Kansas Municipal News
City officially owns Hotel Topeka with a hefty price tag
The City of Topeka has finalized the purchase of Hotel Topeka. A spokeswoman for the City of Topeka announced the Topeka Development Corportation now officially has retained ownership of Hotel Topeka for more than $7.6 million. The hotel is remaining open for business and all services are expected to continue like normal. “We are excited about the purchase being finalized, and steadfast in our desire to see the hotel redeveloped and eventually brought back to private ownership,” Topeka Mayor Michael Padilla, who also serves as president of the corporation’s board of directors, said. “In the coming months, the corporation, board of directors, and staff will be working closely with our asset manager and partners to develop a long-term plan for the hotel so that it can be a staple in our community for many years to come.”
Source: KSNT 27 News
Derby Planning Commission considering changes for accessory structure regulations
Following discussion among the Derby City Council and an official addition to its list of priorities earlier this year, changes to the city’s zoning regulations for accessory structures came to the Planning Commission for consideration in October. Presenting on the history of zoning regulations, City Planner Scott Knebel said none existed in regards to accessory structures for single-family or two-family dwellings prior to 2022. However, leading up to that, several large, agricultural-style metal garages/barns were constructed on single-family residential lots, which led to “a lot of complaints.” Starting Jan. 1, 2022, the zoning regulations were amended to state that any accessory structure over 120 sq. ft. at a single or two-family dwelling must “be consistent architecturally” with the principal structure on the property.
Source: Derby Informer | News
Governor Kelly Announces $85M for Two New Water-Related Grant Programs
Governor Laura Kelly and the Kansas Water Office announced that $85 million over five years will go toward water projects with the launch of the Technical Assistance Fund Grants and Water Projects Fund Grants programs. Both grant programs provide funding for up-front technical assistance and on-the-ground actions needed to address water quantity and quality issues around the state. The grants were made possible when Governor Kelly signed Senate Substitute for HB 2302, a bipartisan bill from the 2023 legislative session that increased funding for the State Water Plan Fund and established these two grant programs.
Source: Governor of the State of Kansas
Municipal Bond Trends for November 2, 2023
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 November 1, 2023
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.
Mayor Mike Boehm: 32 years of celebrated service
Lenexa’s longest-serving mayor, Michael Boehm, will soon wrap up an exceptional career in service to our community. After five consecutive terms as mayor, he decided not to run for reelection in November. A lifelong resident of Lenexa, Boehm’s career in public service began on the Lenexa Planning Commission in 1991. He was then elected to the City Council in 1995 and became mayor in 2003. “It has been an honor to serve Lenexa as mayor for the past two decades, and I believe that now is the right time to step aside,” said Boehm. “What we have accomplished over the past twenty years was a team effort — not the work of any one individual….
Source: City of Lenexa
Buhler USD opening up daycare in 2024 to help with childcare crisis
Deanna Herron has been teaching math at Buhler High School for 4 years. Its easy for her to take care of her students, but for a long time it was hard to find someone to watch after her own because there wasn’t a lot of daycare options. “Finding daycare that was reliable, that I could trust with my kids and just leaving them in general with anybody, you know, you always have that sense of anxiety with it.” Herron’s kids are now old enough to be in school but her experience is one still many people are dealing with across Kansas. That’s something her district recognized and so it bought a former church building just north of Hutchinson to turn it into a daycare.
Source: KAKE – News
At the ‘UFO capital of Kansas,’ a celebration of the weird and wonderful
Welcome to Dimension G. Once you enter the Geneseo City Museum, it takes a few minutes to adjust to the high strangeness contained within. Never mind the creepy ventriloquist dolls in the corner staring at you with their dead eyes. What you’ll really want to concentrate on is the UFO Room, where you’ll find hair of a dog from Venus, spring water preferred by interplanetary travelers, and blueprint-like drawings from an entire fleet of craft from Venus, Mars and beyond. At least that’s what the man who collected these things believed, and the museum has done its best to preserve the imagination and personality of Elmer D. “Doc” Janzen. He was a chiropractor, minister, ventriloquist, inveterate collector and fervent believer that earth was visited frequently by interplanetary beings, who happened to look just like us.
Source: Kansas Reflector
Osawatomie power outage was ‘worst-case scenario’
Power was restored to all Osawatomie residences and businesses shortly after midnight Saturday, Oct. 28, ending a three-day nightmare for 250 to 300 residents who were left in the dark. A critical failure at the city of Osawatomie’s power plant substation caused the initial power outages in the overnight hours of Tuesday, Oct. 24, into Wednesday, Oct. 25. On Wednesday morning, power was restored to some neighborhoods through the city’s generators, but a secondary equipment failure impacting the generators triggered another outage, according to the city’s updates.
