Kansas Municipal News
Emporia commissioners take action on homelessness
Emporia City Commissioners met Wednesday to discuss a new resolution to help the city confront homelessness. All five members of the Emporia City Commission voted in approval of Resolution No. 3700 during a meeting on Wednesday, July 19. This creates the Homelessness Advisory Board. A statement on the city’s social media said the commission created the Emporia Task Force on Homelessness in response to the rising number of unhoused people in the city and the lack of adequate community resources that fit their needs. “This Task Force was entrusted with the responsibility of identifying the requirements of unhoused and at-risk individuals, suggesting solutions to bridge service gaps, and devising strategies to provide both temporary and permanent housing options for those without homes.”
Source: KSNT 27 News
More Johnson County cities offer low-income residents property tax rebates
More cities in Johnson County are easing property taxes for low-income residents struggling to stay in their homes. As home appraisals skyrocket across the county, Prairie Village, Shawnee and Merriam approved tax rebate programs last year, following the lead of Mission several years ago and Roeland Park a few years ago. Now, the Johnson County Board of Commissioners is planning to launch a pilot program next year that would offer property tax assistance to residents over the age of 65 and disabled veterans who meet income requirements. And more cities — Lenexa, Olathe and Overland Park — are considering whether to fund similar initiatives to help low-income homeowners.
Source: Joco 913 News
Shawnee County park development gets the official thumbs up
Families in Shawnee County will soon have a new park to play in. Thursday morning, Shawnee County Commissioners gave Shawnee County Parks and Rec the final approval to start negotiating contracts to build phase one of the family park plan. Family park, located at southwest 21st Street and Urish Road features open space between its aqua center and a golf course on the other side. A master plan for more development to the park came out back in 2021, and with this approval the park could break ground as soon as this fall. “We think this is another destination park that will attract families, and even business to Topeka,” Tim Laurent, Shawnee County parks and recreation director said.
Source: KSNT 27 News
Topeka Metro to offer free bus rides to area high school students
Topeka area students won’t need a ticket to ride city buses this school year. For the 11th year running, Topeka Metropolitan Transit Authority announced it will offer high school students free rides on fixed bus routes. This comes after the Topeka Metro board of directors approved extending the program on Thursday. All high school students with a valid student ID can ride fixed bus routes for free. They only have to present their valid student ID for the upcoming school year. The Kids Ride FREE! promotion, which offers local youth free transportation within the city limits, remains in effect through Aug. 15.
Source: KSNT 27 News
Landfill that has caused conflict in rural Kansas town issued cease and desist order
A landfill that has provoked friction among residents in Easton, Kansas, has been ordered to temporarily close. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued a cease and desist order Wednesday to the business running the landfill, Flat Land Excavating, saying it is out of compliance with its height and volume limits and must apply for a permit modification. The site, about 45 miles west of Kansas City, has been the source of animosity between the landfill’s owners Shawn and Christina Britz and nearby residents. Since the couple got a special use permit and took over the landfill in 2019, local and state officials have fielded dozens of complaints: unauthorized waste, operations outside permitted hours, litter and mass instability at one of the slopes that rose nearly 50 feet and was nearly vertical.
Source: KC Star Local News
Manhattan wants residents’ opinion on the city’s parks
Manhattan city leaders want to hear from residents about their ideas and concerns about the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. Manhattan officials want to speak directly with residents about topics relating to parks and recreation. Manhattan Parks and Recreation Director Aaron Stewart announced in a press release the city will hold public discussions this summer and fall where citizens can talk to him directly. “Park and Rec It” are discussions open to the public for residents to chat with Stewart about recreational programs, parks, trails, facilities or any other related topics citizens are interested in or concerned about. “Manhattan has a strong passion for parks and recreation, and I would like the opportunity to engage directly with as many citizens as possible,” Stewart said.
