Kansas Municipal News
Prairie Village’s $10K radio donation makes it to Ukrainian sister city
Prairie Village’s donation of $10,000 worth of radios to its Ukrainian sister city, Dolyna, have been received and are being put into action. Prairie Village developed a sister city relationship with Dolyna, Ukraine, in the early 2000s. Though the two cities hadn’t been in touch often in recent years, when the news about the Russian invasion broke, Prairie Village city staff worked to rekindle the relationships. Dolyna is located in the western part of the country in the Ivano-Frankivsk oblast, or district. The western Ukrainian city is acting as a hub for the collection of humanitarian aid.
Source: Prairie Village Post
85 Airports Awarded Nearly $1B for Terminal Improvements
The Federal Aviation Administration awarded nearly $1 billion to airports across the country for projects that will improve terminal capacity, efficiency and accessibility, according to a release from the administration. The money, which was made available in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, will be distributed among 85 airports, the FAA said. This is the first round of grants; under the law, the FAA will annually administer $1 billion in airport terminal grants for five years. “Americans deserve modern airports that meet the needs of their families and growing passenger demand,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in the release. The “grants will improve airport terminals while also creating good jobs in communities across the country.”
Source: Route Fifty – All Content
Randy Smith officially hired to lead Cowley College
The Cowley College Board of Trustees hired Randy Smith to become the next president of the college starting Monday. The board held a short meeting Wednesday to approve a contract with Smith. The meeting followed a farewell reception in the Wright Room for current president Dennis Rittle, who will become president at Northwest Arkansas Community College next week.
Source: The Arkansas City Traveler
Summer Virtual Education Series, Free to All City Clerks in Kansas (sponsored by CCMFOA)
First Session: July 13 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Expert Stacy Jaramillo with the Kansas Department of Administration, will share budget best practices, Revenue Neutral Rates and general reminders for budget submission. We’ll also have a County Clerk on the line to help with any additional questions.
Save the date for additional sessions:
August 25 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
September 22 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
October 20 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Series sponsored by City Clerks and Municipal Finance Officers of Kansas. All CCMFOA members will be eligible to submit for CMC/MMC points with an assessment for education.
Muni rates fall as focus turns to potential recession
Municipals rallied Wednesday, ignoring a selloff in U.S. Treasuries, after the Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes reiterated the Fed’s position it would raise rates 50 to 75 basis points at its July meeting to stave off inflation. Equities ended slightly up. Municipals were in their own lane Wednesday and triple-A yields fell four to 10 basis points, depending on the scale, while the two-, three-, five- and seven-year USTs rose above the 10-year, with some in the market seeing the FOMC minutes as dated now that the focus has turned the focus to a potential recession away from inflation concerns. The Fed “wants slower economic growth to curb inflation using interest rates as a brake on the overheated job market,” said Carl Ludwigson, managing director at Bel Air Investment Advisors. The good news, he said, is “the bond market may have already priced in much of the Fed’s action plan. The threat to asset prices is broad based inflation pushing central banks to tighten monetary policy even more rapidly than expected.” If the Fed’s policy response “proves too aggressive, then Treasuries and high-quality municipal bonds will again be the place to hide as tighter financial conditions lead to demand destruction,” he said.
Source: The Bond Buyer
Municipal Bond Trends for July 6, 2022
The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS “investment grade” yields. Every issuer’s credit is different. For rates that may be applicable to your municipality, contact our Municipal Bond Advisors, Larry Kleeman and Beth Warren.
Fed sees ‘more restrictive’ policy as likely if inflation fails to come down, minutes say
Federal Reserve officials in June emphasized the need to fight inflation even if it meant slowing an economy that already appears on the brink of a recession, according to meeting minutes released Wednesday. In raising benchmark borrowing rates by three-quarters of a percentage point, central bankers said the move was necessary to control cost-of-living increases running at their highest levels since 1981. Members said the July meeting likely also would see another 50- or 75-basis point move. A basis point is one one-hundredth of 1 percentage point. “Participants concurred that the economic outlook warranted moving to a restrictive stance of policy, and they recognized the possibility that an even more restrictive stance could be appropriate if elevated inflation pressures were to persist,” the document said.
