Kansas Municipal News
Topeka losing longest-serving leader
Human resources director Jacque Russell, the longest-tenured department head for Topeka’s city government, is leaving city employment. Russell has resigned effective Dec. 1, city communications director Gretchen Spiker said Wednesday. Russell joined the city in July 2007 as its classification and compensation manager before being promoted to human resources director in April 2008, Spiker said. The city over the coming weeks will identify an employee to serve as interim human resources director, then conduct a nationwide search to fill the position permanently, Spiker said.
Source: CJonline
Hepler voters choose their mayor, again
“What, did I win?” Doug Harris asked from his truck, Wednesday. Harris, the mayor of Hepler, Kan., didn’t file for re-election, but according to Gene Rountree-Garcia, Crawford County’s director of elections, Harris was leading 9-1 among write-in votes cast in Tuesday’s election. “The one. That was probably my wife,” Harris laughed as he headed to another job site. Like many public servants in rural Kansas, Harris doesn’t campaign for office. He does the job out of a sense of civic duty. “The mayor’s job pays so well,” Harris joked. Although the mayor and council members are unpaid, that doesn’t mean they don’t have important work to do. Harris said he is fortunate to have a very good city council to work with.
Source: Morning Sun
6 votes separate these 2 Wyandotte County candidates
As outstanding ballots are counted, the race for a seat to represent south-central Kansas City, Kansas, on Wyandotte County’s governing body has narrowed to six votes. Philip Lopez, who owns a tree trimming business, on Thursday remained ahead of Steve Neal, pastor of First Baptist Church of Turner, in the race for District 6 on the Board of Commissioners for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas. The seat is currently held by Angela Markley, who did not seek reelection, and covers the Turner, Morris and Muncie neighborhoods. After an update of unofficial results Thursday, Lopez totaled 827 votes while Neal had 821. Fourteen voters wrote in other candidates. The update came as more mail-in ballots were counted. The race could swing as the Wyandotte County Election Office goes through 1,200 outstanding mail-in ballots that were postmarked before or on Election Day but not received until later. They will be accepted through Friday.
Source: KC Star Local News
Overland Park is planning for the future of its parks system
Overland Park is paving the way for the future of its parks and recreation system. Called Playbook OP, the updated long-range plan currently under review will eventually identify future goals for the city’s pools, parks, green spaces and other recreational facilities. The plan will also address recreation programming, system development and other recommendations for expanding the city’s vast parks network. Enacted by city leaders in 2013, Overland Park’s existing long-term parks plan is called the Comprehensive Park System Master Plan. Under the current plan, Overland Park refreshed playgrounds at several parks, including Bluejacket Park, Brown Park and South Lake Park, said Meg Ralph, communications manager
Source: Prairie Village Post
Downtown KCK is ready for a rebirth, starting with a $70M ‘game-changer’
Kansas City, Kansas, has had its share of ups and downs over the years, from the closing of the Indian Springs Shopping Center, to the development of the Kansas Speedway and Legends area. But the city’s downtown has remained a challenge. It has seen spurts of activity through the years, including the opening of the Children’s Campus of Kansas City in 2010, the University of Kansas Health System opening its Strawberry Hill Campus in 2019 in a building that sat empty after the departure of the Environmental Protection Agency’s regional office and the opening of a new grocery store in 2020. A pair of new projects promises to inject new life into the city’s downtown and could tip the scales toward a long-awaited renaissance. Kansas City Kansas Community College recently began work on a $70 million project at the corner of Seventh Street Trafficway and State Avenue. KCKCC is partnering with Swope Health and Community America Credit Union to create an all-encompassing education and wellness center.
Source: Kansas City Business Journal
Kansas lawmakers talk about the homeless impact on cities
Homelessness is an issue Kansas lawmakers are addressing. A special committee met at the statehouse on Thursday to talk about the impact on cities across the state and possible solutions. The issue has gotten so bad that the homeless are being sent to Lawrence, where it is becoming a growing problem. “People are being transported,” Rep. Susan Humphries, R-Wichita. Law enforcement officers say that some are being sent across county lines to areas that may have more resources. Even in those bigger cities, resources are running low. … Lawmakers are getting feedback from stakeholders across the state. It includes business owners who say they’re struggling to deal with the rising homeless population.
