Municipal News & Jobs

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS “investment grade” yields. Every issuer’s credit is different. For rates that may be applicable to your municipality, contact our Municipal Bond Advisors, Larry Kleeman and Beth Warren.

Hot, fast, and increasingly expensive is a pretty accurate summary of Lawrence’s housing market in July. Home sales were up by nearly 13% in July, while the median selling price was up by 18% compared to the same month a year ago. Historically-low mortgage rates certainly are playing a part in the rising number of home sales. Rising prices, however, are being greatly influenced by a trend that Realtors have been pointing to for months now — a low supply of homes on the market. In July there were 144 active listings on the market. That was down from 286 — almost a 50% drop — from July 2019, and down 247 in July 2018. “Supply of available homes in Lawrence is critically low,” Ryan Desch, president of the Lawrence Board of Realtors, said in the group’s recently-released monthly report.
Read more: LJworld.com.

People are typically surprised to learn that women in Kansas received the right to vote in all elections — state and federal — in 1912, eight years prior to the 19th amendment, which guaranteed women nationwide the right to vote. That’s according to Diana Carlin, a former University of Kansas professor who taught courses on Kansas women’s suffrage for over 20 years. “We were way ahead of the game,” she said. In 1867, Kansas was the first state to hold a referendum on women’s suffrage. In 1887, Kansas became the first state to grant women municipal suffrage. And it was the first state to elect a female mayor: Susanna Madora Salter.
Read more: LJWorld.com.

City leaders will soon consider adopting new regulations for short-term rentals where the property owner lives elsewhere that aim to correct concerns regarding the city’s original permitting process. As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will consider adopting a new ordinance for whole-home Airbnb and other short-term rentals that includes restrictions that aim to prevent a concentration of such rentals in residential neighborhoods, among other limitations. The new proposal comes after the commission rejected a plan earlier this year that more broadly allowed for such rentals. This is the second time the commission will consider the licensing regulations this year. In February, the commission voted unanimously to reject the first proposal from city staff that more broadly allowed whole-home rentals and asked staff to bring back a proposal with stricter limitations on the concentration of such rentals.
Source: LJWorld.com.

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS “investment grade” yields. Every issuer’s credit is different. For rates that may be applicable to your municipality, contact our Municipal Bond Advisors, Larry Kleeman and Beth Warren.

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS “investment grade” yields. Every issuer’s credit is different. For rates that may be applicable to your municipality, contact our Municipal Bond Advisors, Larry Kleeman and Beth Warren.

Miami County businesses will soon be able to apply for grants to help companies that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Small Business Working Capital (SBWC) grants are available for Kansas businesses with fewer than 500 employees, according to a news release posted on the state Department of Commerce website. The funds can be used to pay working capital expenses such as payroll, rent, mortgage insurance, utilities, inventory and other expenses, according to the release. Grants are to be awarded on a rolling (first-come, first-serve) basis until the funds are depleted, according to the state. Grant applications will be accepted beginning at noon Wednesday, Aug. 19, according to the release.

via The Miami County Republic

A new office is beginning to feel like home. That’s the case for Zach McHatton, who serves as economic development director for the City of Haysville. McHatton is finishing the chore of moving his office into the historic Vickers service station in downtown Haysville. The move is part of a shuffle that also saw the Haysville Chamber of Commerce move out of the building and into the historic bank building near the Haysville Community Library.
via Times-Sentinel Newspapers

Rural communities surrounding the south side of Wichita may one day find it easier to travel from one side of town to the other. An update on the ARC 95 plan was presented to the Clearwater City Council at the July 14 meeting. ARC 95 is a plan to construct a south Sedgwick County highway from Kellogg and Greenwich to 95th Street South, across 95th Street South to 119th Street West and back up …
via Times-Sentinel Newspapers

With plans for the Hoisington Labor Day celebration greatly scaled back this year due to concerns over COVID-19, the Hoisington Chamber of Commerce sent out a letter to donor friends this past week asking for their continued support this year and next through sponsorship of the 2021 celebration. In light of the Chamber’s importance to the city’s ongoing economic development, City Manager Jonathan Mitchell asked council members Monday night to consider increasing the usual financial support the city has routinely provided each year. “Giving $5,000 sets a really good example for our other businesses and organizations that are maybe wondering what to do with the chamber,” he said. “The chamber still needs the public’s help to remain viable.” The amount, Mitchell said, is significant but not so much so that others might put off giving as well.
via Great Bend Tribune

Even with coronavirus losses weighing heavily on state and city coffers, investors are piling back into municipal debt, hungry for yield and seeking more safety than the stock market can provide. Investors have put about $28 billion back into muni mutual funds since the end of April, according to Refinitiv Lipper, nearly 60% of the amount pulled during the height of the pandemic. Inflows have continued even as defaults rise. Universities, convention centers, student housing and senior living facilities are confronting significant disruptions to revenue, sending some into insolvency. As of July 31, there were a total of 50 municipal defaults, according to Municipal Market Analytics—the most since 2011. Public officials meanwhile have been hesitant toward taking on debt during economic uncertainty. New muni issuance is down nearly 2% this year, according to Refinitiv, even when including taxable bonds. Many borrowers are responding to the coronavirus hit by either cutting spending or coming to market to refinance existing debt at near-zero interest rates for savings.
Read more: Wall Street Journal.

