Kansas Municipal News
Suburban multifamly boom creates a complex issue
Multifamily development in Johnson County has exploded in the past decade. Lenexa alone added roughly 3,000 apartments between 2011 and 2020, and Overland Park picked up 7,000 apartment and senior-living units in that same period, with 1,355 completed just in 2021. Projects have played important roles in the county economy: helping attract residents, providing a more affordable option as house prices have increased, and complementing retail and office growth in areas such as Lenexa City Center and downtown Overland Park. But apartment growth also has come with resistance and became an issue in the Overland Park mayoral race.
Source: Kansas City Business Journal
Dodge City public transportation fees return in February
Effective Feb. 1, 2022, Dodge City will be reinstating all passenger fees for their public transportation services. Public transportation fees have been waived since June 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, due to funding received from the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). According to Nick Hernandez, the City Manager of Dodge City, the ability to waive fees was made possible by the funds available through the State’s Public Transportation program to help local governments and other agencies to match aid under the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
Source: KSN-TV
Topeka’s new loan forgiveness program encourages investment in lower-income neighborhoods
A lifetime of memories exists in the house where Kristin Miller grew up in southeast Topeka’s Hi-Crest West neighborhood…. in late 2017, Miller found herself facing home repair costs she couldn’t afford to cover. Fortunately, she said, she was accepted into a program through which the city’s housing services division loans money to homeowners in lower-income neighborhoods to have needed work done.
Source: CJonline
‘Nonrenewable resource’: As western Kansas dries up, Legislature revisits water policy
For the better part of a decade, the drinking water supply for a small southwest Kansas town was almost constantly contaminated with unsafe levels of radium, a radioactive element that can cause cancer. The city of Lakin found unsafe levels of uranium in its water in 2007, said Mike Heinitz, the city’s administrator. For years, it sent quarterly notices telling residents they could be consuming high levels of uranium before opening a multimillion dollar treatment facility in 2015. Now, Lakin’s water meets federal standards. But neighboring Deerfield, downstream on the Arkansas River, might have to pipe in water from Lakin for the same reason. Uranium and sulfate flow into Kansas from Colorado on the Arkansas River. Quality of the water in that part of the state is expected only to get worse as groundwater supplies are depleted, causing concentrations of the contaminates to rise. It’s one of myriad water issues facing Kansas that members of the House Water Committee studied in informational meetings last year. This legislative session, committee members will look to reorganize the Kansas agencies that deal in water and identify long-needed funding for projects.
Source: Kansas Reflector
Johnson County says close contact tracing of COVID-19 in schools ‘no longer feasible’
Amid a record surge in COVID-19 cases, the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment has told local school districts that “intensive contact tracing within schools is no longer feasible.” The flood of new cases, fueled in part by the highly contagious Omicron variant, has made it practically impossible for JCDHE officials and school nurses to keep up with the often time-consuming task of tracking down who an infected person may have been in contact with. JCDHE says, instead, priority should now be given to identifying positive cases and isolating them.
Source: Shawnee Mission Post
Four-lane expressway project begins in Cherokee County
Road expansion is underway in Cherokee County. The Kansas Department of Transportation is creating a four-lane expressway along U-S 166. The project will be constructed between the highways junctions with U-S 400 and K-26. There will also be interchanges constructed at each of the junctions. Traffic is not expected to be impacted during the early phase of the project, which includes equipment staging, clearing and bridgework. KDOT will provide traffic updates over the course of the project which is anticipated to be completed by May 2024.
Source: KSNF/KODE
Lyon County declares state of local emergency for COVID-19
The Lyon County Commission declared a state of local emergency due to COVID-19 Friday morning. According to County Clerk Tammy Vopat, Newman Regional Health contacted Lyon County Emergency Management and requested the use of two ventilators to be ordered from the State EOC. All local ventilators were currently in use. Emergency Management was unable to request the resource from the State EOC, because a state of local emergency was not already in place.
Source: Emporia Gazette
Kansas City, Kansas, Police try something new to get unlicensed cars off the road: Teach driver’s ed
Ulisa Arreola-Campos had a lot on her plate the day she was supposed to attend court on the charge of driving without a license. The Kansas City, Kansas, teenager had only recently been discharged from a month-long hospital stay after being felled simultaneously by COVID-19 and appendicitis. Her mother was also laid up — she broke her leg in multiple places when she fell on a public bus. Ulisa, a high school sophomore, was trying to manage online classes and help her three younger siblings with their school work as they all stayed home during the early months of the pandemic in 2020. “Virtual school wasn’t going good for me,” she said. “I had a lot of things going on.”
