Municipal News & Jobs

Kansas Municipal News

Kansas Attorney General Opinion 2020-1: County sales taxes; apportionment of revenue between cities and county

Synopsis: If a county imposes a countywide retailers’ sales tax to finance designated health care services, and a city within the county has not previously exercised its authority to impose a city retailers’ sales tax to finance health care services, no statutory provision authorizes remitting to a city that portion of the countywide tax revenue collected by retailers within such city. A county shall not use the sales tax revenues for any purpose other than the purpose specifically stated in the ballot proposition. Cited herein: K.S.A. 2019 Supp. 12-187; 12-192; L. 2007, Ch. 158, Sec. 6.

Prairie Village Environmental Committee set to put forth proposal to ban single-use plastic bags

After a six-year gap, the Prairie Village Environmental Committee is again considering the idea of eliminating single-use plastic bags from stores throughout the city.

A proposal outlined by two members of the city council calls for a ban on single-use plastic bags and to require vendors to charge a fee for paper and reusable bags.

(Read more: Prairie Village Post)

Municipal Bond Trends for January 14, 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.

Kansas gives senior care company $12 million to create 600-plus jobs in Overland Park

A Place for Mom, which helps families connect with nursing homes and other senior care facilities, plans to hire more than 600 employees in a new Overland Park office.

The company said the new office will include employees who work in management, finance, human resources and information technology. It will also house local advisers, customer service associates and other support staffers, according to a Tuesday news release. Hiring is already underway.

“We are committed to creating a world-class operation in the Kansas City area as we continue to transform our business to best serve our customers,” CEO Larry Kutscher said in the news release. “Overland Park will be home to several key areas of our business that will have a direct impact on our company’s mission to empower families to make informed and confident senior housing decisions that best fit their unique needs.”

(Read more: KC Star Local News)

Improvement district approved for Wichita’s East Douglas corridor

Wichita city council members have given first-round approval to an ordinance establishing a funding district to support the continued activities of the Douglas Design District, which runs from Washington to Oliver.

A Business Improvement District would provide financing and administration for more services to businesses within the district. It would be funded through a mandatory annual fee for the businesses within the district, and that would range from $100 to $550 depending on the size of the business.

The Douglas Design District has been a voluntary organization, and members told the council that it is showing signs of strain. The members want to create a financially self-sustaining organization that won’t have to rely on a volunteer staff. Some business owners told the council that the yearly fee would be a hardship for them, and they urged the council to deny the BID.

(Read more: KFDI 101.3)

Wichita’s downtown riverfront completely transformed in $1 billion plan

The Riverfront Legacy Master Plan coalition doubled down on its plan to raze most of the buildings — including Century II — near the Hyatt Regency hotel and start fresh.

Under the plan, Wichita’s downtown could get new parks, a new performing arts center and a new convention center, parking garages and a boardwalk. Downtown Wichita riverfront designers say Wichita could be the next Oklahoma City if its city leaders can convince taxpayers to pay for it.

The total price tag on the project is estimated at $1 billion-$1.2 billion. Design consultants recommend about half of the funding should come from a city- or county-wide sales tax. A new sales tax would require a public vote.

(Read more: Local News |)

Cell tower disapproved for safety reasons

The Pratt County Planning and Zoning Commission voted to disapprove a proposal from AT&T to place a new cell service tower at the Pratt Regional Airport last month, but the issue will come before the Pratt County commissioners again on Jan. 27 as the telephone company continues to pursue the project north of the city of Pratt.

“It is not that the zoning board is against the tower,” said Pratt County Emergency Management Director Tim Branscom. “It’s just that placing it at the airport violates our safety standards, compromises airspace minimums and could create a hazard for pilots.”

According to Randy Huitt, Fixed Base Operator for the Pratt Regional Airport, the proposed site location for the 260-foot cell tower is directly in the downwind pattern for landing to the south.

Merriam approves facility use agreement, letter of understanding with surrounding cities for pool usage

The Merriam city council on Monday evening approved two items dealing with pool usage, both of which involve agreements with neighboring cities.

