Kansas Municipal News
Change in direction: Converting downtown Wichita’s one-way streets to two way
Once designed to get people in and out as efficiently as possible, downtown city centers have seen a change in direction in recent decades. “If you look at communities across the country, there was this mass exodus out of the downtowns and suburbia was growing,” said Gary Janzen, who is director of public works for the city of Wichita, “but there’s a real energy now in most cities our size, and we’ve seen it in Wichita. “There’s a lot of dynamic things happening with retail, with business, with commercial, with living — we’ve got a lot of residential living downtown now, and there’s a lot of demand for that to continue.”
Source: Wichita Business Journal
Wichita rental market stays hot to begin 2023
According to a new national report, finding an apartment or other rental unit in the Wichita market is not getting any easier. On Monday, apartment search website RentCafe.com released a study that listed the city as having the ninth-hottest small-sized rental market in the U.S. based on competitive score. Wichita’s score of 106 was tied to several metrics, as of the close of 2022’s fourth quarter, including average vacant days (23 in Wichita, according to RentCafe), occupancy (96.5%), prospective renters per vacant unit (seven), lease renewal rate (65.1%) and share of new apartments completed during Q4 2022 (0%).
Source: Wichita Business Journal
Overland Park is the most pickleball obsessed city in U.S., study finds
A Johnson County city has an obsession with pickleball, according to a new ranking. Betting and online casino guide website, Offers.bet, says Overland Park is the top pickleball-obsessed city in the country. The game started becoming wildly popular during the pandemic. Offers.bet said 83% of current pickleball players started playing in 2020 or later. While the popularity of pickleball is skyrocketing, one of the problems is that there aren’t enough courts, even with public courts and the opening of businesses like SERV and Chicken ‘n Pickle. Some fans have turned to playing pickleball on tennis courts, and have even added courts to their yards. That doesn’t always go over well with neighbors because of the noise pickleball makes.
Source: fox4kc
State lawmakers eye local limits: Bills would prevent plastic bag bans, vacant home fees and more
Several bills in the Kansas Statehouse are designed to take away local control from local governments. In one, legislators from across Kansas could roll back pieces of Topeka’s registry of vacant properties, as well as those in other communities. As introduced, House Bill 2083 would have banned cities from creating vacant property registries. It was later amended to allow those registries — but if passed would ban local governments from imposing fees on owners of vacant properties. … Lawmakers are considering legislation proposed by the Kansas Chamber, House Bill 2446, that would block local governments from banning, regulating or taxing “auxiliary containers.” … Pushed primarily by the Kansas Chamber, HB 2447 would ban cities and counties from banning the sale of products that are otherwise legal under state law. The original version of the bill also applied to services.
Source: Hutch News
Rural grocery stores are dying off. Here’s what some communities are doing to save them
in many small towns, a grocery store is a thing of the past. According to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 76 counties nationwide are without a single grocery store, and 34 of those counties are in the Midwest and Great Plains. Rural communities have been losing population for decades making it harder for businesses to stay afloat, said Rial Carver, program leader for the Rural Grocery Initiative at Kansas State University. “So as small towns get smaller, that means fewer sales coming in the door for our grocery store,” Carver said. Big box stores and grocery consolidation have added even more pressure on local grocers. A recent USDA report shows the percentage of grocery sales from the nation’s top 20 retailers more than doubled from 1990 to 2020, while the consolidation was more pronounced in rural areas. The Rural Grocery Initiative was created in 2006 to help establish and sustain grocery stores in rural communities throughout Kansas. Carver said innovation can help keep stores in small towns.
Source: KCUR News
Municipal Bond Trends for March 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.
Home rule again on chopping block
Kansas is officially a Home Rule state. It has been since 1961, when an amendment to the Kansas state constitution officially declared that Kansas cities are “empowered to determine their local affairs…except when” such actions are “limited or prohibited” by an act of the state legislature. That’s an important acknowledgement of local democracy—or at least potentially so. In my observation over the years, though, our elected representatives in Topeka tend to pay far more attention to the “except when” clause, thus leading the principle of Home Rule to be observed more often in the breach than in fact.
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler
County to apply for grant on behalf of SCK Health
Cowley County commissioners agreed Tuesday to apply for a grant on behalf of SCK Health that, if awarded, could help the provider transition to the Rural Emergency Hospital designation. The State of Kansas has set aside $10 million for the Rural Hospital Innovation Grant program to help hospitals convert to the new REH designation in the next two years, according to a letter from SCK Health trustees. The grant requires counties to apply on behalf of the hospitals seeking funds, and is open to all rural counties in Kansas. The program is a 2:1 matching grant. SCK Health is requesting $1 million in grant funds from the state, and plans to raise another $2 million through the SCK Health Foundation.
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler
AC hospital takes steps toward scaled down facility
The SCK Health Board of Trustees in Arkansas City took a step toward becoming a Rural Emergency Hospital on Thursday, and also moved to officially close its obstetrics department. CEO Jeff Bowman said that after discussion about converting to a Rural Emergency Hospital, which provides more funding opportunities to the hospital, but limits hospital stays to 24 hours on average, more than half of the OB department resigned in that one week.
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler
Gimme shelter: In wake of bank fail fallout, municipal bonds in demand
Municipals finished out a nerve-wracking week on a strong note, with yields falling by as much as nine basis points on the short end while U.S. Treasuries strengthened and equities came under pressure. As holders of bank stocks headed for the exits and muni investors looked on nervously from the sidelines as the Federal Open Market Committee met this week, bonds have seen renewed interest as the idea of safety suddenly became uppermost in eyes of buyers one again. The muni market started off the week on a quiet note, with action subdued in both the primary and secondary ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday. After the Fed raised rates once again, the market remained calm.
