Municipal News & Jobs

Kansas Municipal News

Reno County approves study of landfill fees

A rate study next summer on fees for the Reno County landfill is among nearly $490,000 in otherwise ongoing annual contracts for the landfill the Reno County Commission approved on Tuesday with a Wichita engineering firm.

The $33,000 study, in part, will explore whether the county should begin charging tipping fees to users instead of just a flat annual fee the county now assesses on property tax bills.

“We think the landfill is in a healthy financial state,” said Monte Markley, vice president and project director with SCS Engineers. “This is to go in a more overall positive direction how the county may want to administer and conduct billing. Is it a more equitable way to bill county residents if you’re a single, elderly person not using much trash?”

(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)

Wichita Police chief appointed to Trump law enforcement commission

Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay is one of 18 people appointed to President Trump’s new law enforcement commission.

On Wednesday, Ramsay was sworn in by U.S. Attorney General William Barr during a ceremony in Washington, D.C. Barr appointed the members of the Presidential Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice following an Oct. 28 executive order from Trump. The Commission will meet monthly for the next year to explore issues affecting law enforcement, including the best approaches to lowering violent crime.

“There is no more noble and important profession than law enforcement. A free and safe society requires a trusted and capable police force to safeguard our rights to life and liberty,” Barr said in a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice. “But as criminal threats and social conditions have changed the responsibilities and roles of police officers, there is a need for a modern study of how law enforcement can best protect and serve American communities. This is why the President instructed me to establish this critical Commission, whose members truly reflect the best there is in law enforcement.

(Read more: Local News |)

Prairie Village council advances consideration of repealing ban on pit bulls

The Prairie Village city council on Monday directed staff to draw up language that would repeal the existing ban on pit bulls in the city. The proposed ordinance change will come before the council for formal consideration at a meeting in the coming weeks.

The vote to advance the idea of repealing the ban on pit bulls followed more than an hour of discussion among the governing body and as much time in comments from members of the public. More than two dozen people — most of them, but not all, Prairie Village residents — addressed the council asking the city to remove the “breed specific language” from its books, citing evidence that such bans were unwarranted and ineffective, and that responsible dog ownership is the key to ensuring pets don’t pose a threat to people or other animals.
(Read more: Prairie Village Post – Neighborhood news and events for Prairie Village, Fairway, Mission Hills)

Ambulance gets stuck on call, again

For the second time in two weeks, a Hillsboro ambulance crew got stuck on muddy roads while on a call.

The crew was transporting a patient home from Newton Medical Center at 12:53 a.m. Saturday when the vehicle became mired in mud on Falcon Rd. between 140th and 150th Rds.

“It appeared to be a good road, and they stayed on the blacktop as long as they could,” EMS director Travis Parmley said. “It just didn’t work out well.”

(Read more: Marion County RECORD)

Junked cars, homes worry Florence residents

Florence Council needs to crack down on the number of decrepit vehicles in the city, community member Phil Baldwin said during Monday’s council meeting.

“Just going from the restaurant to my house, I bet I drive by 10 or more cars that haven’t been moved for a long time,” he said. “Some of them are jacked up without tires and they don’t run. For some reason we’ve given them the ability that by paying money, they can keep them there.”

City ordinance allows one non-running vehicle per property with a $50 permit, as long as the vehicle is in respectable condition and surrounding grass is maintained.

(Read more: Marion County RECORD)

Ron Fehr maintains professionalism, friendliness as long-time Manhattan city manager

Longtime Manhattan city manager Ron Fehr said he begins each day with a smile, an eagerness to work with his coworkers and aspirations to make Manhattan better.

“I wake up every morning, and I’m still very motivated to come to work,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of great things on our plate.”

Fehr’s friendly personality, eagerness and extensive knowledge of the city are among the reasons his former colleagues believe he has been able to be successful in his position as city manager for so long.

A Massive Gap Explains Why Muni Bond Yields Are Near Record Lows

Over the next month, about $25 billion of municipal debt will be paid off. Bondholders will receive another $13 billion of interest payments in February. And mutual funds have pulled in nearly $7 billion of new cash already this month.