Source: CNBC – Bonds
Fireworks compromise seen as successful in Barton County
The Barton County Commission at a special meeting last Thursday approved allowing rural county residents to shoot fireworks on Sunday, July 3, in addition to Monday, July 4, as was allowed under the county’s current resolution. “We made a lot of people happy with that,” said District 5 Commissioner Jennifer Schartz, speaking during the commission meeting Wednesday morning. It was a compromise between allowing fireworks for the week leading to the Fourth and no change at all reached after much discussion with a host of fire chiefs from around the county. “We need to use that as a starting point for next year,” Schartz said. The extension this Fourth weekend was only for this year, and officials want to revisit the issue before next year.
Source: Great Bend Tribune
North Newton’s electric car charging station gets work out in era of high gas prices
As gasoline has seen a dramatic rise in price, North Newton drivers are putting their city electric car charging station to good use. The city of North Newton installed two electric charging stations located at the city hall in 2019. The stations cost $4,000 with half the amount donated by a private donor, city administrator Kyle Fiedler said. “I would say the stations are used steadily for sure,” he said. “We see a group of regular vehicles here on a regular basis,” In 2021, the stations provided a total of 496 charges to residents with electric-powered vehicles with 1,936 kWh of usage, according to the city of North Newton.
Source: Harvey County Now
Brown County puts Wind Energy Moratorium in place
The Brown County Commission met Thursday morning for the regular end-of-month meeting, and after much discussion, the group took a vote that brought the culmination of months of discussion regarding wind energy, agreeing to a Wind Energy Moratorium by a 2-1 vote…. With the moratorium now passed, the commission will move on to selecting a company to help create their Comprehensive Plan, and then begin working on zoning regulations.
Source: hiawathaworldonline.com
Peabody and Hillsboro work together to keep water flowing to customers
…sometimes, the customer has no idea just how close to a crisis they were and how very hard their cities worked to keep them from ever having to experience the slightest inconvenience. This happened in Marion County recently when the water plant had an issue beginning on June 15 with a 24-inch valve, which restricted flow of water into the distribution system. The approximately 40-year-old valve likely had a gasket come loose and wrap around the internal valve mechanism. … Thanks to the quick thinking of Water and Wastewater Superintendent Morgan Marler and all the teamwork of the Peabody and Hillsboro city departments, the staff developed a work-around solution, bypassing the broken valve temporarily with pumps.
Source: Hillsboro Free Press
Kansas governor orders flags flown at half-staff in honor police officer who died
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has ordered flags in Kansas to be flown at half-staff next Tuesday to honor a police officer who died while on duty. St. Marys Police Department officer Mark Lamberson died unexpected while he was on duty on Saturday, July 2. Police Chief Derek Cid said the is leading the investigation. Foul play is not suspected. “I am directing flags statewide be flown at half-staff to honor Officer Mark Lamberson, a valued member of the Saint Marys Police Department,” Gov. Kelly said. “My thoughts are with Officer Lamberson’s family and the entire Saint Marys community as they mourn his loss.” Flags will be lowered on Tuesday, July 12, the date of his funeral.
Source: KAKE – News
County nearly runs out of ambulances
Marion County ambulances came perilously close Saturday night to a recently discussed doomsday scenario when a 2-year-old on S. Kennedy St. was having trouble breathing but one ambulance had no staffing and two others were on calls out of the county. At 8:47 p.m., dispatchers received a call about a 34-year-old man who fell from a bed and pulled a TV stand on top of him at Hilltop Manor in Marion. Marion ambulance was assigned the call three minutes later at 8:51 p.m. Half an hour after that, at 9:25 p.m., it began transporting the patient on a non-emergency basis.
