Municipal News & Jobs

Kansas Municipal News

YMCA Dome facility opens to Garden City public

After years of fundraising, construction delays and pending litigation, the Garden City Family YMCA’s Dome facility opened in late July with prayers, applause and pencils put to membership cards.

The space is now officially open to the public, operating under a temporary certificate of occupancy until a permanent license can go before the Garden City Commission, said YMCA CEO Chad Knight.

“This has been a long journey, let me tell you,” Knight told community members at the opening under the long-awaited dome. Memberships were available for a discount in honor of the event.

Kansas State gets $2.8 million grant for cyberattack research

Kansas State researchers have received a three-year, $2.8 million federal grant for a project to enhance utility operators’ awareness of and resilience to cyberattacks.

The award from the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office was announced Thursday.

The Manhattan Mercury reports that as more solar and other distributed energy resources are added to the electrical grid, utility operators need new tools to provide stronger protection against physical and cyber risks.

(Read more: fox4kc.com | FOX 4 – WDAF)

Major new entertainment complex coming to Towne East Square next year

A major new entertainment venue is coming to Towne East Square.

No one is discussing it yet, but Round 1 — a combination bowling, arcade, billiards, karaoke, ping pong, darts and dining venue — will open at the mall by about this time next year.

Shoppers have noticed construction at the lower level of the mall in the JCPenney wing.

Increased federal funding for partial Medicaid expansion on hold as federal case ruling looms

With a decision looming in the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Trump administration announced it will not increase funding for any state seeking partial Medicaid expansion.

The lawsuit against the ACA, led by 18 attorneys general, requests the court to throw out the entire health care act on the grounds that it is unconstitutional.

Earlier this year, attempts were made by some states to partially expand Medicaid. Utah requested the federal government pay 90 percent of the partial expansion costs, keeping the state’s share at 10 percent. But the Trump administration declined and Utah will instead be responsible for 30 percent of costs.

(Read more: Atchison Globe Now)

Topeka Rescue Mission might close soon without new funding

Officials with the Topeka Rescue Mission say the organization could close next month if new funding isn’t found.

Leaders said in a statement Monday that the mission is facing a $180,000 shortfall each month. It will close all its shelters and end all services if new funding isn’t found by Sept. 15.

WIBW reports Mission leaders say they’ve already made money-saving moves, including announcing last week that the TRM Thrift Store would close soon.

(Read more: 1350 KMAN)

The city plans to put a new tax on your drinking water, but some question whether it’s fair to low-income residents

In many progressive circles, the most hated tax in the land is a sales tax on food.

Kansas is one of the few states that charges it, and opponents decry it as extremely regressive because it forces low-income people to pay tax on a product that is necessary for life.

But now questions are being raised whether Lawrence city commissioners — perhaps without much thought — are placing an equally regressive tax on the one product that may be even more essential than food. Commissioners are poised to place a new tax on water.

As part of the city’s proposed 2020 budget, a new 6% tax would affect every water bill in the city. The tax is in the recommended budget that is slated for final approval on Aug. 13.

Can large pile of cash reduce Lawrence’s proposed water rate increases? City is unsure

While water rates are set to go up 8% next year, the city is sitting on a huge pile of cash in its utility fund.

How much cash? So much that city officials aren’t entirely sure where it all came from.

A review of financial documents by the Journal-World found that the city’s water/sewer fund is projected to end 2019 with nearly $42 million in reserves. To put that in perspective, for every $1 that the water/sewer fund spends in 2019, it has an additional 84 cents sitting in a type of savings account known as a fund balance.

“That is a lot,” said Dave Wagner, who oversees the utility department as the city’s director of Municipal Services and Operations.

‘It was a mess’: Ottawa businesses start cleanup after heavy rain causes serious flooding

As fast as the water rose in Ottawa, that’s how fast crews arrived to start cleaning it all up Friday.

After severe thunderstorms caused heavy flooding for many in town, several Ottawa businesses spent the day trying to get back to normal.

Richard Towe, a retired Ottawa firefighter, opened Three Guys Liquor fifteen years ago. His son now owns the family business, but he said in all these years, he’s never seen anything like this.

(Read more: fox4kc.com | FOX 4 – WDAF)

St. John youths do belly flops with cops

Belly Flop with the Cops gave St. John-area youths a chance to interact with the local police force and have some free fun in the pool from Friday evening.

“We have some new faces on our force and we want kids to get to know them,” said Officer Tori Perez before the event. “This seemed like a fun way to do it.”

Perez joined the three-member city police force in May.

“I think it was a wonderful idea,” said St. John pool manager Stephanie Smith. “That’s why we waived the normal admission fee of $2 for adults and $1 for kids.”

Perez was joined at the pool by Officer Dave Eulenstein, who has served with St. John Police Department since December and who also works full time as a Stafford County sheriff deputy, and by Undersheriff Tom Fischer.

(Read more: Leavenworth Times)

Water dispute lands city, mayor in court

A water line dispute between neighbors in Wellsville, Kan., has degenerated into a civil suit filed in federal district court and involved the city and its mayor who are among the defendants named in the suit.
Marc and Regina Smith, the plaintiffs, say in court filings that they paid for a water meter in 1999 to serve their newly purchased residence and that the house is served by a water service line that extends about 1000ft from the meter to the property.
The couple claims that three of their neighbors tapped into the water line without a formal written agreement regarding the payment of water bills or the maintenance of the water line.