Source: KSNT 27 News
Garden City gets update on Sports of the World project
Representative from GC Investments updated Garden City Commissioners at the commission’s meeting Tuesday on the construction status of the Sports of the World STAR Bond project’s multisport indoor facility. H.J. Swender, GC Investments representative, said they are excited about the project, it’s moving along nicely. “So far, although it doesn’t look like we’ve done much, we’ve done quite a bit out there,” he said. “We’ve poured 15 columns and 17 crossties and only have about 14 more crossties last time I heard, so we’re coming close.” Half of the steel for the building is already on site and they’re hoping that within the next 14-21 days to have steel starting to up in the air, Swender said.
Source: Garden City Telegram
Wamego residents shouldn’t be alarmed by large police presence at high school
Law enforcement warns the public about violence training taking place at a local school this weekend. The Wamego Police Department (WPD) posted on social media that it will be using the Wamego High School for active violence training Friday, July 21 and Saturday July 22. The WPD, along with the Fire Department, Emergency Medical Services and other law enforcement agencies, will take part in the training at and around the high school. “The Wamego Police Department is committed to the safety of our citizens and it is important for the community to know that we are doing what we can to prepare for the worst. This training is designed to bring area law enforcement and emergency service agencies together and improve officers’ response and recovery capabilities should our community face an active violence incident.”
Source: KSNT 27 News
Emporia city manager speaks on new pay structure to help jobs
Emporia City Manager Trey Cocking joined the KSNT 27 News Morning show to speak about the newest pay structure that was recently approved by commission. Cocking said that the change came about as a daunting realization hit the city. “Last August, especially in public safety with our police and fire department, we realized we had a real problem,” Cocking said. “We have 41 police officers authorized and we were down to 33 police officers in the department.” He said the situation with the fire department was not much different. “…53 firefighters authorized and I think we were hovering around 10 short there,” Cocking said.
Source: KSNT 27 News
USD-475 Superintendent speaks on moving into new school
Superintendent Reginald Eggleston with USD-475 joined the 27 News morning show to speak about exciting developments at USD-475. He confirmed they are moving into Morris Hill Elementary School and they will be having a ribbon cutting to celebrate the milestone on September 22. “We are very excited about it,” Dr. Eggleston said. “The move-in will be in two phases, we are actually going to start this year with about 250 students.” Eggleston said they are going to work on continuing the second phase of construction. “Then next year, we will add and be up to capacity which could be 590 students.” The intent, Dr. Eggleston said, is to have an equal amount of students in each school on post.
Source: KSNT 27 News
Great Bend gets closer to new child care center
Barton County parents will have a new option for child care by next spring. Thursday morning, community leaders and politicians broke ground on the Advancing Barton County Childcare Center, which will be known as ABCC. Great Bend Economic Development says the idea for ABCC Inc. came from conversations with businesses that said a shortage of child care was keeping parents from being able to work. The plan is to have two of the centers in Barton County offering affordable and accessible child care. The plan got a significant boost in the past month when Governor Laura Kelly announced ABCC is getting more than $2.2 million from the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund. The grant completed the funding for the first facility.
Source: KSN-TV
Topeka Governing Body discusses homelessness at Tuesday’s council
If there’s one thing for certain after Tuesday night’s city council meeting, the governing body believes they need a set-in-stone plan to attack the homeless problem in our community rather than jumping from idea to idea on how to deal with it. It was brought up in Tuesday night’s meeting, statistically on average, it takes anywhere from three to five years for the city to become aware of a “new” encampment in the city. When these encampments are in non-camping areas, the individuals who live within the camps are given a 72-hour eviction notice. As of July 7th, the property maintenance division has cleaned up 10 encampments. With the governing body all on the same page that a clear plan needs to be put in place, this brings confidence to the Topeka Police Department that the ball is rolling.
Source: KSNT 27 News
Dairy Queen now open at Matfield Green service plaza
Travelers heading south of Emporia now have a sweet new option to try on the road. Dairy Queen is now open at the Kansas Turnpike’s Matfield Green service plaza, the KTA announced Thursday. The plaza is located a mile marker 97 on I-35. Subway is expected to open by end of July. Restaurant changes were announced for both the Emporia Service Area located on I-335/KTA at mile marker 132, and the Matfield Green Service Area in March of this year. At the Emporia Service Area, Subway and Taco John’s were added, while Subway and Dairy Queen were announced for Matfield Green.