Source: HILLSBORO Star-Journal
Progress moving quickly on Topgolf in Wichita
The growth continues off K-96 and Greenwich, with Top Golf being built across the street from the Stryker Complex. “That whole district has been incredibly successful,” said Wichita mayor Brandon Whipple. “And we spend the money to create the infrastructure to make it happen.” Whipple calls Topgolf a big, brand name attraction. The build on Topgolf is moving along quickly. A Top Golf spokesperson says it is slated to open in the early spring of 2023. Whipple says city leaders, planners and council members love adding destination attractions.
Source: KSN-TV
Emporia City Commissioners resuming wage increase discussions
Emporia City Commissioners are all in agreement a wage increase for city staff is needed, the only question is what the increase might look like. During their recent study session Wednesday afternoon, commissioners reviewed six potential options to that end. The option that saw the most conversation included a four percent immediate wage increase, and health insurance increase and would keep the city’s mill levy flat. No formal decision was made as commissioners plan to bring the item back for action on Jul. 20th. Regardless of the ultimate decision, City Manager Trey Cocking tells KVOE News it will just be a “band-aid” on the issue until a wage study can be conducted later this year.
Source: KVOE Emporia Radio
McPherson residents to vote on sales tax
On Tuesday, Aug. 2, citizens of McPherson will vote in the primary election. Among items on the ballot, voters will consider a renewal of the city’s second half-cent sales tax. The city has scheduled eight public meetings during the next few weeks for citizens to get more information about the proposed renewal as well as have the opportunity to speak with city officials about the purpose of the sales tax. The meetings will consist of a 20-minute presentation, followed by a question-and-answer session with various representatives from the different city departments. This is not an additional tax; it is a renewal of the tax already in place.
Source: McPherson Weekly News
Five Shawnee firefighters hospitalized after ‘mayday’ call battling blaze at house
Five Shawnee firefighters were transported to area hospitals after responding to a basement fire late Tuesday. Shawnee Fire Chief Rick Potter says firefighters were called to the home at 4610 Silverheel Street at 9:10 p.m. Arriving firefighters reported smoke visible from the front side of the house as they began an interior attack on the fire. “During the time that crews were fighting the fire, we had a partial collapse inside the building, and a mayday was called at 9:31,” Chief Potter told reporters at the scene. “We did have firefighters that were rescued from the building.”
Source: Prairie Village Post
Appeals court allows lawsuit against Wichita police officer (not the city) to proceed
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit agreed with a lower federal court in Kansas a family could pursue a lawsuit against a Wichita police officer but not the city of Wichita for a fatal shooting of an innocent, unarmed man who was targeted in a hoax emergency call to law enforcement. Officer Justin Rapp, who was recently promoted by the Wichita Police Department, shot and killed Andrew Finch, 28, in December 2017 while responding to a 911 call about a possible murder and hostage situation. Rapp said he fired on Finch because he thought — incorrectly — Finch was holding a firearm. The Sedgwick County district attorney didn’t file charges against Rapp, and the police department took no disciplinary action against Rapp after the shooting.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Wichita cracks top 10 in national luxury apartment report
While Wichita’s housing market remains especially tight, the city has seen a boom in luxury apartments over the last decade, according to a recent study. A StorageCafe analysis of Yardi Matrix data ranks Wichita No. 10 among the 100 largest American cities for its percentage of “new high-end apartments” built from 2012-21. The study found that 95% of 2,620 apartments built in the city during that time fit the luxury label. “One attribute for which Wichita, Kan., might not be on everyone’s radar is luxury living,” the analysis said, while also noting the city stands out for low cost of living.
