Kansas Municipal News
Pittsburg community members discuss needs in town
Area residents in Pittsburg on Monday gathered to discuss changes and improvements for the community through the year of 2030. Area Chamber of Commerce officials say, the discussions will be taken into consideration and the group will come back in the fall to present projects for the community. This was the first one of the community conversations. Another one all Pittsburg residents can attend will be Thursday, April 27th at Meadowlark Elementary School at 6pm.
Source: KOAM News
Baxter Springs students will soon have a 4-day school week
It’s going to be a shorter week with longer days for Baxter Springs students. The Baxter Springs School District will adopt a four-day school week. The Tuesday through Friday schedule will begin with the start of the new school year (2023-2024). The Superintendent David Pendergraft says the new schedule is designed to give students an extra day off. He also says the main reason for the transition is due to the lack of qualified staff. “Over the years, the number of applicants that are applying has been diminishing across the board, and we’ve experienced some of our upper-level courses where we’re having a hard time getting qualified applicants,” said Pendergraft.
Source: KOAM News
Mission monitoring situation after bank moves to foreclose on Mission Gateway site
Mission Mayor Sollie Flora says the city is keeping a close eye on the situation after a New York bank sued to foreclose its mortgage on the Mission Gateway property. The civil suit was filed Tuesday, April 18, in Johnson County District Court by Metropolitan Commercial Bank. The suit names as a defendant Aryeh Realty, which owns the long-troubled development at the confluence of Johnson Drive, Roe Avenue and Shawnee Mission Parkway on the site of the former Mission Center Mall.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Prairie Village City Council to dig into much-discussed housing recommendations
The Prairie Village City Council Monday night is set to take its first deep dive into how the city’s controversial housing recommendations could impact single family-zoned districts. That has proven to be one of the thorniest topics of debate around the recommendations since they were first rolled out last summer. Tonight’s meeting comes as the city continues to navigate the increasingly fraught public discussion over how to address ballooning housing costs in the Johnson County suburb.
Source: Prairie Village Post
With Fire Departments Struggling for Volunteers, States Respond to the Alarm
When firefighters show up to a blaze or medical emergency across much of the United States, they most likely are volunteers. It’s also likely the department is understaffed, struggling to replace old equipment and facing uncertainty about its next generation of firefighters. “So much of our country relies on the volunteer fire service,” said Kimberly Quiros, chief of communications with the National Volunteer Fire Council, a nonprofit advocacy organization. “Right now, we’re seeing less volunteers and more calls [for emergency response], but a lot of communities don’t have the tax base and support to switch to a career staffing model.”
Source: Route Fifty – All Content
Cline resigns as USD 430 superintendent
At Wednesday’s meeting of the USD 430 Board of Education, the board accepted the resignation of Superintendent Jason Cline, a little less than a week after it was announced that Cline had accepted the same position at Columbus, Nebraska’s Lakeview Community Schools. Cline’s resignation is effective at the end of the school year, when the Atchison High School graduate will begin his new position on July 1st. He has served as the USD 430 superintendent for 6 years. Later in the meeting, the board voted to hire KASB Superintendent Search Service for $3,500 plus fees to assist in filling the newly-vacant position.
Source: hiawathaworldonline.com
How Local Governments Can Rise to the Infrastructure Complexity Challenge
The federal government is investing nearly $2 trillion in American infrastructure and competitiveness through three historic efforts: the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Taken together, these laws represent a uniquely difficult execution challenge, not only for the federal government, but for local governments across the country.
Source: Route Fifty – All Content
The ‘Dark Store’ Threat to Property Tax Revenues
Some big-name chain-store operators, including Walmart, Lowe’s, Target and the Midwest’s Meijer, have been suing their local governments for lower property taxes on the premise of a controversial legal argument called the “dark store” theory. Localities are fighting back, but there’s a need for stronger legislation to protect tax revenues. Here’s the background: It’s no secret that retail shopping centers and some superstores have been struggling for years as consumer tastes shifted and online sales cut retail traffic. Then the pandemic made matters worse.
Source: Governing
New Federal Program to Help Cities Plan ‘Thriving Neighborhoods’
In Brief: The Thriving Communities Program provides technical assistance to urban, rural and tribal communities for transportation and land-use planning. The Department of Transportation announced 64 communities will receive support in the first year. $21 million will be distributed to four teams of “capacity builder” organizations, including planning consultants, transportation experts and environmental nonprofits. Economic development authorities spend lots of time trying to get businesses to put down roots in their cities and to keep homegrown industries in place: assembling land, navigating tax incentives, and helping out with licensing and permitting and zoning regulations.
Source: Governing: State and local government news and analysis
Municipal Bond Trends for April 24, 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, Beth Warren or Henry Schmidt.
Governor Kelly Announces Nearly $10 Million to Expand Housing for Elderly and Disabled Kansans
Governor Laura Kelly announced today that nearly $10 million has been awarded to nine recipients for the construction or renovation of housing for persons with disabilities and the elderly. Funding was made available through the ARPA Building Opportunities for the Disabled and Elderly (ABODE) program launched by Commerce earlier this year. “Safe and accessible residential communities for elderly and disabled Kansans are necessary for living independently,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “These awards will increase housing options that meet the needs of these communities.”
