Kansas Municipal News
Catalytic converters added to regulation law amid property crimes
Junk dealers will now have to collect information from catalytic converter sellers, if they weren’t already, under an amended Kansas scrap metal law signed Monday by Gov. Laura Kelly. Kelly signed House Bill 2326 into law after it previously passed the House 119-0 and the Senate 39-1. The bill started as an extension of the scrap metal law, which was set to expire July 1, but lawmakers chose to add language clarifying that catalytic converters are covered by the law. The renewed law is now set to expire in 2028.
Source: CJonline
Hutchinson neighborhood has new name
Hutchinson’s oldest neighborhood has a new name − Founders Neighborhood. Hutchinson City Council voted to approve the name the residents came up with during this week’s city council meeting. They also approved allowing a tract of land to be donated to the city so fire trucks can have an easier time maneuvering, helping support a day initiative of New Beginnings and giving designated ARPA funds to businesses who applied for them.
Source: Hutch News
Electric Distribution Systems Recognized By APPA For Reliability Efforts
The American Public Power Association has honored 219 public power utilities with a Certificate of Excellence in Reliability for reliable performance in 2022. In Kansas, Garden City Electric Utilities, Gardner Energy, McPherson Board of Public Utilities and Russell Electric Distribution System were honored. Utilities that are subscribers to APPA’s eReliability Tracker service are eligible to earn these certificates. To earn a certificate, a utility’s 2022 System Average Interruption Duration Index must fall in the top quartile of all utilities’ SAIDI numbers averaged from the past five years based on Energy Information Administration Form 861 survey data. The certificates recognize utilities that have provided exceptionally reliable service and power to their communities.
Source: KRSL
‘City trees’ enemy of native ones: Evergy, Kansas Forest Service trying to eradicate Bradford pears
For decades, the stately looking, white-flowered Bradford pear tree had a good reputation. One Topeka-area service organization celebrated Arbor Day in 2011 by planting a Bradford pear. But things have since changed so much that Evergy, the Kansas Forest Service and Shawnee County Parks and Recreation now all support eradicating this area’s Callery pear trees, of which Bradford pears are a part. Organizers say the invasive, fast-spreading Callery pears wreak havoc upon the environment by killing native trees, plants and grasses that provide food for birds, butterflies and other wildlife.
Source: CJonline
Fed’s Bostic sees one more quarter-point rate hike, then a hold ‘for quite some time’
Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic said Tuesday he envisions the central bank approving one more interest rate increase before pausing to see how policy tightening is impacting the economy. “One more move should be enough for us to then take a step back and see how our policy is flowing through the economy, to understand the extent to which inflation is returning back to our target,” Bostic said during a live interview on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” That 0.25 percentage point increase likely will come at the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee’s May 2-3 meeting. If a majority of the committee has the same view as Bostic, who is a nonvoting member this year, that would take the federal funds rate to a target range of 5%-5.25%, the highest since August 2007.
Source: CNBC – Bonds
Gov. Kelly visits Garden City High School
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly visited Garden City High School on April 12 to have a conversation with employees about Garden City USD 457’s Teacher Apprenticeship program. The program was started in 2019 and works as a joint partnership between Kansas WorkforceONE (a local workforce development board in Western Kansas) and the Kansas Office of Apprenticeship under the Department of Commerce. The program’s goal is to recruit and train local community members to be teachers in an area where there are dozens of open teacher positions.
Source: Greater Garden City
Council approves $6.15 million pickleball complex in south Wichita
The Wichita City Council has allocated $6.15 million for a state-of-the-art pickleball complex at South Lakes Park, paving the way for completion by February 2024. The 24-court facility, which will cost more than twice what was initially approved in 2021, was approved 7-0 after Bryan Frye’s motion to delay a vote until June failed. “USA Pickleball is hugely excited about this,” Parks Director Troy Houtman said. “They really want to use this site as a showcase.” … The higher price point is due in part to increased materials and construction costs.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
New motel owners: Iola ‘feels like home’
As newcomers to Iola, Manish Sahdev and wife Karisma have already felt welcomed into the community. Now, the new owners of Iola’s Regency Inn are intent on extending that same hospitality to their customers. The Sahdevs acquired Regency Inn about two months ago, and have immediately made efforts to ensure their motel is the preferred destination for anyone staying in Iola on a short- or long-term basis. … On top of their overnight business, they’ve also instituted long-term room rentals, starting at $650 a month. “It’s about helping people in the community,” Manish said, including senior citizens, workers needing housing for extended periods, or simply folks simply down on their luck and unable to find a rental property.
Source: The Iola Register
Hesston schools garnering more interest after Walton decision
Hesston has been getting a spillover effect since USD 373 announced its plans to close Walton Rural Life Center. Hesston Elementary School Principal Alisa Krehbiel told the USD 460 Board of Education last week that a lot of parents had been asking about enrolling their students in Hesston since the Newton district made its decision March 27. She said she had been encouraging parents to bring their children to the kindergarten roundup, which was held this past Monday. She said she would have to look at balancing classroom sizes to see what the district could do.
Source: Harvey County Now
Chanute, Evergy to build solar plant
Chanute is adding a 6-megawatt solar plant to its energy portfolio. Chanute City Commissioners agreed at their April 10 meeting to proceed with the plan. Evergy energy company will build and operate the solar farm on 47 acres of land, the Chanute Tribune reported. The city will purchase the electricity from the solar farm at a fixed rate, and has an option to buy the facility after six years. Commissioners noted, however, Chanute likely will not be in a position to buy the solar farm then, the Tribune reported, because of anticipated water treatment and sewer projects.