Yet over the next four weeks, only a fraction of that money may find new securities to buy: American states and cities are so far set to sell just $13 billion of bonds in that time, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

That yawning gap between the amount of cash looking to be reinvested and the amount of new securities being sold is driving the municipal market to new heights. Yields are at the lowest since the 1950s, 30-year munis are hovering around their highest values against Treasuries since at least 2001, and this month’s 1.2% return marks the strongest start to a year since 2016.
(Read more: Bloomberg)

City of Manhattan eyeing strategies to better attract, retain employees

Dealing with frequent employee turnover and difficulty recruiting, Manhattan is hoping to make changes to its workplace environment and transform the city into an “employer of choice.”

Multiple department heads echoed similar staffing troubles during Tuesday’s City Commission meeting. Administrative staff told commissioners relatively low pay compared to what businesses or other cities offer in their respective fields, employee sentiment that good performance is not rewarded and growing dissatisfaction with the work-life balance in the organization have contributed to the situation.

“I really believe if we were a private company, we’re probably not heading in the right direction as an employer of choice and we need to turn that around,” says Public Works Director Rob Ott. “And that’s hard to say because I’ve been a big part of that in upper management and it is eye-opening [to see]some of the surveys that we’ve done. We do need to change and we need your help to turn it around.”

Turnover city-wide in 2019 was 11.5 percent and nearly half of all employees have been in their current positions for five or fewer years. Departments with the highest rates of turnover are typically those with lower pay, specifically in the areas of street and park maintenance. Parks maintenance has a 31 percent turnover rate and street maintenance has a 25 percent turnover rate. About 17 percent of the city’s workforce is also eligible for retirement within a ten year period.

(Read more: 1350 KMAN)

Municipal Bond Trends for January 22, 2020

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 Advisors.

Earthquake drills to become standard in Emporia schools

A 4.5 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter 3.6 miles southwest of Hutchinson shook Kansas at 1:08 p.m. Sunday, with tremors felt throughout the region — including the Emporia area.

The US Geological Survey had initially reported that the earthquake was a magnitude 4.4 earthquake, but later upgraded it. No damage was immediately reported.

After a 4.2 earthquake damaged buildings in the Hutchinson and Burrton Public Schools districts in Aug. 2019, and with earthquakes becoming more frequent occurrences, the Kansas State Department of Education added earthquake drills to the list of safety drills some Kansas schools are required to complete throughout the year.

(Read more: Emporia Gazette)

Topeka sticks with plan to outsource social service grants

The city of Topeka will stick with last month’s decision by its mayor and city council aimed at outsourcing the city’s program that provides grant funding to social service agencies.

A divided city council on Tuesday evening narrowly rejected Councilwoman Christina Valdivia-Alcala’s proposal to rescind that action, which was taken Dec. 17.

Five council members voted Tuesday to overturn last month’s move — but six votes were needed to accomplish that.

Votes in favor of overturning last month’s action were cast Tuesday by council members Valdivia-Alcala, Karen Hiller, Sylvia Ortiz, Hannah Naeger and Spencer Duncan.

State grant funds new homes in Greensburg

Greensburg was recently one of 13 Kansas communities awarded $2.3 million for rural housing development from the Kansas Moderate Income Housing program, a supplement to Kansas Housing funding from the state. The grant money will help develop affordable housing for moderate-income families.

What it means for Greensburg is that two new duplexes will be built to serve as housing units for moderate income families, something the Greensburg-area has been in need of since the tornado in 2007.

The duplexes, already under construction, are across the street from the Youth Core Ministries office on the corner of Garfield and Oak streets. The first duplex could be finished in four months followed by the next one completed in another four months, with the overall goal of having both ready to rent by August 2020, pending any major weather issues or other delays, said Stacy Barnes, Greensburg City Administrator.

Kansas DMV Services Aim To Drive Down Office Wait Time

The Kansas Division of Vehicles added two new options to reduce wait times and long lines at driver’s license offices across the state.

The agency launched a scheduling platform so people can make appointments instead of showing up at a DMV office and waiting in line.