Source: The Bond Buyer
Ruined beauty of Kansas: Ghost towns and buildings splinter under weight of time
We first stopped by the unincorporated community of Miller, in Lyon County. Its post office had closed 65 years ago. On the main drag, a new fire department building sat on one side of the road, while an abandoned and overgrown former fire department building sat on the other side, a block away. My son and I, of course, looked over the abandoned one. On this March day, the gray undergrowth and blue sky lent the brick structure an austere kind of beauty. To the side of the building, you could glimpse this decayed sign, which suggested better times in the past. We poked around town some more, but we didn’t see much else that excited my son (or me, for that matter). Like many of the tiny Kansas settlements listed on “ghost town” websites, Miller isn’t totally abandoned. A few houses still obviously had residents, and gargantuan long-haul trucks parked in driveways suggested their occupations.
Source: Kansas Reflector
How small rural towns can access Inflation Reduction Act funding
Rural towns and utilities could get funding for all kinds of projects through the federal Inflation Reduction Act — but experts say it will take dedicated community members stepping up to help make that happen. The act, passed in August, has money for rural development and energy infrastructure, as well as electric vehicle infrastructure and incentives. There are incentives for homeowners to make energy efficient improvements to their houses. Communities with coal plants or natural gas plants can repurpose those into cleaner energy sources.
Source: KCUR News
Contentious Olathe apartment plan on Lenexa city line wins key approval
The Woodland Forest apartment project near K-10 and Woodland Road near Olathe’s border with Lenexa is one step closer to reality. Earlier this week, a divided Olathe City Council voted 4-3 to approve a preliminary site development plan and attached rezoning request that will bring multifamily housing to the last leg of the Woodland Corridor area in that city. That area of Olathe, annexed in the late 1990s, was identified for conventional single-family neighborhoods and green space development in line with the Woodland Corridor Plan.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Wichita Housing Authority Landlord Incentive Program provides bonuses to landlords
The City of Wichita is working to get more people off the streets. That’s why it launched the Landlord Incentive Program at the beginning of 2023. Sally Stang is the director of housing and community services for the City of Wichita. She says the problem isn’t necessarily a lack of housing assistance vouchers but a lack of housing for people to use those vouchers. “Much of that was driven by the market,” Stang said. “Rents have increased significantly, there was increased demand, landlords were choosing to take a market price tenant over an assisted tenant, less paperwork, etc.”
Source: KSN-TV
NLC Expands Support for Solar Energy Transition to 500 New Local Governments
The National League of Cities (NLC) is expanding its support for solar energy transition at the local level through its partnership with SolSmart, a solar energy designation and no-cost technical assistance program funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. Since the program launched in 2016, SolSmart has helped hundreds of local governments and their residents save time and money by reducing the soft costs of going solar, which are the non-hardware costs that drive up the expense of installations.
Source: NLC
March Madness in Kansas City means a boost in business for local vendors
Thousands of people traveled to Kansas City this weekend to cheer on their teams in the NCAA tournament at the T-Mobile Center. For local businesses, all of those fans meant a boost in business and a busy last few days. The Kansas City Sports Commission estimated a $14.5 million economic impact for the city. The T-Mobile Center hosted three games, two on Friday night and another Sunday to send a team to the Final Four.
Source: KMBC.com
Salina firefighter takes part in national strongman competition
While the Salina Fire Department is known for its swift response to fires, rescues and medical emergencies, it can now be known for a new accomplishment, employer of one of the world’s strongest firefighters. At the beginning of March, SFD firefighter Chris Rios traveled to Columbus, Ohio for the Arnold Sports Festival, where he competed in the World’s Strongest Firefighter Contest, placing 29th overall. “There were over 100 from all over the world that competed,” Rios said. “(Besides the U.S.,) we had people from Canada, Europe (and other places).”
Source: Salina Journal
Great Bend HR Director trying to create good culture in declining workforce
Great Bend Human Resources Director Randy Keasling is working with city staff to make employment with the city as a destination career. Over the past three years, city administration has concentrated on improving workforce culture to make sure the city is a place people want to work. Keasling noted getting people to apply can still be a struggle, especially the last three years since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The baby boomers, people born in the 1940s to 1960s, are starting to leave a large dent in the workforce with retirements.
Source: GB Post
Chapman, Herington mural projects highlight history
Public art projects have swept across Dickinson County in the past few years and more are in progress. Herington and Chapman can both expect new murals in the coming months to add to those already adorning otherwise blank, boring walls. “The murals are great because they have so many old buildings in our county that needs some sprucing up,” said Corkie Dunlap, of Herington. Over in Chapman, Tana Churan-Davis, owner of Prairie Horizon Art Studio and Gallery, said she sees the murals as a way to bring people to town. “People will come into a community just to see the murals,” she said. “You can use that as a fantastic advertising point.”
Source: Abilene Reflector Chronicle
Wichita firefighter training for amateur boxing charity event
Firefighting by night…sticking and moving by day is Carlye Anderson’s current daily routine. The Wichita firefighter is training for the Smoke and Guns charity event where firefighters amateur box the police department. Anderson has been with the fire department for two years and said her first year, she knew she wanted to be a part of the charity boxing event. “I’ve always wanted to try boxing for a different workout after I retired from gymnastics but getting into that charity event with them through the department and being able to work out with firemen every day was something that I really liked,” said 23-year-old Anderson.
Source: KAKE – News