For the first item, Merriam entered into an inter-local agreement with Overland Park as a contingency plan if the new community center is not up and running by Memorial Day, which falls on May 25. The agreement would allow the Merriam Dolphins Swim and Dive team to use Young’s Pool, 8421 W. 77th Street, for practice during the six-week season.

Merriam will let Overland Park know the team needs to use the pool by May 1, and pay Overland Park $2,000 per the agreement, Parks and Recreation Director Anna Slocum said. Below are the parameters of the agreement, as outlined in city documents:

City approves resolution for Orizon expansion

Chanute commissioners approved a resolution Monday evening that clears a deal for Orizon Aerostructures’ expansion.

The item was a late addition to the agenda and consents to a subordination agreement on construction of Orizon’s third building. It will serve as collateral for Crossland Construction on a second mortgage to fund the project.

Orizon Chief Financial Officer Mark Deuel told commissioners that the building is 50 to 55 percent through construction and by the end of 2020, Orizon will have a $36 million investment in the location on 21st Street. The building will house $15 million in automated riveting equipment that can service either Boeing or Airbus products.

New Wichita mayor outlines top priorities for city

Wichita’s 102nd mayor swears in Monday, stepping into city leadership from his previous service as a Kansas legislature.

Brandon Whipple steps into his new role at a challenging time for the city with halted production of the 737 Max jet creating uncertainty for Wichita’s largest employer, Spirit AeroSystems, and thousands of its workers.

Whipple says some of his top priorities include working on stabilizing the local economy, working on transparency, and working on making Wichita one of the safest cities in the Midwest.

(Read more: KWCH News)

Can Kansas women go topless? Supreme Court leaves it unclear

The Supreme Court’s decision not to consider topless bans leaves a ruling in place that technically allows Kansas women to go topless. But a local political science professor said the legality of it is complicated.

On Monday the United States Supreme Court decided not to review a challenge to a New Hampshire ordinance banning women to be topless.

In 2016 three women were arrested for doing yoga topless on a New Hampshire beach. When they appealed their convictions the New Hampshire Supreme Court rejected the challenge, meaning tops on for women.

In 2019 the same issue went to court in Colorado, but a federal appeals court shot down the topless ban. Kansas is part of that appeal court’s jurisdiction.

(Read more: KSNT News)

Municipal Bond Trends for January 13, 2020

Remington superintendent helps chair state bullying task force

A state committee headed by a Butler County school superintendent finished its work to create a report on bullying, and expects action this month.

James Regier, superintendent of Remington-Whitewater Unified School District 206, and Dr. Rick Ginsberg, University of Kansas dean of education, served as co-chairs of the Blue Ribbon Task Force to examine issues of bullying in the state’s schools.

“It has been an honor to serve with this group of people,” Regier said. “They volunteered their time to tackle a difficult issue.”

(Read more: andoveramerican.com)

Spirit layoffs a tough hit to Wichita, but there’s ‘light at the end of the tunnel’

Was Friday a tough day in Wichita? No question.

Will Spirit AeroSystems’ 2,800 layoffs cause significant ripple effects for the entire community and beyond? Also no question.

Multipliers show that almost 5,800 jobs will be impacted in this market, and there will be a $220 million payroll impact from the Spirit workers alone if they’re not re-hired until 2021.

Due to lost retail sales tax collections, there could be a $1.25 million fiscal impact in Wichita, $617,000 in Sedgwick County and almost $13 million in the state.

Shawnee County Solid Waste introduces better way to recycle tires

Shawnee County Solid Waste is finding a better way to recycle the thousands of used tires it collects throughout the year.

Currently, the Solid Waste department doesn’t have a dedicated recycling system to manage all of the tires it gets.

But now, it will have a separate processor to recycle tires more easily.

(Read more: KSNT News)

Topeka Police unveils new initiative aimed at community relations

The Topeka Police Department is unveiling a new community relations initiative.

TPD is partnering with Strategic Leadership Academy, a community leadership program, to create a “steering committee” in Topeka.

