Kansas Municipal News
Voters to decide USD 336 at-large position question
On a 6-0 vote at its meeting here Monday evening, the Holton school board voted by resolution to change the method of school board election for the district, making all the school board positions at-large and not tied to any geographic area in the school district, as is currently the case. A plan of change setting forth in detail the present method of election and voting plan and the proposed change in the method of election have been prepared and are now on file in the office of the clerk of the board of education, it was reported. The proposed change would become effective if district voters approve it at the upcoming November election, it was reported.
Source: Holton Recorder
Train exhibit at Johnson County Museum now open
Johnson County Museum’s new exhibit on trains opened last Saturday, May 13. TRAINS: Transportation and the Transformation of Johnson County showcases the impact of railroads in Johnson County. The exhibit details how trains have transformed the county’s landscape, people and economy – from the early days of the Kansas Pacific Railway to the modern-day BNSF Railway. Through interactive displays, historical artifacts, and engaging visuals, visitors can learn about the county’s long history with the railroad and how it continues to shape the county today.
Source: Johnson County Kansas |
Wilson community voting on future of Central Plains School District
The future of a central Kansas school district is now in the hands of the voters. It was earlier this year that the Central Plains School District decided to close the Wilson 7-12 grade school due to a lack of funding. Now some voters in the district say the best step forward is to disband the district entirely. Enough petition signatures were gathered to put the disorganization of USD 112 up for a vote during the August 1st primary election. Superintendent Bill Lowry says if it passes, state law says other surrounding districts would take the land of the district if voters decide to disorganize. “We have about 10 school districts that border us,” Lowry said. “So, there would be about 10 school districts eligible to be assigned by the board of education.”
Source: KAKE – News
Wichita Public Schools open Future Ready Center to grow technical education opportunities
If you ask Martin Gutierrez about why he started taking technical education classes while at North High, he found it interesting and easy to understand. “It’s more of a tactile part of learning, you kind of get to have a lot more hands-on,” he told KAKE Friday. Gutierrez is one of several Wichita public school students that have been taking classes at the district’s new “Future Ready Center” while it was being finished. Friday, the district held its ceremonial opening of the former grocery store turned educational complex. WPS Superintendent Dr. Alicia Thompson says the school board has had the building for a while and had been working on a plan to best utilize it.
Source: KAKE – News
Southeast Kansas police departments catches unusual escapee
The Parsons Police Department roped an unusual escapee on Thursday (May 18). According to a release, the department was notified about a “possible traffic hazard.” The hazard? A calf that escaped from the local livestock market. Sergeant Waylon Kepley and Officer Joshua Lindsey responded. Fortunately, Sgt. Kepley grew up on a farm and helped raise cattle, so he knew that the animal could be unpredictable. The officers found the calf near Parcom on North 16th Street, eight blocks from the livestock market.
Source: KOAM News
City of Wichita gets rush of lifeguard applicants ahead of pool season
Pool season begins on May 29. At the start of May, the City of Wichita said it was nearly 40 lifeguards short of what is needed to keep all the pools open this summer. A lot of interest in the lifeguard openings sparked over the last couple of weeks. The city is hosting training sessions for over 50 applicants to get certified this pool season. “It’s absolutely fantastic that we have this number of people that are wanting to become lifeguards. Really it comes down to keeping our community safe and helping our partners within the community,” said Joe Marten, City of Wichita aquatics supervisor.
Source: KSN-TV
Is panhandling legal in Topeka?
People looking for financial help can be seen dotting roads and intersections in the Capital City, but is this a legal activity? The question of panhandlers in Topeka came up three years ago during a City Council session where members voted on whether or not to pass a new ordinance to ban panhandling. While not a total ban, it prevents panhandlers from congregating at certain places in Topeka. Panhandling is described as “a form of solicitation or begging derived from the impression created by someone holding out his hand to beg or using a container to collect money,” according to Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU).
Source: KSNT 27 News
Community-Police Oversight Work Group discusses hopes, concerns at first meeting
To the relief of its members, the Community-Police Oversight Work Group met for the first time Monday. Members shared their hopes, concerns and needs to move the process forward. The work group is intended to review the Lawrence Police Department’s current complaint process and make recommendations for the Community Police Review Board’s oversight of the complaint process. (Read more on the background at this link.) The group’s work was originally supposed to conclude in November, but the process has been delayed.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Lawrence school district will sell land to Tenants to Homeowners, start process to sell East Heights
The Lawrence school board on Monday voted to sell surplus property to Tenants to Homeowners as well as begin the process to sell East Heights and transfer the student programs held there to one of the elementary schools that will soon close. As part of the board’s consent agenda for Monday — a list of items that are considered routine and approved with one vote unless a board member or the superintendent pulls an item for further discussion — the board unanimously approved the sale of the property the district owns at 2600 W. 25th St., just north of the athletic fields at Holcom Park.
Source: The Lawrence Times
City committee recommends consolidating or changing most of 18 advisory boards
A city committee has reviewed the city’s advisory boards and recommends consolidating 13 boards down to five, nixing another and making the police review board the “Safe and Secure Board.” Over the last five months, the Board and Commissions Structure Committee was tasked with limiting the number of boards to 10, not counting those required by state statutes. The committee has discussed the city’s strategic plan, and the scopes and charges of all its boards and commissions, according to a Friday news release from the city. “As a result of this work, each relevant board and commission has been sorted into the outcome or commitment area to which it is most closely aligns,” according to the release.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Municipal Bond Trends for May 22, 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.
