the rec’s customer service and a general lack of communication between the rec board and city council. This led to discussion about potentially disbanding the board and reforming it via ordinance to be directly under the city.
Read more: The Hutchinson Tribune

Residents in a small, southwest Kansas town were ordered to evacuate Tuesday afternoon as a large fire from Oklahoma closed in on the town, officials said. The western half of Kansas is under a red flag warning for fire danger because of the high winds. Officials closed I-70 in both directions between Colby and Wakeeny “due to vehicle crashes blocking the roadway and reduced visibility from blowing dust,” a Kansas Department of Transportation news release said.
Read more: Wichita Eagle

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

Topeka led the way for Kansas’ permanent common consumption areas. Now over 30 cities offer outdoor drinking districts.
Read more: CJonline

The previous goal set a target of having all city facilities powered by renewable energy by 2025 and having 100% of residential and commercial businesses citywide powered by renewable energy by 2035. However, the city has not come close to meeting those goals. It missed the 2025 goal, and only about 3% of its facilities are currently powered by clean energy. Because of this, city sustainability staff suggested repealing the old goal and setting a new goal of climate neutrality.
Read more: LJWorld

The city is making temporary changes to its short-term rental rules from May 25 to July 26 ahead of the influx of visitors for the six World Cup matches set to take place in Kansas City. But even with the relaxed rules, code compliance manager Treni Westcott said that renting out a room for any period less than 30 days would require a short-term rental license.
Read more: LJWorld

Cyndra Kastens, former city administrator in Anthony, is in her third full week in Valley Center. She was hired in January to replace Brent Clark. “The first two weeks were great,” Kastens said. “My priority goal was to meet with all the city directors as well as engineering teams to start getting up to speed on department activities and Valley Center projects.” Kastens said the city is prepared to face its challenges.
Read more: AV News

Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland today announced two Kansas Main Street communities have been awarded funding through the Residential Opportunities On Main Street (ROOMS) program. Projects in El Dorado and Seneca will receive $50,000 each to create a total of 18 new residential units in the upper floors of downtown buildings. “As we continue expanding the state economy by bringing more businesses and workforce opportunities to rural communities, the need for quality and affordable housing also continues to grow,” Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said. “Through the ROOMS program, we are preserving the history of our downtown districts while creating more livable spaces for current and future residents.” Last summer, five communities were awarded ROOMS grants, resulting in 29 new upper-floor housing units in downtown communities and generating nearly $9 million in private investment.  
Read more: Kansas Department of Commerce