Source: The Iola Register
Mulvane to add use of county alert system
The Mulvane City Council recently approved the use of a new mass notification platform through Sedgwick County that will now be available to all residents, as of the council’s April 3 meeting. In August 2022, the county alerted the city of Mulvane to its system – available to all cities in the county at no cost, with residents able to opt-in. The system is primarily email based, but also offers the ability to send text messages for urgent matters.
Source: Derby Informer | Area
Derby discusses expansion of golf cart usage
After updates made in 2021, Derby is once again looking at expanding golf cart usage in city limits. Following its addition to the priority list, an update to the municipal ordinance regarding golf cart usage was brought before the Derby City Council at its April 11 meeting for a first reading. The proposal would change the ordinance from allowing golf carts on public streets in The Oaks residential neighborhood to allowing golf carts on all city streets – with certain restrictions.
Source: Derby Informer | News
Emporia commission to discuss homelessness taskforce findings this week
The Emporia City Commission will receive its first report on the homelessness taskforce, created to find workable solutions for the community last year. The taskforce is expected to recommend that a camping ordinance be maintained in the City of Emporia through July 8, in order to give the group more time to study the ordinance and formulate longterm solutions and recommendations for the city. The homelessness taskforce was established in Dec. 2022 following the city’s approval of an “unlawful camping” ordinance on Nov. 17, 2022.
Source: Emporia Gazette
Wichita City Council approves multi-million dollar pickleball complex
Drive around some Wichita parks on a day like Tuesday and you’ll find people enjoying the nice weather by playing pickleball. It’s a sport people like Patti Mackey love. “It all started, my husband was at the downtown Senior Center and he called me and he said, ‘Patti, there are some older people on this court with a little yellow ball and I just keep hearing, ping, ping, ping.'” Mackey is a volunteer ambassador for USA pickleball and was in the crowd Tuesday as the Wichita City Council voted 7-0 to put an additional $3.15 million towards its proposed pickleball complex at South Lakes Sports Complex.
Source: KAKE – News
Wichita approves $300,000 for improvements to city’s dog parks
The City of Wichita has approved spending $300,000 to make improvements to the city’s dog parks this year. The City Council unanimously approved the measure during its regular meeting Tuesday. A total of $600,000 is set aside in the city’s Capital Improvement Program for the project. Half the money is available this year and the other in 2024. “Not only do people love pets, but really want the best for their pet, and if we want to keep Wichita a vibrant city, we have to respond to the wishes of the public,” Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple said. Whipple said the push for the project came from public feedback. Lily Graham visits K9 Rooster Dog Park in northwest Wichita with her dog Winnie almost daily and said any improvements are welcome.
Source: KAKE – News
A lack of affordable housing in Kansas prevents Section 8 tenants from using rent subsidies
Kamber Corpening felt relief when she first landed a Section 8 voucher in 2020, a promise that she qualified for substantial rent subsidies from federal taxpayers. Then came the hard part — finding a landlord willing to deal with the accompanying red tape and to open units to lower-income tenants. She tried almost 100 places over the course of a year and found few that took Section 8 vouchers. In the meantime, she crashed at shelters, in the homes of friends and with family.
Source: KCUR News
Pratt voters to decide on USD 382 school bond issue
Advance mail voting begins in Pratt for the school district’s special election. Election Day is May 9. Residents are deciding whether to support a $16.6 million bond. The money would renovate the ACE building or the old high school into a fourth and fifth-grade center. It would also add four new classrooms to the elementary school, which could double as a storm shelter. “We’re going to have our PreK there, and we can expand our PreK to all day three-year-olds, which is also part of that answering the challenge for child care and helping people get their kids to preschool so they don’t have to manage that,” said USD 382 Superintendent Tony Helfrich.
Source: KSN-TV
Take a closer look at northeast JoCo’s newest playground
The long-awaited playground at R Park in Roeland Park is finally open, completing the final phase of a three-part plan to revitalize the park on Juniper Drive. Improvement efforts for the park on the site of a former elementary school began in 2015. Weather-related delays this past winter set the playground’s completion date back earlier this year. Now that the playground is open — and the days are sunnier and warmer — children and their caretakers are flooding R Park to play and enjoy the new amenity.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Rural childcare shortage
Kansas is now facing a need for more childcare options for working parents. The problem is significant in our rural areas of Kansas. The COVID-19 pandemic further exasperated the shortage; many in Kansas now refer to this as a childcare crisis. According to Child Care Aware of Kansas, Kansas meets 49 percent of the needed childcare slots. Since 2020 Kansas has lost 344 childcare providers. Currently, Kansas needs 85,000 childcare slots to meet the current demand. Our local area faces similar childcare challenges as the rest of the state. The Meadowlark Extension District, which encompasses Jackson, Jefferson, and Nemaha counties, needs approximately 977 more childcare slots to meet demand.
Source: Sabetha Herald
Riley County talks with residents about city levee project
Riley County officials on Monday attempted to address two residents’ concerns about the Manhattan city government’s levee project. Amanda Webb, planning director, and Darrin Hobbs, planning compliance specialist, provided information and answered questions about the project during the county commission meeting. During the March 20 commission meeting, residents Richard and Angela Britt raised concerns about the project to the commission. Richard specifically pointed out what he said was the city’s lack of a “no-rise” certificate for the entire project, which is needed for floodway projects. To receive a certificate, a state-license engineer needs to determine the project won’t increase flooding risks.
Source: themercury.com