Kansas Municipal News
Newton could soon smoke tobacco out of city parks
The practice of using tobacco products in city parks might soon go up in smoke. The Newton City Commission got the chance to review and discuss language that would forbid tobacco products in all city parks, excluding the Sand Creek Station golf course. The discussion follows work by the health department and others picking up large amounts of cigarette butts in parks to show the commission the litter smoking caused in order to advocate for the change. The policy isn’t criminally enforceable. Offenders can be told they must leave the park for smoking and can be made subject to trespassing violations. The reviewed resolution would come with signage noting that no smoking is allowed in the parks. The signs will be paid for by Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
Source: Harvey County Now
Editorial: Cemeteries the history book of every town
Cemeteries are on my mind a lot lately, due to the time of the year I suppose, although I tend to think about them often. I sometimes watch videos on how to clean headstones and about people who repair headstones that have fallen over, I research people and photograph headstones for others. You can go out to most cemeteries on any given day and see someone walking the paths and of course, people placing flowers on graves and spending time in reflection. When people think about visitors coming to our towns, they don’t often think about the number of out-of-town visitors to our cemeteries. Not only do people travel to towns to visit family gravesites, genealogists roam cemeteries to research family histories all the time. In essence, our cemeteries represent our communities to those who visit. I’ve often said, “Show me a well-cared-for cemetery and I’ll show you a community that takes pride in its history and town.”
Source: Dodge City Daily Globe
Governor Kelly Announces WaKeeney Selected as Newest Kansas Main Street Community
Governor Laura Kelly visited WaKeeney today to announce its selection as the latest community added to the Kansas Main Street program, a Kansas Department of Commerce initiative to preserve and revitalize downtown districts across the state. This brings the total number of Designated Main Street communities in Kansas to 36. The Kansas Main Street program was originally launched in 1985. The Kelly Administration revived the program in 2019 after it was shut down in 2012 and has since welcomed 11 additional communities to the program. “I congratulate all who worked to ensure WaKeeney was added to the list of cities in the Main Street program – it is a rigorous process and a testament to the pride of this community,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “The Kansas Main Street program helps rural communities like WaKeeney bring back jobs and continue being places where future generations want to live and raise families.”
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce
Fed Holds Rates Steady but Expects More Increases
Federal Reserve officials agreed to hold interest rates steady after 10 consecutive increases but signaled they were prepared to raise rates next month if the economy and inflation don’t cool more. New economic projections, released Wednesday after their two-day policy meeting, strongly suggested officials were leaning toward slowing down their increases rather than stopping them altogether. Most of them penciled in two more rate increases this year, which would lift them to a 22-year high, and boosted their expectations for growth and inflation. The Fed fights inflation by slowing the economy through raising rates, which causes tighter financial conditions such as higher borrowing costs, lower stock prices and a stronger dollar. Officials had signaled growing disagreement in recent weeks over whether to keep raising rates. “We don’t know the full extent of the consequences of the banking turmoil that we’ve seen,” Powell said Wednesday. “It would be early to see those.” Other Fed officials have expressed more concern that inflation, hiring and consumer spending haven’t slowed more.
Source: WSJ.com: US Business
City of Emporia unveils new mass notification system
The City of Emporia unveiled a new mass notification system Monday, after receiving community feedback. According to a written release, moving to a new notification platform, Civic Ready, will allow the City to distribute information in a more efficient and streamlined manner; directly connecting its social media platforms, website, and other city platforms used for distributing information.
Source: Emporia Gazette
Marion cops get big raises
Marion City Council voted Monday to raise entry-level police pay 47.1% after Chief Gideon Cody said doing so would help recruitment. Top pay scale wages also will increase with first-year assistant chief pay rising 63.6%. Officers will make $20 to $25.09 an hour, up from a low of $13.59 now.
Source: HILLSBORO Star-Journal
Committee recommends $82K tax break for Borders building project in Lawrence but votes against $830K tax rebate
A city committee voted Wednesday in favor of one tax break for a project to redevelop the long-vacant Borders bookstore in downtown Lawrence, but against a much larger tax incentive that First Management Inc. had requested. First Management plans to remodel the building at 700 New Hampshire St. into corporate headquarters. The company seeks Industrial Revenue Bonds for a 100% sales tax exemption on construction materials for the building, and a 15-year, 90% Neighborhood Revitalization Area (NRA) rebate. The Public Incentives Review Committee voted 4-1 Wednesday to recommend approval of the IRB. According to agenda materials, that amounts to a value of about $82,000. Committee members, who voted on the IRB and the Neighborhood Revitalization Area (NRA) rebate separately, voted against recommending the NRA rebate on a 3-2 vote. That was valued at about $830,000, according to reports in the meeting agenda.
Source: The Lawrence Times
City of Holton sales tax renewed
Holton voters approved a 10-year extension on the city’s half-cent sales tax for infrastructure improvements by a margin of nearly six to one, despite a low voter turnout, it has been reported. Holton Interim City Clerk Teresa Riley thanked the city’s voters for showing support for extending the sales tax, which will now be extended through Dec. 31, 2033.
