Kansas Municipal News
Osawatomie to launch ‘Third Saturday’ campaign with downtown block party
Downtown Osawatomie will be a happening place to be Saturday, April 15, during the city’s first “Third Saturday” block party. Main Street will be blocked off from Fifth to Sixth streets from 4 p.m. until 10 p.m. during the event, which will include early activities from 4 to 7 p.m. like pickleball and cornhole tournaments, children’s street games, children’s bicycle parade and bike course, Nine Square, board games, and the Bull Creek BBQ food truck.
Source: Local News | republic-online.com
USD 232 enrollment expected to boom — Here are the schools most impacted
Starside Elementary in De Soto and Mill Creek Middle School in Lenexa are expected to both be over capacity by the 2027-2028 school year with growth booming on the western side of USD 232. That’s according to an enrollment analysis from school planning firm RSP Associates presented to the USD 232 school board earlier this month. The report outlined how new residential growth, the addition of a new Panasonic EV battery plant and other expected investments on the old Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant in De Soto could draw in more residents and lead to more growth in the district’s student population.
Source: Prairie Village Post
North Lawrence camp residents say violence and chaos is increasing, and the new fence hasn’t helped
People living at the city-run campsite in North Lawrence say they’re struggling with increased interlopers, assaults, theft and drug activity in the week since the city installed a fence intended to prevent visitors, and a woman said she was raped at the camp on Sunday. Tension, anger and fear at the campsite are increasing. At times, the feeling hanging over the camp is a foreboding one, said Jenn Adams — known as the “camp mom” — who has experienced violence while living outside before. “I felt safer out at Sandra Shaw after my throat had been cut than I do here now,” she said. “I don’t feel safe, and I’m across the street.”
Source: The Lawrence Times
Giant solar power generation facility proposed just north of Lawrence
A division of oil giant Royal Dutch Shell is proposing to build a solar energy facility covering more than a square mile just north of Lawrence, near Midland Junction. The “Kansas Sky Energy Center” would supply electrical power to local utility Evergy Inc., which would ultimately own the facility. Savion LLC, based in Kansas City, said it has acquired more than 1,100 acres of land — currently used as farmland — on which to build the giant solar array. It said the solar collection equipment would cover as much as 734 acres of the land.
Source: The Lawrence Times
City manager: Aggieville requesting $25K for gift card promotion
Manhattan city manager Ron Fehr said he’s received a special funding request from the Aggieville Business Association to attract visitors back to the entertainment district. Fehr told Manhattan city commissioners Tuesday evening that he recently received a letter from the ABA board requesting $25,000 for use in a promotion that ABA officials think would bring people back to Aggieville, following months of construction projects in and out of the district. Fehr said the promotion would consist of $25,000 being spread out over 400 to 500 prepaid cards that would be available to Aggieville patrons either through direct purchase or some sort of contest.
Source: themercury.com
Municipal Bond Trends for April 12, 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.
Sedan Police Department calls out ‘Pothole Bandits’ after creative prank
A pop of color on Montgomery Street isn’t a welcome sight for city workers in Sedan. In a lighthearted post alerting residents to “be on the lookout,” the Sedan Police Department reports “mysterious growth sprouting from several potholes.” The unidentified culprits who filled potholes with plants are dubbed “The Pothole Bandits” by police. While Sedan police acknowledge the humor and creativity, they’re calling for the beautification effort to stop.
Source: KWCH
New path to teaching: KSDE to pilot educator apprenticeship program
Ten candidates will this fall pilot a potential apprenticeship program that could be one of the best solutions to a rise in Kansas’ teacher vacancies. The Kansas State Board of Education on Tuesday heard an update on a pilot for teaching registered apprenticeship program that will tentatively start this fall. Shane Carter, director of licensure at the Kansas State Department of Education, said the program, if advanced past the pilot stage, is one of the most promising avenues he’s seen to help Kansas school districts grapple with increases in educator vacancies and a trickling pipeline of new teacher candidates.