“I love it. It speaks so much volume, complexity and community,” said Larry Alexander, who watched at large Rubik’s Cube being installed in the city park by the Newton train station at Fifth and Main. It drew attention Friday as a group of volunteers put in the public art installation that was supposed to be displayed at the Sand Creek Summer Daze — a festival originally scheduled for this weekend by canceled due to Pandemic COVID-19.
via Newton Kansan

Riley County Police have issued the first citation at a commercial business for violating the Manhattan mask ordinance. In a letter to the community Friday, RCPD Director Dennis Butler announced the violation was issued Thursday for failure to comply with the July 7 ordinance after education and voluntary compliance requests were ignored. Butler says nearly a dozen businesses were visited in Manhattan Thursday, with only the one citation issued.
via 1350 KMAN

As part of the county’s ongoing COVID-19 Recovery Plan, the Unified Government Commissioners approved an emergency resolution and ordinance on July 30 that allows food trucks, farmer’s markets, and mobile markets countywide with certain standards. Specifically, the ordinance allows mobile vending (such as food trucks, pushcarts, and mobile markets) and farmer’s markets in all zone districts with additional and specific standards.
via Wyandotte Daily

The saga over what to do with Century II and Wichita’s former downtown library continues. After asking staff to prepare policy language that could authorize a public vote on the issue, the City Council on Tuesday is expected to decide whether to move forward with an election, which could help determine the public’s opinion on the future of two prominent buildings. But at the time, there were still questions regarding whether that public vote would be binding.
via Wichita Business Journal

Chanute city commissioners have named the interim city manager to the permanent position. Commissioners voted unanimously Monday evening after an executive session to name Todd Newman as city manager under the existing contract with a review in 90 days. Newman took over as interim in May after Jeff Cantrell left to take a position in Hutchinson. Newman was previously Parks Director and Interim Recreation Commission Director.
via The Chanute Tribune

Shawnee Mayor Michelle Distler has asked the city council to revisit discussions about Tidy Town, the city’s bulky item pickup program. City staff earlier this month presented some potential revisions to the program that would have put more control in the hands of the trash haulers and would have essentially removed the city as the “middle man” in the process. Representatives of two licensed trash haulers raised concerns that their companies lacked the manpower and equipment to complete Tidy Town pickups during the program’s timeframe, which in previous years has been spread out over three spring weekends. 
via Shawnee Mission Post

Columbus school district Superintendent Brian Smith has spent the week hauling furniture out of classrooms to make more space for social distancing as students prepare to return next week after a five-month COVID-19 imposed break. “It is almost like you are preparing for war,” Smith said. “And there is so much that can go wrong and so many unknowns.” His 950-student district is among several dozen mostly rural Kansas school systems to resume classes next week after a handful tested the waters this week.
via Derby Informer

Roxy Callison grew up on a farm in Mayfield, and though she’s lived in Winfield many years, she loves open spaces and the wide skies of the prairie. The west side of her home on East Eighth Avenue is probably big enough to be another house lot. But to keep the area open and to satisfy her love of prairie, she is turning the area into what she calls a “prairie garden.” “I’ve wanted to do it since I lived here,” Callison said. She said she’s often thought she is “without purpose,” and developing the prairie garden is providing that purpose.
via Cowley CourierTraveler

A small town in Texas is going up against streaming giants Netflix and Hulu with a class-action lawsuit over utility fees. New Boston, Texas says the streamers use broadband infrastructure to reach their residents, and should in turn pay the town 5% of the revenue generated from those residents as a fee. “When a Netflix subscriber wants to view Netflix programming, the subscriber’s Internet service provider will connect the subscriber to the closest Netflix Open Connect server offering the fastest speeds and best video quality,” writes attorney Austin Tighe in the complaint. “According to Netflix, that means that most of its subscribers receive Netflix’s video programming from servers either inside of, or directly connected to, the subscriber’s Internet service provider’s network within their local region.” New Boston’s argument is based on the state law that video service providers are required to get certified with an application to the Public Utility Commission of Texas, and that neither Hulu nor Netflix has filed the application. Failing to file doesn’t mean they are exempt from paying the quarterly franchise fee to the cities in which they operate.
via Cord Cutters News