Source: KSN-TV
Affordable senior housing coming to former Kansas Masonic Home facility
With its Spanish architecture and tile roof, the Kansas Masonic Home is a staple of Wichita just west of downtown, and it’s served the community for over 125 years. Most recently, the KMH was a senior care facility drowning in lawsuits for deaths due to alleged neglect, hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, and reports from the health department saying that inspectors found horrible living conditions like nurses failing to change a resident’s bandage for eighteen days. At the end of last year, the KMH abruptly announced it was closing because of overwhelming debt, giving its residents just weeks to get out. “They had to scramble to find a place to live,” said Chris Dennis. That’s where Dennis and his team at Wichita-based Oxford Senior Living came in.
Source: KAKE News
Powell says Fed is ‘not confident’ it has done enough to bring inflation down
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Thursday that he and his fellow policymakers are encouraged by the slowing pace of inflation but are unsure whether they’ve done enough to keep the momentum going. Speaking a little more than a week after the central bank voted to hold benchmark policy rates steady, Powell said in remarks for an International Monetary Fund audience that more work could be ahead in the battle against high prices. “The Federal Open Market Committee is committed to achieving a stance of monetary policy that is sufficiently restrictive to bring inflation down to 2 percent over time; we are not confident that we have achieved such a stance,” he said in his prepared speech. The speech comes with inflation still well above the Fed’s long-standing goal but also considerably below its peak levels in the first half of 2022.
Source: CNBC – Bonds
KDOT gives update on potential Amtrak expansion into Wichita
An Amtrak passenger train rolled into Wichita’s Union Station back in 2017 as part of an inspection ride to see the viability of service. It was only a test at the time but soon, the real thing could return to the air capital. Wednesday the Kansas Department of Transportation held a virtual update on the proposed expansion of the Heartland Flyer line that would connect Oklahoma City to Newton. Sedgwick County Commissioner Pete Meitzner was listening to the update and said it seems like there is a lot of momentum behind the project. “You hate to over promise but you can kind of feel the enthusiasm and the confidence on that call.” It would be a major connection for the region.
Source: KAKE – News
Miami County voters shoot down $40 million school bond proposal and new sales tax for courthouse
Voters took a stance against taxes and unseated school board incumbents in Paola and Osawatomie during the Nov. 7 general election. Two of the biggest questions on the ballot were Paola USD 368’s $40 million school bond proposal and Miami County’s proposed quarter-cent sales tax for the renovation and expansion of the historic Miami County Courthouse. Both proposals failed by similar margins, with 60 percent of voters saying “no” and 40 percent saying “yes.” … One tax-related question was successful on election night. Osawatomie voters renewed the city’s quarter-cent sales tax for public safety equipment with 233 “yes” votes to 180 “no” votes, according to the unofficial results.
Source: Local News | republic-online.com
Allen County residents seek answers on new floodplain maps
An open house on Tuesday was designed to answer questions about a new floodplain maps. Most Allen County residents got good news, as 85 properties no longer are listed in the floodplain. Eight were added. Debbie Menzie was surprised to receive a notice that her home is now in a floodplain. It’s never flooded at her home in the north part of Iola, just off Washington Street. Not even close. She attended an open house on Tuesday at the Community Building in Riverside Park, hosted by the Kansas Department of Agriculture to review new floodplain maps. The new maps show 85 properties are no longer in the floodplain. Eight, including Menzie’s home, have been added. Property owners who have a federally-backed mortgage must have flood insurance if their home is in the floodplain. Menzie said she has never needed flood insurance. She doesn’t have a mortgage so she isn’t required to carry it. She attended Tuesday’s event to discuss her options. She’s not sure if she wants to purchase flood insurance, just in case. “It’s a risk,” Menzie said. “I’m still not sure what I’m going to do but I’ll look into it.”
Source: The Iola Register
Allen County voters reject courthouse remodel
A proposal to renovate the Allen County Courthouse because of security issues failed with 76% of voters opposed. The other bond issue on the ballot, for renovations at the Crest school district, passed comfortably. City council and school board races also were decided. Allen County voters overwhelmingly rejected Tuesday a proposed $9.95 million bond issue to renovate the Allen County Courthouse. … Such huge margins represent a stinging defeat for the plan’s proponents, which included District Judge Dan Creitz and Allen County Sheriff Bryan Murphy, who attempted to convince voters the renovations were needed to improve security at the courthouse.
Source: The Iola Register
Community input vital to winning public’s support on bond issues
It took four bond issues for local citizens to support building a new school in Iola. Administrators learned the secret was paying attention to public input. A countywide referendum on whether to renovate the Allen County courthouse likely drew more voters to the polls Tuesday than in a typical off-year election. An estimated 2,510 voters — or about 29% of Allen County’s 8,698 registered voters — weighed in. … As local school administrators can attest, community engagement is vital to passing bond issues. After three failed measures to build new schools — 1979, 1985 and 2014 — local voters in 2019 approved a $35 million issue to build a new elementary school, high school science center and an HVAC overhaul for the middle school.
