Kansas Municipal News
Wichita library adds locks to some bathroom doors for public safety
As you walk to the family restrooms at the Advanced Learning Library in Downtown Wichita, you’ll run into a problem. A small silver lock. The only thing that can open it is a tiny gold coin that you get from the service desk. The library added the locks a couple of months ago because it says there were multiple incidents of people locking the doors and spreading human waste around the bathroom as well as other things. “We have had some instances to be quite honest of drug use, and some other things going on,” said Sean Jones, the library’s communications specialist. That’s why the library installed locks on two of its three family restroom doors about two months ago. Jones says there was originally some confusion but now most people understand why this change is taking place. “It’s a little bit more inconvenient but if it helps with safety it’s fine,” said library visitor Behrooz Rahbar. Jones says the family restroom in the children’s area remains unlocked because he knows sometimes children have emergencies and parents need to be able to access the restroom quickly. While there’s now a coin slot it is still completely free to use the public restroom. Visitors will need to go to the front desk to get a small gold coin that they will use to unlock the door.
Source: KAKE – News
Overland Park moves to allow e-bikes, e-scooters on city trails
Overland Park plans to permanently allow e-mobility devices, like e-bikes and electric scooters, on its city trails. On Monday, the Overland Park City Council Community Development Committee voted 4-0 to recommend approval of the new ordinance and the repeal of an existing one prohibiting motorized devices and vehicles on trails. “To me, this kind of seems like something that’s coming to us whether we like it or not,” Councilmember Logan Heley, who chairs the committee, said. “They’re probably going to use the trails whether we say it’s OK or not.” Former Councilmembers Scott Hamblin and Fred Spears previously sat on this committee, but their terms have expired and the mayor has yet to fill their seats on the committee. The proposed ordinance formalizes two pilot programs that allowed e-bikes and scooters on city bike and hiking trails. The initial pilot program, which started in 2020, permitted some e-bikes on Overland Park trails. About a year and a half later, the city expanded the pilot to include more types of e-bikes and scooters. Mike Burton, park project coordinator for Overland Park, told the committee this week that allowing e-bikes and scooters on the trails was met with mixed reviews from the community, though the feedback leaned positive overall.
Source: Shawnee Mission Post
Double Trouble: Investors Fight Fed on Two Fronts
Investors are betting against the Fed—twice over. The first bet is the sudden turn from expecting the Federal Reserve to keep rates higher for longer to instead expecting rapid and deep cuts next year. The second bet is almost the exact opposite, that the Fed will have to keep rates much higher in the long run than it says it will. Treasury yields have come down, but at around 4.1% the 10-year yield remains more than 1.5 percentage points above the Fed’s forecast of long-run interest rates. Both bets go against the popular market dictum: Never fight the Fed. Yet, there are good reasons to think the Fed might be wrong, stronger in my view for the long-term wager than the short-term. The bet on rapid rate cuts became received wisdom remarkably quickly, which in itself is concerning. Six weeks ago the market was convinced that the Fed would keep rates high next year, with only two rate cuts priced in. Now, five cuts are priced in, against a Fed forecast in September of just one cut from current levels. The most extreme investors expect cuts really soon, with federal-fund futures showing a 14% chance of a rate cut in January, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.
Source: WSJ.com: Markets
Emporia discusses rental registrations, vacant property ordinance
City commissioners were undecided on how to proceed with possible rental registrations and updates to the vacant property ordinance on Wednesday afternoon. According to the Director of Building and Neighborhood Development, Kory Krause, the city last discussed rental registration “364 days ago,” but it has come up several times over the last few years. Krause said a rental registration program would help ensure safer rental properties and improve accountability of rental units within the City of Emporia. “We’re still having problems,” Krause said. “We do have issues with rental properties. We’ve had some bad landlords here in town.” He mentioned that about 51% of the single-family homes in Emporia are rental properties. The problem arises when people purchasing the properties aren’t transparent about their intentions and aren’t completing work up to code. “What they’re doing is buying them, flipping them, and renting them out,” Krause said. “Sometimes we don’t hear about it. We’ve come across shoddy work. … Most of these are unpermitted.” This means people are doing the work without pulling the appropriate permits with the city first.