Source: KCUR News
Main Street Program to help restore and maintain Girard Square
The main square has been one, if not the most memorable locations in cities like Girard, it’s a center for shops, food and business. However, a major obstacle current and new businesses face is the maintenance of the buildings which house them, but there could soon be some help. “In order to have jobs and people who want to live here, and come back to Girard, we need a healthy square. We need businesses here, a place to shop, just all around it starts with the square,” says Mark Schifferdecker, GNBank President & CEO. Maintaining the historic buildings in the Girard square has been a major goal for the city, and thanks to a recent award, it could see an old program emerge in a new way.
Source: KSNF/KODE
Hiawatha Creamery set to bring nostalgic flavor to downtown
Sometimes an idea can hang around for years, and when the timing is right, coincidences and the right people will fall into just the right places for that idea to manifest into reality. The business partners behind the newly-announced Hiawatha Creamery have followed just that type of circuitous path, but find themselves on the threshold of hosting what will surely be one of the hottest spots in town this summer. … Leaning heavily into the nostalgic, the partners said that The Hiawatha Creamery will offer a unique hometown experience… The owners believe their new business not only fills a hole in the community — adding a fresh name to the downtown block and providing a service that has been noticeably absent in recent years—but that it also helps set Hiawatha apart. “I don’t think many small towns have the combination of a movie theater, a bowling alley and a real ice cream shop,” says Ryan.
Source: Local News | hiawathaworldonline.com
Argonia museums see much needed improvements
The Salter House Museum management board has made some progress toward updates on the museum property. The chimneys at the Salter House Museum have been capped. They were leaking when it rained. The exterior repairs have now been completed and the board looks forward to beginning interior work. Board member Joan Hemberger said the group plans to apply for grants to help them repair the interior of the former home of Susanna Madora Salter, the first female mayor to serve in the United States.
Source: Times-Sentinel Newspapers
Kansas court ruling keeps law allowing COVID lawsuits alive
People still can sue Kansas counties over mask mandates and other COVID-19 restrictions and obtain a quick trial-court decision because of a Kansas Supreme Court ruling Friday. The court declined to consider whether a law requiring trial-court judges to rule on such lawsuits within 10 days is constitutional. While the justices split over the reasons, they were unanimous in concluding that a Johnson County judge had no business striking down the law in a case that dealt with another legal question. Judge David Hauber ruled that the law denied counties their right to due legal process and interfered with the courts’ power to handle their own business. But he did so in a lawsuit against a mask mandate imposed by a school district — not the county. School districts aren’t covered by the law that applies to counties — and a separate law mandating the same expedited legal process in lawsuits against school districts expired in June. In the court’s majority opinion, Justice Dan Biles wrote that “a long-standing doctrine of judicial restraint” is that courts should avoid deciding on a law’s constitutionality if they can resolve a case another way. The court concluded that Hauber should not have ruled on the law covering counties.
Source: Andover American
Read the Court’s opinion here.
Wyandotte County leaders name Cheryl Harrison-Lee as interim County Administrator
The Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas unanimously named Cheryl Harrison-Lee as the interim County Administrator on Thursday evening. Harrison-Lee’s appointment comes less than two weeks after Doug Bach announced his retirement as the county administrator. Harrison-Lee’s term is scheduled to run from Jan. 7, 2022 to April 1, 2023. Commissioners voted 10-0. This is the first time Wyandotte County will have a different County Administrator since 2014, when Bach was appointed by former Mayor Mark Holland. Bach’s retirement came less than a month into the term of new Mayor Tyrone Garner, who was elected in November and sworn-in in early December. Before serving as County Administrator, Bach served as Deputy County Administrator from 2003-2014.
Source: KC Star Local News
Municipal Bond Trends for January 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.
Facades of Louisburg Improvement Program
FLIP, or Facades of Louisburg Improvement Program, provides matching funds from the city to assist in facade improvements of homes and businesses. New for 2022 is a change in the award amount for residential applications up to $1,000. FLIP Residential provides city residents a one-time reimbursement grant of 50% of the project costs to make exterior improvements to the front of their home. However, the city’s reimbursable amount shall not exceed $1,000. For example, if your project costs $500 then the reimbursable amount will be $250; a $1,500 project will award $750 and a project $2,000 or more will get a reimbursement of $1,000, the full $500 allowed.