“The city is grateful and thankful to the citizens of Holton for continuing to support the improvement of our city through the sales tax,” Riley said. “Work will continue on our aging sewer system, maintenance of our electrical generation plant and other infrastructure improvements needed.”
Source: Holton Recorder
FOMC likely to skip June but hike interest rates in July analysts say
The Federal Open Market Committee is expected this week to hold interest rates at a range of 5% to 5.25%, but the revised Summary of Economic Projections will likely signal at least one more rate hike this year. “We expect the Fed to leave the federal funds rate unchanged although both the post-meeting statement and the dot plot will likely emphasize that inaction this week should be considered ‘skipping a rate hike’ rather than putting an end to monetary tightening,” said David Kelly, chief global strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. “Indeed, Fed communications could explicitly warn of a possible further rate hike in July.” Although Kelly believes cooling data through the July meeting should suggest “no further tightening is warranted.” Others disagreed about the future. “The Fed will need to remain committed to curbing inflation and be ready to raise the rates again and keep them elevated if necessary,” said Emin Hajiyev, senior economist at Insight Investment. Inflation, he said, will dictate policy, calling it “the overriding concern.”
Source: The Bond Buyer
Municipal Bond Trends for June 13, 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.
Hope, hurdles remain for long-discussed west Wichita highway project
Since around the turn of the century, many have agreed that a northwest bypass would be a boon for west Wichita economic development and the region overall. Advocates point to what the early 1990s expansion of K-96 did for east Wichita, with growth showing no signs of slowing in areas just off the highway on Greenwich Road, among other intersections. Yet, the proposed highway project — which would extend K-254 from around 45th Street North and Maize Road to Kellogg, just east of Goddard — first studied in the late 1990s appears not much closer to coming to fruition than it did years ago. “At one time, there seemed to be strong momentum, and then it just fizzled,” said Dan Unruh, founding partner at InSite Real Estate Group. Despite the Kansas Department of Transportation beginning to purchase land for the project in 2006, only one-third of the right-of-way has been bought so far. That’s about where progress stood two years ago.
Source: Wichita Business Journal
Dodge City’s “Paving the future, property tax relief and street sales tax”
The 2023 Street Reconstruction Projects utilizing the new “Paving the Future, Property Tax Relief and Street Sales Tax funds” will begin soon. The Dodge City Commission recently approved a street project at Village Square Mall to mill and inlay Central Avenue from the northern drive to end of concrete pavement up to and including the US 50 and Central Avenue intersection. Another mill and inlay/overlay project will address much needed repairs tpi on Underpass Road from Trail Street. to Wyatt Earp Boulevard.
Source: Dodge City Daily Globe
Faces of Emporia mural comes to life downtown
Downtown Emporia is full of smiling faces today, as work continues on the Faces of Emporia Mural at 907 Commercial St. Pasted and sealed with wallpaper glue on the south side of the Nick Jacobs American Family Insurance building, 188 photos of smiling Emporians will make up the latest in a series of five new murals as part of the Visit Emporia Community Arts Alliance. The Faces of Emporia mural follows the Hispanic Heritage Mural on El Marmol restaurant, funded and talent scouted by local volunteer organization Emporia Celebrates the Flint Hills, with help from the Emporia Community Foundation, Kathryn L. & Elvin D. Perkins Fund, Hispanics of Today and Tomorrow and Visit Emporia.
Source: Emporia Gazette
Water consumption trending upward within Garden City
Fred Jones, Garden City Water Resource Manager, gave a mid-year update on water consumption withing the city at the Garden City Commission’s regular meeting Tuesday. Generally, water consumption within the city has increased significantly this past year, Jones said. About 6.5% more water was used in 2022 than the city’s five-year average. “Water consumption continues to trend upwards; we’re averaging about 1% per year, and the range consumption totals differs by approximately 89 million gallons over the past six years,” he said. “It’s going up, but it’s not dramatic.” Jones said irrigation tends to get the brunt of the abuse for that increase, but there are other uses of water that do increase in the summertime that the city is probably getting to a point, in terms of the industrial capacity in Garden City, that they need to look at, which is water required for cooling. This year they are going to do some analysis of that, to see if they can get a better picture of what the cooling footprint is in Garden City, which can include any large businesses, the hospital and Garden City Community College. “We may be looking for some ways we can work with some of those entities just to provide them some more information education to help them conserve some water and hopefully save their businesses some money as well,” he said.
Source: Garden City Telegram
Sedgwick’s council wants to continue the city sales tax
A 10-year, one-half-cent sales tax. That’s what the Sedgwick City Council hopes to convince residents to vote on in November. The council approved a resolution on Wednesday to give voters the opportunity to extend the current half-cent tax for an additional 10 years, tripling its original length. In November 2019, voters passed a five-year city sales tax that took effect in 2020 and will sunset on Dec. 31, 2024, unless it is extended by a successful vote in five months. City Administrator Kyle Nordick told the council that the special sales tax approved in 2019 has generated $509,507 in revenue so far. He estimated that the one-half of one percent (0.5%) retailers’ sales tax would generate approximately $195,000 annually. “It’s going right out the door for street repairs,” Nordick said. “That would be part of the marketing.”