Source: Wichita Business Journal
Fairfax exhibit opens at Wyandotte County Museum
An exhibit on the history of the Fairfax industrial district opened today at the Wyandotte County Museum, Bonner Springs. The exhibit will be open through Sept. 24, according to a museum spokesman. The Fairfax Industrial District 100th Anniversary exhibit will show the progression of the district alongside personal memories, and will include familiar and untold stories of people, places and events in the district, the spokesman stated. The Fairfax district is in the northeast area of Kansas City, Kansas. The exhibit will help visitors connect with a place where tens of thousands of residents have worked during the past 100 years, according to the spokesman. Many of the objects and stories on display were shared for this exhibit.
Source: Wyandotte Daily
Shawnee chief credits training with saving lives of firefighters trapped in house
Shawnee Fire Chief Rick Potter says all five firefighters who were hospitalized after last night’s house fire in western Shawnee have been released from the hospital and are back at their homes. Firefighters from Shawnee and Lenexa initially responded to the house at 4610 Silverheel Street for a reported basement fire at 9:10 p.m. Potter says that at 9:31 a mayday was called following the collapse of a staircase leading into the basement. “We did activate our rapid intervention crew, who was able to then rescue the firefighters from the basement,” Potter said. Four firefighters had to be rescued through a basement window.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Eudora’s Giving Garden blossoms from small plot into full-fledged nonprofit
In 2018, a small group of business owners along Eudora’s Main Street started maintaining a nearby unused plot of land, turning it into a space for small-scale gardening. About four years later, that small effort has blossomed into a full-scale nonprofit called the Eudora Giving Garden. It has now turned into a community garden and relocated to an entire acre of land, which it uses to provide food donations to a number of local agencies and educational workshops for community members and students.
Source: LJWorld
Bringing out the city’s ‘welcoming nature’: New street banners represent diverse people of Lawrence
From a hip-hop artist to a hotel manager, the faces that greet Lawrence residents and visitors from street banners are meant to highlight the diversity and uniqueness of the city. The banners are part of a campaign of the Lawrence visitors’ bureau, Explore Lawrence, and feature 10 local residents. They hang from light posts around the downtown, at big intersections, and various other locations across the city. Andrea Johnson, director of marketing and communications for Explore Lawrence, said the hope is that the diversity of residents picked for the city banners — both in demographics and what they represent — highlight what makes Lawrence special.
Source: LJWorld
Valley Center Considers 3D-Printed Home Project
The City of Valley Center is in discussions with a local company to develop the first 3D-printed community of homes in the State of Kansas. “We are excited to be working with the City of Valley Center to bring the first 3D-printed homes to Kansas. 3D-printed construction will revolutionize the housing construction industry by providing beautiful, high-quality, cost-effective, and sustainable housing options. 3D-printed concrete construction is an innovative application of tried-and-true materials and technology that will allow the shell of a home to be constructed in a few days rather than a few months. Our aim is to provide affordable, safe, sustainable, and attractive homes in Kansas communities. We believe the innovation and efficiency of 3D-printed construction is the gateway to deliver these homes.” Eric Ross, CEO, CC3D.
Source: City of Valley Center
Municipal Bond Trends for July 5, 2022
The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS “investment grade” yields. Every issuer’s credit is different. For rates that may be applicable to your municipality, contact our Municipal Bond Advisors, Larry Kleeman and Beth Warren.
10-year Treasury yield slips as recession fears rattle market
U.S. Treasury yields retreated on Tuesday as concerns about a potential economic recession continued to send investors in search of safety. At around 5:30 a.m. ET, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was down at 2.8821%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond slipped to 3.1106%. … Markets reopened on Tuesday following the July Fourth holiday after the major averages finished another losing week, compounding one of Wall Street’s worst first halves in decades. In this shortened week, investors are looking ahead to the release of June jobs report data on Friday. According to Dow Jones estimates, job growth likely slowed in June, with 250,000 nonfarm payrolls added, down from 390,000 in May. Economists surveyed expect the unemployment rate to hold at 3.6%.
