Kansas Municipal News
Halstead applying for state loan to avoid paying gas bill all at once
The city of Halstead plans to take advantage of state loan to help pay its exorbitant gas bill from February. This would mean that residents can expect to have a monthly surcharge added to their bill for the coming years but not worry about paying a bill for $1,000 come April. At a work session Thursday evening, City Manager Ethan Reimer told the governing body that the state legislature had just made $100 million in state idle funds available to loan to cities like Halstead that are facing extraordinary bills relating to the energy crisis two weeks ago. The city expects its February bill to spike from $100,000 to more than $2 million, but it hasn’t received the final amount yet. Estimated price points also showed that a resident who normally paid $75 for gas in February would have received a bill for nearly $1,000, Reimer said.
Source: Harvey County Now
Judge says TV station’s open records lawsuit against Overland Park in Albers case can go forward
A Johnson County judge on Monday handed Kansas City, Mo., TV station KSHB a victory in court, ruling that an open records lawsuit against the city of Overland Park regarding the 2018 police shooting of teenager John Albers can move forward. Judge Robert Wonnell decided to allow the suit filed by KSHB and its parent company, Scripps Media Inc., to continue without disruption by denying the city’s motion to dismiss. The TV station’s suit seeks the report on the police investigation of the shooting, from the Officer Involved Shooting Investigation Team.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Mulberry files lawsuit accusing BP Energy of price gouging
A small Kansas town is fighting natural gas prices charged by BP Energy during last month’s extreme cold, accusing the multinational oil and gas giant of “unconscionable profiteering” under state statute. A lawsuit filed Tuesday by the city of Mulberry says BP inflated prices for natural gas from $2.98 per mmbtu on Feb. 9 to $329.615 from Feb. 13-16. The city is asking for bills to be recalculated at a reasonable rate. Jim Zakoura, an attorney representing the city in the lawsuit, said BP took advantage of Mulberry and other Kansas towns that operate their own utilities at a moment when residents needed natural gas to heat their homes and stay alive.
Source: The Iola Register
Chetopa seeks state loan for its huge bill for electricity
The Chetopa City Council on Friday evening agreed to seek a $250,000 loan from the state to help offset a huge hit to the city’s utility budget caused by high electric costs during the February cold snap. The council also agreed that payments for the large bills that residents received could be adjusted using level pay plans or by residents paying their normal billed amount for the month plus an additional payment each month for the extra electric costs in February. The council voted that residents can have up to 15 months to pay these higher bills off completely.
Source: Parsons Sun
Plan to build 11 warehouses has some southern Johnson County residents pushing back
A proposal to build several warehouse buildings in a Southern Johnson County community has some residents upset. “We like the peace and quiet out here,” Jenni Koch, a resident said. The Koch family has been living on their 80 acres of land for 40 years. “We have horses and animals, and we love the land,” Koch said. “We love to be outside.” Their peace and quiet could be shattered if more warehouses pop up. “We have to deal with the truck traffic and just having a warehouse next to our home is not the view that we want,” Koch said.
Source: fox4kc.com | FOX 4 – WDAF
Loan would reduce gas pains
Humboldt City Administrator Cole Herder breathed a sigh of relief last week when Gov. Laura Kelly signed legislation that issued $100 million to help municipalities pay sky-high utility bills incurred from the arctic blast in February. Because cities can neither take out commercial loans nor go into debt, they have little latitude but to pay their bills in a timely manner. Humboldt has been warned to expect a bill for $1.6 million for natural gas usage during the Jan. 20 to Feb. 20 billing cycle. Typically, the charge is $35,000. The city’s entire annual budget for natural gas is $375,000. The state loan program will allow municipalities affected by the rate hikes to apply for 10-year loans at a 2% interest rate. Herder hopes to apply for a loan to cover the full $1.6 million. Over 10 years, payback would be about $163,200 a year and require a 60% increase in residents’ utility bills.
Source: The Iola Register
New Dollar General Store opens in Udall
A steady stream of customers went into the new Dollar General Store just east of Udall at 3169 K-15 Friday afternoon. They were all happy to be shopping in the store, according to their comments. One man said he was glad the store is close. “If I need something, it’s nearby.” Devn Dockins said he’s lived in Udall 40 years, and it’s great to be able to shop so close to home. He’s been in the store almost every day since it opened, he said.