Source: Louisburg, KS-Newsflash
Riley County receives grant to start drug treatment court program
Riley County recently received a grant from the Department of Justice to start a new drug court program. The $550,000 grant was awarded to Riley County Community Corrections Dec. 9. It essentially creates an alternative to incarceration for criminal or juvenile offenders and parents with pending child welfare cases who have alcohol and other drug dependency problems become and remain sober. The goal of the program is recovery so as to reduce future criminal activity.
Source: 1350 KMAN
Overland Park considers using federal pandemic relief funds for environmental projects, like bike trails and tree planting
Environmental projects like tree planting, bike and sidewalk infrastructure may become a part of spending on an upcoming batch of federal COVID-19 relief money coming to Overland Park. Members of the City Council’s Community Development Committee said Wednesday they’d be open to an idea of putting some of an upcoming $9 million disbursement of funds from the American Rescue Plan Act into such projects, as long as they meet the federal government’s rules for how the money is spent. The money is half of another $18 million of federal relief money headed Overland Park’s way from the U.S. Treasury.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Mayors urge Johnson County Commission to take action as Omicron spreads
Ahead of Thursday’s regular Board of County Commissioners meeting, a group of nine Johnson County mayors is urging commissioners to take countywide action to help tamp spread of the Omicron variant. In a letter addressed to the commission Wednesday, the mayors say that though cities have taken their own steps to try to mitigate spread, “additional prompt action is needed by the [county] to assist our cities in weathering this latest and strongest COVID surge.”
Source: Prairie Village Post
Erie library participating in seed program
The Erie City Public Library is part of a growing movement of seed libraries and has shelves stocked full of seed as well as books to help gardeners with tips. “A seed library is a place where community members can get seeds for free and is run for the public benefit,” said Julie Coover Kent, library director. “Helping people to start gardens for their families is the goal of our library.” The idea is for people to take a packet of seed and leave a packet of seed or bring one in later to help perpetuate the seed library into the future. You may have a packet of bush bean seeds and want a packet of green pepper seeds so you can switch them out.
Source: Parsons Sun
Single and looking to rent? The top city for an apartment is in Kansas, study says
Wichita is the most affordable U.S. city for a single person to rent an apartment, an analysis of 1.2 million studio apartment listings has concluded. The RentHop Singles Index ranks cities based on the median cost of a studio apartment relative to the average salary of single people who live there. Researchers for the apartment rental service determined that single Wichitans spend less of their annual income on rent than their counterparts in any of the nation’s 50 largest cities.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Pickleball growing big following in Iola
Pickleball, a relatively new sport, is gaining followers across the country and in Iola. Lyle Kern is the pioneer of the game in the area and the game is gaining a robust following in Iola and LaHarpe. Pickleball is growing in popularity across America, and here in Iola. A mix of different sports, pickleball has a dedicated following in Iola. So what exactly is Pickleball? Lyle Kern, one of the more seasoned pickleball players in the area, tells it best. “I tell people it’s like if you could stand on a ping-pong table and play ping-pong,” Kern said. “You have a paddle made of wood and a ball that’s more like a wiffleball instead of a tennis ball. It doesn’t bounce nearly as high. You can get four pickleball courts in one tennis court. Some of the rules like how to serve and volley are similar to tennis.”
Source: The Iola Register
Plan for faster COVID-19 testing being worked on in Sedgwick County
The surge in COVID-19 cases leads to a rise in testing. First, there is an issue of people getting an appointment. Many testing slots are booked in just an hour after opening, and if you make it to a testing site, some people are waiting in line for hours. Commissioners are looking to open an emergency testing site.
Source: KSN-TV
Kelly issues executive order to ease hospital burden
Gov. Laura Kelly on Thursday declared a new short-term emergency, signing executive orders aimed at relieving hospitals and nursing homes struggling with staffing shortages as COVID-19 rages again with the spread of a new variant. Kelly declared a 15-day emergency, clearing the way for executive orders that will give hospitals and nursing homes more flexibility to use staffers to treat and test Kansans who are coming down with COVID-19 in increasing numbers. “Our hospitals have sounded the alarm of the impact this surge is having on the facilities, their staff and their patients,” Kelly said. “We needed to do this and we needed to do this as soon as we possibly could to alleviate the shortage,” she said.
