Kansas Municipal News
Wichita is poised to settle a lawsuit challenging police gang list. Here’s what it means
The city of Wichita is poised to settle a lawsuit brought by Kansas Appleseed and the ACLU of Kansas that contended the Wichita Police Department’s gang list is unconstitutional. Last fall, a federal judge granted class-action status to the 5,245 people on the gang list. If City Council members approve the settlement Tuesday, Wichita will pay $550,000 in legal fees and costs. The mediated agreement would not require Wichita to destroy its gang list as plaintiffs initially called for. Instead, a judge would appoint a special master to oversee its ongoing use by the police department for three years at an additional cost of $75,000 to the city. “This mediated agreement narrows and clarifies the criteria the Wichita Police Department can use to place a person on the gang list/database, with increased oversight on the gang list/database process to review when and how someone can be listed,” the agenda report states. City documents do not elaborate on how the process for placing someone on the gang list would change.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
How long would it take to run every street in Wichita? Local runner now knows after being first
The most challenging part about running every square inch of Wichita? Loose dogs. Jason Niblack was chased by dozens of them, cornered multiple times, even had a driver cut in between him and a pack of aggressive dogs. He eventually started carrying pepper spray but never had to use it. The 48-year-old software engineering manager at NetApp also had a couple of interesting encounters with police en route to running Wichita’s 3,886 streets over 596 runs. He finished the feat Easter morning after a few years of what he called obsessive running once he found out about how to track running on every street in the city. It led him to see many hidden gems in the city he spent his whole life in, but also showed him stark lifestyle differences among people who live just blocks away from one another. Niblack, who started running in his 30s after realizing how unhealthy he was during a boot camp put on by a coworker, is the only person known to have run every inch of Wichita.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Goessel City Council works on flooding issue
The Goessel city council met on March 25 and discussed the flood control project. Mayor Evan Esau talked about concrete and debris that need to be removed from the creek that runs through town. Some trees also need to be removed, as well as a dam on private property. It was noted that some property owners in that area have already removed the trees on their property pointed out by Darin Neufeld of EBH Engineering. He had walked through the creek area with members of the council to show them specifically what needed to be removed for the water to flow through town to avoid flooding. The council noted that it is the responsibility of homeowners to clean out their culverts. Turning their attention to another matter, the council spent some time discussing equipment. The tractor that had been repaired does not work; it still has the same problem. The city will pay for the parts that had been billed, but will not pay for the labor yet. The city’s road grader does not work either, and parts are no longer available to fix it since it is old. The council has looked into purchasing another road grader but made no decision. In the meantime, they accepted a contract to hire the road work at 10 hours a month for $125 per hour.
Source: Hillsboro Free Press
New sculpture honoring Leawood’s 75-year history coming soon
Now that the Leawood City Council has given final funding approvals, a massive sculpture celebrating the city’s 75th anniversary — and compared in importance by one councilmember to a piece by Michelangelo — can begin its journey from New Orleans to the corner of Mission Road and Lee Boulevard. The 844-mile-trip between New Orleans and Leawood will have to be made four times with the sculpture broken down into movable pieces. But that is only the latest chapter. “Reaching,” a 28-foot tall, 15,000-pound work by William Nemitoff, has already been on an epic journey that began in 2021 and has included debates over the site, a proposed parking lot, supply chain issues and unexpected installation expenses. “I have to think of Michelangelo doing the Sistine Chapel. I’m sure that didn’t start and finish the way everybody envisioned it,” said Councilmember Debra Filla as the city council prepared to approve installation spending Monday night. “I do think it is going to be one spectacular thing. I’m going to put it on my nightly prayer list — installed by July 1, installed by July 1.”
Source: Johnson County Post
Wichita City Council unanimously passes program for water-saving devices
A program to provide incentives for some water-saving devices has passed with a vote of seven to zero. Wichita has offered water conservation rebate programs since 2013 in an attempt to save water. These rebates come as water bill credits and since its conception, rebates totaling $1,654,007 have been approved. These water saving units have saved roughly 478 million gallons of water. The 2024 program hopes to save water by offering incentives to people who install water-saving devices such as rain barrels, smart irrigation controllers, rain sensors, faucet/hose irrigation controllers, leak repair kits and dual flush conversion kits. Customers are limited to five rebates per year.