Source: The Arkansas City Traveler
Municipal Bond Trends for March 5, 2021
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.
Faulty streetlights turning blue and purple
A new problem popping up in several towns across Kansas, including Wichita and Topeka, is faulty streetlights that are turning blue and purple. An eerie scene on the streets of some northwest Wichita neighborhoods. “They’ve been popping up down the streets around here for about the past one to two months,” said April Vu. April Vu, who’s lived in west Wichita the past three years, said the blue and purple lights in her area are really distracting and she worries they might cause problems for drivers.
Source: KAKE – News
Winfield still seeking gas cost solutions
City of Winfield officials are still working to lower energy costs accrued during several days of record-breaking cold in February, even as state aid becomes available to assist municipal energy providers. Senate Bill 88, passed by both legislative chambers on Wednesday and signed into law later that day by Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, establishes a $100 million low-interest loan program to help municipal utility providers facing high bills after last month’s record-breaking cold snap. The loan program will be administered by the Kansas State Treasurer’s Office using Pooled Money Investment Board (PMIB) funds. “This loan program was absolutely necessary for our cities to manage the surging utility costs,” Kelly said in a press release. “It gives cities the immediate relief they need to avoid dire financial decisions while we pursue other, long-term solutions.”
Source: The Arkansas City Traveler
Loan would reduce gas pains
Help is on the way. A bill signed by Gov. Laura Kelly Wednesday could ease the immediate burden Humboldt faces from its utilities-based financial crisis. Recall, rate increases on natural gas during the recent cold snap slammed cities across Kansas, including Ellinwood, Pratt, Altamont, Winfield, Lyons, Burlingame and Humboldt, with unmanageable utility costs. Humboldt’s total bill was $1.6 million, a wallop to both the city and residents. City administrator Cole Herder said, “I have an example of one family whose bill is typically under $200 a month. Their bill for this month would have been $5,400. That’s an exceptional case, but I just know our residents can’t stand that. … And our major manufacturers, it’s just astronomical the amount they’d have to pay,” he added.
Source: The Iola Register
Beyond big cities, independent pharmacies ‘begging’ for vaccine
Dared and Renee Price are husband-and-wife pharmacists in south-central Kansas, and have spent tens of thousands of dollars and several months getting their six independent outlets in five small towns ready to deliver the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. They’ve had to buy freezers, temperature monitors and a mobile refrigerator. They’d like to break even. At first, they received just 100 doses through the federal retail pharmacy program, though they’ve since gotten more. It’s unlikely to be a big money-maker — in Kansas, they’ll be reimbursed about $24 for fully vaccinating someone with two doses — yet they see it as part of the service they provide to customers who live far from big hospitals and mass immunization sites. “We were just begging for vaccine,” said Dared Price. “Because we’ve done all this preparation, we had all the processes in place. Our waiting list was thousands of people long.”
Source: Wichita News
Innovative building provides new housing in rural Kansas
The Net Positive Studio was started in 2018 by Michael Gibson, a licensed architect and associate professor of architecture at Kansas State University, who teaches students to design and build homes for demonstration and partners with nonprofits to help fund the projects and get them built. “K-state is not gonna build 50 houses a year, but what we can do is we can show a different approach to doing this,” Gibson said. “We can show a type of house and the type of construction that you don’t see very much in Kansas.” In the U.S., median home prices have risen four times the rate of household incomes, and part of the reason is that the average size of houses has gotten larger and larger.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Despite rising inflation, experts say the Fed won’t budge on rates
The U.S. Federal Reserve won’t step in to temper rising inflation any time soon, market watchers have said, despite surging yields that have roiled global stock markets. Stocks have been tethered over the past week to rising Treasury yields and the possibility that the Fed will tighten monetary policy to tackle an expected rise in inflation. On Thursday, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledged that “some upward pressure on prices” could occur as the economy reopens, noting that he expects the central bank to be “patient” on policy action even if the economy sees “transitory increases in inflation.”
