Kansas Municipal News
Kansas Tourism Triumphs with Four Marketing Awards, Highlighting Excellence in Destination Promotion
North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) recently announced that Kansas Tourism received four awards in the 32nd Annual NATJA Awards Competition. The competition honors the best of the best in travel journalism, photography and destination marketing organizations. This recognition underscores Kansas Tourism’s dedication to innovative destination marketing and its commitment to showcasing the state as a premier travel destination. “Kansas Tourism’s award-winning efforts in inspiring travelers to explore our state are pivotal to our image and growth,” Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said. “Every visitor represents a potential resident or business connection, and elevating Kansas as an attractive destination ensures lasting benefits for all communities.” The four awards presented to Kansas Tourism include Destination of the Year Award; Creative Marketing Campaign, Gold Award; Destination Video, Bronze Award; and Travel Guide, Honorable Mention Award. (…) “We are honored to be recognized for the work we do to inspire travel to Kansas,” Kansas Tourism Director Bridgette Jobe said. “Winning these prestigious tourism marketing awards reaffirms our commitment to creativity, innovation, and excellence in promoting unforgettable experiences in the state.”
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce
Towanda water loss totals $114,000
The City of Towanda announced in early 2024 that a large leak had been found in the city with suspicions of leaching water since June 2022. During a City Council meeting in February, the council disclosed that the leak was losing 50,000 gallons of water per day, every day since its inception, which is unclear. The City Administrator/City Clerk Andy Newbrey estimated that nearly 20 million gallons of water have been lost to date, totaling $114,000. The question many residents have raised is why wasn’t the leak caught sooner? “As far as my perspective goes, I don’t have experience with what the water bill should be,” said Newbrey. “I was the city treasurer full time before that, but we were occupied with revamping our accounting system and multiple things, and I didn’t look at water costs.” These things coupled with high turnover is why the city says they didn’t catch the leak. It wasn’t until they ran the state mandated water report that it was found. “Basically, we’re on our second maintenance staff since I’ve been here,” said Newbrey. “So, we’ve had quite a rotation.” The City of Towanda currently employs three full time and two part time city maintenance staff and are looking into hiring a fourth full time member in 2025 if budgeting allows. As far as fixing the leak goes, they may not know if it’s fixed until Monday. Maintenance staff have been working around the clock between other various calls to locate and correct the leak, so far repairing two major areas they’ve been able to identify.
Source: Andover American
Emporia City Commission advances plans for Community Improvement District
The City of Emporia approved a resolution to establish a public hearing that would potentially create a community improvement district at the Emporia West Plaza during a Wednesday meeting of the city commission. The CID would impose an additional 2% sales tax for the stores located at 1312 Industrial Rd., including Tractor Supply Co., Dollar General, Rent-A-Center, Boost Mobile, Ichiban Asian Bistro, Metro by T-Mobile, Taekwondo, Oriental Massage, and House of Ma Restaurant, and the upcoming El Rio Bravo Supermarket. Special Projects Director Tayler Wash said the CID would include improvements of parking facilities, infrastructure improvements, landscaping, lighting, utilities and more. The public hearing is set for April 3.
Source: Emporia Gazette
McCook, Goodland LEOs get help from communities capturing stray cattle
Rural towns are known for doing things their own way, and catching stray cattle is no different. Police departments in both McCook, Nebraska, and Goodland, Kansas, made Facebook posts about cattle that were making their ways throughout town. In Goodland, the police department said it was involved in “the lowest-speed chase ever,” in pursuit of a runaway calf. They attempted to keep the calf off the road, but it was “determined” to get to McDonald’s for a Happy Meal. Unfortunately, the calf didn’t have any money (moo-lah, one might say) and moved onto a field to the east. Goodland police said Josh Dorn, along with his horse named Boat, took time away from his family to help the calf get to safety where it was transported by its owners back home. “Seriously, thank you to the officers for keeping the calf off the roadways, and a huge shout out to Josh and Boat for taking time away from their family to help GPD and the owner of the calf,” The Facebook post reads. “I have heard Josh go out and help many times in these situations, great guy to have in our community!!”
