Kansas Municipal News
Park City to gauge tourism, visitors
According to the Ark Valley News, the Park City City Council recently took action to monitor data related to tourism and economic development within the city. During its July 9 meeting, the council authorized a one-year, $10,000 contract with Placer.ai, a company that gathers data and provides insight into how residents, visitors and tourists move through communities. According to the Ark Valley News, the Park City City Council recently took action to monitor data related to tourism and economic development within the city. Planning to utilize STAR bonds for Park City’s Champtown entertainment district, the data from Placer.ai is intended to help with that as well as optimizing public outreach efforts and strengthening grant applications.
Source: Derby Informer | Area
Mulvane gets AARP walkability grant
The Mulvane Recreation Foundation was recently awarded a $2,500 grant through the AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons). Mulvane was one of seven Kansas cities to receive funding through the 2024 AARP Community Challenge. The goal of the program is to “make communities more livable,” especially for seniors, by creating more walkable, connected cities. A meeting of volunteers will be scheduled soon, with those individuals to help with walk audits researching needed safety measures and improvements to pedestrian infrastructure in select areas of Mulvane.
Source: Derby Informer | Area
108 feet tall mural on Inman grain elevator now complete
Mindy Allen of Mindy’s Mural has completed her largest project ever, a mural on a grain elevator in the small town of Inman. “I told my daughter, ‘It feels like the last day of school,’” said Allen. “You know, the last day of school when you’re cleaning out your locker, and you’re cleaning your desk and all that stuff. It’s so exciting.” Allen started this project nearly five weeks ago after the city decided to celebrate its 150th anniversary of turkey red winter wheat being brought to Kansas. She really wanted to get the mural right for the town. She even set up a donation poll to decide what color to paint the combine. “I worked really hard on it and wanted to make sure that all of the pieces were just right, you know. That the equipment in the background was the right colors and everything was just right so that the people seeing it and that live here in Inman that, you know, that they don’t have anything that they’re saying ‘Well, I wish that it would’ve been this or that.’ You know that everybody enjoys it,” she said. “Everybody that I’ve spoken to seems to really love it. People are always driving by and honking and stopping by and saying ‘thank you for doing this’ and that they love it. So, I mean, everything that I’ve heard has been positive. If there’s anything negative, they haven’t told me,” she laughed. “I’m really proud of this one.”
Source: KSN-TV
Newton affected by global network outage
The City of Newton says some of its systems are down due to a global technology outage. The global outage was caused when a popular cybersecurity company released a faulty update overnight. The company says it was not a cyberattack or security incident. The City of Newton says its Utility Billing Office, Newton Municipal Court and Engineering Office cannot take payments or access accounts.
Source: KSN-TV
Osage City Library offers ‘care cupboard’ stocked with personal care products
The Osage City Library is creating a “care cupboard” for individuals who have a need. The Care Cupboard has the following items: Toothbrushes, toothpaste, shaving cream, razors, denture cleaner, shampoo and conditioner, soap, body wash, deodorant, feminine pads, tampons and bladder pads for women and men. The library received a grant from the Northeast Kansas Library System to create the Care Cupboard. The library will accept donations of items and monetary donations to keep the cupboard stocked after the grant money has been depleted.
Source: Osage County News
Voters to decide on sales tax for local hospitals in November
Nemaha County voters will soon decide if they want to continue a 1/2 percent retailer’s sales tax for two local hospitals — Sabetha Community Hospital (SCH) and Nemaha Valley Community Hospital (NVCH). The question — which is a renewal of a sales tax already being collected since July 1, 2015 — will appear on the General Election ballot on Tuesday, Nov. 5. If approved, the money collected would continue to help fund health care services in Nemaha County for an additional 10-year period. The funding is used by the hospitals for capital improvements, equipment upgrades and general operating expenses. Representatives for both hospitals also said that sales tax funds will not be used for building projects. The funds will solely be used “in operating budgets to support services, including purchasing and maintaining equipment and paying for staff training. Building projects are being accomplished through grants, loans and private donations, and their budgets are separate from everyday operating costs.”