The steering committee will be made up of law enforcement officials, city leaders and a variety of everyday Topekans. Police Chief Bill Cochran says he wants this to be a place for tough conversations.

“People don’t like to have tough conversations,” Cochran said. “They don’t like where they end up going a lot of times. If we have something like this in place, when it’s time to sit down and have those tough conversations, the hopes are that we will be able to get to a positive result.”

(Read more: KSNT News)

Pratt County cell tower disapproved for safety reasons

According to Randy Huitt, Fixed Base Operator for the Pratt Regional Airport, the proposed site location for the 260-foot cell tower is directly in the downwind pattern for landing to the south.

(Read more: Leavenworth Times)

Wichitans rally to kick off Century II petition drive

Supporters of an initiative petition to save Century II from destruction came to their kickoff event Monday with 200 yard signs — and left with none.

More than that many people stopped by to pick up petitions aimed at forcing City Hall to preserve the 51-year-old structure, targeted for demolition in the Riverfront Legacy Master Plan, details of which will be released Tuesday.

The petition proposed by the Save Century II group would prevent the city government from destroying any historically significant city-owned buildings without a public vote, specifically naming Century II and the former library as two buildings that would have to be protected.

(Read more: Local News |)

Coke or Pepsi? Wichita set to decide the eternal question for city golfers Tuesday

If you’re feeling a little dry while golfing at a Wichita public course, don’t ask for a Coke at the clubhouse.

You might better say “Pepsi, please.”

The City Council is expected to sign an exclusive agreement with Pepsi to supply all the soda pop for the city golf system for the next five years.

(Read more: Local News |)

ECF announces 2020 grant recipients

Seven non-profit organizations in the greater Emporia area will start 2020 on a much brighter note as they receive a total of $21,899.38 from the Emporia Community Foundation’s Grants Committee.

The ECF Grants Committee selected grants for innovative projects and programs based on meeting changing community needs in the areas of health, social service, education, recreation and cultural affairs.

“This year the ECF Grants Committee received 18 grant applications totaling over $147,000 for projects in the greater Emporia area.” ECF Executive Director Becky Nurnberg said. “The Committee carefully considered each application and the potential impact for the community. It took several meetings, but they arrived at seven awards that will help provide the selected non-profit organizations support for various projects they might otherwise be unable to offer to the people they serve. The grants will go for ventures that are as diverse as the communities the non-profits represent.

(Read more: Emporia Gazette)

Analysts Tell Lawmakers That Kansas Electric Rate-Making System Favors Utilities

An independent review of Kansas’ rising electricity prices shows the current system for setting rates could use some improvements.

In a lengthy report requested by state legislators and submitted by London Economics, analysts concluded three main things: The current ratemaking process has been slightly balanced in favor of utilities, regulators are limited in their ability to protect consumers from paying for underused investments (such as aging coal plants), and additional bill surcharges and have been a key driver of rising rates.

The report looked at rates from all Kansas electric utilities — from co-ops to municipals to Evergy, the largest utility in the state with about 1.5 million customers.

(Read more: here )

Wichita’s new mayor takes the oath of office

Brandon Whipple is now the mayor of Wichita. He was given the oath of office Monday evening during a special city council meeting at city hall.

In a brief statement after the swearing-in ceremony, Whipple said the event is about the future of Wichita, and he said he will be working with a diverse city council with experience, ready to take on the problems facing the city. He said as the city goes through changes in the future, he and the council will work together as “Team Wichita.”

City council members Becky Tuttle, Jeff Blubaugh and Bryan Frye took the oath of office to begin their second terms. The council plans to choose a vice mayor for 2020 at their next regular meeting Tuesday.

(Read more: KFDI 101.3)

Boeing travails begins to ripple, 2,800 jobs lost in Kansas

Problems for Boeing and its troubled 737 Max aircraft, which appear to be growing deeper, have begun to ripple outward with a major supplier announcing Friday that it will lay off more than 20% of its workforce in Kansas, where it is based.