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce
Small Towns Chase America’s $3 Trillion Climate Gold Rush
Colleton County in South Carolina is a quiet rural district best known for its hunting, fishing and, recently, a sensational murder trial. Now it is also a player in America’s new gold rush: a scramble for $1 trillion in federal tax incentives and loans for green energy that is fueling a flood of corporate investments and reshaping local economies. The spending is one of the biggest outlays of taxpayer-financed industrial stimulus since Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. If successful, it could transform the nation’s economy by creating millions of jobs and driving up to $3 trillion in total clean-energy investments during the next decade. The made-in-Washington initiative also demands a leap of faith from small communities around the country that are committing significant local resources to attract businesses, sometimes in unproven industries. Some have been burned before.
Source: WSJ.com: US Business
Car Dealer Markups Helped Drive Inflation, Study Finds
Markups on new cars were a key force behind the current bout of inflation, according to new research published this month. Those extra dealer profits contributed between 0.3 and 0.7 percentage point of the nearly 16% rise in the consumer-price index between the end of 2019 and the end of 2022, a study published in a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics journal found.
Source: WSJ.com: US Business
Americans Escaping Pricey Cities Bring Higher Housing Costs, Inflation With Them
Tampa, Fla., residents face some of the hottest inflation in the country, but when excluding sizzling housing costs, price increases are nearly as cool as in Minneapolis. The disparity shows regional inflation is heavily influenced by home prices and rent costs. The Tampa area has one of the highest inflation rates in the nation, 7.7% in March, according to the Labor Department. But when shelter costs are removed from the index, the Florida metro’s rate was 3.8%—putting it in line with the Minneapolis area, where inflation excluding housing was 3.6%.
Source: WSJ.com: US Business
Governor Kelly Signs Bipartisan Bill to Invest Record $35M To Protect Water Resources
Governor Laura Kelly this week signed a bipartisan bill that increases funding for the State Water Plan, including two funds for grants for water-related infrastructure projects. Kelly fully funded the State Water Plan in 2022 for the first time since 2008. This bill increases funding for water, adding $18 million to the annual $8 million for the State Water Plan and $17 million for the two grant funds. In total, the bill designates an additional $35 million in funding to protect essential water resources. The bill includes that it is legislative intent to continue this funding through 2027.
Source: 101.3 KFDI
Derby’s military-friendly schools receive Purple Star designation
Derby Public Schools USD 260, with almost 13% military-connected student enrollment, was recently awarded the Kansas Purple Star designation for its commitment to students and families of active duty, National Guard and reserve military members. April is designated the Month of the Military Child, and the official recognition of the Purple Star District was made at the Kansas State Department of Education’s (KSDE) April 11 meeting in Topeka. The Kansas Purple Star School Recognition Program is a partnership between KSDE, which adopted the program this school year, and Kansas Military Children Education Council (KMCEC).
Source: Derby Informer | News
Community rallies following Chase County tornadoes
Cleanup is still in progress throughout Chase County following a series of tornadoes Wednesday evening, reaching up to EF-2 strength. The National Weather Service is continuing its survey of the damage, which spread from one mile east of Elmdale to three miles southwest of Strong City and 3.5 miles south of Dunlap. As of Friday morning, preliminary results classified the tornadoes as EF-2, with winds speeds of 111 to 135 miles per hour, while specifics, such as how many tornadoes touched down and how large they were, were still under investigation.
Source: Emporia Gazette
Grace Bowser retiring as Mayetta’s city clerk
Longtime Mayetta City Clerk Grace Bowser is retiring this month after 28 years of service to the city. A retirement celebration was held for Bowser last Wednesday prior to the start of the city council’s regular monthly meeting. After seeing an ad in The Holton Recorder, Bowser applied for the clerk’s position and was appointed May 1, 1995. “I was running a daycare at that time,” Bowser said. “I had a sister who was a city clerk and a brother who worked for a couple of cities as a maintenance man. I thought I might as well join the ranks.” Bowser said that, after she was appointed, she only received a week’s worth of training from the previous clerk.
Source: Holton Recorder
Friday marks 22 years since devastating Hoisington tornado
Twenty-two years ago, the town of Hoisington was ravaged by an EF-4 tornado that destroyed nearly 200 homes and a dozen businesses. One man was killed. Right away, the community pulled together. Volunteers from across the state stepped in to help. Within weeks, the debris was cleared away, and residents started their plans to do what many thought was impossible: move forward and rebuild.
Source: KAKE – News
Local museum hosts special presentation on southeast Kansas railroads
The Miners Hall Museum in Franklin, Kansas is today hosting a free presentation that delves into how the railroad shaped southeast Kansas throughout the years. ‘The Emergence of the Railroad in Rural Kansas – 1870 to present day’, will be presented by Richard (Dick) Rauniker, and the presentation begins at 2:00 P.M. This special program is being presented in conjunction with the quarterly exhibit “Little Balkans Coal Camp – McCune ” which is hosted by Morgan Blanchard-Zimmer and Dick Rauniker.
Source: KOAM News