Kansas Municipal News
Shawnee County is using drones to fight a duckweed problem
Shawnee County has a duckweed problem. The small leafy plant is often confused with algae as it covers the surfaces of ponds, lagoons and other still bodies of water. Some say it isn’t a problem but instead a misunderstanding of a natural resource. For Shawnee County, however, it’s seen as an infestation — and they’re using drones to deal with it. “There’s about six lagoons throughout the area that are infested with duckweed,” said Shawnee County weed department director John Landon last week. “We’re going to spray those with Sonar and try to get that under control.”
Source: CJonline
Commission hears concerns about homeless in Pittsburg
With only three commissioners present, Tuesday evening’s city commission meeting was short, but dominated by citizen comments about the growing homeless problem in Pittsburg. Pittsburg resident John Lair said that in the northeast section of town, trash bins are being rummaged through, bags cut open, and garbage left strewn across the property for the resident to clean up. Lair said he’s heard not to refer to the homeless as criminals, but said it is getting to be a real problem in his neighborhood. He said a neighbor had her car broken into three times. Source: Morning Sun
Municipal Bond Trends for August 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.
More than 20 electric scooters recovered from Arkansas River
More than 20 electric scooters were recovered from the Arkansas River by the Keeper of the Plains Tuesday afternoon. Electric scooters came to Wichita in July 2019. One of the companies currently operating in Wichita is VeoRide. A KSN photojournalist spoke to a person at the scene working to recover the scooters who identified themself as a manager for VeoRide. He said the units may have been there for some time, only becoming visible because of lower water levels. KSN has reached out to the company for a formal statement but has not received a reply.
Source: KSN-TV
Electric scooters keep getting dumped into the Arkansas River
Twenty electric scooters were recovered from the Arkansas River near the Keeper of the Plains this week, but it comes as no surprise to residents and business owners in the area who have seen submerged scooters for years. Electric scooter rentals have been available in Wichita since the summer of 2019. City leaders celebrated their arrival, and the scooters were a hit with residents and visitors. However, the scooters have had a hard time staying above water. Calvin Cupp works at Boats and Bikes, a boat rental service just off the Arkansas River near the Keeper of the Plains. He spends most days coaching rowing teams and helping run the place.
Source: KSN-TV
More hotel rooms coming for future Kansas State Fairs
The 2023 Kansas State Fair is almost here. More hotels are planned for Hutchinson, but not in time for this year’s fair. The fair is planning for more than 300,000 visitors for the 2023 Kansas State Fair, but not all will be staying in Hutch. Currently, there are about 700 hotel rooms after the largest Hutchinson hotel closed in 2019. The Kansas State Fair brings in anywhere from $75-100 million each year. “For 10 days specifically, that period is a huge boost for the entire community,” said Visit Hutch Vice President LeAnn Cox.
Source: KSN-TV
The post-fire plan for Rawlins Co. Jr.-Sr. High School
After a fire heavily damaged the Rawlins County Junior-Senior High School in June, parents and students knew things would change. It has taken some time, but the district has a tentative plan for handling the new school year. Eric Stoddard, USD 105 superintendent, posted an update about the fire and the plans on the district’s Facebook page. “We’ve had a, really a tragedy in our community,” he said. … USD 105 has contracted with a Wichita company to provide modular classrooms for the junior-senior high school, but the classrooms will not be installed until mid-September at the earliest.
Source: KSN-TV
Forbes: Wichita ranks high for young professionals
Companies trying to convince workers to move to Wichita have some new ammunition. Forbes Advisor ranks Wichita as the 12th best place for young professionals to live. The researchers behind the Forbes Advisor report compared the 100 most-populous metropolitan areas, 99 of which had available data. They weighed things like pay, job opportunities, housing prices, cost of living, and lifestyle.
Source: KSN-TV
These are the rural Kansas hospitals at risk of closure
Earlier this week, Governor Laura Kelly announced she would be pushing for Medicaid expansion after a study released in July 2023 by the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform (CHQPR) found 58% of rural hospitals were at risk of closure. “Already, too many rural hospitals have shut their doors,” Governor Laura Kelly said in response to the report. “When that happens, the communities have been devastated. These Kansans have to drive hours now to receive their basic care. There is an obvious way to stop the bleeding: Expand Medicaid.”
Source: KSN-TV
Lawrence Municipal Court to kick off night court pilot program
Lawrence Municipal Court next week will roll out a pilot night court program, which will add an early evening docket once a month to create more flexibility for defendants. The move is part of a push to reduce failures to appear in court. If defendants miss court, judges can issue arrest warrants, and getting booked into jail can cause serious repercussions for those who have citations or offenses that would not otherwise have involved jail time. Night court will be staffed with Municipal Court Judge Chris Kopecky, a prosecutor, a courtroom clerk, a customer service clerk, a court security officer and a supervisor, according to a Wednesday news release from the city.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Property tax rates vary wildly among states as some consider limits
Property taxes vary significantly across the U.S. with northeastern states imposing effective property tax rates ten times higher than in southern states. That comes from a Washington D.C. group that noted some states are exploring property tax caps. The Committee to Unleash Prosperity, which advocates for free trade and limited government spending, found that the average single-family-home property tax in New Jersey hit $9,500 in 2022. That compares with the average of $928 in West Virginia and $1,022 in Alabama, according to a report from the group.