The announcement of 2,800 layoffs at a major employer in Wichita, the state’s biggest city, come one day after documents became public showing that Boeing employees raised doubts about the safety of the 737 Max, apparently tried to hide problems from federal regulators, and ridiculed those responsible for designing and overseeing the jetliner.

(Read more: Area | derbyinformer.com)

Draft of Downtown Lawrence Master Plan envisions shift to ‘experience-based’ businesses

Within the next 20 years in downtown Lawrence, residents might not shop at a row of retail stores — instead, they might go “play with gadgets, meet with personal stylists” and visit a variety of “experience-based businesses” that offer unique services that you can’t buy online.

That’s the vision outlined in a newly released draft of the first sections of Lawrence’s new Downtown Master Plan, and some city leaders say it’s a reality that Lawrence needs to face in order to adapt to changing retail trends.

Municipal Bond Trends for January 10, 2020

Kansas’ recession hangover drives quest for economic development remedies

Brookings Institution policy director Marek Gootman moderated a panel discussion on economic development with a congressman, commerce secretary and chamber of commerce president.

Gootman, who works to bridge gaps between think-tank perspective and real-world action, ended up stealing his guests’ thunder with a buffet of statistics and theories about how technology, population, education and innovation factored into a region’s ability to match talent to opportunities for growth. And, he said, the metrics in Kansas add up to profound problems of economic competitiveness.

“Kansas and its economies have not recovered from the recession,” said Gootman, who considered conditions best in the Wichita and Kansas City markets. “The rest of the state? Brutal. More than twice as many people who are in that high-skill category than there are jobs to occupy them.”

Louisburg receives grant for Lewis-Young Park upgrades

A number of improvements are planned for Louisburg’s largest park.

The city of Louisburg learned Monday, Jan. 6, that it had received a $260,250 National Park Service grant to enhance Lewis-Young Park.

Improvements include new fencing on A and B fields, lighting and new pole installation on A field, construction of a nine-hole disc golf course, paving the current graveled parking lots next to B & C field and the area around the concession stand, and a pavilion located near the east parking lot at the soccer fields, according to a city news release.

The improvement project also is to include a 1.5 mile asphalt trail from the east parking lot running along the street to the concession stand. The trail will then turn north and run along W. 263rd Street to make a loop, according to the release.

(Read more: The Miami County Republic)

New transportation plan, end of highway robbery shape budget outlook

As Kansas lawmakers prepare to adopt a new plan for funding highways and other infrastructure across the state, the Kansas Department of Transportation is shifting gears with its strategy for working with local communities.

KDOT secretary Julie Lorenz said the catalyst for transportation projects used to be job creation. Now, with the state economy stressed by a shortage of workers, the emphasis is on quality of life.

“We are focused on how do we make Kansas communities livelier and more attractive, places where people want to live and raise their kids, and their kids stay and create forever homes,” Lorenz said. “Transportation investments can be a part of that.”

Overland Park seeks final community input on Strang Park improvement plans

Park patrons have another chance to offer insight and direction on improvements for one northern Overland Park park.

The city embarked on the Strang Park renovation journey in July 2019 when it hired Kansas City landscape architecture firm Viero to complete design work for the park. As previously reported by the Shawnee Mission Post, the city included a $2.2 million Strang Park project in its five-year plan.

Construction is set to begin in summer 2020, but not before a third community planning meeting to discuss improvement plans for Strang Park, which is located at 89th Street and Farley Street. The city-hosted meeting will be held on Jan. 22 at the Johnson County Central Resource Library, 9875 W. 87th Street, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Behind the scenes of Topeka Civic Theatre’s playreading committee

During a typical season at Topeka Civic Theatre, 275 nights out of the year, a production takes place on one of the theater’s stages.

The plays and musicals that debut at TCT can make an audience laugh, cry, scare or think. No one has to second-guess that the actors evoking those emotions from the audience put in long hours to make the production a memorable one.

But a particular group of volunteers, made of up 13 individuals, spends countless hours before a new season premieres making decisions about which productions they think will bring an audience to the theater.