Source: CNBC – Bonds
Munis yields fall further as recession fears grow
Municipals yields fell for the third session in a row following the flight-to-safety bid in U.S. Treasuries as recession concerns continue to grow. Equities were mixed. Triple-A benchmark yields were bumped three to six basis points Tuesday with the strongest moves out long. Falling yields over the past two weeks have been “a welcome sigh of relief as we have seen yields as low as 0.67% back in February to as high as 2.97% back in April on 10-year notes,” said Jason Wong, vice president of municipals at AmeriVet Securities. “As we shift our focus from high inflation to a possible recession, we could see investors jump back into the fixed income markets” as recessions tend to be favorable to them “which will limit some of the losses we’ve had in the first half of the year,” Wong said in a Monday report.
Source: The Bond Buyer
Commission appointed to look at Wichita City Council districts
Wichita City Council members have appointed a seven-member commission of electors to look at redrawing the boundaries for the six council districts. Scott Wadle with the city’s planning department presented population maps of the districts to Council members on Tuesday, and the maps show an imbalance in districts 2 and 3. The boundaries will have to be redrawn to reflect population changes from the 2020 Census, and the commission could look at the possibility of expanding the Council from six to eight districts. Wadle said there can be no greater than a five percent difference in population among the districts.
Source: 101.3 KFDI
More fireworks complaints; only one criminal case in Lyon County
The most explosive season of the year in Lyon County officially fizzles out Tuesday night. Legal fireworks discharges in Emporia and rural Lyon County ends at 10 p.m. As usual, that’s far too late for some people. “We have had 64 complaints,” Emporia Police Capt. Lisa Hayes said at mid-afternoon Tuesday. That was the total throughout Lyon County since July 1. And it’s up from 50 complaints at the same point in 2021. Hayes said police filed one criminal complaint Sunday night, after a person claimed to be struck by fireworks. But officers normally don’t go around town to lock up people for causing explosive noises.
Source: Emporia Gazette
County Fair: Bringing Communities Together
The County Fair is an exciting time for 4-H and FFA members and the surrounding community. It is an opportunity to showcase the handiwork they have made and show the animals they have worked with for months leading up to the fair season. Through their various projects with these youth programs, the members have “learned by doing.” They have learned how to work with others, learned to make decisions, and take responsibility to complete their projects. At the county fair, their projects are judged on their quality of workmanship, ingenuity, and skills learned throughout the project.
Source: Fort Scott Biz
Wichita to spend $1 million to add fresh produce to convenience stores, dollar stores
Wichita plans to spend $1 million on a plan to install refrigerated cases in convenience and dollar stores to provide healthier food to residents who may not have access to grocery stores. The money will come from federal pandemic relief funds. A 2013 study by the Health and Wellness Coalition of Wichita found that neighborhoods with the lowest incomes experienced the highest food prices. It also found that 44 square miles of Wichita was considered a food desert, an area with a significant number of residents more than 1 mile from a supermarket.
Source: Wichita Eagle
Kingman man on mission to save small town America
A Kingman native is on a mission to save small-town America, particularly his hometown. “I am a place guy and this is a great place and I think it has kind of made me who I am over the years,” said Scott Mueller. Scott Mueller grew up on a farm just outside of Kingman, Kan. The K-State graduate spent the last three decades on the west coast pursuing his career in agriculture economics. However, he never forgot the place that raised him. “I think there’s a lot of ways to go back to your roots. A lot of people go back physically. I kind of went back and said, ‘what can I do?'” That “do” began with one building project in 2017 after a trip home to see his dad, Charles Mueller.
Source: KSN-TV
How Cities and Counties Are Thinking Big With Their ARPA Plans
When President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act into law on March 11, 2021, the fiscal future for states and localities looked bleak. Public officials on both sides of the aisle were predicting that the pandemic was putting their cities and counties in dire financial straits and they would not recover for the foreseeable future. As a result, many anticipated that the $350 million of APRA money that was going to states and localities would be used to simply dig the country out of a covid-based hole.