Source: KSN-TV
National League of Cities Launches New Mapping Resource to Support Transit Planning in Municipalities
The National League of Cities (NLC) has released a new resource, the Civic Mapping Initiative, to help local governments and transit planners identify opportunities for improving public transit access to critical civic infrastructure and resources. The Civic Mapping Initiative offers easily navigable maps that allow local policymakers to measure the proximity of local transit stops to public services such as Head Start centers and community colleges so that access can be improved where needed. “Improving access to public transit can help build more equitable communities by opening new doors for residents and changing people’s lives,” NLC CEO and Executive Director Clarence Anthony said. “NLC is thrilled to bring the Civic Mapping Initiative into our programming as we continue to support local leaders in identifying opportunities to create more connectivity and improve mobility in their cities, towns and villages.”
Source: nlc.org/contents/rss-feed
‘We’re tired of this’: Sedgwick County homeowners are seeing an increase in home valuations
Home valuations are arriving in mailboxes across Sedgwick County. Nearly 150,000 people will see an average increase of 10%, meaning they’ll pay more in property taxes. Sedgwick County Commissioner Ryan Baty says there’s a bill being debated in Topeka for a property tax lid, and the county is working on adjusting its upcoming budget to provide some relief to homeowners. “I think that people in this community, we’ve met a threshold, so there’s a lot of conversations happening about how do we relieve pressure,” said Baty. Baty says after seeing a similar situation in 2023, he believes there are services currently paid for by taxing homeowners that could paid with other funds. “Most of them are public safety, public health, public works, and things that maybe aren’t public safety, maybe some of the quality of life investments that we make here, maybe those need to be funded not from property taxes, but from sales tax,” said Baty. Haysville resident for decades Linda Johnson says her home appraisal has raised over $40,000 in the past three years. She says the increase is causing her stress when it comes time to pay property taxes.
Source: KSN-TV
Wichita leaders heading to D.C. to push for money for local projects
The Wichita mayor and city council are heading to Washington, D.C., for meetings next week. The road trip is a way to meet face-to-face with lawmakers to push for money for big projects. On the list is money to work on flood mitigation, federal monies to improve Kellogg, and another push to get Amtrack to stop in Wichita. Wichita is getting close to having Amtrak from Texas and Oklahoma stop in Wichita, and the mayor and council will meet with railroad and federal executives to make another push to get Wichita on the list. But the trip is also a chance to try and secure federal funds for things like flood mitigation, particularly in west Wichita. Some council members say face-to-face meetings can be the best way to bring home federal funding. “They say it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. And it’s so true. You can have face-to-face contact, you can communicate with them directly. This is very, very important for our city to have those relationships nationally,” said J.V. Johnson, District 5 Wichita City Councilmember. Wichita Mayor Lily Wu and the city council will also meet with federal officials to talk about the Equus Beds aquifer recharge that is north of Wichita, as well as push to get more federal funding to go into the 21st Street corridor to improve railroads and traffic flow. In addition, they will meet with Kansas senators Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran they will also be attending a municipalities conference.
Source: KSN-TV
Neosho County commissioner offers to help Galesburg fire with locating funding
Neosho County Commissioner Nicholas Galemore offered to assist Galesburg Fire Chief John Lilburn in finding a funding source for the volunteer fire department. At last week’s meeting in Erie, Lilburn approached the commission with a request of funds for the Galesburg Fire Department. The city of Galesburg, Centerville and Ladore townships have invested approximately $74,000 since September 2023 toward the purchase of new trucks and firefighting equipment, which has depleted each entity’s reserves, Lilburn said in a letter he distributed to commissioners. Thus, more funding is needed for what Lilburn referred to as the department’s critical needs: a firefighting skid; AED (current one is outdated); replacement of fire hoses; firefighting foam; and a tanker truck. “Fire season is on us. And we definitely need these items,” Lilburn told commissioners.