Fed Chair Powell says rates may not have to rise as much as expected to curb inflation
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Friday that stresses in the banking sector could mean that interest rates won’t have to be as high to control inflation. Speaking at a monetary conference in Washington, D.C., the central bank leader noted that Fed initiatives used to deal with problems at mid-sized banks have mostly halted worst-case scenarios from transpiring. But he noted that the problems at Silicon Valley Bank and others could still reverberate through the economy. “The financial stability tools helped to calm conditions in the banking sector. Developments there, on the other hand, are contributing to tighter credit conditions and are likely to weigh on economic growth, hiring and inflation,” he said as part of a panel on monetary policy. “So as a result, our policy rate may not need to rise as much as it would have otherwise to achieve our goals,” he added. “Of course, the extent of that is highly uncertain.”
Source: CNBC
What’s going on with food sales tax, explained
Where are the food sales tax savings? … In the last five months, the state passed legislation decreasing food sales tax down to four percent. However, that decrease isn’t always reflected on the bill. And depending on the grocery store, some bills show two different sales taxes applied to different parts of the purchase. … A law went into effect in January to stair step down the state’s food sales tax rate from 6.5 percent to zero percent by 2025. Currently, the sales tax rate is at 4 percent. While the law applies to food, the devil’s in the details on what the state defines as food. The state law lists food and food ingredients as exempt. The law defines food as items meant for “Ingestion or chewing by humans and are consumed for their taste or nutritional value.” That definition extends to things like fruit, flour and uncooked meat as well as items like dietary supplements. But, that definition has limits, you can buy plenty of food that’s not sales tax exempt.
Source: Harvey County Now
Kansas governor approves shift of tax dollars to private schools, but rejects cuts for small districts
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly signed a controversial school funding bill Thursday that lets more families use state tax dollars to pay for private or home schools. But Kelly vetoed portions of the bill that could hurt some rural school districts. That line-item veto could set up a court fight between Kelly and the Kansas Legislature over the governor’s powers to tweak a funding bill crammed with policy changes. The state constitution grants Kelly the power to veto individual items of appropriations bills, but lawmakers in recent years have separated the education budget into a bill that includes both spending and policy.
Source: KCUR News
After fire and smoke incidents, electric bus is an anomaly, Wichita city officials say
City officials are calling an electric bus that caught fire early Wednesday morning an anomaly. The incident was reported around 1:30 a.m. at the Wichita transit maintenance building at 777 E. Waterman. Maintenance staff and security noticed a lithium-ion battery powered bus had caught fire. The bus is powered by 10 lithium-ion batteries. Eight are mounted on the roof and two sit in the rear of the bus. The fire apparently originated from a single battery placed on the top, said Michael Tann, director of transit for the city.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Incentives, infrastructure: Here’s what drew an $80M plastics plant to Maize
An 80-acre site within Maize Industrial Park “checked all the boxes” for a North Carolina-based manufacturer looking to build its eighth plastics plant in the Midwest, said Brad Muller, a spokesperson representing the company. Announced last week, the $80-million project from Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Co. will be built near 119th Street West and 53rd North in Maize. The company says it plans to create 50 new jobs over the next three years. Muller said Maize had a number of draws for the manufacturer, which produces cast iron and plastic pipe and fittings, predominately for wholesale plumbing distributors. “Maize is fast growing, it’s pro-business, a well-educated workforce,” he said. “We’re conservative financially, culturally, politically conservative, and so we wanted someplace that kind of reflected our values and someplace where we can draw a workforce that’s going to appreciate those family values.”
Source: Wichita Business Journal
Zoning changes help Barton County rural businesses
In an effort to both make it easier to start a business in rural areas of Barton County and to protect the county’s interests, the County Commission Wednesday morning approved amendments to the zoning regulations and map. “We’re trying to catch situations where we’re protecting the county, we’re protecting landowners that live near these businesses, and also just making it as easy as we can to set up these businesses in the county,” said Environmental Manager Judy Goreham, who oversees zoning matters.
Source: Great Bend Tribune
Incentives offered to Great Bend water customers
As a way to encourage Great Bend city water customers to return the lead and copper pipe questionnaires, the city will offer a $25 credit on the utility bills for those who respond by the Aug. 31 deadline. The surveys are part of a local pipe inventory mandated by federal and state agencies. Those who miss the deadline are not eligible. The survey is on the city’s website and will also be mailed to all 6,700 active account holders, said Public Works Director Jason Cauley. It is also being promoted on the city’s social media sites.
Source: Great Bend Tribune
Local tourism makes big impact in Great Bend
One youth softball tournament can bring in over $500,000 into the community. That is just one of the impacts tourism has on the local economy, said Great Bend Community Coordinator and Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Christina Hayes said, speaking to the City Council Monday night. “Last week was National Tourism week,” she said. “I just want to go over a couple facts, because as a board member for the (Kansas Tourism Office) it is part of our job to share what Kansas tourism does with our councils and boards.”
Source: Great Bend Tribune
Sedgwick ups the ante in battle over empty buildings
The owners of abandoned buildings could soon face fines up to $500, thanks to an ordinance passed Wednesday evening during Sedgwick’s city council meeting. City Administrator Kyle Nordick suggested an annual registration fee of $25 for residential and $100 for commercial vacant buildings to try to combat the blight that empty spaces create in the community. He said they discourage economic development and decrease appreciation of other property values.
Source: Harvey County Now