Source: Route Fifty
Great Bend Fire Department busy with Fourth of July calls
Great Bend Fire and EMS were flooded with calls on the Fourth of July. At one point, the majority of the department was called back to work to assist due to high call volumes. The department said they responded to 25 fireworks fires, one of which the home was a total loss. Seven of the calls were for EMS, one for a gas leak, and another five were from fires of an unknown cause.
Source: KSN-TV
New Museum opens in Southeast Kansas
The “Parsons Historical Society Museum” unveiled its newest addition. Today the museum held a ribbon cutting for the “Farm Heritage Museum” that sits at 19th and grand. All the pieces of farm equipment on display were donated and the display cases were created by volunteers. The museum has been in the works since 2018 and was fully funded by donations. “Over there we have a wooden rake that a farmer pulled with one horse. When it get full of hay it would automatically flip. That’s probably the oldest pieces is 1880. I think they will get a great education bringing young kids in,” said Ken Ervin, Farm Heritage Museum President.
Source: KSNF/KODE
Shawnee seeking public input in rebranding efforts, asking ‘What Makes Shawnee Shine’
The city of Shawnee wants residents’ help in polishing up its image as part of a rebranding effort happening this year. “What Makes Shawnee Shine” is seeking input in order to create new signs, logos and images in how the city will present itself to the public in coming years. The rebranding is different from the larger visioning or strategic plans cities sometimes do to guide their future policies, said spokesperson Julie Briethaupt. An online survey and a series of informal public meet-ups has been scheduled to give residents a chance to talk about the role the city plays in their lives. … The last time Shawnee did this was in 2009.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Overland Park introduces e-bikes
The long-anticipated electric bikes have officially flocked to the Overland Park area as of late last week. A total of 40 e-bikes supplied by Bird Rides Inc. are now available to ride in various parts of the city. Overland Park officials have been exploring the concept since 2018. The bikes are part of a two-year pilot program the Overland Park City Council unanimously approved in February. In addition to the bikes, the city introduced 75 electronic scooters in April as part of the program. Most of the bikes can be located in northern Overland Park, but city officials said they are working to expand into southern portions of the city.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Digging It Up at two Arkansas City sites: Large crowd hears latest on Etzanoa discoveries
Archaeology students and volunteers working at two Arkansas City sites last month uncovered many valuable artifacts that will help archaeologists piece together the Etzanoa story, said Wichita State University archaeologist Don Blakeslee. He described Etzanoa — a five-mile settlement of 20,000 ancestral Wichita located along the banks of the lower Walnut River — as a “mega-site.” Mega-site is a relatively new term that archaeologists have been using for the past five years or so, he said. It is a new concept that is not fully understood yet. They are using it to describe really large settlements that don’t quite match terms traditionally used — “farmstead, village, town, or city,” for example.
Source: The Arkansas City Traveler
Olathe, Spring Hill annexation pact silences ‘will of voters’ in future
Attorneys representing the city of Olathe argued the Kansas Supreme Court’s derailment of an annexation pact between Spring Hill and Olathe could jeopardize similar alliances among municipalities guiding development throughout Kansas. On the contrary, said lawyers for the city of Spring Hill, the type of open-ended annexation truce adopted in 2006 by the neighboring cities in Johnson County shouldn’t be construed to unfairly bind elected officials of those cities. The Spring Hill argument was that voters shouldn’t be perpetually disenfranchised by policy decisions of city council members who served more than 15 years ago.
Source: The Iola Register
Hays, Russell Receive Favorable Ruling In R9 Ranch Water Use
Thursday, the Cities of Hays and Russell received official ruling from the Chief District Judge of the Edwards County District Court denying Water PACK’s Petition for Judicial Review of the State’s order allowing the conversion of water irrigation rights of the R9 Ranch in Edwards County to municipal use. The District Judge’s decision affirmed the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Chief Engineer’s 2019 approval of the Cities’ change applications. The City of Hays purchased the approximately 7,000-acre R9 Ranch and its thirty water rights in southwestern Edwards County in 1995, and a year later Russell purchased an 18-percent interest in the property, with the intention of someday using the water as part of the Cities’ water supply.