Source: Emporia Gazette
Power back on for most of Emporia after ‘equipment failure’
The lights are back on for nearly 3,000 Evergy customers in Emporia after an “equipment failure” took power offline for more than two hours Thursday afternoon. The outage, caused by a downed power line, knocked power out for 2,739 customers in Emporia according to the Evergy Outage Map. The outage was first reported just before 3:30 p.m. The outage stretched along U.S. Highway 50 from just west of Prairie Street and east to Sylvan Street, along parts of 12th Avenue, down Commercial Street, and south on Highway 99 past the David Traylor Zoo. As of 5:40 p.m., about 56 customers were still reported to be without power and Evergy was “reassessing” the situation.
Source: Emporia Gazette
Proposed overnight homeless shelter in Butler County causes controversy over location
For years some in the Butler County community of El Dorado have had no choice but to live on the street. But that could change when the El Dorado City Commissioners vote on a special permit for a proposed new building. The Butler County Homeless initiative applied for the new building. However, the Planning Commission recommended to the City Commission 7 to 1 to deny the application. But one homeless man we spoke to could use an overnight shelter in El Dorado. “I had a shower today, the first time I had a shower in three months,” said Richard Clark. Clark has been on the streets in El Dorado since he was 29. Now six years later, he talks about how this all began. “My family just pretty much disowned me, I lost a lot of love for them. My dad died before my 28th birthday, he died in 2016 and ever since then, I’ve been going downhill,” said Clark. Then came another tragedy in April. “My mom passed away this year and I didn’t even get to go to her funeral,” said Clark. Now, yet another setback for Clark and others like him. City Planning Commission members recently rejected a plan to turn this vacant building on West Central Avenue into El Dorado’s only homeless center. It came after complaints from residents who didn’t want it so close to their homes. The head of the group that wants to open the shelter, The Butler County Homeless Initiative says she thinks the fears are unwarranted. “Homeless people are not dangerous people, they are unhoused people,” said Debbie Hill, executive director of the Butler County Homeless Initiative.
Source: KAKE – News
Plan would turn former Kansas prison into tourist attraction
It’s a place where thousands of men paid for their crimes. One Leavenworth County city hopes to rescue an old prison from the wrecking ball and turn it into a tourist destination and a testament to local history. City leaders in Lansing hope to save a large section of the Lansing Correctional Facility, the state’s oldest penitentiary, which has roots that date back to the 1860s. The Kansas Department of Corrections still uses some of the campus. Plans to demolish the old state pen may go on hold for history’s sake. “There’s so much history here. Just like they saved Alcatraz,” Debra Bates-Lamborn, president of the Lansing Historical Society, said. Bates-Lamborn supports a proposal to preserve the old prison, including some inmate cells and the prison auditorium, where country music legend Johnny Cash played a concert for inmates. “I think it gives people a place to come and see a prison in a prison town. For years, we’ve been known as a prison town,” Bates-Lamborn said. At one point in time, Leavenworth County had five prisons at different security levels. Historians here point to a widespread interest in tourism based on defunct penitentiaries. Nowadays, Jermaine Wilson is the mayor of nearby Leavenworth, Kansas. However, times were different for him in 2008, when he was sentenced to three years in the Lansing lockup after being convicted of drug possession. Thursday was his first return to the old prison since his release. Wilson now works for a prison ministry, helping counsel and guide active inmates.
Source: KSN-TV
Fort Scott officials working to maintain local ER access
Fort Scott officials are still working to make sure Bourbon County residents still have local access to an emergency room after December 20th. That’s the date Ascension Via Christi has given for when they’ll cease operations of the emergency room in Ft. Scott. Fort Scott Mayor Matthew Wells said they’ve been working with U.S. Senator Jerry Moran’s office to give the current facility the Rural Emergency Health Care (REH) designation. When an eligible facility converts to an REH, it allows them to provide emergency department services, observation care, and additional outpatient medical and health services that don’t exceed an annual per-patient average length of stay of 24 hours. Wells said without Moran’s bill, they may not be able to get the REH designation. “As everyone knows, it was stated that on December 27, 2020, if you’re not an active hospital, you would not be able to apply. That has put our hospital and up to 100 other, I’m told, in the position where they can’t reopen or apply for that REH designation,” said Wells. Wells adds they’ve been working with the county to ensure there’s an increase of EMS services and extra ambulances available, as well as ensuring the helipad stays completely operational. Wells adds they’ve been working with two different strategic health care initiative partners who believe they’ll be able to reopen the ER after the first of the year.