Source: Harvey County Now
Citizens gather at El Dorado’s Graham Park to remember lives lost in 1958 tornado
Saturday morning, the sounds of kids playing in El Dorado’s Graham Park could be heard throughout the neighborhood, but on June 10, 1958 a different sound is what long-time El Dorado resident Betty Henderson recalls. Henderson had only been married to her husband Pete for two weeks when the tornado struck. “God, listen to that train,” Henderson said to him. Pete told her, ‘that isn’t a train’ and that they ‘better head to the basement.’ According to the City of El Dorado, 13 people died that day. Saturday evening a memorial was held in the park to remember the lives lost in the tornado. The siren rang at 5:45 pm and there were a couple of survivors there reliving the moment all over again. Fast forward to today and things are different. The neighborhood where the disaster happened is filled with people who weren’t even born 65 years ago or some were too young to remember. Graham Park will always keep the memory of those gone alive through their memorial.
Source: KAKE – News
WAMPO begins planning process to improve Wichita transportation
The Wichita Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (WAMPO) began its planning process in hopes of improving transportation throughout the Wichita region. WAMPO provides federal funding on transportation systems and improvements. The goal is to find solutions for safety, ease of travel times and improving connectivity for all modes of travel. According to WAMPO Executive Director Chad Parasa, every five years there is an update to the transportation plan. Parasa said several things are factored into these updates such as population and new business. Some of the current projects WAMPO funded include the Zoo Boulevard Bridge, 37th Street, Hydraulic and Hillside, Maize Road to 119th Street, and Meridian Avenue. Both Zoo Boulevard and Hydraulic and Hillside will begin construction soon. WAMPO is also focusing efforts on bicycling, public transit, walking and running.
Source: KAKE – News
Johnson County is recruiting gardeners to help prevent flooding
Kansas City sits at the intersection of many rivers — the Missouri River separating downtown from the Northland, the Kansas River in Wyandotte and Johnson counties, and Turkey Creek, the Blue River, Mill Creek and Brush Creek forming a spider web across the bistate area. And this is no accident, said Heather Schmidt, the stormwater program manager in Johnson County. “Whenever anybody develops or settles anywhere, they want to be by the stream,” Schmidt said. “It’s their water source, and it’s their source to get things away. And that’s always been problematic, because they also get flooded out.” Johnson County has a complex watershed — some water feeds into Mill Creek and eventually the Kansas River, and in the east it feeds into the Blue River or Brush Creek and into Missouri. Although the state line represents an important governmental boundary in Kansas City, floodwater does not respect state lines. And when flash flooding occurs, it can create a regional crisis that requires collaboration from cities and counties across both Kansas and Missouri.
Source: Prairie Village Post
City of Derby announces land donation for senior services
On June 5, the city of Derby announced an upcoming donation from the Cross of Glory Lutheran Church. The church will donate its building and land at 1315 S. Rock Road to the city later this year, which is planned to be the new home for the Derby Senior Center. The city announced via press release that plans to utilize the facility would focus on the senior services of Derby. The release stated that the donated property will be the future home of the Derby Senior Center. Cross of Glory Lutheran Church will continue its regular services and operations while working to determine its next steps throughout the rest of the year. According to spokesperson Linda Boaldin, the church is still an active congregation, and its primary focus at this time is directed at continuing to meet the needs of its members. Director of Senior Services and Transportation Jenny Foster-Farquhar noted that the donation will provide the green space that the Derby Senior Center has been lacking in its current location at the City Hall complex. “We are really excited about the opportunity to meet our current needs and expand our services. We are grateful for the generosity from the Cross of Glory Lutheran Church,” Foster-Farquhar said. “Not only will it provide opportunities for the future of the senior center, but it will provide opportunities for us to move our senior garden. We will have additional green space and could have some natural fits for intergenerational programs with Park Hill Elementary.”
Source: Derby Informer | News
Affordable High Speed Internet Project Coming to Bourbon County
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Kansas State Director Christy Davis today announced a $49.9 million loan to connect thousands of rural Kansans to reliable, affordable high-speed internet. The project will improve service for 149 businesses, 821 farms and over 4,000 people in Bourbon, Cherokee, Crawford, Labette and Neosho counties. “High-speed internet is essential in today’s world of online business, learning and communication,” Davis said. “This investment will help ensure rural Kansas remains a place of opportunity to live, work, and raise a family.” This is the fourth funding round of the USDA ReConnect Program. Since the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration, the Department has invested in 142 ReConnect projects that will bring high-speed internet access to 314,000 rural Americans.
Source: Fort Scott Biz