Source: Local News | republic-online.com
Southeast Kansas town is almost out of water, and signs of crisis are everywhere
It’s hardly a question of whether the water will run out for one town on the Kansas-Oklahoma border. It’s a matter of when. The stubborn drought that has hung over southeast Kansas for close to two years has brought Caney, a town of less than 2,000 people, within weeks of reaching the end of its water supply. Without rain, Caney could run dry by Christmas. “This is the worst it’s been since any of us have been alive,” said City Manager Kelley Zellner. Signs of the crisis are everywhere. At Eggbert’s, a diner at the edge of town, the price of bottled water is listed with the restaurant’s specials by the front door. Menus carry a notice that the staff can’t give out tap water. Cases of bottled water, donated by Walmart, sit in front of City Hall. There’s a portable bathroom trailer outside the junior and senior high school. And the town’s primary water source, the Little Caney River, is so low that the water that remains is stagnant.
Source: Kansas Reflector
How Leawood plans to regulate pickleball noise in neighborhoods
Leawood residents looking to build private sports courts in their backyard have new requirements to keep in mind. At last week’s meeting, the Leawood Planning Commission approved an amendment to the city’s development ordinance adding new guidelines to the approval process for building new tennis or pickleball courts. The amendment follows multiple planning commission work sessions after residents began raising concerns about noise and bright lights coming from residential pickle ball courts last year. The city explored several ways of addressing the problem, such as cutting back permitted court lighting hours and raising the minimum distance from neighboring property lines. Before last week’s change, residential sports courts — both tennis and pickle ball — already required a special use permit if they had lighting. The amendment approved last week requires residents to notify any neighbors by mail within 200 feet that they want to build a sports court. It also requires the court to be screened from neighbors by evergreen landscaping.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Protest petition blocks Hesston ordinance to home-rule out of printed legal notices
Harvey County Clerk Rick Piepho certified a successful protest petition that prevents a charter ordinance from the City of Hesston from going into effect, at least without a public vote. The ordinance, approved by the Hesston City Council in August, would have allowed the city to designate its website as its legal newspaper, removing state requirements to print various legal notices in an official print newspaper. Late Tuesday afternoon, Piepho certified that a protest petition against the measure had a sufficient number of valid signatures from registered Hesston voters. It took 73 verified signatures for a successful petition, 10 percent of the number of voters who participated in the last municipal election. The signatures had to belong to currently registered voters, and their addresses had to match their addresses on voter rolls. Hesston community members and Harvey County Now submitted a list of 97 signatures in anticipation of some being ruled ineligible. Piepho determined that at least 81 were valid.
Source: Harvey County Now
Ottawa voters to determine whether to keep, eliminate food sale requirement on liquor by the drink
When Melody and Dusty Gentry opened Not Lost Brewing in downtown Ottawa a few years ago, they wanted to share their passion for brewing specially crafted beers one glass at a time. The idea for the hometown brew pub was to introduce locals to different varieties of beer beyond the common commercial domestic types with brews such as Blackberry Milkshake India Pale Ale or Blueberry Wheat. While they also wanted to feature a few menu options like hummus, charcuterie plates and sandwiches and chips that would pair well and complement the craft brews on tap, the focus was always on showcasing the beer. But under Kansas law, breweries and other drinking establishments like Not Lost that sell liquor by the drink must derive not less than 30 percent of their gross receipts from food sales during a 12-month period. And for the Gentrys, meeting that requirement was getting tougher and tougher. “We were not on track to meet the 30 percent food requirement last fall,” Melody said.
Source: The Ottawa Herald
New Garden City Regional Airport terminal opens ahead of holiday travel season
The front doors of Garden City Regional Airport’s new terminal howl in high winds, providing a spooky soundtrack during blustery autumn days. The airport’s director, Rachelle Powell, said that’s one of a few kinks workers will smooth out as airport employees prepare for holiday travel season at the recently constructed terminal building. Kansas Reflector received a tour of the new terminal earlier in October. The original airport terminal was built in 1959 to serve passengers in southwest Kansas, as well as southeast Colorado and the Oklahoma-Texas panhandles.