Source: KAKE – News
Municipal Bond Trends for April 5, 2024
The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS “investment grade” yields. 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.
Municipal Bond Trends for April 4, 2024
The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS “investment grade” yields. 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 announces five finalists for city manager position
On Wednesday, the City of Topeka announced the five finalists for the Topeka City Manager Position. The finalists will be participating in two interview panels on Monday, April 8. The interviews will not be open to the public, but a meet and greet will be held for members of the public on April 8 from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Hotel Topeka Emerald Ballroom at 1717 SW Topeka Boulevard.
Read more: KSNT
Planning Commission wrestles with battery storage questions
While no official decision was made during the Halstead Planning Commission work session Monday evening, the commission seemed to be leaning toward creating regulations to guide a company interested in installing a battery energy storage system (BESS) in the city’s industrial park. Other options included banning the operation all altogether or amending the code to allow battery storage systems.
Source: Harvey County Now
Newton Public Library opens to large crowd
You can now check out and check out from the new Newton Public Library. The library, its board, the City of Newton, donors, the Newton Area Chamber of Commerce, along with members of the public, celebrated the opening of the building with a ribbon cutting Monday morning. More than 200 people were in attendance. “This is a momentous occasion, and it’s made possible by the unwavering support by our community and the dedication of our community and numerous organizations,” Larry Lee, library board vice president, told the crowd.
Source: Harvey County Now
Emporia’s Bird scooter program shutting down this week
The Bird scooters zipping around Emporia the past three years will be, pardon the pun, flying away soon. Bird has announced it will be ending its local presence March 31. Emporia city commissioners approved a partnership with Bird in 2021…
Source: KVOE Emporia Radio
Westwood resident appeals JoCo judge decision on park sale, city motions to dismiss
Westwood’s main park remains the subject of a legal battle, now making its way through the appellate courts. Beckie Brown … Brown is appealing the decision against allowing her to intervene in the city’s request for the court’s ruling on whether a protest petition against the sale of the park was invalid. The judge ruled the petition was invalid in late February, siding with the city.
Source: Johnson County Post
Lime will bring e-scooters, e-bikes to Overland Park
Lime Micromobility will bring a fleet of its electric scooters and bikes to Overland Park for riders to rent. On Monday, the Overland Park City Council unanimously approved a new operating agreement with Neutron Holdings, Inc., the California-based business arm of Lime.
Source: Johnson County Post
Developer plans hotel, amphitheater
Plans to build a hotel north of Burlington also include a proposal for an amphitheater to seat up to 2,500, the Coffey County Republican reported. Developers hope to use STAR bonds to help fund building projects and they require a tourism draw, Coffey County commissioners learned earlier this week. A developer plans to build a 72- to 80-room hotel with other facilities such as restaurants or an RV park on a 9-acre tract. Another development would include Hoover’s Thriftway, Bomgaars and a 30-acre tract east of the hotel where the amphitheater will be constructed. The community improvement district would collect sales tax to pay for improvements.
Source: The Iola Register
Maize program has students growing food for lunch
Students at Maize schools are getting the opportunity to reap what they sow. A grant from the Department of Agriculture allowed them to buy 35 hydroponic gardens to be distributed in all 14 schools. Megan Barnard, the director of food service for Maize, says they looked for a way to get local, sustainable, fresh produce. Each garden is equivalent to a 40-square-foot farm. There are 18 different varieties, including kale, spinach, peppers, and tomatoes. “Using less water than if we were to purchase it from a farm grown in Arizona and California,” Barnard said. “So our footprint is a little bit less when we’re using it here at the school.” An educator is in charge of the garden, but students are responsible for the daily maintenance like testing the PH and trimming the roots. The students plant, maintain harvest, and eat what they produce. The students are trying and learning about crops unfamiliar to them, setting them up for the future. “Gives them exposure to some culinary aspects and agricultural aspects that they maybe wouldn’t have considered as a career,” Barnard said. “So as they get older in our high schools, they have the career and technical education path that they could now have some exposure and be interested in and take those classes and already have a leg up.” Barnard says educators are using the gardens to teach hands-on learning in science and agriculture, as well as skills like leadership and social-emotional learning.