Source: Sunflower State Journal
City of Pittsburg businesses prosper, lead to housing and future job market
Over the past year one southeast Kansas community has been seeing its hard work pay off — improving its quality of life and laying the groundwork for the years ahead. “It’s going to be business as usual,” said Daron Hall, Pittsburg City Manager. The usual for Pittsburg is pretty impressive. The city has seen some big advancements over the past year. Many local businesses say its seen some of their best sales in 2021. “We’ve been very fortunate, our sales tax is up 11.5%, which is unprecedented, but it’s constantly a struggle to keep amenities and things that draw people to your community, and so when you see the sales taxes up that high, it means that people are in town, they are shopping,” said Hall.
Source: KSNF/KODE
A Kansas small town crime is creating big problems
A vandalism incident is creating a lot of headaches for people living in and around Reading, Kansas. That’s not because of the damage that needs cleaned up, but because of the long term implications that could come from it. Reading’s downtown consists of a café, a Church, a bank, the Fire Department, and the Post Office. … On Monday, someone vandalized the lobby area of the Post Office, where individual mail boxes, posters, and package boxes are located. … Basic vandalism, with a big impact for people trying to send or receive mail.
Source: KSNT News
Topeka Metro reducing services due to COVID-19 related staff shortages
The Topeka Metro is hosting a series of public meetings in January to educate residents about proposed system-wide reductions in the metro system due to workforce shortages. The meetings will be held on Jan. 12, 13 and 18 according to a press release from Director of Marketing and Communications Keri Renner with the Topeka Metropolitan Transit Authority. “Over the last several years it has become increasingly more difficult to recruit and maintain bus operators,” Renner said. “This has been the experience both regionally and nationally.”
Source: KSNT News
Hawkish Fed signals it may have to raise rates sooner to fight inflation
A “very tight” job market and unabated inflation might require the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates sooner than expected and begin reducing its overall asset holdings as a second brake on the economy, U.S. central bank policymakers said in their meeting last month. In a document released on Wednesday that markets took as decidedly hawkish, the minutes from the Dec. 14-15 policy meeting showed Fed officials uniformly concerned about the pace of price increases that promised to persist, alongside global supply bottlenecks “well into” 2022. … The language showed the depth of the consensus that has emerged at the Fed in recent weeks over the need to move against high inflation – not just by raising borrowing costs but by acting with a second lever and reducing the central bank’s holdings of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities. The probability that the Fed would lift interest rates in March for the first time since the pandemic’s onset rose to greater than 70%, as tracked by CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
Source: Reuters
Support expressed for looking locally for firm to help Topeka find city manager
Though out-of-state firms helped Topeka’s city government find its last three permanent city managers, the mayor and council members voiced support Tuesday for looking locally this time for a company to help conduct that search. “I really don’t feel we need a national search firm,” said Councilman Neil Dobler. Mayor Mike Padilla and most other members of the nine-person council joined Dobler in voicing support for hiring a search firm that’s local, or at least regional, to help find a replacement for former city manager Brent Trout.
Source: CJonline
Municipal Bond Trends for January 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.
Sedgwick County in worst COVID crisis since pandemic began, health officer Minns says
Sedgwick County and Kansas are in the worst shape they’ve been since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, with hospitals being overwhelmed, vaccination rates stagnating, and residents and businesses almost universally ignoring recommendations to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and its variants, the county’s health officer said Wednesday. “I want you to know we are at the point we had all hoped would never occur,” Dr. Garold Minns told county commissioners on Wednesday morning. “Ever since this pandemic started we were hoping to avoid this situation, but we are at a crisis. “We had all hoped by two years this thing would be over. It’s not over. It’s just beginning.”
Source: Wichita Eagle
City approves ordinance regarding mail, elections
The Gardner City Council adopted an ordinance regulating mailed ballot solicitations during a 15 minute meeting Dec. 20. Sec. 7.5. Distribution of Unattributed Applications for Advance Voting Ballots regulates font size on mail labels, addressing and how much of an advance voting application may be completed prior to mailing. Those found to be in violation of the ordinance are found guilty of a class C nonperson violation. … Questions regarding how Gardner officials would inspect mail, regulate label font size, organization’s executive officer or return addresses were not clear.
Source: Gardner News
Douglas County implements emergency mask mandate, effective Friday
Douglas County officials have implemented an emergency mask mandate to curb the spread of COVID-19 as numbers have reached record highs in the past week. Dr. Thomas Marcellino, the Douglas County health officer, and Douglas County Commission Chair Shannon Portillo announced the order Wednesday, to go into effect Friday, Jan. 7. It will require all people ages 2 and up to wear masks inside any public spaces in the county…. The county commission will discuss extending the order during a meeting Jan. 12.