Auburn residents hope to see interchange project move forward

People in Auburn could be getting an easier and quicker way to reach a major highway. A study was done by the Kansas Turnpike Authority and Auburn city officials to see if adding an interchange on I-335/KTA was possible.

Supporters say it would provide better access for people in Auburn. The discussion about adding the interchange first started around 14 years ago. A similar study was done in 2006, but the project didn’t move forward because it wouldn’t bring any net revenue to the area. But, city leaders didn’t give up on the possibility and recently asked for a new study to be done to account for new and anticipated growth.

(Read more: KSNT News)

Bourbon County to ask for continuation of hard surface roads sales tax

Bourbon County Commissioners are gearing up to promote the continuance of a 1-cent county-wide retail sales tax.

The sales tax currently in place funds hard-surface roads projects and expires at the end of the year. If passed, this would be the third time the tax has been placed on the ballot with each sales tax in effect 10 years each time.

(Read more: Fort Scott Tribune)

Laid off Spirit workers to receive help

Spirit announced they’re laying off roughly 15 percent of their workforce in Wichita Friday morning, leaving several people looking for jobs.

Now, the question looms, what’s next for them?

“Under a warn notice, they will still get 60 days of pay,” Keith Lawing said, CEO and president of the Workforce Alliance of south central Kansas. “Then they will be looking to possibly apply for unemployment insurance they will be eligible for that.”

Lawing said the layoffs are temporary, giving the employees the chance to be rehired. To do so, they would have to wait and see when the production of 737 MAX would start again since they cited the uncertainty in that production as a major reason for the layoffs. If they want to leave the industry they can go elsewhere and Lawing said the Workforce Center in Wichita can help with that.

(Read more: KAKE – News)

One of the hottest housing markets in Johnson County fears losing ‘small-town feel’

The last eight years have been good to 66-year-old, violet haired Riedhart, who runs the breakfast and lunch spot with a few family members. And they’ve been good to De Soto, population 6,443. From her restaurant in the two-block downtown, she’s witnessed an influx of new residents, homes and businesses to the town nestled between Kansas 10 highway and the Kansas River in northwest Johnson County.

De Soto is quickly becoming a larger player in the wider boom story that has defined the county. The city’s population is growing. New homes are going up all around town. And housing prices have soared — outpacing the rate of growth in all other parts of the Kansas City metro.

(Read more: Joco 913 News)

Franklin County set for economic boom

Franklin County is on the cusp for an economic boom, the new Franklin County Development Council executive director said.

Paul Bean, who has been on the job since November, said everything is in place to attract outside businesses and for current businesses to consider expansion.

“People feel really good about Ottawa and Franklin County from the outside looking in,” Bean said. “They think we are in a great position and things are going to happen. A lot of people are envious to where we are at today. We have so many positive things going on. You have to have your foundation of a quality community, good workforce, good health care and good education. We have all that stuff. We are very blessed. We are a fortunate community. I would put Ottawa and the county up against any place. It is a phenomenal opportunity.”

(Read more: News – The Ottawa Herald)

Grant to assist with Egerton’s 207th Street railroad overpass received

Edgerton received grant money for a railroad overpass along 207th Street.

The Johnson County Board of Commissioners approved a $1 million County Assistance Road System, or CARS, grant to Edgerton for an overpass along 207th Street at Co-Op Road.

“We are in the final stages of design and property acquisition for the project,” said Beth Linn, city administrator. “We anticipate this project will go out to bid in the coming weeks to secure a contractor for construction. We plan to start the project in this spring with substantial completion by the end of 2020. Likely due to the magnitude of the construction project there will be some work still in 2021. “

The post Grant to assist with Egerton’s 207th Street railroad overpass received appeared first on Gardner News.

(Read more: Gardner News)

Riley County approves cost share for water line re-alignment study

Riley County commissioners gave consensus to share the cost of a re-alignment study for Marlatt Avenue with the City of Manhattan.