Source: The Sabetha Herald » Feed
City of Manhattan approves agreement with K-State for fire services
The Manhattan city commission on Tuesday approved a new agreement with K-State for a continued ground lease and fire protection services at 2000 Denison Avenue. In 1983 the city government and KSU signed the current interlocal agreement for the city to provide fire services to university properties and for the city to lease K-State’s land at 2000 Denison Ave., where the city owns and operates the fire department headquarters, fire station and training grounds. The new agreement extends the city’s lease term until 2075, and coincides with the estimated $5 million investment the city may make in replacing the Training Center at the Amherst fire station sometime before 2028.
Source: themercury.com
Atchison hires new City Manager
The City of Atchison officially has a new city manager. City Commissioners and Mayor La Rochelle Young just recently announced Mark Westhoff as Atchison’s next City Manager. His contract was approved on July 1 with an official start date of August 27. Westhoff comes to Atchison from his current position as County Administrator for Prowers County in Colorado, serving since 2022. Westhoff is a graduate of the University of Colorado and is currently completing his Master’s in Business Administration with a concentration in Public Management from Colorado State University – Pueblo. “I’m overjoyed at the opportunity to join the excellent team in Atchison and build on the positive momentum they and the City Commissioners have created there,” Westhoff said. “My wife Brianne, our four children, and I are also looking forward to jumping into the community as quickly as possible and getting to know all of you. We are so excited. Let’s grow together, Atchison.”
Source: www.atchisonglobenow.com
Wichita’s 154th birthday celebrated at the historical museum
Wichita celebrated its 154th birthday Sunday. The city was established in 1870, just three months after Sedgwick County was recognized. The Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum celebrated by having an ice cream social, live music, and free admission for people to experience and check out the exhibits. The museum is also celebrating 85 years of existence. “It’s the only museum that’s focused on our local history in a broad sense. And that’s the history back to the founding of the county and right after the Civil War. And here we are, 154 years later, still working on it.” Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum Director Eric Cale said.
Source: KSN-TV
In first year of open enrollment, Olathe accepts 70+ out-of-district transfers
The Olathe School District has approved 72 out-of-district transfer applications for the upcoming school year. The move comes as all school districts in Kansas must now provide the opportunity for nonresident students to enroll in their schools, according to a state law that takes effect this year. At the July 11 school board meeting, Dr. Jill Smith, Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education at Olathe Public Schools presented the board with its first open enrollment report. The district, Smith said, had 590 openings across elementary, middle and high schools. All eligible students wishing to transfer to schools with openings were accepted. Any student applying to a school that was at capacity or who was subject to a disciplinary suspension in their current district were not accepted.
Source: Shawnee Mission Post
Municipal Bond Trends for July 19, 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.
Abilene deploys first stage of drought response
As of July 5 Abilene is under a water watch, meaning the city is requesting residents reduce their water usage outdoors. Ron Marsh, city manager, called for the watch because of how low the water tables are, how far down a well needs to go to pump water from the city’s water sources underground.
Source: Abilene Reflector Chronicle
Governor Kelly Announces $10M for Broadband Projects in Rural Kansas
Governor Laura Kelly announced today that $10 million has been awarded to 12 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the latest round of Broadband Acceleration Grants. The awards will be paired with an additional $12.7 million in matching funds, resulting in an investment of nearly $22.7 million for high-speed broadband access projects across 14 rural Kansas counties.
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce
Overland Park considers changing how it gives out 2 types of development incentives
As part of a months-long effort to review its economic incentive policies, Overland Park is now tackling two that tend to use sales tax to encourage specific types of development and redevelopment. These two economic development tools are community improvement districts and transportation development districts, more typically referred to as CIDs and TDDs, respectively.
Source: Johnson County Post
Fed Governor Waller sees central bank ‘getting closer’ to an interest rate cut
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller on Wednesday suggested that interest rate cuts are ahead soon as long as there are no major surprises on inflation and employment. … Keeping with statements from other policymakers, Waller’s sentiments point to an unlikelihood of a rate cut when the Federal Open Market Committee meets later this month, but a stronger likelihood of a move in September.