Division of Vehicles director David Harper says the service is available in Wichita, Andover, Derby, Topeka, Kansas City (Kansas), Lawrence, Manhattan, Mission, Olathe and Overland Park.

“That’s helped a lot with our wait times and helping people plan their time,” he says. “They can schedule a specific date and time to come in, and the wait times are typically have been under 15 minutes for those people coming in.”

(Read more: RSS Feed)

150,000 Kansans Who Drink From Private Wells Are Largely Blind To Contamination

About 150,000 people in Kansas get their drinking water from private wells.

How clean, and safe, is that water? Short answer: It depends.

But new research suggests those wells deliver water tainted with a range of pollutants. Some leaked from dry cleaning operations. Yet far more wells soak up, and deliver to taps, fertilizer that’s been building up in Kansas soil and water over generations of modern farming.

But it’s not up to regulators from Washington or agencies in Topeka to test private well water quality. That falls to individual well owners. With little to no government oversight, some public health officials worry that’s creating a system where far too many people are left vulnerable to potential cancer-causing pollutants and toxins.

(Read more: RSS Feed)

Parsons hears info on Medicaid

The expansion of Medicaid in Kansas could result in $1.8 billion in increased economic output.

That was the message that Jim Zaleski, city of Parsons economic development director, brought back from a luncheon in Topeka sponsored by the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas. The event was titled “The Business Case for KanCare Expansion.” KanCare is the state’s Medicaid program. The meeting featured David Toland, Kansas secretary of commerce.

Under the Affordable Care Act, states can expand their Medicaid systems to cover adults with incomes of up to 138% of the federal poverty level. During former Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration, the state avoided expansion and the billions in federal funds it would bring, but Gov. Laura Kelly and Republican Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning reached a compromise last week that could lead to expansion.

(Read more: The Miami County Republic)

Wichita Art Museum begins $700K update of its lobby, entrance and other gathering spaces

Several spaces inside the Wichita Art Museum will soon have a whole new look.

The museum has started transforming several of its major gathering spaces with a $700,000 remodel project that includes includes upgrades to the main entry and lobby, great hall and The Living Room, the museum’s interactive spot for activities beyond the gallery.

Work started last week and is expected to finish April 25 during a free re-opening event.

For now, the museum’s main entrance is closed during construction and visitors are directed to a temporary entrance on the east side of the building through the Living Room doors. Look for the Tom Otterness sculpture called Dreamer’s Awake.

(Read more: Wichita Business Journal)

Finney County hires interim administrator

On Monday, the Board of County Commissioners approved Robert Reece to step in as interim County Administrator until the search committee finds a permanent replacement for the position.

Monday, February 17, 2020 will be Mr. Reece’s first day in the Finney County Administrator office.

Mr. Reece comes to us from Pottawatomie County in Eastern Kansas, where he served as County Administrator for 20 years. Prior to that he worked as their Director of Finance. …

“Due to the size of Finney County, an interim administrator is necessary to oversee the daily activities, support the department directors, and make decisions in the absence of the Board,” says Commission Chairman Duane Drees. “Mr. Reece is an ideal fit, given his background and experience.”

(Read more: Western Kansas News)

Moody’s says 737 MAX layoffs threatens talent migration from Wichita

Moody’s Investors Services says the fallout from the 737 MAX layoffs in Wichita threatens to zap the region of vital talent in an already-tight local labor market and have other, broader impacts on the local economy.

In a research note provided to the WBJ, the firm listed the 737 MAX layoffs as “credit negative” for both Wichita and Sedgwick County, adding that the near-term future of the MAX will have an important impact on the longer-term prospects for the area.

“Most Wichita area local governments would be able to weather a short-term economic slowdown stemming from reduced aerospace employment,” Moody’s says. “But if lower staffing at Spirit and its downstream suppliers continues for an extended period, and without substantial hiring by other aerospace companies in the region, out migration will likely occur as workers seek employment in the sector elsewhere.”