Source: CJonline
Thousands of New Yorkers tried to win free trip to Topeka
More than 2,000 residents of the Big Apple entered a contest to win a free trip for four to Topeka. The 2,024 people entered the giveaway by Visit Topeka and Kansas Tourism after New York Mayor Eric Adams made comments Feb. 27 belittling the position of Topeka’s mayor. “I’d like to express my gratitude for the thousands of New Yorkers who’ve expressed interest in Topeka and Kansas and want to learn more about our great capital city,” said Sean Dixon, president of Visit Topeka, on Wednesday. Visit Topeka has randomly chosen the winner’s name and is in the process of contacting that person, said India Yarborough, communications director for the Greater Topeka Partnership, of which Visit Topeka is a part.
Source: CJonline
Supply issues impact vehicle purchases for Saline County
The lingering effects of automobile industry shortages have left their mark in Saline County, most recently through the bid process for new vehicles in the county’s Sheriff’s Office. Low inventory has left local automobile dealers without the capability to supply entities that go out to bid with a more immediate need for a vehicle. Dealers are now saying that in order to ensure vehicle availability, they should be ordered in the last quarter of the year prior to the year a vehicle is needed. So, if the county wants new vehicles in 2024, dealers are suggesting the county gets bids to them in the last quarter of 2023.
Source: Salina Journal
Shawnee considers cracking down on AirBnBs
Shawnee appears poised to institute new restrictions on short-term rental properties, like AirBnBs, in many of its residential neighborhoods. The Shawnee City Council dove back into the issue during a council committee meeting Monday. No action was taken, but the majority of councilmembers signaled their desire to ban AirBnBs, VRBOs and other short-term rentals in single-family home neighborhoods. There was also some discussion about adding other requirements in areas where they could be allowed, like new fees or taxes. “This is getting kind of absurd,” council president Eric Jenkins said. “We don’t have neighborhoods so you can come in here and put mini-hotels in. It’s just not appropriate.”
Source: Prairie Village Post
Prairie Band lauds court decision noting ‘arbitrary’ methods for issuing COVID-19 aid
The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation welcomed a U.S. Court of Appeals decision in a challenge to the U.S. Department of Treasury’s method for distributing CARES Act assistance and the tribal chairman said the outcome could have ramifications for allocation of future federal funding. A series of lawsuits, including one by the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation headquartered in Mayetta, led to the Court of Appeals’ declaration the Treasury Department engaged in an arbitrary and capricious process for calculating emergency aid. The Court of Appeals ordered the U.S. treasury secretary to provide further explanation of decisions regarding Prairie Band’s aid. Prairie Band Chairman Joseph Rupnick said the Washington, D.C., appellate court’s ruling was “clear vindication” of the Prairie Band’s legal effort to compel accurate determinations of relief under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. He said the Treasury Department’s disregard of tribal enrollment data as a barometer for directing aid ignored fundamental principles of federal law and policy. “This case is yet another example of tribes having to fight for what they’re rightly eligible for and only being recognized by the government after a lengthy legal struggle, which in this case required two separate trips to the Court of Appeals,” Rupnick said.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Governor Kelly signs bill to raise the minimum smoking age to 21
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has signed a bipartisan bill from the legislature to raise the minimum smoking age from 18 to 21. House Bill 2269 makes changes in state law on the sale, purchase and possession of cigarettes and tobacco products. The Kansas Department of Revenue says raising the minimum age to 21 will bring the state into compliance with federal law, and that will allow federal funding to continue to be provided to Kansas for the enforcement of tobacco laws.
Source: 101.3 KFDI
City of Manhattan to pay close to $30K after losing appeal in case involving damaged mailbox
The Kansas Court of Appeals has affirmed that the City of Manhattan pay close to $30,000 in attorney fees to a local couple following their successful lawsuit over a damaged mailbox. The decision was published April 7 … The case stems from a December 2019 incident involving a city-owned snowplow that struck a stone mailbox, cracking its base. Marti Wickham and William Franz successfully sued the city and in November 2021 were awarded approximately $3,200 for the mailbox and roughly $10,000 for attorney fees.