Source: CNBC
Who are Wichita’s top water customers?
As of Monday, Cheney Lake is nearly six-and-a-half feet below its normal level, less than 65% full. This is a mark that has Wichita on the brink of mandatory water restrictions. With the City of Wichita treating more than 19 billion gallons of water each year, 12 News looked into water usage in the city, asking for the top 30 users of Wichita’s water supply. Considering Wichita water customers, the supply extends well beyond the city’s limits.
Source: KWCH
What Wichita-area services are down due to global outage?
A worldwide IT outage caused by a faulty update is also impacting several Sedgwick County resources. CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm, said that an update sent to Microsoft computers caused widespread problems that led to grounded flights and disruptions to companies across the world. … The county’s vehicle tagging offices are currently closed due to computer problems. “The computers are back up with county software but unfortunately the motor vehicle system is on the state software, and at this moment the state has not gotten their stuff up and running,” Brandi Baily, the county’s treasurer, said at Friday morning’s county commissioners agenda review meeting. “The plan is to keep the tag office doors closed until we have that up and running.”
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
McCune Lions Club successful community garden providing healthy fresh food to the area
According to the Kansas Healthy Food Initiative, more than 750,000 Kansans did not have access to healthy food within a reasonable distance of their home in 2023. Approximately 26 percent of those Kansans also live in low access areas, otherwise known as a “food desert.” One of the many communities in Kansas suffering as a food desert is in McCune. While McCune Farm to Market provides local produce, meats, and eggs along with basic groceries, the next closest grocery store is 21 miles east in Pittsburg or 15 miles west to Parsons. In an effort to tackle food insecurity in the rural area, the McCune Lions Club has been maintaining a community garden for several years. “Live Well came over here six years ago and Greenbush was still using the school here at that time and they got with them and they wanted to put this building here and have the students work in it part-time,” said Lions Club member Clint McColm. “Well, they asked the city if they wanted it on their ground and they said ‘no’ so I called them that next morning after they met with the city and I said ‘Hey, the Lions Club, we have ground out here that we’ll let you put it on.’ “… Live Well hired the Amish to build it. They built it for us and once it was built, then they signed it over to the Lions Club. We had a garden club from the church and they helped us for a year.”
Source: Morning Sun
New courthouse holds remnants of old, new clocks
The mechanisms that controlled the clock on the exterior west wall of the Harvey County Courthouse are in the second-floor women’s bathroom in a protective enclosure. The clock no longer works, but the mechanisms still are there. “We don’t use it anymore,” said David Ryan, Harvey County facilities and grounds maintenance director. “The last time we had it estimated, trying to fix it was a challenge. It was pretty expensive. There was no guarantee it would be accurate.” “At some point, we took the hands off the clock,” County Administrator Anthony Swartzendruber said. “The hands didn’t move any more,” Ryan said. In this story, there is the old courthouse and the new courthouse. Tying them together is a bell, the location, their purpose and clocks.
Source: Harvey County Now
Lawrence Municipal Court to accept $15 of school supplies to cover $50 of fines
For a second year running, Lawrence Municipal Court is holding a school supply drive that will allow people to pay off $50 in fines with $15 worth of school supplies. “Participants can purchase $15 worth of new school supplies from the approved supply list below and bring them to the Lawrence Municipal Court along with the receipt to get $50 credited towards a traffic infraction and/or parking fines,” according to a Friday news release from the city. “The donations will only apply to existing court fines, not potential future fines. Individuals can also choose to donate toward fines on another person’s account,” according to the release. Municipal Court Judge Chris Kopecky, who started in his role in October 2022, said last year that the Olathe municipal court had a similar initiative, and he thought it might be a good thing to do here. Vicki Stanwix, court administrator, said via email last year that 44 people donated items in exchange for a reduction in parking or infraction fines. The court also received donations from some people who owed less than $50 in fines, and from people who did not owe fines to the court but wanted to give back to the community, she said.
Source: The Lawrence Times