(Read more: Wichita Business Journal)

Why Kelly wants to extend Kansas pension obligations and pay down other debt

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s $7.8 billion budget calls for an extension of pension obligations while paying down other debt and boosting reserves.
For the second consecutive year, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly is seeking to refinance the state’s pension debt, pushing maximum annual debt service of $1 billion in 2032 to a decade later.
…
Kelly’s goal is to lower annual payments by $130 million to $160 million over the next four years as the state builds budget reserves and restores funding for schools. The pension payments would still top $1 billion, but not until 2041.
“Kansas’ re-amortization of KPERS to make smaller payments in the short term is akin to making the minimum payment on a credit card bill,” according to the nonprofit Kansas Policy Institute. “In other words, the lower the contributions Kansas makes today, the higher contributions must be tomorrow."

(Read more: Bond Buyer: Feed)

Morrowville store served community for 70 years

For nearly 70 years people in the Morrowville community could run downtown to the grocery store to buy everything from fresh cut meat to dry goods. Beer, fresh doughnuts, infant formula and home grocery delivery were available in later years. But times changed, and like many other rural areas, the community got smaller and older. Morrowville’s only grocery store closed in the late 1980s.

Source: Washington County News.

Washington County and the City of Washington have policies in place to guide snow removal

Both Washington County and the City of Washington have snow policies that are used to guide the plowing of snow and the application of salt and sand. Those policies didn’t work well with last week’s rain-sleet-snow mix, according to those who administer the policies, inpart because of the cold that followed.

Justin Novak, who is Washington County’s Road and Bridge supervisor, said a salt-sand mix is often applied to hard-surface (blacktop) roads ahead of winter storms. Sand-only is applied to concrete surfaces including Washington’s new B Street.

No salt is applied to gravel roads, though, Novak said, because too much salt on gravel creates an unstable base, which leads to mudholes.

Source: Washington County News.

Reno County sees little new damage from Sunday’s quake

He was nervous about returning to the courthouse following Sunday’s earthquake, based on the severity of the event and the damage done by a similar quake in August.

Reno County Maintenance Director Harlan Depew, however, said the quake – rated a magnitude 4.6 by the Kansas Geological Survey – appeared to have had little new impact on the 90-year-old building.

“There are a few items still being evaluated, to figure out the extent of it,” Depew said, such as the main courthouse elevator now out of service because counterweights in the elevator “jumped the track.”

“It took significant movement to cause that to happen,” Depew said.

(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)

Hutch chips in $50,000 for detox center

The Hutchinson City Council voted 5-0 Tuesday to contribute $50,000 toward converting a New Beginnings Inc.-owned building into a social detox and inpatient treatment center for people with addictions. New Beginnings will ask for a matching $50,000 from Reno County during the Feb. 4 Reno County Commission meeting.The Hutchinson-based social services housing agency needs approximately $200,000 to improve Meadowlark Commons…

(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)

Municipal Bond Trends for January 21, 2020

Stronger security and a new school: Blue Valley asks JoCo voters for $186M bond issue

Voters will decide whether Blue Valley schools can issue $186 million in bonds to tighten security throughout the district and build a new elementary school — with no tax increase.

Residents of the south Johnson County district should have received mail-in ballots, which are due by noon Jan. 28. If approved, the funds will also allow the district to improve aging facilities and add classrooms to keep up with growing enrollment, said incoming superintendent Tonya Merrigan.

“If this bond were to not pass, we wouldn’t be able to do many of these things,” said Merrigan, who will take over as district superintendent in July, replacing retiring Superintendent Todd White. “There aren’t other sources of money for us to fix our buildings, so this is a crucial time for us to make sure we invest in buildings and infrastructure to provide the best education to our students.”

Should you pay a fine for not shoveling your sidewalk? KC area advocates want change

Driving on a busy four-lane intersection in Overland Park a couple of weeks ago, Rebecca Crowder noticed a woman wrapped up in a wool poncho and scarf, pushing a walker through inches of snow and slush on the sidewalk.

It wasn’t the first time Crowder had stopped her car to make sure an elderly or disabled resident walking on icy, snow-covered sidewalks could make it to the bus stop or home safely. Last winter, she remembers seeing a man using a wheelchair, trying to navigate down 95th Street without a clear path.