Source: The Lawrence Times
‘Who gets care and who does not’: KS hospital officials ask for emergency declaration
Wesley and Ascension Via Christi hospital executives are calling for a statewide emergency declaration that would allow hospitals to house more than their licensed number of patients, as surging COVID-19 cases perpetuate dire conditions in Wichita’s overcrowded ERs. Dr. Kimberly Megow, chief regional medical officer of Wesley’s parent company, HCA, spoke about the life and death treatment decisions being made during a video conference with hospital officials from across Kansas on Wednesday morning. “We continue to run well over 100% capacity in all of our ERs. Some of them are 200 or 300% capacity,” Megow said, referring to a metric based on the number of staffed ER and overflow beds available.
Source: Wichita Eagle
Will Kansas eliminate sales tax on all food, or limit relief to healthy food only?
As Gov. Laura Kelly campaigns to eliminate Kansas’ sales taxes on food, a movement is brewing to limit the tax relief to healthy foods only. The idea of limited food tax relief surfaced during a public forum of the South Central Kansas legislative delegation Tuesday night. It was suggested by Jane Byrnes, a health and fitness advocate who serves on Wichita’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board. “If you remove the tax from healthful foods for Kansans, you’d be educating Kansans,” Byrnes said. “Most folks don’t know the difference between evidence-based healthful foods and the extras, the heavily marketed snacks and sugary drinks that do not support health.”
Source: Wichita Eagle
A fighter for low interest rates, Minneapolis Fed chair says U.S. needs two rate increases in 2022
Even Neel Kashkari thinks it’s time to raise interest rates. Since he became president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis in 2016, Kashkari has consistently opposed rate increases and became known for holding the most dovish views of the central bank’s policymakers. But amid some of the highest inflation in decades, Kashkari on Tuesday said he supports raising rates this year — but twice, not the three times the Fed signaled on Dec. 15.
Source: Wichita Eagle
Fire departments win 27th annual Wichita/Sedgwick County Battle of the Badges
Wichita and Sedgwick County firefighters won the 27th annual Battle of the Badges. It’s the third straight year the fire departments have lifted the trophy, beating out law enforcement and EMS in the competition. With first responders’ efforts and donors’ generosity, the Red Cross of South Central and Southeast Kansas collected more than 1,400 donations from Dec. 13 through Jan. 2, 120% of its goal for the blood drive. “Every 2 seconds someone in the United States needs blood. That’s a staggering statistic that impacts our lives every single day,” said Wichita Fire Capt. Chris Fleming, who is also a member of the Battle of the Badges committee. “Without the work of the Red Cross and volunteer donors across Kansas, blood would not be available when it is needed most.”
Source: KSN-TV
Kansas to participate in program to expand free, reduced-price school meals
Governor Laura Kelly recently announced that Kansas has been selected as one of eight states to participate in a demonstration project utilizing Medicaid eligibility data to certify eligible students for free and reduced-price school meals. “This project will expand free, reduced-priced meals for some of our most vulnerable students,” Gov. Kelly said. “Our kids need reliable access to healthy foods to learn and grow, and this is great news for our state, students and families.” The Kansas State Department of Education is working in collaboration with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) on the project, said Cheryl Johnson, director of KSDE’s Child Nutrition and Wellness (CNW) team.
Source: Derby Informer
After doubling in size, De Soto could strike deal to remake former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant land
De Soto officials are laying the groundwork for Johnson County’s largest contiguously owned site to effectively house a new town. It will be a years-long challenge involving a defunct Army ammunition plant that has sat empty, and contaminated, for decades. Thursday evening, the De Soto City Council will consider establishing a tax increment financing district that includes 6,009 acres of the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant, located southeast of a bend in Kansas Highway 10 in western Johnson County. The council voted in November to annex about 6,376 acres — the vast majority of them part of the 9,000-acre former ammo plant — and signed a predevelopment agreement with Sunflower Redevelopment Group. Managing members of Sunflower Redevelopment, to which the U.S. Army in 2005 transferred the former plant site, include Kessinger/Hunter & Co. LC of Kansas City; RESIGHT Holdings LLC of Littleton, Colorado; and Midland Properties Inc. of Mission Woods.
