Kansas Municipal News
Pratt is the latest Kansas town facing nitrate pollution. One-quarter of its water supply is off
Nitrate pollution has forced a central Kansas town to shut off two wells that make up nearly one-quarter of its total permissible water supply. The state of Kansas will help Pratt afford the cost of drilling a new well in a different location with cleaner groundwater. But ultimately this town of 6,500 people, like so many others in the middle of the country, will need to find a way to cover the steep price tag of removing an increasingly widespread contaminant from its drinking water. “The reality is that we have to supply quality, healthy drinking water to our citizens,” city manager Regina Goff said, “and adhere to all the regulatory limits.” Nitrate reaches waterways and groundwater from sources like feedlots, farm fertilizers and leaky septic tanks.
Source: KCUR News
Wichita looking at options for current water treatment plant
Wichita officials are considering options for the city’s current water treatment plant, when the new plant goes online next year. Options for the current plant were presented to City Council members in a workshop meeting Tuesday. Laura Quick with the city’s Public Works Department said most of the options deal with having the plant on standby for emergency use, but there are some maintenance issues that need to be addressed. Some other factors to consider are the treatment capacity, the time it would take to start up the plant, and whether it would be using water from Cheney Lake or the Equus Beds aquifer. One option would be to demolish the plant, which could cost $50 to 75 million. Options for emergency use would range from $8 million to $33 million.
Source: 101.3 KFDI
Municipal Bond Trends for October 24, 2024
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.
Commission split on protection from income discrimination for renters
City commissioners discussed expanding the city’s non-discrimination ordinance to bar landlords, property owners and real estate brokers from refusing to rent to prospective tenants who want to pay with legal income other than job wages. If passed, the ordinance would allow tenants to be able to pay for housing using vouchers, disability payments, rent relief programs and other sources of income.
Source: 1350 KMAN
Methane flares from JoCo landfill remain a problem in Shawnee. What can city do?
Continued concerns over methane flaring at the Johnson County Landfill prompted the Shawnee Planning Commission this week to take the rare step of issuing a revised special use permit with a shorter timeframe than such permits normally get.
Source: Johnson County Post
Leawood hires Leavenworth official to lead planning, development efforts
One of Johnson County’s wealthiest cities has tapped a longtime development executive to oversee its strategic planning efforts. Leawood appointed Julie Hurley as its next planning director. She will begin her new role on Dec. 2. Hurley has spent the past decade working for Leavenworth, where she most recently was the director of planning and community development. She comes to the new role with more than 20 years of experience in municipal government, including time spent as a city planner in Shawnee, Overland Park and Olathe.
Source: Kansas City Business Journal
Johnson County study will consider how to develop De Soto roads
New roads in De Soto could drive future development at Astra Enterprise Park, where Panasonic is building a $4 billion battery plant. For about 80 years, thousands of acres of undeveloped land in northwest Johnson County have been cut off from the surrounding region. Johnson County now is partnering with De Soto, Edgerton, Olathe, Gardner, Douglas County and the Kansas Department of Transportation on a $250,000 study to evaluate ways to reconnect the business park with surrounding roadways.
Source: Kansas City Business Journal
Firefighters battle grass fire in northeast Wichita
Firefighters brought the grass fire in northeast Wichita under control around 8:30 p.m. Thursday. Sedgwick County crews remained on the scene throughout the night and into Friday morning, putting out hot spots. At last check, around 300 acres burned. However, crews expect to get a better look at the damage on Friday morning. The cause of the fire is unknown at this time. KSN has learned the fire is not close to containment, and crews will be out in the area for several hours. There is no immediate danger to people at the moment, but people are leaving the area on their own.
Source: KSN-TV
New roundabouts in the works for Topeka, Shawnee County
New roundabouts are coming to Topeka and Shawnee County in the years to come as local officials look to increase safety for drivers and pedestrians. Working for you, 27 News reached out to the Shawnee County government and City of Topeka to learn more about local roundabouts and where people might expect to see new ones appear. Two are currently in the works, with another two possible roundabouts still in the planning stages. Shawnee County spokeswoman Amanda Monhollon, responding to a 27 News information request, said two roundabouts are under construction at two different places in the county. The completion of these projects will bring the total number of roundabouts up to 17.
Source: KSNT 27 News
City proposes changes to stop parking fund depletion by 2027
The Topeka City Council Policy & Finance Committee says the parking reserve fund could be depleted by 2027 unless changes are made. The City of Topeka is spending $22.2 million over the next three-and-a-half years to improve eight parking garages. The funding was approved in fall of 2022. Included in the renovations are updated security cameras, pigeon-proof netting, waterproofing, façade facelifts and structural improvements. In the most recent Policy & Finance meeting on Oct. 22, the city heard there is an estimated loss of $415,965 for 2024 and a budgeted loss of $454,775 in 2025. The city is now considering subsidizing parking from other revenue sources because the current forecast would see the parking reserve fund depleted by 2027.
Source: KSNT 27 News
Can Shawnee County’s AI camera system track you?
