Municipal News & Jobs

When you think of Derby, Kansas you may not necessarily think of a vacation destination, but that may soon change. “We’re very excited about what this means for Derby, we’re excited for what this might mean for the future,” said Derby City Manager Kiel Mangus. Derby Shores is the latest and greatest development project hoping to add plenty to do, not just for Derby residents, but for tourists from all over. Developers include the owners of Genesis Health Clubs. “It’s like a small ocean experience you know you’re looking way across, you have beach all the way around. It’s massive,” said Jake McCabe, Genesis VP of Marketing. Derby Shores is a 4.5-acre lagoon with white sandy beaches and plenty of other amenities. It’s estimated to bring in millions of dollars into the community. “Derby Shore is just one piece, so there’s a senior housing component, an apartment component, there’s ziplining, BMX, climbing facility and then Derby Shores which is a lagoon hotel and indoor waterpark piece,” said Mangus. The senior housing and additional apartments will take over another 15 acres in Derby. This development uses STAR bond and private funding, making it Derby’s 3rd STAR bond project. It’s the largest entertainment and tourism destination investment in South Central Kansas history. About 160 million dollars to be exact. STAR bonds come from a state program that utilizes tax dollars to add tourist attractions to Kansas.
Source: KAKE – News

Richard Zrubek lives in Bel Aire, an area of suburban Wichita that’s seen growth in the last few years. “Now it’s getting to the point where during rush hour traffic, you’ll find pretty much every exit on 96 from Woodlawn, Hillside, Rock Road, and now they’re backed up clear to the highway when people are trying to exit the road,” Zurbek said. As this growth continues, the Kansas Department of Transportation is proposing several new changes to the K-96 highway. “We’re taking seven interchanges; five of them are going to become diverging diamond interchanges. And then toward K 15, where it meets us 54, we’re gonna be expanding from four to six lanes,” says KDOT representative J.B. Wilson. Since the last public town hall last February, some of the public’s input was used to update the plan. Jake Borchers helped design the current version with those diamond interchanges and said that those working on the project continue to be open to suggestions. “It’s not like if we miss something tonight, there’s no more chances,” Borchers said. “So we’re open to those comments, that input to the life of the project.” Although many residents agree that new interchanges would work well and be safer, people like Zrubek say they’d like to see additional renovations, like new stoplight technology.
Source: KAKE – News

The City of Wichita is considering lifting the curfew for Veo Ride scooters. Currently, they shut off at 9 p.m. or dusk. “I normally start using them around six,” said Zidane Forbes, who uses the scooters. Forbes typically rides around on the scooters at night in Wichita. So when he heard they could soon be used after 9, he’s on board. “Most of the time, that’s when people actually want to use them. Like during the that’s a good idea. But later at night, you want to use them, ride around just have a little bit of fun,” said Forbes. The City of Wichita is considering lifting that 9 p.m. curfew that’s been in place since the scooters first came to the Air Capital in 2019. Veo Ride asked for the curfew to be lifted because more people seem to ride after 9. “A lot of your ridership is in the evening. We see people get on the scooters and have to get off at roughly at dusk or 9 pm, asked us to look into any revisions that we could make,” said Penny Feist, Interim Director of Wichita Transit. If the curfew for Veo Ride is lifted, every scooter is required to have headlights and reflectors.
Source: KAKE – News

Tuesday morning, the Wichita City Council approved a settlement in a lawsuit its facing for the police department targeting people of color on its gang list.  The federal lawsuit was filed in 2021 by Progeny, a local juvenile justice group. According to the lawsuit, WPD’s gang list includes 5,200 people, 1,700 active members, 3,000 inactive, and 221 gang associates. The suit claims police target people on the list with frequent stops and searches over minor traffic violations. It also says there’s a minimum bail of $50,000 if charged with a violent crime. It states black people make up 60% of Wichita’s gang list, Latinx make up 25%, and white people make up 6%. “This was something that I cared about before I was on council and it’s an opportunity to reform it,” said Wichita city council member Brandon Johnson when talking about why he was glad the city reached this settlement Tuesday. He says the current state statute makes it too easy for someone to be listed as a gang member, and he thinks this is a step in the right direction. “We had some business leaders who were on there and were concerned about their records and being labeled gang members there. They haven’t had that type of gang activity for decades,” said Johnson when talking about how someone could be on the list even if they were no longer active, simply because they had a past or they knew people involved. Under the settlement, the city will pay $550,000, as well as make some changes to its system.
Source: KAKE – News

Monday was a big day for Haysville kids like Aspen and Adrianna after patiently waiting for months to finally get to try the brand-new playground at Riggs Park. “My mom and dad said we would come here on the opening day of the park,” said Aspen. “We were going to come to the park. We planned it,” said Adrianna. With a cut of the ribbon, Haysville Mayor Russ Kessler says hundreds of kids spent the day on the new playground with smiles from ear to ear. But he says equipment like this doesn’t come cheap. “Roughly $300,000. And that’s included with the pour-in-place ground,” said Kessler. Kessler says the playground is made possible by something that’s coming up for a vote in Haysville for the first time in ten years: a 1% sales tax the city uses to improve roads and parks. “It’s pretty awesome. You know, I’ve never seen it this crowded, so you know the kids really enjoy it,” said resident Ronnie Kinnamon. Some residents are on the fence about whether they want to extend the 1% sales tax in May, but people like Kinnamon say after seeing his grandson having so much fun Monday, he hopes voters won’t cut the funds. “It’s good for the kids. Anything to keep the kids occupied so they’re not into other things that they shouldn’t be doing, you know,” said Kinnamon. And it may come as no surprise that the kids agree.
Source: KAKE – News