Kansas Municipal News
Wichita hopes to get homeless veteran population to functional zero by 2024
The City of Wichita is partnering with United Way of the Plains, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and Sedgwick County to effectively end veteran homelessness in Wichita by the end of next year. “Homelessness is a complex social issue,” says United Way of the Plains president Pete Najera. “And it will take a collective community response to bring it to functional zero.”
The City of Wichita’s Housing and Community Services department will play a crucial role in achieving the goal. Director Sally Stang said that the department plans to work with landlords on finding a way to provide the roughly 32 veterans a place to stay. “We’re gonna have to prove that we’ve got a system in play that as new veterans enter into homelessness, it’s brief and non recurring, and that we have systems in place to quickly move them into housing,” Stang said.
Source: KAKE – News
WPD looking at changes to code after being called out to City Nightz multiple times in last year
Since June of 2022, the Wichita Police Department says it has responded to 13 different incidents at City Nightz including the shooting there over the weekend that injured 11 people.
Of those 13 incidents, six were either simple battery, aggravated battery or aggravated assault. Wichita Police Chief Joseph Sullivan told KAKE on Monday he is working with the city’s law department to see what sort of new ordinances could be put into place for the department to better deal with businesses who are repeat offenders. “Give me more bite, if you will, so that I can take stronger action and more immediate action when we have incidents or a series of incidents that emanate from the same club,” said Chief Sullivan.
Source: KAKE – News
Chalk the Town colors Hutchinson with positivity
The City of Hutchison, Downtown Hutchison and Kara Vaughn hosted their second day of the 2023 Chalk the Town Event at Carey Park Sunday. The event was inspired by Vaughn’s viral TikTok video. The video gained over 30 million views when Vaughn’s landlord told her to remove her chalk art. In response, Downtown Hutchinson and the City of Hutchinson teamed up with Vaughn to host the two-day event. Participants were able to take part in demonstrations and prize drawings, as well as a scavenger hunt to find chalk creations around the park. Despite her situation, Vaughn says she is excited to bring a positive event like Chalk the Town to the community. “It means so much to me just to see how much the community could come together last minute to pull something off that is really important and just to spread a positive message, and I’m super excited,” Vaughn said.
Source: KSN-TV
Mission to consider updating tax abatement policy
The Mission City Council is set to consider an updated tax abatement policy later this month. This comes after two developers for separate apartment projects, 58 Nall and Milhaus, asked the city for tax abatements in the last year…. The policy was drafted following a May 31 city council work session and presented to the finance and administration committee on July 5. … developers who are approved for a tax abatement in Mission would pay 55% of their property taxes to the city. Developers must meet eight criteria in order to qualify for the 45% tax abatement, including a minimum capital investment of $3 million and proven economic benefit to the community. The policy states a 75% tax abatement is the maximum for any project for 10 years, “except in extraordinary circumstances,” according to city documents.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Kansas audit of election security exposes strengths weaknesses of voting systems
The auditing division of the Kansas Legislature reported Thursday election officials in more than a dozen counties studied maintained adequate overall security practices and management of election computers but raised questions about the security of ballots and vote tabulation machines. The objective of the review was to provide a partial picture of Kansas’ election security by comparing practices in Kansas against a set of policies recommended by federal election regulators. “Our results showed Kansas counties have many practices for ensuring the accuracy and security of elections,” the report delivered to House and Senate members said. “They’re also missing or have weak practices in several important areas. That means security isn’t as good as it could or should be.”
Source: The Lawrence Times
Municipal Bond Trends for July 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.
Desire for Interest on Deposits Is Bad for Main Street Banks
When the Fed started raising interest rates to fight inflation, the conventional wisdom was that it would be a boon for Main Street banks. They were expected to increase the rates they charged on loans faster than those paid to depositors, pocketing the difference. Instead, the opposite is happening. The Fed’s hikes and the failures of a trio of midsize banks are prompting once-loyal customers to pull their money out of checking accounts that pay no interest. Banks are paying much higher rates on the deposits they are retaining, which is eclipsing the benefit of charging more on loans. They also are hoarding cash and tapping high-cost loans in response to the recent failures.
Source: WSJ.com: Markets
Anyone missing a pet in the Wichita area? This one is hard to miss Kansas police say
Andover police Lt. Joe Hardy got one of the strangest calls he’s had in his decades in law enforcement Wednesday. “I got a call that somebody had a giant, 10-foot-plus python in their yard,” he said. “I was thinking it would not be a python. So I went out there and I was like, ‘Wow, for once the reporting party is actually totally correct.’” The 10-foot report was conservative. An animal handler who was then called guessed it was more like 15 feet. Andover allows only snakes under 6 feet. Hardy thinks the yellow and white snake is a Burmese python, which is native to southeast Asia. It’s believed the python is someone’s pet. … The woman who called 911 was getting ready to walk her dog when she saw the python balled up next to her carport, Hardy said.
Source: Wichita Eagle
Fed sees more rate hikes ahead but at a slower pace meeting minutes show
Almost all Federal Reserve officials at their June meeting indicated further policy tightening is likely, if at a slower pace than the rapid-fire rate increases that had characterized monetary policy since early 2022, according to minutes released Wednesday. Policymakers decided against a rate increase amid concerns over economic growth, even though most members think further hikes are on the way. Citing the lagged impact of policy and other concerns, they saw room to skip the June meeting after enacting 10 straight rate increases. Officials felt that “leaving the target range unchanged at this meeting would allow them more time to assess the economy’s progress toward the Committee’s goals of maximum employment and price stability.”