Shawnee County employs around 30 high-end AI ‘force-multiplier’ cameras capable of tracking suspects, should you worry about being surveilled? Connect Shawnee County is a registry of around 30 high-end AI cameras, 321 registered cameras and 855 integrated cameras that police and deputies use to canvass areas. The Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office said the registry lets officers quickly find cameras in an area, saving them time when working cases. According to the Connect Shawnee County website, CORE Elite AI, the brain inside the cameras, can set alert profiles using a list of parameters law enforcement sets. 27 News asked the sheriff’s office what parameters are used to set the alert profiles. Christian said the cameras are only used to track suspects under certain contexts. She said a suspect fleeing the scene of a crime in a vehicle can be tracked while the vehicle is in motion and in range of a camera. The AI search feature is not employed for general suspect searches or searches through facial recognition.
Source: KSNT 27 News
Olpe water system dry after water main break Thursday evening
Contract crews are gathering near the site of a significant water main break that has drained Olpe’s water supply. Olpe City Clerk Joyce Wilson tells KVOE News the failure site was discovered around 8:30 am Friday, better than 12 hours after water issues were first reported to city officials by 6 pm Thursday. The break site is on an 8-inch line near Road 130, or about two miles south and a mile east of the Olpe pump station, which is just south of the old Fanestil Meats plant on Kansas Highway 99 south of Emporia. Crews and city staff worked through the night and past sunrise to find the leak — a process made more difficult by night and up to 0.50 inches of rainfall from thunderstorms. Wilson says it could be early Friday afternoon before the break is fixed and the water tower can start filling. However, both Wilson and Mayor Keith Pimple expect a boil water alert — advisory or order — is coming once the tower is full. Wilson expects it will be at least Monday morning before Olpe can send test samples to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment for review, meaning it will likely be Tuesday at the earliest before affected residents don’t have to boil their water.
Source: KVOE Emporia Radio
New Wichita water plant will be more expensive to operate than planned; rate hikes expected
Wichita water customers should brace for higher-than-expected rate hikes over the next decade as the cost of operating a new water treatment plant outpaces the city’s budget. City projections show water and sewer bills increasing by more than 70% over the next 10 years to pay for the new plant and other major infrastructure projects. Low-use residential customers who pay $60 to $70 a month this year would pay $103 to $126 a month by 2034, according to an Eagle analysis of city estimates presented to the City Council during a work session on Tuesday. And those projections could be on the low end of what to expect. The new plant — Wichita Water Works — is scheduled to open April 1, six months late, at a cost of $573 million, $20 million over the city’s 2019 budget. The city will continue operating the Main Water Treatment Plant until at least 2026.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
City asking Lawrence voters to increase sales taxes for affordable housing, homelessness programs
Lawrence voters will soon decide whether to approve a sales tax increase that would add 1 cent per $20 spent in order to fund affordable housing and homelessness services. It’s the second of two questions on Lawrence voters’ ballots in the Tuesday, Nov. 5 general election.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Commission split on protection from income discrimination for renters
It remains unclear following Tuesday’s commission meeting if Manhattan residents will be protected from housing discrimination based on source of income. City commissioners discussed expanding the city’s non-discrimination ordinance to bar landlords, property owners and real estate brokers from refusing to rent to prospective tenants who want to pay with legal income other than job wages. If passed, the ordinance would allow tenants to be able to pay for housing using vouchers, disability payments, rent relief programs and other sources of income.
Source: themercury.com
Three Caney city officials step down due to stress from job
Three City of Caney officials stepped down from their positions at the city council meeting Monday night, saying their jobs were becoming too stressful. The now-former mayor Josh Elliott, city administrator Kelly Zellner, and part-time city treasurer Amber Dean were the three to resign.
Source: KAKE
Group looking to prepare community members for office
For those who want to run for local office, there’s a new group setting up training to get them ready. The group, called Ready to Run, is made up of current and former elected officials, community leaders, as well as local governments. The goal: to create a knowledge base for those looking to run for public office. “We all know there are people who run for positions that have an agenda and a perception of something,” said Ron Lang, who is helping with the organization. “But there’s a learning curve.” To address that curve, an inaugural class of 10 members will attend eight half-day sessions, aimed at providing information about running for office, as well as how city, county, and school district governments work.
Source: Harvey County Now
Explaining the marketing behind ‘Vote Yes for Beer Freedom’
This week, we started distributing yard signs to remind people to vote yes to repeal the 30-percent food rule in Harvey County so we can get with the times like our neighboring counties. For those who are unaware, in Harvey County, if you have a liquor license, you are required to have 30 percent of your overall sales be from food. This rule can be difficult to accomplish for places like bowling alleys and golf courses, which really need to have liquor licenses to attract tournaments and be profitable but often times struggle to function as a restaurant. That’s mostly because their focus isn’t on trying to be a restaurant, even if they do, in fact, serve food.
Source: Harvey County Now
County approves revised NDS agreement with Garden City
The Finney County Commission approved a revised Neighborhood and Development Services Interlocal Agreement with the city of Garden City at the Commission’s regular meeting Monday. Kara Schartz, Finney County Counselor, said this agreement comes after a couple of years working on an updated NDS contract with Garden City. The effective date for the new agreement is Jan. 1, 2025, however there is a transition period, Schartz said. “Essentially, the new way of things going forward will start in July, but the contract itself and the effective date of the contract is Jan. 1, 2025,” she said. “For all purposes as far as when it starts and when any triggering dates for whatever termination or otherwise as far as that goes, the effective date is Jan. 1, 2025.”
Source: Garden City Telegram
Municipal Bond Trends for October 23, 2024
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.