Source: CNBC
Wamego’s Columbian Theater celebrates 125 years
Growing up in Wamego, Clint Stueve saw how a group of people rallied around an old, crumbling theater to save the community landmark for future generations. It’s that kind of passion Stueve is relying on to get the theater through its next 125 years. Officially, The Columbian Theater turned 125 in 2020. But in a year marred by cancelled public gatherings and anxiety over the coronavirus, the theater’s plans to celebrate the milestone were tamped down. Some of them have even been postponed to the next notable year, the theater’s 130th anniversary in 2025.
Source: CJonline.com.
Application process is now open for the City Utility Low-Interest Loan Program
The City Utility Low-Interest Loan Program became law on March 4, 2021 after the publication of House Substitute for Senate Bill 88 in the Kansas Register. This program grants the State Treasurer’s Office the ability to issue loans to the cities in Kansas who have incurred extraordinary electric and/or natural gas costs during the extreme weather event of February, 2021. These loans will be issued at a rate that is 2.00% below the market rate as provided in K.S.A. 75-4237 with a minimum interest rate of 0.25%.
The State Treasurer has opened the application process. Cities can learn more and apply for loans using the application available here.
Municipal Bond Trends for March 4, 2021
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.
Kansas House passes property tax transparency bill
The Kansas House passed Thursday a property tax transparency bill approved in a hurry by the Senate within the first week of the 2021 legislative session. Senate Bill 13 would repeal the property tax lid on yearly mill levy increases and instead establish a “revenue-neutral rate” which adjusts the effective tax rate to account for increases in assessed property value. It also establishes a requirement of notice and public hearing for municipalities seeking to collect property taxes exceeding their revenue-neutral rate.
Source: Kansas Reflector
City of Edgerton offers low cost pet clinic
Edgerton residents with pets need to update licenses by the end of the month. A current rabies vaccination is required. For those who can’t make their usual veterinarian appointments can be made at the low-cost animal vaccine clinic which returns to Edgerton City Hall in 2021 on March 20 from 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Residents must sign up for a 15 minute timeslot to have their pets vaccinated. Reservations are accepted through petclinic.eventbrite.com or by calling city hall at 913.893.6231. Up to four pets are allowed per resident, per appointment. The clinic will offer low cost rabies and distemper vaccines, as well as microchips.
Source: Gardner News
Kansas River path has merit
There’s a lot to like about the concept of a bike trail along the Kansas River, from Junction City to Wamego. There are also some major bumps on the path forward, if you’ll pardon the wordplay. The concept surfaced this week in public meetings; among other things, the Riley County Commission agreed to support the concept, without committing any money. The idea is to build a trail along the river, the origin of which is at Junction City. (History lesson: The reason for that city’s name is that it’s the location of the junction of the Republican and Smoky Hill rivers. Those two merge to form the Kansas River.)
Source: The Iola Register
Roeland Park bans smoking in public parks, violators could be fined $100
Roeland Park is the latest Johnson County city to ban smoking and all tobacco products in its public parks and other recreational facilities. The city council this week voted 5-2 to approve the ban, which will take effect no sooner than March 31. The ban also pertains to the community and aquatic centers, the sports dome, athletic fields, tennis courts, walking trails, restrooms, spectator and concession areas, and their public grounds, according to council documents.
Source: Shawnee Mission Post
Racist deed restrictions remain in northeast Johnson County but erasing them has proven difficult
Two northeast Johnson County cities appear to have come to a standstill in their efforts to eradicate racist deed restrictions implemented decades ago by developer J.C. Nichols. Nothing more can be easily done, they say, and residents have mixed feelings about what should happen next. The U.S. Supreme Court has found racially restrictive housing covenants — instituted primarily in suburban communities across the U.S. in the middle part of last century — to be unenforceable. In recent years, Roeland Park and Prairie Village have made moves to try to erase language that excludes Blacks, Jews and other racial and ethnic minorities from homes associations’ deeds within their boundaries.
Source: Shawnee Mission Post
Mulberry files lawsuit accusing BP Energy of price gouging during extreme cold
A small Kansas town is fighting natural gas prices charged by BP Energy during last month’s extreme cold, accusing the multinational oil and gas giant of “unconscionable profiteering” under state statute. A lawsuit filed Tuesday by the city of Mulberry says BP inflated prices for natural gas from $2.98 per mmbtu on Feb. 9 to $329.615 from Feb. 13-16. The city is asking for bills to be recalculated at a reasonable rate. Jim Zakoura, an attorney involved in the city of Mulberry’s legal fight over high natural gas prices, says BP Energy illegally profited during from a disaster.