Source: The Chanute Tribune
Sedgwick County commissioners talking about sales tax increase
With property values increasing over the past few years, Sedgwick County commissioners are talking about the idea of a one-cent sales tax increase that would be dedicated totally to property tax relief. The idea is being proposed by Commissioner David Dennis, after a report from the County Appraiser’s office showing that residential property values are going up by an average of ten percent this year. Dennis said it’s time for commissioners to look at other ways to fund government and provide services without relying so much on property taxes. The county already has a one-cent sales tax for street and bridge improvements, so permission from the Kansas Legislature would be needed to take a one cent increase to a vote of the people. Dennis believes the public would support the increase if 100 percent of it would be used to reduce property taxes across the board. He said the sales tax would be paid by visitors who come to Wichita and Sedgwick County for events and attractions, so the funds to reduce property taxes would not just come from county residents.
Source: 101.3 KFDI
Shawnee County wants to replace your Callery Pear tree with healthier, native species
We’re nearing the time of year when flowers and leaves start to bloom, however, you may not want all of them sticking around. The Callery Pear, or Bradford Pear tree is one of the most invasive plants in Kansas. That’s why Shawnee County Parks and Recreation is partnering with Deep Roots and the Evergy Green Team to swap yours out. “It’s just a tough plant, they can germinate easily and they’re pretty tough to get rid of,” Park District Manager Tom Hammer said. “It helps to get some more diversity species, diversity out there. Some of the trees they’re offering on this buy back program are things that are a little more native.” The organizations will be at Gage Park on April 27, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Source: KSNT 27 News
JoCo commission OKs controversial soccer complex plan in rural Stilwell
The Metcalf Soccer Complex’s controversial journey through the Johnson County planning process ended last week with approval by the county commission amid continued objections from neighbors who fear usage of the outdoor and indoor fields will cause a “traffic nightmare.” After more than an hour of discussion and three attempts at amendments on Thursday, commissioners voted 6-1 on each of two votes to approve a conditional use permit and preliminary plat for the complex, which is planned for 67 acres east of Metcalf Avenue between 202nd Terrace and 206th Street. In doing so, the commission diverged from recommendations of the East Zoning Board to impose stricter limits on the hours for the outdoor fields, turn off field lighting by 8 p.m. or leave the outdoor fields unlit, and shorten the term of the permit to five years.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Kansas museum is one of the most unique in the world
You can find many interesting and unique museums in Kansas. Hutchinson has the Cosmosphere and Strataca Salt Museum. Greensburg, the Big Well Museum, and Hays, the Sternberg Natural History Museum. You can find the newly opened Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum in Atchison and the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene. However, there’s one museum you may not even know about that is one of the most unique in the world: the Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum. Martin and Osa Johnson were pioneers in filmmaking and nature documentaries. In the early 20th century, the couple were the first to travel to places like Africa and the South Pacific with film equipment to document wildlife and native cultures. Martin Johnson was born in Lincoln, Kansas, in 1884 and raised in Independence. He traveled to the South Pacific as a cook and photographer for author and adventurer Jack London. Though he had met his future wife Osa several years before when he photographed her brother, he was reintroduced to her when he lectured on his travels with London in Osa’s hometown of Chanute. They married soon after, and after briefly planning to operate a movie theater in Independence, Martin convinced Osa to travel to film in the South Pacific. It was the first of many films for the couple that became highly successful.
Source: KSNT 27 News
Municipal Bond Trends for March 8, 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.