“That upset me a lot,” said Crowder, an Overland Park resident. “I was like, I have to do something about this. It just upsets me. I’m frustrated that we don’t do better.”

(Read more: Joco 913 News)

Leavenworth County approves new Port Authority agreement

When they met Wednesday, Leavenworth County commissioners approved a new agreement to govern the operation of the Leavenworth County Port Authority.

The agreement now will need approval from the Leavenworth City Commission before it can go into effect.

The city and county governments were the parties to a 1969 agreement that established the Port Authority, which is an economic development organization.

“The agreement remains unchanged since 1969,” Senior County Counselor David Van Parys.

(Read more: Leavenworth Times)

Manhattan officials reflect on economic issues highlighted during annual leaders retreat

Manhattan city officials took part in the annual Flint Hills Leaders Retreat, held in Olathe last weekend.

The event featured a variety of speakers touching on key economic issues facing Kansas, including migration to the state and employment growth. The state ranks near the bottom in both categories. Kansas Department of Commerce Deputy Secretary Patty Clark provided statistics on these categories during Friday’s meeting.

On KMAN’s In Focus Tuesday, Mayor Usha Reddi said hearing Clark speak to these issues caused her to reflect, noting that in order to recruit and retain businesses, the state needs to build its workforce.

(Read more: 1350 KMAN)

Deardoff: Hutch’s Atrium hotel/convention site ‘front and center’

Hutchinson city manager John Deardoff has about 10 weeks remaining on the job, and “front and center” as he wraps up work is a hotel/convention center — or rather lack of one — in Hutchinson.

The Atrium Hotel and Conference Center, 1400 N. Lorraine St., closed its doors Dec. 20. Deardoff learned of the closing from the media, but it was “underperforming for years,” he said, so the closing was not a complete surprise.

The shutdown occurred, however, before a clear strategy had emerged from City Hall for an alternative hotel/convention center.

“This is really frustrating for me,” Deardoff said in Wednesday’s State of the City comments, as he recounted the lack of enthusiasm from private developers and the slow progress in talks about a solution.

(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)

Kansas in dire need of state energy plan

Consultants hired by the Legislature to examine Kansas’ unusually high electric rates bullet-pointed the obvious: Kansas has neglected to develop a comprehensive plan defining the state’s energy future. Interests as diverse as the Kansas Municipal Utilities association to the Climate and Energy Project of Kansas praised London Economics International for urging Kansas to craft the type of benchmark plan operational in more than two-thirds of states.

Pittsburg Police and Fire Departments host Battle of The Badges Chili Cook-Off

The Pittsburg Fire and Police Departments battle it out for a good cause.

Today kicked off the fifth annual Battle of The Badges Chili Cook-Off.

Every year the event is ran in collaboration with the American Red Cross as a blood drive.

After participants donate blood they are encouraged to taste each department’s chili and vote on whose is the best.

With this being the area’s largest blood drive, they are hopeful to collect 100 pints of blood this year.

Paul Lyle, American Red Cross, said, “So we really appreciate the volunteers and of course the Red Cross personnel and our donors, they’re wonderful.”

If you didn’t get a chance to stop by today, the event will be held again tomorrow at the Frisco Event Center from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Leaders looking for feedback on new police-community relations initiative

People in Topeka are invited to learn more about a new police-community relations initiative Monday night. The meeting will focus around a new “steering committee” that law enforcement officials hope will be a place for tough conversations.

This will be the first time organizers are getting community feedback on the new initiative.

Cain Davis, president of the Strategic Leadership Academy, says the new committee will focus on law enforcement matters, but they won’t be the only voice at the table.

“It’s going to be law enforcement, maybe a member of Black Lives Matter, a member of the NAACP, a citizen who is just interested in it,” said Davis.

Davis said the meeting Monday night will be a great chance for people to learn more and shape the conversation. Afterwards, he says they’ll have a better idea of what groups are interested and what groups they need to work towards developing.