Source: KSNF/KODE
Topeka City Council votes to extend interim city manager’s contract
The Topeka City Council approved multiple items at its Dec. 5 meeting. City leaders voted to extend the contract of Interim City Manager Richard Nienstedt. He will stay in this position until a permanent city manager can be hired. Nienstedt has held the position since June, following the sudden departure and later termination of former City Manager Stephen Wade. The city has enlisted the help of a recruiting company from Texas to fill the role. The council also signed off on a street project near the Oakland neighborhood. The voted unanimously to spend $1 million for mill and overlay work on Northeast River Road between Northeast Crane and Northeast Emmett streets. The work must be completed in 2024 so the road can be used as a detour while the Polk Quincy Viaduct construction work closes the Kansas Avenue and Topeka Boulevard bridges. This project will be funded by the city’s half-cent sales tax. The council also approved an amended version of the funding requested for the 2023 Alcohol and Drug grants. Topeka’s Special Alcohol and Drug (SAD) program requested $670,000 for programs across the city. Councilmembers approves Councilman Spencer Duncan’s motion to give PARS $169,000, the same funding it received in 2023, instead of the $131,000 recommended by the SAD committee. All participating agencies will now be funded through 2024 either the same or more than what the committee recommended.
Source: KSNT 27 News
Uniontown SD receives hydroponic farm from Leafy Green Farms
Last week the Uniontown district received a hydroponic farm from Leafy Green Farms. The district is partnering with Leafy Green Farms for five years to have a hydroponic farm classroom on campus so students can learn how to grow organic vegetables. This is a phase one initiative to place a hydroponic farm at ten schools in southeast Kansas. The project is a partnership between Leafy Green Farms and Community Green Farms. Leafy Green Farms is providing everything the school needs for the first three months of operations, including training, all equipment, seeds, and nutrients. Superintendent Vance Eden says they’re planning to use some of the produce in their food services. “We do plan on having it up and running at least the food service side of it in early January and then again we’ll have some community open house dates. And then also we’ll do the same thing in a similar scale for teachers, where teachers can come in and kind of see oh this is what it does, this is how it looks,” said Eden. Eden said their plan is to have an expert teach faculty and staff how to utilize the farm.
Source: KSNF/KODE
Municipal Bond Trends for December 7, 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.
Bel Aire finds manager at City Hall
Bel Aire looked no further than City Hall to find its next city manager. The city council on Dec. 5 chose current finance director and assistant city manager Ted Henry to replace Ty Lasher on April 1. Henry has served as the city’s finance director for seven years. Mayor Jim Benage said the governing body’s confidence in Henry and its familiarity with him made the decision not to spend money searching for other potential candidates an easy one. Lasher’s final day will be March 29, 2024. Lasher has been considering retirement since 2022 and was asked to give the city a six-month notice when he made the decision to step down. He gave that notice in early October. Lasher was hired by the city in 2007 after serving as city administrator in Cheney about six years. He was awarded the Buford Watson Excellence in Public Service award by the Kansas Association of City/County Managers in 2020.
Source: Ark Valley News
Matt Jensby to lead City of Kechi
Matt Jensby has been named Kechi’s new city administrator. Jensby replaces Kamme Sroufe following her resignation this fall. Jensby served as the police chief in Maize for 18 years after growing up in Valley Center. He is a 1990 Valley Center High School graduate and worked for the Valley Center Police Department for three years before transferring to Maize in 1996. Jensby said he witnessed incredible growth in Maize while working in the city and was inspired to pursue a second career in public administration.