City Assistant Director of Public Works Randy DeWitt and City Engineer Brian Johnson say they are preparing a RFQ for the design of a major water line to the water tower on Marlatt. With the pending re-alignment, the city is uncertain where to construct the water line.

“What this provides for us is an opportunity to collaborate with the county, not so much for the water line project specifically. When we design this water line it seems appropriate to work with Riley County to see what this alignment looks like,” DeWitt said.

Johnson says one of the main benefits for the county will be more direct access to Riley County High School. Those residents will no longer have to take Kimball to get there.

(Read more: 1350 KMAN)

Harvey County firefighters creating task force to battle wildfires

Firefighters in Harvey County are fired up about a new task force. It’s called the Harvey County Wild Land Task Force.

A brush fire just south of Halstead Tuesday took crews about an hour to get under control. The Halstead fire chief said they had to rely on help from other counties. It’s an example he said of how a wild fire task force could lower response time.

“If we would have had the complete task force set up we wouldn’t have had to have asked and the times would have been compressed quite a bit probably saved us about 20 minutes,” said Halstead Fire Chief Jim VanSchaick.

(Read more: KSN-TV)

Pittsburg brightening downtown with murals

The city of Pittsburg is seeing some changes.

…

Recently demolition in downtown Pittsburg has been a sight for sore eyes. The former Mike’s New and Used location was recently demolished because it was unsafe.

Just down the street, Artist Bryan Lewandowski is painting a mural on the side of a building to bring some vibrancy back to the area.

“We enjoy looking at all the different colors and advertisements and what’s going on and seeing the artists to their thing.”

Bryan Lewandowski, Artist, said, “I know there’s a lot of diversity and a lot of people that are always trying to push for something a little more colorful and this is a big way to kind of symbolize that diversity that’s kind of growing right now and I think the last 10 years it’s been kind of booming.”

Municipal Bond Trends for January 9, 2020

Porter takes city manager job in Rose Hill

Former Winfield city manager Warren Porter, who left a little more than three years ago for a job out of state, has taken a new job in the area to be closer to family, he told the CourierTraveler on Thursday.
Porter began as city manager of Rose Hill on Monday. He was previously the director of finance for the city of Edmond, Okla. Before that, he was city manager of Winfield for 20 years before leaving in late 2016.
Read more: Cowley Courier Traveler.

Geary County and GCH still looking for solutions to save the hospital

Geary Community Hospital has been in trouble for a long time. At this point, this is not a disputed fact.

However, the hospital continues to try to drag itself out of the hole and it has requested help from the Geary County Commission.

Monday, Interim CEO Don Smithburg and several members of the hospital’s board of trustees attended a county commission meeting where the commission received an update on the hospital’s progress.

Bel Aire council adopts legislative platform

The Bel Aire City Council … adopted a legislative platform for 2020. Some of the issues discussed at the council workshop were sales tax, the tax lid, bonds, tax exemptions, concern for home rule and property-funded mandates, mental health and K-254 development.

New Kansas law requires vehicle breathalyzers to take photos

The new law requires all breathalyzers installed in vehicles for people with a history of DUI’s to take a photo of themselves while they’re blowing into the machine, making it much harder for them to falsify the results

Will White is the owner of Lifesafer in Wichita, a company that installs them. He thinks this change is long overdue.

“It’s actually a great idea if you think about it. I mean we’ve had so many horror stories about people having their kids start it or their friends start it, and there’s still someone that’s getting out onto the street that’s impaired and driving and could injure you, myself, our families, our children… Just anyone. And that’s very unsafe,” said White.

(Read more: KAKE – News)

Parsons to quit offering utility bill extensions

Starting in March, city of Parsons utility customers can no longer get an extension on their bills.

The city made the announcement this week on its Facebook page, which generated lots of comments, mostly negative.

City utility bills — which include water, sewer, sanitation, stormwater and an Environmental Protection Agency compliance fee — are due on the 17th of each month. If not paid by then, the city adds a small late fee, and customers have until the 25th to pay the bill.

(Read more: Parsons Sun)