(Read more: KSNT News)

Wabaunsee County leaders holding town hall on suicide and mental health

Wabaunsee County leaders are holding a town hall Thursday night about suicide and mental health. This comes after five people died by suicide in Wabaunsee County in 2019.

Wabaunsee County Sheriff Rob Hoskins said he looked back through records and found that the county averaged three to five suicides each year.

“The national average for suicide is 16 per 100,000 people,” said Hoskins. “Wabaunsee County being less than 7,000 people, losing five citizens that puts us a little over 5 times the national average.”

The town hall meeting will include community leaders, school officials, clergy and mental health professionals. Wabaunsee USD 329 Superintendent Brad Starnes says he wants this to be a step toward ending the stigma around mental health.

(Read more: KSNT News)

100 calls to 911 in minutes after earthquake tied up emergency services, Hutch police say

More than 100 calls to 911 in Reno County in the 10 minutes following a 4.6 magnitude earthquake Sunday afternoon delayed emergency services from responding to people who needed help, law enforcement said.

The Kansas Geological Survey reported that the earthquake — tied for the second-strongest in the state in the past year — struck at around 1:08 p.m. about a mile west of South Hutchinson.

“Within ten minutes our 911 center received over a hundred calls,” the Hutchinson Police Department said in a Facebook post. “Of those calls only a handful required emergency services to respond. We want to remind our citizens that during a major incident to not call 911 unless they need to report an emergency.

(Read more: Local News |)

KPERS trustees decline proposal to cut 7.75% rate of return assumption

Trustees of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System on Friday decided to retain the current 7.75% investment return assumption rather than heed a recommendation of consultants to lower the foundational economic measure to more closely reflect national expectations.

The decision to maintain the status quo for three years avoided profound financial implications for KPERS, which serves 300,000 current or former public employees. A 0.25% reduction in the investment-return forecast would have driven up the system’s unfunded actuarial liability by $569 million and shrinkage of 0.5% would have equated a $1.2 billion surge in that unfunded long-term liability.

The decision by trustees was influenced by reports of a preliminary gross total return of 17.5% on KPERS’ assets in calendar 2019. That was a reversal from KPERS’ minus-2.6% in calendar 2018.

KCC explores theory of migrating earthquakes

The Kansas Corporation Commission’s conservation director Thursday said lack of information inhibited declaring a precise cause of earthquakes into Reno County far away from southern Kansas sites where a surge in seismic activity was linked to injection of oil-and-gas wastewater deep underground.

Kansas’ southern tier of counties were rocked by earthquakes starting in 2013 as the oil industry increased fracking to free pockets of oil and gas from subsurface rock. Fracking wasn’t the direct cause of quakes, but the high-pressure injection of millions of barrels of wastewater from the process below the surface was blamed for the sudden seismic activity.

There were 353 earthquakes in Kansas at magnitude 2.5 or greater from 2013 to 2017. That was 10 times the number documented in the previous four decades.

Vintage downtown stoplights get a facelift

Leon Pfannenstiel read the raised lettering on the metal pedestal of a stoplight pole awaiting painting at his shop, Leon’s Welding & Fabrication, on the US-40 highway bypass.

“Eagle Signal Co., Davenport, Iowa,” Pfannenstiel read out loud.

The pole is one of seven in his shop, all of them taken down on Main Street from the corners of 11th and 12th streets in Hays.

The City of Hays hired Leon’s Welding to refurbish the lights, said Public Works director Jesse Rohr.

(Read more: News – The Hays Daily News)

Shawnee Mission teachers, admin set final negotiations session in hopes of reaching contract accord

The state assigned fact finder who heard testimony from the Shawnee Mission School District administration and National Education Association-Shawnee Mission earlier this month has issued the report with his recommendations on terms for a contract agreement, setting the stage for one final negotiation session between the parties.

The NEA-Shawnee Mission announced to its members over the weekend that the union and administration will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28 at the Center for Academic Achievement. The session will be open to the public.

However, the parties have agreed not to release the fact finder’s report until after the negotiations session has concluded, a decision permitted under Kansas’s Professional Negotiations Act.