Source: Ark Valley News
Committee working to revise Lawrence’s Land Development Code talks incentives, energy
While members of the Land Development Code Update Steering Committee didn’t take a look at any new sections of the revised rules for how Lawrence should grow on Thursday, they did participate in plenty of discussion about incentives and energy. … Those topics, in part, included a discussion of what types of zoning incentives could work in Lawrence. That resulted in a decently-sized list, including ideas like providing more options for developers through less linear incentives, waiving system development charges for affordable housing projects and offsetting the costs for developers creating open spaces or other public amenities.
Source: LJWorld
Municipal Bond Trends for December 6, 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.
Johnson County might buy this $6M hotel to convert into a long-needed homeless shelter
Johnson County is considering spending $6.5 million in federal COVID-19 relief funding to purchase a Lenexa hotel to be converted into a permanent homeless shelter. It would be a major step forward to meet a growing need in Kansas’ most affluent and populous county, after years of debates and inaction. Next week, the Johnson County Board of Commissioners is expected to consider purchasing the Lenexa property at 9461 and 9471 Lenexa Drive, the site of La Quinta Inn and Suites off of Interstate 35.
Source: Joco 913 News
A Wichita young professional dreams of living downtown, but it’s tough to overcome high rents
Kyle Ritterbush is one of the young, entrepreneurial professionals Wichita politicians talk so much about wanting to keep. At just 20 years old, he started his video production business last year after graduating high school. He wants to grow it – hiring someone part-time, taking on bigger projects – all while here in Wichita. On the side, he pursues his dream of filmmaking through the city’s Tallgrass Film Festival. He’s currently working on a horror short film to submit next year. But there’s an obstacle to launching his career and becoming a fully fledged adult: moving out of his family’s home. … Due to inflation, increased home prices and a lack of new development in the past several years, rents in Wichita have grown steeply since the COVID pandemic. According to a 2023 report by NAI Martens, this past year alone saw an “aggressive increase” in rental rates: 10.2%, the highest in Wichita in the last decade.
Source: KLC Journal
Amazon’s Park City warehouse: Delivering millions of orders and community investment
The Amazon fulfillment center has already delivered millions of orders this year and it says the busy season just started. It’s been a busy year at the massive warehouse in Park City. 900 workers have been sorting through shelves as far as your eye can see and processed six and a half million orders this year. Manager Dillon Cole says busy season has only just begun. Cole says Amazon’s involvement in the community means a lot more than just fast deliveries. The company says it’s created more than 8,500 jobs across the state and invested $6.2 billion through infrastructure and employee compensation.
Source: Fox Kansas
Great Bend OKs local lake kayak rentals
Kayak rentals will come to Veterans Memorial Park and Stone Lake after the Great Bend City Council Monday night approved an agreement between the Great Bend Convention and Visitors Bureau along with the Great Bend Recreation Commission. The rental kiosks will be managed by Northville, Mich.-based Rent.Fun LLC. “This was a very, very big team effort,” CVB Director Christina Hayes said. The CVB received a grant of $12,200 to help pay $10,000 for this project and extra to help advertise and market them. The majority of this is taken care of and paid for by the GBRC. The activation fee of $26,000 for the five-year agreement and it will be split between the city and GBRC. The city will pay $10,000 (covered by the CVB grant) and GBRC will pay $16,000. There will be four units at Veterans Lake and four at Stone Lake under this master services agreement with Rent.Fun LLC. Now, the city and Rec Commission just have to pick a date to get things started.
Source: Great Bend Tribune
Zoning hearing set for Park City casino
Plans are moving forward on a second casino in Park City, according to The Ark Valley News, with Ruffin Properties officially applying for rezoning of the former Wichita Greyhound Park property northwest of the 77th North/Hydraulic intersection. A zoning hearing will be held Dec. 18. The zone change would shift the property from commercial to a combination entertainment/business district and allow the developer to apply for a special-use permit to construct the previously announced Golden Circle Casino, which would feature historical horse racing (similar to slot machines). Other plans for the property include construction of a bar, restaurant, dance hall, hotel and more.
Source: Derby Informer | Area