Source: Kansas City Business Journal
Treasury yield tops 1.70% as rates continue to spike to start 2022
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield ticked higher Wednesday after the Federal Reserve released a summary of its key December meeting. The 10-year traded at 1.7%, its high of the day, up about 3 basis points. The 2-year rate jumped by 5 basis points to 0.82%. … The minutes released Wednesday showed that Fed officials began plans to start reducing the amount of bonds it is holding on its balance sheet. Some officials even said that the balance-sheet reduction could start sometime after the Fed starts raising interest rates. The Fed is tapering its bond purchases now and has already indicated to the market that it will raise rates soon after it finishes that taper in March. But the market is awaiting indications from the Fed on what it would do with its balance sheet once it’s done increasing it. The minutes showed officials considering to shrink the balance sheet along with raising rates as another way to remove policy accommodation.
Source: CNBC – Bonds
Employee shortages have hit McPherson harder than Moundridge or Inman
Over a year ago, industries like fast food and entertainment reported a lack of employees, causing some businesses to alter hours, raise prices to accommodate higher salaries, or close down. Then the worker shortages spread, and now it seems that almost every employment sector faces challenges related to not having enough people available to do the necessary jobs. The Topeka Capital-Journal recently reported that the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed a 4.7 percent drop in the number of public sector workers in Kansas translates into around 12,000 vacant jobs. While those numbers may not alarm most readers, showing their practical implications might.
Source: McPherson Weekly News » Feed
Growing pains: McPherson struggles to keep up as business booms
The numbers don’t lie, McPherson is continuing to grow, and grow. Its population spiked more than 7 percent to 14,082 total for the 2021 census. Mayor Tom Brown said the city’s competitively low electrical rates, courtesy of its municipally owned McPherson Board of Public Utilities, continues to draw businesses. “We are standing on the shoulders of our forefathers,” he said. That growth has created some stress on the housing market as developers and city leaders struggle to keep up with the needs of its growing population and those posed by temporary workers who may not want to sign a lease.
Source: McPherson Weekly News
Derby hires new deputy city manager
The city of Derby has hired Dan Bronson as its new deputy city manager effective Jan. 10. Bronson replaces Kiel Mangus, who became Derby’s fifth city manager on Dec. 10 after the retirement of Kathy Sexton. Bronson comes to Derby from Harvey County, where he has served as the assistant county administrator/director of finance since March 2017. In that role, he reports to the county administrator and helps provide leadership and administrative support to 21 department directors and elected officials and 216 staff. “I’m excited to join the city of Derby,” Bronson said. “Derby is a forward-thinking, growing community, and I am eager for the opportunities and challenges ahead of me.”
Source: Derby Informer
New library in Moundridge will provide more space and flexibility
The renovation of the new library building will be complete months before the Moundridge Public Library will be ready to use it. The building should be ready for use by the end of January, according to head librarian Betsy Davis, but the furniture is on backorder, so she’s looking at a spring move-in date, though she resists providing a prediction any more concisely than the three-month window. Davis said some of the furniture would arrive soon, but she expects the shelving to be the biggest holdup. The community room, one of the aspects of the new library that Davis is looking forward to the most, will be complete soon, but she didn’t know if they would try to use it before the rest of the library was open. … “With this grant [the ALA’s Libraries Transform Communities Grant], we were able to get portable cooktops and little toaster ovens and things like that, that we can actually have little cooking classes for our cooking for two initiatives that we learned about after we asked people what do they want,” Davis said.
Source: McPherson Weekly News
Couple converting Hutchinson’s historic Hoke Building into a boutique hotel
The Kansas City couple converting Hutchinson’s historic Hoke Building into a boutique hotel confirmed Monday that they’ve signed a purchase contract on the Landmark apartments building on North Main Street. Mark and Phoebe Davenport said they have been interested in the property at 501 N. Main St. since they drove by it on one of their first visits to the city some 18 months ago. “It got my attention immediately,” Mark said. “I did a double-take driving down Main, thinking, ‘What on earth is this building?’ It’s incredible.”
Source: Hutch News
New tool puts Lyon County 911 on faster tracking
If you’re thinking about pulling a “Crank Yanker” trick on Lyon County 911 operators, think again. The Lyon County Emergency Communications Center announced a new tool Sunday to track incoming calls. A Facebook statement said it can “possibly see your 911 call before it even rings into our center.“ The tool is from RapidSOS, a company based in New York. The LCECC says its mapping portal allows dispatchers to have “street view access to a majority of the Lyon County area.” The new tool also can tap into vehicles with Sirius XM technology, allowing operators to obtain data on crashes.
Source: Emporia Gazette