Lenexa entering encroachment agreement with Magellan Pipeline Company for public improvements

The city of Lenexa is entering an encroachment agreement with Magellan Pipeline Company to make infrastructure improvements near Old Town.

The encroachment agreement will authorize Magellan Pipeline Company to construct curb and gutter, storm sewer, street lighting, sidewalk and trail improvements along Santa Fe Trail Drive between 95th Street and Pflumm Road.

City staff noted that the encroachment agreement with the pipeline company was necessary because a portion of the project (sidewalk, trail and curb and gutter) will cross over the existing Magellan pipeline and easement.

County, NextEra finalize haul route

After approving the term sheet and site plan for the Soldier Creek Wind Farm in August 2019, the Nemaha County Commissioners announced Monday, Jan. 13 — following a 1-1/2 hour executive session — that they have finalized the haul route for the project.

The commissioners – Tim Burdiek, Gary Scoby and Dennis Henry – have been in negotiations with NextEra Energy Resources, through the county’s hired wind farm attorney James Neeld, on the definitive agreements since the term sheet and site were approved last year. While the haul route has been finalized, the road use agreement is still being negotiated.

Burdiek said township officials met with the commissioners on Friday, Jan. 10, at the Pioneer Building in Seneca. The township officials received maps of the haul route for their township. Burdiek said he encouraged the township officials to drive the roads.

(Read more: Sabetha Herald)

Riley County losing out on $661,000 in revenue since mortgage tax phase out

Riley County lost out on $661,000 in tax revenue in 2019 mortgage registration fees after the Kansas legislature voted in 2014 to begin a five-year phase out of fees, said Debbie Regester, the county’s register of deeds.

“I guess I’m the only register of deeds in the state of Kansas that still continues to gripe about this or bring it to the board,” Regester said. “In counties that are much larger than ours, I can’t even imagine how much revenue they’ve lost.”

In 2018, the last year of the tax’s phaseout, the county collected $200,792 in mortgage registration tax fees. No tax was collected in 2019, but Regester said that if the 0.026% mortgage registration tax were still in place, the county would have collected $661,000.

(Read more: Atchison Globe Now)

WSU Innovation Campus developer seeks up to $33 million in IRBs for new NetApp site

Six years after first announcing it would partner with Wichita State University and move onto its Innovation Campus, NetApp is finally doing it.

Innovation Campus developer MWCB LLC is seeking up to $33 million in industrial revenue bonds to build a 168,000-square-foot Wichita headquarters for the global data storage and cloud management company.

NetApp would move from its current location at 37th and Rock Road — which MWCB is buying with plans for redeveloping it — to the northwest corner of 17th and Oliver.

Gov. Laura Kelly’s budget calls for refinancing KPERS, pay raise for state workers

Gov. Laura Kelly revealed her proposed blueprint Thursday for $7.8 billion in government spending on state services next year, including social service investments, aid for higher education and a pay raise for state employees.

The Democratic governor again asked lawmakers to lower state contributions to the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System by extending payments for 10 years and adding $4.4 billion in interest payments, a proposal met with swift condemnation by her Republican adversaries.

Republicans also scoffed at Kelly’s ideas for providing $53.2 million in credits to low-income families for sales tax assessed on food and placing $54 million in a defunct program that lessens the burden of local property taxes.

Municipal Bond Trends for January 17, 2020

Spirit layoffs could stress Wichita, Sedgwick County finances, Moody’s cautions

One of the world’s top credit rating agencies has issued a report expressing concern about potential stress on Wichita-area governments if Boeing’s troubled 737 Max jetliner doesn’t get back in the sky sooner rather than later.

The Moody’s investment firm report identifies the 2,800 recently announced layoffs at Spirit AeroSystems as a potential catalyst that could cause future financial issues for local government.

“The (Spirit) layoffs are credit negative for the city of Wichita, Sedgwick County and surrounding communities because the workforce reduction threatens to result in weaker retail sales, lowering sales tax revenues that support local government budgets,” the report said. “The reduced work orders and layoffs at Spirit are likely to ripple out to smaller aerospace suppliers in the Wichita area, increasing layoffs in the region.”

(Read more: Local News |)