Source: KSN-TV
Commerce Awards Nearly $1.5M in CDBG Grants for Housing and Commercial Projects
The Kansas Department of Commerce has announced that five Kansas cities will receive a share of $1,450,000 through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program to assist with community development projects. CDBG, administered by the Department of Commerce, is a federal grant program that provides funding for projects that help low- to moderate-income neighborhoods prosper. “These grants provide critical support to Kansas communities and downtown areas for important projects that might not otherwise happen,” Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said. “The CDBG program allows Commerce to partner with local communities and address specific housing and building issues standing in the way of progress.” The CDBG Housing program provides funding to support the rehabilitation of housing units and the demolition of blighted structures. Awarded cities completed the Housing Assessment Tool (HAT) and identified Housing Rehabilitation as a program area to address their needs.
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce
Fed’s Powell emphasizes need for more evidence that inflation is easing before cutting rates
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday it will take a while for policymakers to evaluate the current state of inflation, keeping the timing of potential interest rate cuts uncertain. Speaking specifically about stronger than expected price pressures to start the year, the central bank leader said he and his fellow officials are in no rush to ease monetary policy. “On inflation, it is too soon to say whether the recent readings represent more than just a bump,” Powell said in prepared remarks ahead of a question-and-answer session at Stanford University. “We do not expect that it will be appropriate to lower our policy rate until we have greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably down toward 2 percent,” he added. “Given the strength of the economy and progress on inflation so far, we have time to let the incoming data guide our decisions on policy.” The remarks come a week after the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee again voted to hold benchmark short-term borrowing rates steady. In addition, the committee’s post meeting statement on March 20 included the “greater confidence” qualifier needed before cutting.
Source: Finance
Employees drawn to Rural Kansas Apprenticeship Program
Three newly-hired apprentices at two companies say the chance to earn money while they learn more about their jobs was one of the main reasons they considered positions created through Kansas Farm Bureau’s (KFB) award-winning Rural Kansas Apprenticeship Program (RKAP). South Bend Industrial Hemp used the program to hire Joseph Rogers and Kaidence Sanchez as hemp processing facility operators at the Great Bend-based company. “I think it’s really cool the apprenticeship comes with some educational opportunities,” Rogers says. Sanchez says he’s never seen anything like the apprenticeship program and believes “it’s an exciting way to learn more and earn more money.” Camron Hicks is the second apprentice hired through RKAP at Moundridge-based Mid-Kansas Cooperative (MKC). He’s training as an operations specialist at MKC’s Canton location. Hicks says he wants to travel throughout Kansas and learn more about grain elevators, and he sees a real career path through his apprenticeship.
Source: Great Bend Tribune
Wichita.gov would become ‘official city newspaper’ under council proposal
City Hall’s own website, Wichita.gov would be recognized as the “official city newspaper” under a proposed charter ordinance the City Council will vote on Tuesday. Doing so would allow the city to terminate its contract for publishing copies of new ordinances and notices of other official actions in The Eagle, including notices about imposing taxes, creating benefit districts and amending the zoning code. The publication of legal notices in a designated newspaper is required by state law. In supporting documents, the city cites a July 2023 nonbinding legal opinion by Attorney General Kris Kobach declaring that second-class cities — those with between 2,000 and 15,000 residents — can circumvent the third-party publication requirement. City staff asserts that the same should hold true for any city that invokes home rule on the issue. (…) Update, April 2: The City Council delayed a vote on the proposed charter ordinance until June 4 to allow district advisory boards to review the proposal. The June 4 meeting will be held at 6 p.m. inside the council chambers at City Hall.
Source: Wichita Eagle
Cold War exhibit coming to Abilene
A new temporary exhibit is now on display at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene. The exhibit, “Cold War: Soviets, Spies and Secrets,” displays pieces from the Cold War, which was an integral era of history. The information, activities, and artifacts highlight the Cold War era from spies that infiltrated governments to the stockpiling of nuclear weapons. The exhibit is on loan from the Nixon Presidential Foundation and Library and will be available to view through March 2025.
Source: Derby Informer | News