Testing for PFAS, toxic ‘forever chemicals’, set to begin
… EPA is requiring [Topeka] next year to test its drinking water for such unregulated contaminants as PFAS under its Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR5), [co-interim communications director] Nichols said. “State regulatory agencies, in our case KDHE, set the sampling schedule for all their public water suppliers, including the city of Topeka,” she said. “They have set up the UCMR5 testing for the entire state from 2022 to 2026 and ours is set for 2025.”
Source: CJonline
$126 million project announced to widen US-75 highway to four lanes north of Holton
Federal funding announced Thursday by Gov. Laura Kelly will enable the state of Kansas to widen traffic to four lanes from two on a fatality-plagued stretch of US-75 highway north of Holton. The $126 million project will widen US-75 to a four-lane expressway from Holton north to its intersection with K-20 highway, which connects with US-75 after running east from Horton past the Kickapoo Golden Eagle Casino.
Source: CJonline
Pilot night-court program in Lawrence Municipal Court discontinued after 6 months of low turnout
After about six months, a pilot night-court program in the Lawrence Municipal Court is being discontinued after failing to draw enough participants outside of the court’s regular hours. City Manager Craig Owens announced the move during the Lawrence City Commission meeting earlier this week. Since last summer, the court has remained open on the third Wednesday of each month for an additional hour and a half for a night court session, which was intended to reduce the number of instances in which defendants failed to appear for a scheduled court date.
Source: LJWorld
UG hires CFO with 30 years of local experience
The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, hired Shelley Kneuvean as CFO, effective later in March. As CFO, Kneuvean will work with UG staff, county administration, the mayor’s office and the UG Board of Commissioners to give financial direction and plan for the future. She brings more than 30 years of experience to the UG, both in leadership and financial and operational management
Source: Kansas City Business Journal
Overland Park unlikely to crack down further on short-term rentals
Overland Park is unlikely to make any further changes to city codes for short-term rentals like Airbnbs and VRBOs at this time. Leslie Karr, the city’s planning manager, told the Overland Park City Council Community Development Committee on Wednesday that the current situation with short-term rentals in the city is “manageable.” With that in mind, city staff is recommending Overland Park maintain the status quo for now but plan to continue monitoring the situation around short-term rentals for the foreseeable future.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Hiawatha citizens speak out against road diet at Informational Meeting
Hiawatha citizens spoke out against the Kansas Department of Transportation’s road diet at the Informational Meeting about the First Corridor on Monday evening. The Informational Meeting, which was hosted by the City of Hiawatha and held at the Fisher Center, was presented mostly by Public Works Director Brad Scott and BG Consultants representative Jason Hoskinson. KDOT Area Engineer Michael Hagemann and KDOT District Engineer Leeroy Koehn were also present during the meeting. Mayor Becky Shamburg was also present. The main topic regarded the flashing yellow and red traffic signals at the First Corridor, located at the intersection between First Street and Oregon Street. Hoskinson went over a summary of the road diet, where he stated that a Traffic Engineering Assistance Program (TEAP) study was implemented to evaluate if the signals were to be removed. “We collected the data in the spring of 2022,” Hoskinson explained. “We found the first of Iowa and the first of Oregon signal [sic] were not warranted.”
Source: City Government | hiawathaworldonline.com
Western Johnson County braces for ‘intense development.’ Can the rural roads take it?
With multi-billion-dollar industrial development cropping up and standing to transform Johnson County’s more rural, western end, a big question still hangs in the air: How will people get there? County and city officials are preparing for the expansive redevelopment of the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant in De Soto, kicked off by construction of the $4 billion Panasonic battery plant that’s expected to open in 2025. They say it will require major infrastructure work to reconfigure disconnected and nearby roads, some of which are still gravel, as well as in surrounding communities most likely to feel the development boom. “There will be tremendous change. And that will be difficult,” Public Works Director Brian Pietig told the Johnson County Commission last week. “There will be lots of development. And when I look at Panasonic, the first development in that (industrial park), and 4,000 employees, I think it’s going to come sooner rather than later.”
Source: Joco 913 News