Source: CNBC – Bonds
A tourism hub in Eudora? City proposes a $40M to $50M entertainment district with a 5,000-seat venue
As Panasonic’s battery plant prepares to supercharge job growth along Kansas Highway 10, Eudora has a plan to electrify the area’s tourism scene, too: a 5,000-seat entertainment venue and a slew of new retail and dining options. The proposed development, which would be just south of K-10 and could cost between $40 million and $50 million, is still early in the planning stages, Mayor Tim Reazin told the Journal-World — so early that it doesn’t even have a name yet. But he and other Eudora leaders have high hopes for this entertainment district project — they envision the entertainment venue hosting a variety of concerts and sporting events, and they say it could generate $5 million in annual revenue and attract half a million visitors a year.
Source: LJWorld
Lawrence’s Historic Resources Code will soon get its first update since being adopted in 1988
The chapter of Lawrence’s city code responsible for creating the local register of historic places and establishing the Lawrence Historic Resources Commission will soon get its first update in more than three decades, and city planning staff hopes those changes will make the code clearer and more streamlined. The Conservation of Historic Resources Code was first adopted nearly 35 years ago in late 1988, and the Historic Resources Commission is now seeking further public feedback before making any changes official. Historic Resources Administrator Lynne Braddock Zollner spoke with the Journal-World Wednesday and detailed a few of them.
Source: LJWorld
KANcycle bike sharing expands into Lindsborg, supporting community health and recreation
Lindsborg locals and visitors alike now have a new way to cruise around Little Sweden USA. A bike-sharing program through OCCK Transportation known as KANcycle officially launched in the small town this week. Lindsborg city leaders met for a ribbon-cutting and a celebratory “thank you” to partners who helped expand the program across rural Kansas. KANcycle got its start in June 2019, and now boasts 80 bikes and 16 stations located in Belleville, Beloit, Concordia, Ellsworth, Lincoln, Mankato, Minneapolis, Salina, and now, Lindsborg. The ride-share program aims to provide convenient, affordable access to bicycles as an easy, fun, healthy and eco-friendly means of transportation and recreation.
Source: Salina Journal
Kansas taxes $874M over estimates
Kansas taxpayers paid more to tax collectors than expected over the past 12 months, and politicians are eyeing tax cuts next year after failing to agree on how to provide tax relief this year. Taxpayers paid roughly $10.2 billion in taxes to Kansas state government in the past fiscal year, with tax receipts to the State General Fund beating original projections by $874 million, according to newly released data from the Kansas Department of Revenue.
Source: CJonline
One sport impacted all parks. Heres why flexibility is key to Lenexas master plan
The need to update how people in Lenexa enjoy nature, get exercise and pursue leisure activities can be summed up in one word: pickleball. “The last time we did a master plan was 2012. The word pickleball wasn’t even in the plan,” said Logan Wagler, the city of Lenexa’s director of parks and recreation. Now the wildly popular paddle sport is among the items being discussed as Lenexa updates its parks and recreation master plan. It’s a year-long process that will identify a 10-year vision for program offerings, general capital improvements, facility management, park amenities, and future parks and trails locations. And while developing the plan is important, it needs to be flexible.
Source: Joco 913 News
Shorter lines? Sedgwick County to open new satellite office for tag and tax customers
Sedgwick County is opening a new tag and tax office in Park City that will serve customers two days a month by appointment. The new office, located inside the Park City Administration Building at 1941 E. 61st St. North, will be open from 8 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 4 p.m. on the second and third Wednesday of each month. … “I’m happy to be able to offer this added convenience to residents in the Park City area,” county Treasurer Brandi Baily said in a news release.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Marion County blocks making cryptocurrency
County commissioners voted Monday to prohibit noisy data centers for development of cryptocurrency. Although nobody has submitted an application to build a facility, the resolution officially withdraws applications from consideration until the planning and zoning board develops regulations. Operations require great amounts of electricity, and computer cooling fans create noise, commissioner Dave Crofoot said. He said the amount of electricity required could cause shortages for the rest of the county.
Source: Marion County RECORD
New Great Bend city administrator takes seat at meeting
Recently hired new Great Bend City Administrator Brandon Anderson took his seat in the City Council Chamber for the first time Monday night. “We’ll start off and welcome Brandon here,” said Assistant City Administrator Logan Burns, who has been filling in as interim city administrator. “We’re very happy he’s here, and we’re looking forward to the many things that he’s going to be able to help us accomplish.” Anderson, who was hired in May, officially began his duties in Great Bend on June 30. … A Caney, Kansas, native, Anderson is a 1995 Kansas State University graduate who has served as the city manager in Levelland, Texas, since 2006. Levelland is a town of 12,652 residents west of Lubbock.
Source: Great Bend Tribune
Municipal Bond Trends for July 5, 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.
USD 457 Board updates district discipline policy
The USD 457 Board of Education approved separating the operation of the Garden City High School girls’ and boys’ wrestling programs at its regularly scheduled meeting on June 22. The separation aligns the district at all levels as the as the programs are already separated at the middle school level. Also at the meeting, the board approved updates to the district’s Discipline Policy, which was last updated in 1998. There will be separate policies for grade levels PK-second grade, third to sixth grade, and seventh to 12th grade. Each policy includes five levels of discipline.
Source: Garden City Telegram
New way-finding signs coming to GB
To help folks find their way around town, the Great Bend City Council Monday night gave its nod to the installation of new city way-finding signs. The bid went to Mark’s Custom Signs of Great Bend for $44,950 for 15 markers. “One of the city’s Strategic Plan goals was to replace all the way-finding signs in town so that they look cohesive with our welcome signs and create inviting directional signage to the points of interest and city locations,” said Christina Hayes, Convention and Visitors Bureau director and community coordinator.
Source: Great Bend Tribune