Kansas Municipal News
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
One year after tornado, Andover YMCA preps for May waterpark opening
Closed since it was struck by a destructive EF-3 tornado nearly a year ago, the Andover YMCA branch is targeting a May 27 reopening of its outdoor waterpark. “We’re cautiously optimistic about that, a few things have to fall into place but we’re working toward that,” said Ron McMahon, CEO of the Greater Wichita YMCA. “The waterpark will have all new features.”
Source: Wichita Business Journal
Clay Center takes next step toward child care center
In response to what officials say is a child care crisis in Clay County, the Clay Center City Council approved moving forward with a grant proposal seeking up to $2.8 million to design, build and begin operating a child care facility in Clay Center on the Lincoln school grounds. The action does not obligate the city to any expenditures but is required for the proposal to be considered by the funding agency.
Source: www.ccenterdispatch.com
Municipal Bond Trends for April 18, 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.
Fed’s Bullard says recession fears off-base and urges more hikes
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said he favored continued interest-rate hikes to counter persistent inflation, while recession fears are overblown. “Wall Street’s very engaged in the idea there’s going to be a recession in six months or something, but that isn’t really the way you would read an expansion like this,” Bullard told Reuters in an interview published Tuesday. Fed policymakers have penciled in one additional quarter-point hike this year, lifting their benchmark rate to 5.1% according to their median forecast in March. Investors see that move happening at their May 2-3 meeting. Bullard, who doesn’t vote on rates this year, was cited by Reuters as supporting pushing rates 50 basis points higher than the median estimate, to a range of 5.5% to 5.75%. That’s in line with the view that Bullard laid out on March 24, when he disclosed that he had raised his forecast for where rates would peak.
Source: The Bond Buyer
Charlie Hunt will head Johnson County’s Department of Health and Environment
Charlie Hunt, MPH has started as the new director of Johnson County Department of Health and Environment on April 17. Hunt joined JCDHE as deputy director in 2021 and has served as interim director since November 4, 2022. If you go back to nearly the beginning of his career, Hunt worked at JCDHE as a communicable disease investigator and then became a health educator. His career includes 18 years in various positions with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, culminating with serving as the state epidemiologist and director of the Bureau of Epidemiology and Public Health Informatics for seven years.
Source: Johnson County Kansas |