Source: 1350 KMAN
Newspaper Editorial: Cities should encourage folks to mend, keep all sidewalks
Rules vary from town to town, but most cities at least used to require installation of sidewalks along with curb and gutter in new neighborhoods. Most at one time had rules about maintaining said sidewalks. We think it’s safe to say that those rules, regulations and ordinances are none too well enforced these days, and as a results, the ever-increasing number of walkers are mostly in the street. Sidewalks generally were and are installed on city property, the area along a street known as “the parking.” This is the tract between the edge of the right of way (often 60 feet) granted to a city in older subdivisions, as opposed to the width of the street itself, between the curbs, usually 30 feet.
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler
Marijuana DUI’s no simple matter
The Kansas Department of Transportation put out a press release, warning drivers that driving high on marijuana is illegal. “April 20 each year marks the unofficial marijuana ‘holiday,’ which tends to see an increase in its use,” the release stated “But whether a person uses marijuana or another substance, they should never drive afterward, as driving under the influence penalties are not limited to defined alcohol concentrations.” Enforcing state law, however, is easier said than done, according to Deputy Police Chief Scott Powell.
Source: Harvey County Now
When a Kansas county wants people to plant milkweed but a city makes them rip it out
Oliver Hernandez’s front yard hums with plenty of bugs for the 12-year-old and his friends to find. “It’s kind of fun just knowing that there are lots of caterpillars in the yard,” he said. About a third of the yard looks like a teeny swath of prairie, with wild indigo, bee balm and, until recently, a key plant for monarch butterflies: common milkweed. Last fall, the city of Overland Park told Oliver’s mother to rip the milkweed out of her pollinator garden. That bummed Oliver because it’s a plant where brightly striped yellow, black and white caterpillars would appear each summer, grow fat on leaves and transform into the feather-light marvels of nature most famous for what they do next. … Across the U.S., milkweed bans are disappearing. But this Kansas suburb and plenty of other towns and cities across the Midwest continue to define it in their city codes as flora non-grata. Sometimes city, county and state rules conflict, leaving homeowners to navigate mixed messages from local governments that can’t see eye-to-eye on whether to promote milkweed or kill it off.
Source: KAKE – News
Wichita toy store owner asks City to change ordinance
If you want to open a secondhand store in Wichita, some City of Wichita requirements might discourage you. For example, the City says some secondhand stores must fingerprint people who bring in used items. Derek Sorrells told the City Council that’s a problem. He owns Let’s Go Build, 2684 N. Greenwich, a store that buys, sells and trades Lego bricks. “I’m asking a mother who brings in $20 worth of Legos to submit her fingerprint,” he said. “There were many odd looks. Many odd looks. And there were frankly people who walked out the door.”
Source: KSN-TV
Andover YMCA rebuild continues following tornado
Almost a year following the Andover tornado, progress continues to rebuild the heavily damaged YMCA in the storm. The April 30, 202, the EF-3 moved through the east side of Andover, causing extensive damage to homes, an elementary school and the YMCA. Cars from the YMCA parking lot were thrown into the lobby, the roof was removed, and glass was shattered. YMCA employees that night reacted and got everyone to safety before the storm hit. Since the storm, work has been moving to rebuild the facility. The walls outside are being rebuilt with 6,375 new limestone blocks, and 22,600 square feet of glass is being installed to replace the damaged windows.
Source: KSN-TV
Property appraisal appeals increase by nearly 300 percent
Backlash from Miami County residents upset about skyrocketing property appraisals led to a spike in appeals being filed this year with the county appraiser’s office. Property owners had until the end of March to file their informal appeal, and Miami County Appraiser Justin Eimers confirmed Monday, April 10, that his office received a total of 1,205 informal appeals this year compared to 303 in 2022, an increase of nearly 300 percent. “The appeals process gives property owners a chance to address questions and concerns to the County Appraiser’s Office,” Eimers said. “I see the appeals process as an opportunity for the Appraiser’s Office to make necessary corrections to property characteristics and make any valuation changes that are warranted. Our goal is to get the value right.”
Source: Local News | republic-online.com