Source: Kansas Reflector
Vaccines, mask compliance, weather credited with better Kansas COVID trends in February
Public health workers and medical doctors have several theories for why coronavirus pandemic indicators improved significantly in Kansas in February. Despite the improvement, officials say COVID-19 continues to pose a serious public health threat, and it is too soon to stop wearing face masks. “I’m afraid that we could be lulled into complacency and end up allowing this to plateau off when we could continue to drive the numbers down,” Dr. Lee Norman, the state’s health secretary, said during a Tuesday media briefing hosted by The University of Kansas Health System.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Lenexa on verge of changing city code to allow for more homeless shelters
Lenexa is making progress on new city codes that would regulate homeless shelters in the city. The Lenexa Planning Commission on Monday night considered city staff’s proposed regulations that govern the operations of such shelters. Central to the conversation was finding a balance between accommodating the unique circumstances of Project 1020, the only cold weather shelter in Johnson County that serves single adult men, and building new codes that would fit for any future shelters in Lenexa. Project 1020 is located at Shawnee Mission Unitarian Universalist Church.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Geary County to hold mass-vaccination site in Junction City
Geary County has announced that it will hold a mass-vaccination site in Junction City this Saturday. Geary County Emergency Management is coordinating with KDHE, Hy-Vee and USD 475 to distribute a total of 1,000 COVID-19 vaccines this Saturday to those eligible during Phase 2 of the state’s vaccine distribution plan. The event will take place at Junction City High School, which is located at 900 North Eisenhower Drive, from 8 a.m. to noon and 12:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Source: 1350 KMAN
Gov. Kelly Unveils Plan To Vaccinate Kansas Meatpacking Plant Workers
Governor Laura Kelly announced on Thursday her administration’s plan to vaccine meatpacking plant workers across the state. She says that any worker who wants to be vaccinated will be able to receive their first dose within the next 2 weeks. Counties with meatpacking plants will be receiving additional vaccine doses that will be set aside specifically for meatpacking workers. These will be in addition to the doses that counties receive already from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The KDHE is coordinating directly with meatpacking plants as well as local health departments.
Source: Country 101.3 KFDI
Sedgwick County partnership targets underserved communities and COVID-19 vaccine
More than 1,800 people in Sedgwick County are being vaccinated everyday. Now, people living in disadvantaged neighborhoods will have better access to the shot. On Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., people living in east Wichita will have the opportunity to get the vaccine at the St. James Missionary Baptist Church. You can sign up online through the church or call the parish directly. Carl Stovall is the trustee chairman at St. James Church. He says the building is already used for testing, so it’s easy to transition to a vaccination site. “It means a lot to this community because a lot of people can’t maybe get out and go downtown and do all that, but we’re getting people from right in this immediate zip code.”
Source: KAKE – News
Kansas Deputy Secretary of Business Development visits Scott City
Bill Murphy, Deputy Secretary of Business Development for the Kansas Department of Commerce made a stop in Scott City Wednesday morning as part of his tour around western Kansas. Murphy met with Katie Eisenhour, Exective Director of the Scott City Development Committe, and with Scott City Area Chamber of Commerce Director Lindsay Singley for about an hour to discuss items that effect Scott County and western Kansas. To conclude their visit to Scott City, Murphy then toured Nu Life Market on the east edge of Scott City. Nu Life Market produces flours that are GMO free and gluten free.
Source: Western Kansas News
Messaging is part of the formula for eco-devo success in rural Kansas
When it comes to investing in its future, Katie Eisenhour never lets an opportunity slip by without pointing out that Scott City takes a backseat to no one. “We take our future into our own hands here,” Eisenhour told representatives with the Kansas Department of Commerce who included Scott City on their swing through Western Kansas. The director of the Scott County Development Committee noted that over the past 18 years, taxpayers and private entities had invested about $124 million into the local infrastructure. “But every now and then we need assistance. I think it’s important for you to know that when you help us you’re going to get a good return on that investment,” Eisenhour said. Eisenhour’s audience included Bill Murphy, deputy secretary of the Kansas Department of Commerce, and Craig VanWey, superintendent of in-state business development. “The goal of the department is to complement the work that is already being done in Western Kansas,” said Murphy, whose two-hour stop also included a tour of Nu-Life Market.