Governor Laura Kelly has announced businesses will soon be able to apply for a total of more than $130 million in grants to serve those most affected by the pandemic and for companies that can expand broadband access in the state. Information on SPARK economic development and connectivity grant programs can now be found online at kansascommerce.gov/covidrelief. Grant applications will be accepted beginning at 12:00 p.m. Wed., Aug. 19, 2020. “These funds will both provide necessary immediate relief to businesses and contribute to a more strategic, competitive Kansas economy in the future,” said Governor Laura Kelly. “I want to thank the SPARK Taskforce for recommending these strategic investments and the State Finance Council for approving the use of these funds.”
In addition to providing financial relief, grants will be available to businesses whose products and services will be needed in greater volume to help combat the virus and its effects. Funding is also being made available to expand broadband access both through infrastructure improvements and by partnerships with internet service providers to serve low-income households. These grants are funded through the Coronavirus Relief Fund of the federal CARES Act.
via Kansas Department of Commerce

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS “investment grade” yields. Every issuer’s credit is different. For rates that may be applicable to your municipality, contact our Municipal Bond Advisors, Larry Kleeman and Beth Warren.

As students return to Manhattan this month in preparation for a new school year, they will be greeted with a new mode of transportation. K-State has partnered with LINK, bringing 150 e-scooters to Manhattan this fall. “Many students, faculty and staff  have been asking for an e-scooter share program as an easy and energy-efficient way to move about campus and the community. After extensive research of similar programs in other university communities and in collaboration with the City of Manhattan, we’re excited to partner with LINK because we believe that they will provide our students, faculty, and visitors with the safest and most reliable e-scooter share program in the industry” said Linda Cook, K-State Chief of Staff and Director of Community Relations.
via KSNT News

Topeka police are asking for the community’s feedback to find out what they can do better. The Strengthening Police and Community Partnerships (SPCP) council for Topeka met on Thursday for a forum and discussion between community members and police officers. “People don’t feel like there’s an open line of communication. They don’t always understand how to voice concerns or talk about what they feel like is going on,” said Chrissy Russel, SPCP council member. The council is made up of community members, leaders and police officers and they work to bridge the gap between local law enforcement and the community they serve.
via KSNT News

In the heart of Bourbon County, Kansas, there’s a town of only about 8,000 residents. But the land it sits on has great significance to American history, stretching back more than 170 years — which is 19 years before Kansas was even a state. Here’s is the Fort Scott National Historic Site. Tucked between Kansas City and Pittsburg is the town of Fort Scott, Kansas where Historic Fort Scott is rooted in deep American history. Carl Brenner, Chief of Interpretation & Resource Management, Fort Scott National Historic Site, said, “The growth and development of Fort Scott was the growth and development of the United States. Everything that was happening across America was happening right here, right on this parade ground behind me.”
via KSNF/KODE

Kansas is known for its prairies, but now we’re connecting you to an ancient wonder of the prairie, Little Jerusalem Badlands, Kansas’ most dramatic Niobrara chalk formation. Take a step back in time. Imagine a vast sea, waves crashing, water as far as the eye can see. Now, fast forward nearly 85 million years. The ocean is gone, and what’s left behind has been drawing the eyes of people from across the region. “My sister came to visit from Austin and we said, ‘You need to come and see Little Jerusalem,’” said tourist Adrian Price. Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park is Kansas’ newest state park. This is its first summer to be open to the public. Some say it got its name because it resembles the ancient walled city of Jerusalem.
via KSN-TV

On Wednesday, the Wichita Police Department and Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office announced a partnership with the DCF. The DCF, using federal funds, placed two people within the WPD and one at the sheriff’s office. Law enforcement supervisors also now have access to the DCF’s child abuse and neglect information system, which will let officers know interactions families have with the DCF. “I think one of the things we know that really led to this partnership is obviously, sometimes, officers or deputies may be the first ones to have contact with the family,” DCF secretary Laura Howard said during a news conference. “So the question for DCF was how to get important information and resources into the hands of law enforcement agencies who are interacting with families who might be in crisis.”
via Local News | Wichita Eagle

Wichita musician Jenny Wood has filed a lawsuit against the city government, claiming a police officer’s bad decisions in a high-speed chase caused a deadly crash that killed two of Wood’s family members and left her with severe disabilities. The lawsuit stems from a pursuit that ended when the fleeing driver of a stolen BMW sport-utility vehicle T-boned the Wood family’s car at the corner of Broadway and Douglas on May 5, 2019. Wood’s mother, Maria, and her 12-year-old niece Rosemary “Rosie” McElroy died from injuries sustained in the crash. Jenny Wood was critically injured and barely survived, but with permanent disabilities, the lawsuit says.
via Local News | Wichita Eagle

Sedgwick County is moving forward with plans to buy COVID-19 saliva tests, a move commissioners said could make it easier to test children when school starts. The Sedgwick County Commission directed staff to work out a contract with Clinical Reference Laboratory, a Lenexa, Kan.-based company that was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration to test samples taken at home. With saliva testing, children could spit in a vial rather than have a nasal swab shoved up their noses.
via Local News | Wichita Eagle