Source: Emporia Gazette
McPherson fire department working to install first newborn safety device in state
The McPherson fire department is in the process of installing the first new born safety device in the state, a new initiative brought by the passing of House Bill 2024 earlier this year. The box will be installed on the outside of the McPherson fire department’s station. The purpose of this is so struggling parents can safely give up their newborn in private. McPherson fire chief TJ Wyssmann says this law is near and dear to his heart because he thinks the previous process parents had to follow under Kansas law was inhumane. Everybody had to come and bring that child and physically look us in the face and give it to a first responder which is pretty cruel,” Wysmann explained. Wyssmann was also a key figure in getting the legislation passed.
Source: KAKE – News
Municipal Bond Trends for July 20, 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.
Kansas Attorney General Opinion 2023-4: City reimbursing another city for police training
Synopsis: K.S.A. 74-5609a(b) requires that a city which employs a law enforcement officer within one year after the completion of that officer’s training reimburse the city that paid for the officer’s training.
Source: Kansas Attorney General Opinions
New way for SW Kansas students to get their college degrees in Garden City
A partnership between Garden City Community College and Newman University will allow southwest Kansas students to get their college degrees without leaving southwest Kansas. With the partnership, students can get an associate degree from GCCC and a bachelor’s degree with in-person classes through the new Newman location in Garden City. Beginning this fall, students can work on completing degrees in business administration and agribusiness. And soon, Newman plans to accept applications for its nursing program. “This partnership is vital for retaining talent in Southwest Kansas and the region,” GCCC President Dr. Ryan Ruda said in a news release.
Source: KSN-TV
Prairie Village to start designing new community center concept
The concept for a new city-owned community center and relocated library branch in Prairie Village could get more concrete in coming weeks. In separate votes Monday, the Prairie Village City Council agreed to enter into separate memorandums of understanding with the YMCA and Johnson County Library to explore the idea of hosting a new community center and Corinth Library branch on the same site on the city’s civic campus off Mission Road. The idea has been discussed in some form for the better part of four years and comes a decade after the city council scuttled a previous bid for a new community center.
Source: Prairie Village Post
911 center faced chaos in wake of Friday’s storm
In just one hour after Friday’s storm passed, Allen County’s dispatchers handled nearly twice as many calls compared to the total of an average day. Between 6 and 7 p.m. on Friday, the dispatch center handled 235 calls, not including responding to radio traffic for law enforcement, fire and ambulance crews. An average day in June brought a total of 134 calls. To illustrate just how many calls that is, 911 Director Chelsie Angleton compiled a list of statistics about calls in June, the day of the storm and the days preceding and following. She presented the information to commissioners on Tuesday as part of a post-storm analysis with other county leaders. Each reviewed their department’s response, current status on cleanup and how they might improve in future events. Friday’s storm brought winds as high as 85 mph and 1.41 inches of rain in a short period of time, causing widespread power outages and damage throughout the county.
Source: The Iola Register
Kansas wooed mega employers like Panasonic with mega tax breaks. But that may end
As construction crews build Panasonic’s new $4 billion factory here, the Kansas tax subsidy law that helped bring the electric vehicle battery plant to the state is set to evaporate. Kansas officials no longer have the power to underwrite mega-deal projects with hundreds of millions of dollars in state incentives. The law, known as APEX, only let the state ink one deal each year in 2022 and 2023. Those tax giveaways for those two years went to Panasonic and Integra’s planned $1.8 billion semiconductor plant in the Wichita area. Paul Hughes, the state’s deputy secretary for business development, asked lawmakers to extend the law into 2024 and beyond to keep open the possibility of bartering in tax breaks that might tempt other large employers to Kansas. Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration touts the law as a way for the state to take an active role in boosting the economy.
Source: KCUR News