(Read more: Gardner News)

Voters in new city of The Highlands get tax-lid ballot

Voters in this 1-year-old incorporated city will vote Tuesday on a property tax question. The state’s tax lid formula limits the increase of the city budget for 2020, and the ballot asks:“Shall Resolution No. 2019-0023, adopted by the governing body of The Highlands, Kansas, on July 5th, 2019, increasing the City property tax by $30,000 to provide adequate funding for the City services and needs in 2020 be approved?”

(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)

Kansas, Missouri governors agree to cease-fire in business incentive border war

Gov. Laura Kelly signed an executive order Friday designed to match a Missouri law linking state-level business development incentives to net job growth in seven counties of the Kansas City metropolitan area and inspire at least a truce in the economic border war. The order issued by Kansas’ Democratic governor adhered to a law signed by Missouri Gov. Michael Parson, a Republican. The concern of public officials in both states has been the propensity of government officials to shower …

‘Showing their softer side’ at Hays PD Community Night Out

As usual, Hays police officer Ryan Blecha was on duty Thursday evening, but this shift did not require a patrol vehicle or even the official uniform.

This duty called for wearing shorts and a special T-shirt as Blecha manned the chip station in the food line for the Hays Police Department’s “Community Night Out” at the Hays Aquatic Park (HAP).

“He’s very important,” laughed Mackenzie Blecha, Ryan’s wife.

Mackenzie and daughter Gentry, 18 months, were some of the Hays police officers’ family members enjoying the fourth annual event. It included free swimming for everyone and a hot dog or hamburger meal for the first 1,000 people.

…

Several city officials also enjoyed Community Night Out, including city commissioners Eber Phelps, Ron Mellick and vice-mayor Shaun Musil.

(Read more: Hays Post)

Looking for ideas to improve the countys economy

Nearly 30 people attended a meeting to discuss economic development in Bourbon County.

The meeting, held Tuesday evening as part of the Bourbon County Commission meeting at the courthouse, was led by Bourbon County Economic Development Director Jody Hoener.

The purpose of the meeting was to provide attendees with results from a recently completed community-wide assessment and to set three priorities to move the county forward.

(Read more: Fort Scott Tribune)

Stability of border war truce in question

The governors in Kansas and Missouri have moved to end an economic “border war” that has gained their states unwanted national attention for using millions of dollars in incentives to entice companies into shifting jobs close to the Kansas City-area border.

Their truce appears shaky. An executive order that Democratic Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly signed Friday showed that officials in both states have yet to fully resolve a final sticking point: the ability of cities, counties and other local governments in Missouri to offer more lucrative local tax breaks than their counterparts in Kansas.

If Missouri officials don’t stop their generous local tax breaks, Kelly in her order threatens to call off the two states’ big, bipartisan deal, even with Friday’s declarations that the border war is over.

(Read more: Atchison Globe Now)

Wichita civilian volunteers to monitor Old Town surveillance cameras for police

A new batch of civilian volunteers is monitoring surveillance cameras for Wichita police — to help improve safety in Old Town, not to issue traffic tickets, police say.

“These cameras were put in with the intent to keep Old Town safe. They weren’t put in with the intent for traffic enforcement,” Police Chief Gordon Ramsay said Friday.

The volunteers are graduates of the Citizen’s Police Academy, a program that teaches civilians about policing.

(Read more: Local News |)

Hays to offer discounted admission to swimming pool for Ellis residents

The city of Hays plans to offer an admission discount at the Hays Aquatic Park (HAP) to Ellis residents after the Ellis swimming pool was unexpectedly closed Wednesday morning.

Henry Schwaller, Hays mayor, made the suggestion during Thursday’s city commission work session.

The Ellis municipal pool was losing almost 30,000 gallons of water every 2 to 3 days according to Mayor Dave McDaniel and city officials decided to shut it down ahead of the season closing date.

(Read more: Hays Post)

Some Kansas Workers Are Going To Class Without Having To Punch Out Of Work

Adult education programs offered by Kansas’ colleges and school districts are increasingly bringing classes to workers where they already are: at work.

Washburn University will soon offer conflict resolution to staffers at the Ramada Hotel in Topeka. Dodge City Community College will provide customer service lessons at Boot Hill Casino. And several schools are providing English classes, one of the most sought-after skills.

“There’s a major shift taking place in education,” said Karen Ulanski, the director for Paola USD 368’s adult education center.

(Read more: Rural Messenger)

This Bill Could Save Rural Governments Millions in Infrastructure Financing

A new proposal in Congress could make financing infrastructure projects in rural America far more affordable.

Called the Municipal Bond Market Support Act of 2019, the bill would modernize a restriction on so-called bank-qualified municipal bonds that effectively limits small governments’ access to cheaper borrowing rates in the municipal market.

The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) estimates that the proposed bill could save as much as $1.1 million in financing costs on a 15-year, $30 million bond issued by a small government. That translates into hundreds of millions of dollars in savings each year for small governments, nonprofits and districts across the country.

“Expanding the availability of bank-qualified bonds will help local governments and nonprofits afford critical construction projects and stimulate their economies, all while providing significant savings,” Alabama Rep. Terri Sewell said after introducing the bill.

(Read more: GOVERNING)

Waste intake increases for Pratt County Recycling

An increase in the amount of household hazardous waste coming to the Pratt County Recycle center has also increased the money the center has to pay to have the HHW removed.

Jason Winkel, landfill and recycle center manager, updated the Pratt County Commissioners on the HHW issue on July 29 at the regular weekly Commission meeting.

Winkel is working on options for handling HHW because of those increases.
Clean Harbors, out of Wichita, provides the hazardous waste removal and their last bill to the county was $8,600. A chemist comes from Kansas City to identify acids among HHW.

(Read more: Pratt, KS – Pratt Tribune)