Source: The Iola Register
Kansas officials begin process of restoring court information access after ‘security incident’
Nearly a month after a “security incident” with all the hallmarks of a ransomware attack, Kansas judicial officials are slowly renewing public access to court information. But for now, that access requires a trip to the state’s capital city. The state’s judicial branch on Tuesday announced it has opened a public access service center at the Kansas Judicial Center in Topeka. … efforts to bring the judicial branch systems back online will occur in phases and that no firm timeline has been established on when all functions will be fully restored. The massive outage on Oct. 12 left attorneys unable to search online records and forced them to file motions the old fashioned way — on paper. The disruption has caused a huge slowdown of court operations across the state.
Source: KMBC.com
An old Johnson County fire station will soon become a coffee shop. ‘It’s exciting’
In the ’70s, the brick building at 19115 Midland Drive in Shawnee was home to volunteer firefighters. The side of the building, now painted with sunflowers, was once a garage door that opened for wailing fire trucks. Then the fire department built a larger station, packed up its hoses and traveled across the street. One day Courtney and John Nelson, now owners of the building, looked at the old firehouse and thought: “Coffee shop?” Yes, a great spot for a coffee shop, they agreed. “It’s exciting,” Courtney said. “It’s something that we liked and thought would be a good addition.” Early next year, the Nelsons hope to open Station 3 Coffee Shop inside the old Shawnee Fire Station 3. Possibly in January.
Source: Joco 913 News
Overland Park approves new weed ordinance
This isn’t about the “weed” some might be thinking of. The Overland Park City Council met Monday night to approve an update to the city’s Weed and Vegetation Enforcement Act. The act encourages those living in the city to grow native plants. This is the first adjustment made to the ordinance since 2011. “The ordinance was also out of sync with sustainable landscaping practices promoted through the City’s stormwater cost-share program,” City Sustainability Manager Lara Isch said. “This program promotes beneficial native plantings and rain gardens, and the update brings the City’s code into alignment with that goal.”
Source: fox4kc.com | FOX 4 – WDAF
A baby bust hits Kansas, bringing tough choices for Kansas school districts
Kansas is in the midst of a baby bust. Numbers released in May by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment tell the plain story: In 2022, there were 34,476 live births – a slight decrease from 34,697 births the year before, but a huge drop from the nearly 42,000 new Kansans born in 2008 amidst the Great Recession. Put it in a different context – there were just 11.7 new babies born for every 1,000 Kansans in 2022. That is a historically low number. “This is the lowest birth rate for Kansas residents since the state created a centralized vital records system in 1911,” KDHE said. Talk to demographers and you’ll hear myriad reasons explaining the bust. They’ll also tell you it’s not just a Kansas thing: Birth rates have been falling across the country for more than a decade. “I think one of the things that’s apparent from that research is there’s no single explanation,” says Sarah Hayford, a sociologist at Ohio State University who studies family formation and reproductive health and has been tracking the national decline. But observers say that other demographic shifts – young Kansans moving away from rural areas to cities, suburbs and very often out of state – have exacerbated the drop in births here.
Source: KLC Journal
Governor Kelly Announces More than $10M to Build Community Multi-Purpose Facilities, Expand Access to Child Care
Governor Laura Kelly and the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund today announced the first round of Capital Projects Fund Accelerator (CPF Accelerator) awards, which will go to three Kansas communities to build or renovate multi-purpose community facilities. These facilities will create 313 new licensed child care slots; provide access to high-speed internet; and house programs that facilitate work, education, and health care monitoring. “Kansas parents need safe, affordable child care so they can join the workforce without worrying how they’ll make ends meet,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “That’s why we’re investing in these community centers, which will offer more options for child care along with providing essential health, educational, and technological services.” The CPF Accelerator Request for Proposals remains open for a second round of submissions through December 18, 2023. Approximately $28 million remains available to continue supporting the expansion of multi-purpose community facilities that meet all program criteria. Combined with the Child Care Capacity Accelerator Grant programs previously announced this year, the Kelly administration is on track to infuse more than $94 million towards expanding access to child care for working families.
Source: Governor of the State of Kansas
Municipal Bond Trends for November 9, 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 8, 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.