Source: Scott County Record.
Airbnb requirements and other short-term rentals in Topeka just got stricter
One Topeka resident could lose about $1,000 a month in missed business after the Topeka City council approved changes to an ordinance governing short-term rentals. Suzy Loy, an Airbnb operator, says she will need to rethink her rental strategy or lose the monthly revenue. …The updated ordinance requires short-term rentals to include one parking space for the primary resident with one space for every two guest bedrooms. Up to three on-street spaces can be replaced with a minimum of 22 feet of “unobstructed street frontage per space,” which Loy isn’t able to do.
Source: Topeka Capital-Journal
Municipal Bond Trends for March 3, 2021
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.
Kansas to loan up to $100M to cities with huge energy costs
Driven by pleas from desperate local officials, Kansas legislators on Wednesday quickly created a state low-interest loan program to help cities cover spikes in costs associated with providing heat and electricity to their residents during last month’s intense cold snap. Lawmakers sent Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly a bill that would allow the state to loan out $100 million of its idle funds immediately to cities that operate their own electric and natural gas utilities, to cover “extraordinary” energy costs last month. Cities would have up to 10 years to pay off the loans. The bill was introduced Tuesday, had a hearing, cleared a House committee Wednesday morning and passed the House less than two hours later, 124-0. The Senate approved it, 37-1, in the afternoon, and Kelly signed it Wednesday night, her office said.
Source: Wichita Eagle
A new casino nearly 30 years in the making opens in Park City
Wichita slots fans have a new place to try their luck as of this week. After years of legal wrangling followed by a quick construction process, the new Crosswinds Casino, owned by the Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma, opened to the public Tuesday night at 777 N. Jackpot Way, which is just south of I-135 off the 77th Street exit in Park City. It’s set up in a 20,000 square-foot one-room building and is filled with 500 slot machines, 200 VGT machines with red spins. There’s also a separated-off area with high stakes slot machines. Most of the blinking, glowing machines have small Plexiglass barriers separating them from their neighbors.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Higher bills on the horizon
Steel yourself. Higher energy bills are on the way. With the recent spike in electric and natural gas usage due to wintry weather, it’s likely that electrical rate increases will follow suit for Iola residents. “We are seeing an extremely high jump in usage,” confirmed city clerk Roxanne Hutton. (For example, one resident who used 27 units of energy in January, used 32 in February. The rest of the year, they average 7 British Thermal Units.)
Source: The Iola Register
Rural county fire detected, reported from space satellite
Sunday afternoon, firefighters responded to a 600-acre wildland fire near Lincolnville. Chance Hayes, Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service Wichita, spotted the fire using satellite thermal imagery on Sunday. Hayes was monitoring satellite feeds from the National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service Group – a subsidiary of the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. “Once we recognize a hotspot, we can use our software to drop a pin on that location. That will send out a text to all the individuals in that county that want to be notified of a possible wildfire,” he said.
Source: Hillsboro Free Press
Sedgwick County partners with local churches to bring vaccines to communities of color
Churches in east Wichita, like Tabernacle Bible Church, have already served as COVID-19 testing locations during the pandemic. The move allowed for people like Gloria Wallace to get tested monthly and provided her some peace of mind. Soon Tabernacle Bible will go a step further. The church, along with St. James Missionary Baptist Church, will serve as community vaccination sites the next two Sundays as part of a wider effort by Sedgwick County to increase access to communities of color.
Source: KAKE – News
Ogden coffee shop sets out to support local youth
In downtown Ogden, you won’t find a major coffee chain, but rather a locally owned not-for-profit coffee shop. The House Cafe has a mission to serve its community. “A lot of times if kids aren’t shown how to be employable or have a work ethic, how can you expect them to have those things,” Christopher Jacobs said. Jacobs and his wife set out on a mission to give youth in the Ogden community the chance to not only learn the skills they would need when they leave Ogden but to also provide a space for youth in the community to gather and stay out of trouble.