Source: Kansas Reflector
135th Birthday Bash happening in Bentley this Saturday
Bentley turns 135 this year, and the town has big plans to celebrate. This Saturday, Nov. 4, Bentley will hold its Birthday Bash, an all-day celebration for the whole family. … Event organizer Shannon Catlin said they did some research and discovered that it’s been at least 15 years since Bentley has held a festival or celebration of an event other than the car show. She said she was cautious at the first meeting, but then 17 people showed up. “People want something. They want something like this,” Catlin said. “We’ve had a lot of great support. I’m excited.”
Source: Harvey County Now
Halstead’s hidden treasure in post office
When walking into Halstead’s post office, most people don’t take a second glance at the mural above the postmaster’s door or know about the Kansas history that it holds and others just like it across the state. Kansas artist Birger Sandzén was 70 years old when he arrived in Halstead to paint a mural that was a part of a New Deal-era program in 1941. The river scene he painted, called “Where Kit Carson Camped,” depicts the scenic location near Halstead where a powwow took place between frontiersman Kit Carson and Native American Chief Black Kettle. Sarah Green, co-director of the Kansas Sampler Foundation, said she visited Halstead this summer in preparation for the organization’s new guidebook publication. Among the highlights, besides the city’s iconic bridge, was the post office. “These murals are sometimes hidden, often overlooked, but remain exquisite examples of a program to help bring beauty and top-notch art into rural communities,” Green said.
Source: Harvey County Now
Sedgwick schools receive state recognition
The Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) and the Kansas State Board of Education recently notified Sedgwick Public Schools of USD-439 for achieving recognition in the 2023 Kansans Can Star Recognition Program. The KSDE and the state board presented Sedgwick Public Schools with the following recognition for 2023: Academically Prepared for Postsecondary: Copper; Graduation: Silver; Postsecondary Effectiveness: Copper. “We recognize the exceptional work your district is doing to reach the state’s vision for education—Kansas leads the world in the success of each student,” the organizations wrote in a letter to the district. “The Kansans Can Star Recognition Program recognizes district success in the outcome measures Kansans told us they value, and it is clear that Sedgwick Public Schools and other Kansas districts like yours are moving us closer to achieving the state’s vision.”
Source: Harvey County Now
Finney County Historical Society celebrating 75 years
The Finney County Historical Society is celebrating its 75th anniversary on Thursday. The anniversary reception is being held in conjunction with the Garden City Area Chamber of Commerce’s Business After Hours from 5-7:30 p.m. at the Finney County Historical Museum. Admission is free, and attendees should use the museum’s north entrance. Steve Quakenbush, Executive Director of the Finney County Historical Society and Museum, said the Historical Society was first established on Jan. 31, 1948. The organization’s first meeting and founding was held in the Finney County Courthouse. Quakenbush said he would love to know what the founders thoughts on the Historical Society turning 75.
Source: Garden City Telegram
Markets are on board with the Fed’s ‘higher for longer’ policy, CNBC survey shows
While respondents to the CNBC Fed Survey expect no additional rate hikes from the Federal Reserve, they have fully embraced its “higher-for-longer” mantra to the point where no rate cuts are expected until the third quarter of 2024. The 31 respondents, including economists, strategists, and analysts, believe the Fed is now on hold into September of next year, when 57% expect a rate cut. As recently as the summer, respondents had forecast rate cuts in the beginning of next year. … The change can also be seen in the outlook for the fed funds rate, the central bank’s benchmark for short-term lending costs. It’s now forecast on average to end 2024 at 4.6%, assuming about 75 basis points of rate cut. In June, the year-end 2024 funds rate was forecast at 3.8%, which assumed 125 basis points of cuts. A basis point equals 0.01%.
Source: CNBC – Bonds
Harvey County commissioners hear reasoning for recommended renewable energy ban
After years of discussion and research, a decision will be made at the next Harvey County Commission meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 14, regarding renewable energy regulations in Harvey County. Karen Rothe, director of planning and zoning, presented the Harvey County Planning Commission’s recommended changes to the Commercial Renewable Energy Project Regulations. As expected, Rothe told commissioners that the recommendation by the planning commission is to ban commercial-grade wind and solar energy. The planning commission passed the regulations unanimously. She said the reason for regulations is so people can understand what the county’s expectations are on their projects, what they want to be identified when doing a project, and what needs to be involved in the conditional use permit. The planning commission felt that Harvey County was not suitable for commercial (utility scale) wind energy conversion systems or community scale wind energy systems. The planning commission’s recommendations listed the reasons for the decision.
Source: Harvey County Now