Source: KRSL
Walmart wants lower property taxes, but the Kansas Supreme Court pushes back
The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday dealt a blow to what’s known as dark story theory, an idea used by big box retailers to reduce their property taxes. The decision reversed a previous ruling in favor of Walmart’s argument that its properties in Johnson County were overtaxed by tens of millions of dollars. For now, the ruling effectively rejects the dark store theory big box retailers pursue to lower their tax rates. The theory says that big box stores should be valued as if they were an empty building, not an operating business. The case has much larger implications beyond simply Walmart and Johnson County, because it could determine whether the dark store theory gains a foothold across Kansas. In an unanimous decision, the court said the Kansas Board of Tax Appeals wrongly ruled in Walmart’s favor. The court said the board had disregarded evidence from Johnson County on how to value Walmart’s properties. The court sent the cases back to the Board of Tax Appeals to fully reconsider the county’s evidence. However, it’s possible the board could again rule in Walmart’s favor.
Source: KCUR News
City of Olathe v. City of Spring Hill
From the Kansas Supreme Court opinion:
This is a tale of two cities. On March 23, 2006, the cities of Spring Hill and Olathe entered into a written agreement (Agreement) to restrict their future growth by establishing boundaries for annexing land lying adjacent to the two cities. Olathe agreed not to seek annexation of property south of the boundary line, while Spring Hill agreed not to seek to annex property north of the line. Each city reserved the right to annex land within their respective boundary lines…. The Agreement had no fixed expiration term. Instead, it was to “remain in effect until terminated,” and termination could “occur only upon mutual consent of the parties.” … The Agreement is simply a promise not to do something for an indeterminate length of time. It is very different from an agreement to provide “routine maintenance” of services, an administrative function. … It instead relates to “the development, introduction, or improvement of services,” a governmental function. … We therefore conclude that the Agreement is an unenforceable attempt to bind future City Councils to a governmental policy decision.
From the synopsis:
An elected governing body may not use its legislative power to constrain future governing bodies to follow its governmental, or legislative, policy decisions. An elected governing body may use its administrative or proprietary authority to enter into enforceable contracts to pay a specified sum over a specified time. The development, introduction, or improvement of services are, by and large, considered governmental, but the routine maintenance of the resulting services is generally deemed proprietary.
Read the full opinion here.
Chase County Courthouse sesquicentennial planning underway
Planning for Chase County Courthouse’s sesquicentennial celebrations has been officially greenlighted by the county commission, following a Thursday morning meeting at the courthouse. Chase County Historical Society director Dawn Sisson, CCHS board members Sharon and Delwin Burton, and Chase County Chamber of Commerce director Toni Schneider presented preliminary research and ideas related to the courthouse’s 150th birthday. Sisson said she’s been collecting history since before COVID-19 and has found a number of useful items. That includes a centennial book that was published in 1972 that included basic community information. She also found newspaper collections, scrapbooks and cookbooks.
Source: Emporia Gazette
WyCo will pay Lamonte McIntyre settlement with bonds
A $12.5 million payout to Lamonte and Rose McIntyre will be funded by a bond that will accumulate interest, raising the cost to taxpayers. The settlement was unanimously approved Thursday by the Unified Government’s board of commissioners, marking an end to years of litigation. Lamonte McIntyre spent 23 years in prison for a double homicide in Kansas City, Kansas, that he did not commit. The commissioners voted unanimously in approving the settlement financed with general obligation bonds, meaning the money will be borrowed and paid back over a period time with interest.
Source: KC Star Local News
New community mural unveiled in downtown Salina
On Saturday, a new community mural was unveiled in downtown Salina. The new mural is called ‘Dream Cartographers’. It is on the new stage background that was moved to N. Santa Fe Ave. and W. Ash St. The new mural was based on ideas, likes, places, and more from over 100 citizens.
Source: KSN-TV