Source: The Miami County Republic
Manhattan City Commission wants more businesses to keep property tax in check
During Tuesday’s meeting, commissioners discussed the city government’s five-year strategic plan progress. Local officials said there is an “intolerance” toward property tax increases, and that won’t go away any time soon. “With these assessments going up like they did, I thought we did a good job cutting a million dollars of revenue out of property tax,” commissioner Wynn Butler said. “But the folks out there don’t appreciate that because their taxes are still going up even though we lowered the mill levy. They’re still sending us notes saying, ‘You guys gotta do something about fighting this,’ but I also agree that they don’t want to see any services cut.” One way to combat higher property tax rates is bringing in more property revenue from business property, Mayor Mark Hatesohl said. “The solution for lower tax rates is more property being taxed instead of less property being taxed more,” Hatesohl said. “That’s why we’ve got to get a big business, more people and more sales tax.”
Source: themercury.com
Wakefield to honor POWs, MIAs
Because of its efforts in recognizing, remembering and honoring the service and sacrifices of former prisoners of war, missing in action, and their families, the City of Wakefield has been officially proclaimed a POW-MIA City by the Jefferson Barracks POW-MIA Museum project, located in the Historic District of Jefferson Barracks near St. Louis. The official unveiling of the Wakefield’s POW-MIA City proclamation and POW-MIA City sign will take place on Aug. 26 as part of the town’s annual birthday bash.
Source: www.ccenterdispatch.com
National law enforcement association recognizes Franklin County Sheriff as Sheriff of the Year
A national law enforcement organization has honored Franklin County Sheriff Jeffrey Richards for dedication not only to his profession, but to the community he has sworn to serve and protect. Richards was recognized as the recipient of the 2023 Sheriff of the Year Award by the Small and Rural Law Enforcement Executives Association. The organization honored Richards for his dedication to his community and significant contributions to the improvement of small, rural ad tribal law enforcement across the nation. He was presented with the award during the group’s annual conference Aug. 1. With more than 30 years of service in law enforcement, Richards has exemplified commitment to public safety and community welfare, officials said. Richards’ law-enforcement journey began as a reserve/ part-time deputy with the Neosho County Sheriff’s Office. He followed that up by serving as a law-enforcement supervisor in the United States Air Force. He later joined the Overland Park Police Department. Since April 2013, Richards has served as the Franklin County Sheriff, bringing his experience and passion to the role.
Source: Ottawa Herald
Sky is the limit for quality of life projects in Great Bend
The November 2021 General Election results saw 1,067 Great Bend citizens vote in favor of a .15% quality of life sales tax increase. The sales tax question passed with nearly 55% of the vote, and now City of Great Bend officials are going through a master plan of ideas to enhance the community. Assistant City Administrator Logan Burns said there are big dreams of what can be created with the sales tax in the future if enough money is set aside including community centers, indoor walking track and an indoor pool.
Source: Great Bend Post
Homeschool outside the home: Wildfire Education opens in Victoria
Homeschooling remains a popular choice for millions of American parents each year, however, for some, the choice to oversee a child’s education at home is not feasible. One Victoria woman believes she has a solution that gives students the flexibility needed to achieve their goals, provides support and instruction to students looking for the benefits of homeschooling, and takes the educational burden off of parents. Wildfire Education is essentially a homeschooling service, where kids can come and do their online schoolwork instead of going to school, said owner Jacy Klaus.
Source: Hays Post
Municipal Bond Trends for August 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.
Wichita works to strengthen licensing ordinances for bars, nightclubs
The City of Wichita recommended changes to the city’s entertainment establishment, cereal malt beverage (CMB), drinking establishment, and private club and tobacco licensing ordinances on Tuesday. The discussion comes a month after 11 people were injured in a mass shooting at City Nightz nightclub in Old Town. The recommendations to the Wichita City Council focused on the inconsistent processes to suspend or revoke such licenses. The city said current policies are inconsistent on grounds for a suspension, who can issue the suspension and for how long. For example, not all ordinances allow for an immediate suspension of an establishment if there’s a credible threat of violence. The new ordinance would require all bars and clubs in the city to have a safety plan. Currently, the requirement only applies to bars in Old Town.
Source: KWCH
Lawrence City Commission does not reach consensus on proposed changes to public comment
Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday could not come to a decision on how to change general public comment procedures and, therefore, opted to make no change. Mayor Lisa Larsen had asked her fellow commissioners on Aug. 1 whether they would like to again discuss making changes to public comment procedures. She proposed the commission move its general public comment to the end of meetings; only hold general public comment on the first Tuesday of the month; and designate a specific area in City Hall where the public can record video during meetings. Commissioners heard from about two dozen people about the proposed changes, most in opposition.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Great Bend uses ordinance to deal with council vacancies
Using for the first time an ordinance created to deal with council vacancies, Great Bend City Council Monday night declared the Ward 4 seat currently held by Brock McPherson vacant due to his continued absences and lack of participation. Now, Mayor Cody Schmidt “with advise and consent of the council” will begin the process of finding a suitable elector for appointment at the next council meeting Monday, Aug. 21. …The reason for the ordinance approved in June by the council was the repeated lack of attendance by McPherson. Each of the city’s four wards has two council representatives, leaving Ward 4 with only one who attends meetings regularly, Natalie Towns.
Source: Great Bend Tribune