Source: KSNT News
City of Manhattan launching online survey for “CrossroadsMHK” strategic plan
The City of Manhattan is launching an online survey for its new “CrossroadsMHK” strategic plan. Anyone who lives, works, or goes to school in Manhattan can take part in the survey. This is part of an eight-month strategic planning process. Assistant to the City Manager Jared Wasinger said the survey is the first step in the public engagement process. “It’s a brief survey just to kick off the process,” Wasinger said. “We’re asking folks to talk about their vision for Manhattan over the next 10 to 20 years as well as what they see as the core services this city should offer.” This comes as the city of Manhattan is going through a budget crisis.
Source: KSNT News
Effort to revamp city park in Peabody raises $110,500
An effort to revamp Peabody’s City Park has raised $110,500, placing it within $69,500 of its $180,000 fund-raising goal. The deadline for the second phase of the project is April 30, less than two months away. The new playground equipment will meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards. Volunteers will help install the new equipment when it is delivered.
Source: Marion County RECORD
Overland Park task force will consider alternatives to controversial chip seal road resurfacing
Chip seal on Overland Park roads is going ahead for this year, but city councilmembers plan to take a hard look at whether they’ll continue the controversial resurfacing method in the future. The city council voted Monday to move ahead with resurfacing projects for this year that were previously bid for chip seal, but a consensus also agreed to set up a task force to take a look at future infrastructure issues, with an eye to finding a viable chip seal alternative. The task force would look at how the city could pay the increased cost of using another type of resurfacing, as well as poll residents on how they feel about possibly paying more in taxes for a different type of road surface.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Parsons Police Department gains K-9 officer
The Parsons Police Department is going to the dogs, but in this case – that saying is a good thing. Robert Spinks, Parsons Police Chief, said, “That’s the key thing in rural Kansas, we have to work together or we just are not effective.” And to do this, the Parsons Police Department has been working on a very special project for over 20 years. On Monday night, it finally came together. “This is exciting for our department, we received approval last night from our city commission to purchase our first canine.”
Source: KSNF/KODE
Parsons PD receives award for 5th year in a row
A Southeast Kansas Police Department has been recognized – again – for keeping its city safe. And it’s more good news for the Parsons Police Department. It’s earned the Platinum Award for traffic safety from AAA. This year, the award has only gone to 43 out of the 350 law enforcement agencies in the state of Kansas. The one for Parsons is thanks, in part, to the road and traffic safety programs the department runs year-round. Jordan Tomlinson, Parsons Police Department Corporal, said, “We also do programs to educate teen drivers and even adult drivers about the consequences of distracted driving such as trying to operate your cellphone while driving.” This is the 5th year in a row the department has received the award.
Source: KSNF/KODE
Study: City, county lack cheaper family housing
The Garden City and Finney County commissions took a close look at housing needs during Monday’s joint meeting. Carol Davidson, Neighborhood Development Services director, gave an update on the Rural Housing Incentive District and the housing needs assessment study, or CHAT, that was completed. Davidson said the housing study tells where the housing needs are and how many homes are supposed to be built each year to keep up with demand. As of 2019, the total need is 1,200 homes for the next 10 years, so 120 need to be built each year.
Source: Garden City Telegram
Governor Laura Kelly Announces Main Street Program Additions
Governor Laura Kelly announced the selection of Atchison, Baldwin City, and Junction City as the newest members of the Kansas Main Street program, bringing the total number of designated Main Street communities in Kansas to 28. These three communities are the first new additions to the state’s Main Street program since its reintroduction in Kansas in 2019. “To aid our economic recovery from COVID-19, we must provide every Kansas community with the resources needed to prosper now and into the future,” Governor Kelly said. “The Main Street program is a key tool for future growth and economic development, and I am glad to see the addition of Atchison, Baldwin City, and Junction City.” Kansas Main Street is a self-help technical assistance program administered by the Community Development Division at the Kansas Department of Commerce. The program targets preservation and revitalization of downtown districts through the development of a comprehensive strategy based on the four points of Organization, Design, Promotion and Economic Restructuring.
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce