Municipal News & Jobs

Kansas Municipal News

Neighbors want limit on group homes in east Wichita neighborhood

Charles Baughman is taking his neighborhood’s concerns over group homes to state lawmakers. Baughman met with Representative Henry Helgerson Wednesday afternoon to discuss the concentration of group homes in his neighborhood near 13th and Edgemoor.

Over the last seven years, he said at least five group homes moved into the neighborhood, several of them house young men in need of a helping hand. One of the houses is home to former foster boys who have aged out of the system.

Baughman said he’s not against having the homes in the area, he simply thinks there needs to be a limit to how many group homes can be established in a specific area.

“I think there is a need, I’m not against that, “said Baughman, “what I’m against is that you can’t take over an entire neighborhood.”

Baughman said he’s concerned for his kid’s safety after he caught some of the men getting too close.

(Read more: KAKE – News)

Municipal Bond Trends for January 8, 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.

Is that parking ticket you got in Wichita legal? Maybe, maybe not

Wichita has decided to reinstate a controversial parking enforcement practice that has been declared unconstitutional by a federal appeals court covering four other states, city officials said.

Wichita has decided that it won’t scrap a method known as “chalking” tires, a means of establishing how long a car’s been parked in a particular space.

“After reviewing the opinion of the court, we have elected to . . . continue chalking tires to monitor parking,” said a statement from a city spokeswoman provided in response to Eagle questions. “Enforcing parking restrictions is crucial to our local economy – businesses depend upon the public having quick and convenient access to their locations.”

(Read more: Local News |)

Rural Kansans Ask Lawmakers To Fix Slow Internet, Bad Highways That Are Holding Them Back

Rural Kansas communities hope to see roads, internet and taxes addressed in the upcoming 2020 legislative session. But some voters in the state’s southwest corner are worried that these decade-old issues will again take a back seat.

On a Saturday morning at St. Catherine Hospital in Garden City, Republican state House Reps. Marty Long, Russ Jennings and John Wheeler, plus GOP state Sen. John Doll talked to constituents about Medicaid, prison overcrowding and abortion.

Voters, however, voiced concern about what they saw as other, similarly pressing issues in rural Kansas.

(Read more: Rural Messenger)

Study determines central Topeka could support a full-service grocery store

After the Dillons food market at 1400 S.W. Huntoon St. closed almost four years ago, residents of central Topeka’s neighborhoods were devastated.

“I knew it was coming, because me and the manager, Bob, talked a lot,” said Emma Ray, who was a resident of central Topeka at the time. “But it was like, ‘Oh my god. What are we going to do now?’ ”

Ray has since moved to another area of the capital city, but the longtime central Topekan makes a point to stay connected with her former neighbors.

Dog park proposed for Marion County Lake

Marion County Park and Lake is the newest proposed site of a dog park Marion’s girl scouts have been working on for months.
The original proposed site was south of the Marion High School football stadium.
When that didn’t work, the girl scout troop got permission to install it across the street from Ann’s Park on N. Roosevelt St.
The troop’s fence installer said water drainage would cause a problem there, so the troop asked Marion council members if the dog park could be installed at Ann’s Park.

(Read more: Marion County RECORD)

Why Shawnee Mission Teachers – Already The Best Paid In Kansas – Are Asking For More Money

Negotiators for the Shawnee Mission School District and the teachers union are at an impasse and will now present their cases to a neutral party. On one side are teachers who feel overworked and underpaid. On the other side are school administrators who say the union’s demands will ultimately put the district in the red. It’s a dispute with deep roots in the Great Recession and all the years Kansas seriously underfunded schools, happening amidst a national conversation on teacher pay. “We’ve reached a critical point,” said Samantha Feinberg, an English teacher at Shawnee Mission East. “We need the district leadership to know that we can’t do our best for students and for families.” Now what’s known as a “fact finder” is getting involved. Appointed by the Kansas Department of Labor, the fact finder will hear both parties out before making a recommendation.

(Read more: )

County’s bill for autopsies tops $10,000

Marion County spent $10,216 in 2019 to have autopsies conducted in Kansas City and Wichita but there is no good alternative, said Karen Selznick, an assistant in Marion County Attorney’s office.
According to Marion County’s 2019 reports, there were three autopsies conducted at Frontier Forensics Midwest in Kansas City, which cost $5,150 between them.
“It’s just something we have to do,” Selznick said. “We’ve recently had a rash of them, but it doesn’t normally work that way.”

(Read more: PEABODY Gazette-Bulletin)

Another push to save Century II, but will it help?

In an effort to help save Century II, a local group is petitioning to gain more than 5,000 signatures in hopes of moving the process one step forward.

From buttons to yard signs and even t-shirts, Century II supporters are now pushing harder to save one of the city’s icons.

“This is our chance to make a stand,” said Celeste Racette with Save Century II.

(Read more: KSN-TV)

Pott. County Sheriff aiming to improve community outreach, launching new social media page

Pottawatomie County Sheriff Shane Jager (left) and Undersheriff Doug Adams (right) appeared on KMAN’s In Focus on Wednesday morning. (Brandon Peoples/KMAN)

Some changes are on the horizon for outreach efforts for the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office.

Shane Jager was promoted in November by the Pottawatomie County Republican Party from Undersheriff to Sheriff, replacing Greg Riat who resigned to take a position on the county commission. Jager is serving the remainder of the term and has filed for re-election as Sheriff in 2020.

Jager has worked with the department since 1993, spending 15 years as the Undersheriff before his promotion. One of his top priorities since taking over has been improving how the department communicates its efforts to the public.

(Read more: 1350 KMAN)

Topeka City Council OKs ordinance regarding panhandling

Topeka’s city government will ban pedestrians — including panhandlers — from interacting with people in vehicles at 23 of Topeka’s most dangerous intersections, though not at any other crossings.

City council members voted 8-1 Tuesday evening to approve an ordinance putting those rules in place.

Council members Sandra Clear, Sylvia Ortiz, Tony Emerson, Mike Padilla, Brendan Jensen, Neil Dobler, Jeff Coen and Mike Lesser voted in favor of the proposal. Councilwoman Karen Hiller voted against it.

Hiller said she couldn’t support the ordinance because she questioned whether it would really “advance anything” in terms of safety. She said she wasn’t aware of panhandling having been responsible for crashes at any of the intersections listed on the proposal approved Tuesday.

Saline County to pay $800K up front for new road equipment

In a unanimous vote during its 9 a.m. Tuesday meeting, the Saline County Board of Commissioners approved the purchase of the 2020 Caterpillar 150 units from a bid by Foley Equipment.

The bid includes a trade guarantee for the machines, meaning that in five years or 7,500 hours of use, Foley will guarantee a trade value to the county of over $500,000 total for the three machines.

According the request for action document, although there is a high up-front cost to purchase the equipment, the total cost when taking the trade guarantee into account is only $309,297.

(Read more: News – Salina Journal)

Leawood council signs off on final development plan for Ranch Mart North, paving way for major work to begin

The Leawood city council this week approved final development plans for a major revamp of the northern portion of Ranch Mart Shopping Center at 95th Street and Mission, paving the way for substantial construction work to being in the coming weeks.

The council approved a 1% community improvement district sales tax application in April 2019. Funds from that CID, which will increase the sales tax from 9.1% to 10.1% for purchases at stores in the center north of 95th Street starting July 1, will provide an estimated $13.45 million toward the total project cost of $47 million.

Trip Ross of Cadence Commercial Real Estate, which represents the property’s owner, Bob Regnier, who is also President and CEO of the Bank of Blue Valley, said patrons can expect to start seeing work on the exterior part of the project getting under way soon.

Abrupt closure shocks some Basic Energy employees in Pratt

Basic Energy Services, LP with corporate offices in Ft. Worth, Texas, shut down their Pratt pumping operation mid-December, laying off the entire work crew of an estimated 25 employees.

“It was a shock and unexpected. I didn’t see it coming,” said Darrell Martinez of Pratt, who had been employed as a Basic Energy Services driver for seven years.

Rocky Pierce, also of Pratt and another of the laid-off employees, said the shutdown didn’t take him by surprise, given the current economics of the oil field industry.

The shutdown affected 13 Basic Energy drilling operations in six states, with the Pratt and Liberal locations being the only ones in the state of Kansas.

(Read more: Pratt, KS – Pratt Tribune)

City Approves Sales Tax, New Development For Baseball Stadium Area

Visitors to Wichita’s new baseball stadium should expect to pay a little more for some purchases made there.

The Wichita City Council on Tuesday approved a 2 percent sales tax within a newly established Community Improvement District, or CID, encompassing the area around the stadium and parts of the east bank of the Arkansas River.

Revenue from the additional sales tax in the district will pay for the $75 million baseball stadium and riverfront improvements. The city is also using Sales Tax Revenue (STAR) bonds, tax increment financing and general obligation bonds to fund the project.

(Read more: RSS Feed)

Municipal Bond Trends for January 7, 2020

Overland Park OKs arboretum plan, despite higher cost, question over buried artifacts

After months of protest, the Overland Park City Council approved an expansion of the city’s arboretum — despite learning the project will cost more than originally planned.

And though the Council voted 11-1 Monday night to advance the plans, neighbors are still trying to block it, this time with emails from the Shawnee tribe and Kansas’ state archaeologist calling for a study to determine if Native American artifacts lie beneath the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

The expansion would add a new visitors center, outdoor amphitheater and other gathering spaces at the attraction, off U.S. 69 and 179th Street. During Monday’s four-hour meeting, City Manger Bill Ebel told council members the project, which has been in the works for years, is now estimated to cost $17 million — higher than the $12.4 million originally budgeted.

(Read more: Joco 913 News)

Incorporated with only 500 in 1907, Lenexa now boasts thriving commerce, rich history

The city was incorporated in 1907 when the population was little more than 500. Today it approaches 60,000.

Like most of present-day Johnson County, the land once belonged to the Shawnee Indians through an 1825 treaty that exchanged the property for land in Ohio. Gradually, through a 1854 treaty, the U.S. government shrank the area’s size and the American Indians sold off land. The three main trails connecting the East with Santa Fe, Oregon and California wound through the area, splitting off farther west.

Adam Legler built his limestone barn in 1864 close to the Santa Fe Trail, and today it is the Lenexa Historical Society Museum. Legler Barn is home to many artifacts and exhibits.

(Read more: Joco 913 News)

Prairie Village Macy’s to shut down, ending decades of having department store at Village Shops

The space that’s housed a department store at the Village Shops for decades will soon be vacant.

Prairie Village Mayor Eric Mikkelson informed the city council at Monday’s meeting that Village Shops owner First Washington had told staff that the Macy’s department store which anchors the center would be shutting down. Macy’s then confirmed to the Shawnee Mission Post that the Prairie Village store would be closing soon.

Macy’s spokesperson Carolyn Ng Cohen said that a clearance sale will begin this month and will last eight to 12 weeks. Management has informed employees at the store of the coming closure.

Is Seward County prepared for cyber threats?

A new year has started, and for Seward County, the beginning of 2020 could bring new security for its technology.

Commissioners are scheduled to hear from IT Director Clayton Hoover at Monday’s regular board meaning about security awareness training to end users to help them understand how cybercriminals operate.

The training would come from the Tampa Bay, Fla.-based company KnowBe4, the world’s largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform that helps manage the ongoing problem of social engineering.

(Read more: Liberal First)

Organizers expect 31st annual Topeka Farm Show to attract more than 20,000 visitors

Tens of thousands of people are expected to visit the Stormont Vail Events Center this week for the capital city’s annual farm show.

The 2020 Topeka Farm Show began Tuesday and runs through Thursday. Organizers of the event say the show, now in its 31st year, allows attendees to explore the latest products in the farm industry and socialize with familiar faces in Kansas’ farming community.

“They come back year after year to buy again from a familiar face, to find out what new products are coming to the market and to see how the new technology is impacting the ag business,” said Jeff Thill, co-owner of Tradexpos Inc., the company that organizes the show.

New law requires escort vehicle drivers in Kansas be registered

A new law went into effect Jan. 1 that requires escort vehicle service providers working with overwidth or overweight vehicles be registered with the state, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation.

The statute states that escort vehicle drivers must be registered with the Kansas Secretary of Transportation, successfully complete an escort vehicle training course and have a valid driver’s license.

There is no fee to register or to renew a registration. Registration is valid for one year.

(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)

Lenexa advances plans for new commercial building at 91st and Santa Fe Trail Drive

Plans for a commercial office/warehouse building are in the works for a vacant plot of land at 91st and Santa Fe Trail Drive in Lenexa.

The Lenexa planning commission on Monday recommended approval of preliminary plans for Rick Ramsey Building, a commercial project at 12904 Santa Fe Trail Drive. The proposed project would allow for a speculative building for a mix of office/retail and warehouse uses, with a parking lot of 12 spaces to be built on the west side of the site.

City planning staff member Karen Gable said the property previously included a building occupied by a landscape service, but that building had been destroyed by fire and razed in 2007.

Petition drive to save Century II in Wichita starts Monday

A group that wants to save Century II from plans to raze it and replace it with new performing arts and convention centers is putting together a petition drive. Members want city action to have a public vote.

(Read more: Local News |)

Roe 2020 project update reflects nearly $670,000 cost increase, completion date pushed into 2021

The Roeland Park city council on Monday evening heard the most recent update to the Roe 2020 project, which included a 9.7% increase — $666,000 in total — to the construction cost estimate and extending the construction into 2021.

Roeland Park’s Roe 2020 project aims to improve the thoroughfare within city limits, and will be the largest infrastructure project in the city’s history clocking in at a little over $10 million after the recent increase. The city’s engineer, Dan Miller, said there has been significant progress behind the scenes to get the project started.

Wichita City Council approves stadium CID

The Wichita City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to pass the ordinance establishing the Multi-Sport Stadium Community Improvement District.

It is a 2% sales tax that will help cover the cost of the stadium. It will be in effect for 22 years. It includes areas west and east of the Arkansas River.

(Read more: KSN-TV)

Topeka City Council OKs ordinance regarding panhandling

City council members voted 8-1 Tuesday evening to approve an ordinance putting those rules in place.

Parsons honors Vietnam War hero

Outgoing City Commissioner David Larsen received a pleasant surprise as he arrived for his last meeting on Monday.

The city staff organized a reception for the highly decorated Vietnam War era Navy veteran in the lobby of the Parsons Municipal Building to honor him with the renaming of a city street.

Shortly after the short reception, the city commission renamed Conference Boulevard as Larsen Boulevard. The street runs east and west just south of the newly built Parsons Conference Center.

(Read more: Parsons Sun)

Galena Fire Station to be named after longtime fire chief

Galena Council members approve naming the city’s fire station after longtime Fire Chief Bill Hall.

He has been a loyal member of the department since the 1950’s.

It will be named Galena Fire Department, Bill Hall Station #1.

Hall has been the fire chief since 1983.

Decline in global recycling markets could affect Lawrence residents’ utility bills

If the market for recycled materials remains low, the city’s costs for processing recyclables could go up — and so could residents’ utility bills.

The City of Lawrence contracts with the Hamm recycling facility to process recyclable materials, but changes in global markets have led to a significant decline in the value of those materials over the past couple of years.

The city already has been feeling the effect of those changes — it’s received tens of thousands of dollars less in rebates from Hamm’s sale of the materials it processes. But the city will need to negotiate a new contract with Hamm soon, and there could be even more of an impact if Hamm decides it needs to charge more to make up for the sluggish market. The current contract expires next year.

Municipal Bond Trends for January 6, 2019

Mystery drone sightings spread to Kansas

The Federal Aviation Administration is working with state and local authorities to determine who’s behind a series of mysterious nighttime drone flights over northeastern Colorado and western Nebraska. A few sightings have also come from northwest Kansas, close to the Nebraska border.

A Colorado sheriff hosted a meeting with law enforcement agencies and government officials Monday to talk about the recent rural sightings. The drones reportedly have 6-foot wingspans and fly in grid-like patterns hundreds of feet in the air in groups of six to 10.

(Read more: KFDI 101.3)

Riley County commissioners take next steps for the RCPD firing range project

Riley County commissioners took the next steps necessary to begin construction on the Riley County Police Department firing range project.

County Counselor Clancy Holeman walked the commissioners through what a design/build and design-bid built process would look like in comparison. The public works department recommended the design/build concept.

“You can use design/build on some projects, but you cannot use it for most of what public works does,” says Holeman, “You can use it for certain facilities and improvements to real property.”

(Read more: 1350 KMAN)

Long-time employee retires from city of El Dorado

After nearly more than four decades, Robert Simmons recently retired from the city of El Dorado, leaving his position as the Chief Operator at the Water Treatment Plant.

Simmons dedicated his life to providing clean, safe water to the citizens of El Dorado. That part of his life came to an end, as after 46 years he retired from his position at the El Dorado Water Treatment Plant.

His career started more than 46 years ago, on Oct.1, 1973, working on the night shift and continuing his education part-time until finally earning a teaching degree. As part of his job, he helped teach fourth and fourth graders from Butler County about water.

(Read more: andoveramerican.com)

Governor appoints local foundation executive to Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board

Governor Laura Kelly appointed Johnna Norton, executive director of the Mount Carmel Foundation, to the state’s Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board on Friday.

According to a release from the governor’s office, the mission of the board is to protect the public’s health, safety and welfare from unlawful or unprofessional practitioners who fall under the board’s jurisdiction. The board establishes educational and experience-based requirements, as well as rules and regulations for applicants seeking credentialing, the release said.

Norton said she is looking forward to serving on the board.

(Read more: Community – Morning Sun)

County moves toward removing glass from single-stream recycling

Removing glass from Shawnee County’s single-stream recycling operation will bring the county a slight financial gain while allowing for more glass to be recycled and not wasted, county solid waste department director Bill Sutton told commissioners Monday.

Commissioners Bill Riphahn, Kevin Cook and Aaron Mays subsequently took a step toward removing glass from that stream.

They voted 3-0 to authorize the solid waste department to seek quotes from companies interested in designing and building a 75-foot-by-50-foot concrete pad and a 25-foot-by-25-foot precast block bunker at the county’s north annex at 1515 N.W. Saline.

Lawrence City Commission to consider city’s legislative priorities, including support for state tax relief measures

City leaders will consider adding five issues to their list of legislative priorities, including support for a measure that would effectively freeze property tax rates for low-income seniors and a measure that would provide rebates for sales tax charged on groceries to low-income residents.

As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will consider approving its Lawrence Legislative Priority Statement, which it provides annually to the local state legislative delegation and which guides input on proposed legislation, according to a city staff memo to the commission. The newly seated commission provided initial direction at a meeting last month to add support for the tax relief measures and several others, and the commission is scheduled to consider finalizing the statement Tuesday.

Municipal Bond Trends for January 3, 2019

Rural Kansas struggles to attract psychiatrists

Psychiatrists are so hard to come by in some rural parts of Kansas that out-of-state doctors now commonly treat patients through video conference.

The Kansas News Service reports that Kansas is seeing an increase in patients seeking mental health treatment and the state can’t find enough doctors, nurses and therapists to treat them.

One measure from the federal government suggests only nine Kansas counties have enough psychiatrists, and they’re mostly in or near populated areas.

The state passed a law in 2017 adding psychiatry to the medical student loan program, but it’s too early to tell how well it’s working.

(Read more: KSN-TV)

Fearing noisy concerts, Johnson County residents take arboretum protest to next level

With their demands still unmet, neighbors say the fight against an expansion of the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens is far from over.

The Overland Park Planning Commission last month approved a $12.4 million expansion at the venue, off U.S. 69 and 179th Street. But neighbors — who organized over shared concerns and hired a lawyer — have filed a protest petition, sending the project to the City Council for a final vote.

Many people opposed to the project are angry the vote has been tacked on to the end of a long agenda planned for a special City Council meeting Monday night — one week before new council members are sworn in.

(Read more: Joco 913 News)

Former Herington officer apologizes for coffee cup hoax

A former Herington Police Department officer issued an apology for making up a story that a fast food worker wrote an expletive on his coffee cup.

William Darling, who resigned his position after admitting the hoax, issued a statement late Friday to The Herington Times.

“I want to express my deepest, most sincere apology to McDonald’s (in Junction City), the law enforcement community, the citizens and law enforcement officers in the Junction City area, the citizens of Herington and the Herington Police Department,” Darling wrote.

Police Chief Brian Hornaday posted a photo to social media Dec. 28 showing a McDonald’s coffee cup and a receipt with the words “f***ing pig.” Hornaday said Darling told him he got the coffee from a Junction City McDonald’s on his way to work that morning, and discovered the receipt with the words.

(Read more: KWCH News)

Officer recruitment, community policing, youth programs: Cochran discusses plans for Topeka Police Department

Nearly two years into his role as chief of the Topeka Police Department, Bill Cochran said he is staying the course by placing a high priority on community relations and actively recruiting officers that will help the department achieve its goal of being more diverse.

He also continues his efforts to reduce crime in the capital city by assigning officers to areas determined to be hot spots for crime, while also taking guns out of the hands of criminals.

Cochran on Thursday met for nearly an hour with nine members of The Topeka Capital-Journal’s editorial board, where he provided an update on the police department’s policies and goals for 2020 and entertained a wide range of questions that covered areas such as domestic violence; human trafficking; reorganizing community officers’ duties; and enhancing programs for youths in the city, including the Police Athletic League.

Topeka to consider proposal regarding panhandling

The Topeka City Council on Tuesday will consider banning pedestrians — including panhandlers — from interacting with people in vehicles at 23 of Topeka’s most dangerous intersections, though not at any other crossings.

“We’re just essentially asking people to choose intersections that are not as dangerous as others,” Councilman Brendan Jensen said last month.

Jensen was chairman of a committee of council members and community leaders who voted 5-0 on Dec. 9 to recommend the council approve the measure, which is among items on the agenda when the mayor and council meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday in their chambers at 214 S.E. 8th.

Shawnee County considers proposal regarding recycling of glass

The Shawnee County Commission on Monday will consider taking a step toward removing the recycling of glass from the county’s current single-stream recycling operations to be carried out separately.

The proposal involved is among items on the agenda when Commissioners Bill Riphahn, Kevin Cook and Aaron Mays meet at 9 a.m. in their chambers in Room B-11 of the County Courthouse, 200 S.E. 7th.

“Glass is a major component of the recycling costs in our current single-stream recycling program,” Sutton told commissioners in a recent memorandum, which is part of that meeting’s agenda packet. “By removing the glass from the current single-stream recycling operations and transitioning to a separate glass recycling program, we will have a slight financial gain as well as recycling our glass in a more environmentally sustainable way.”

Winfield residents respond to survey

Housing, sidewalks and blighted properties are some of the top issues for Winfield residents, according to answers collected from a survey conducted in November.
Surveys were mailed to residents and were also available electronically on the city web site. The survey received more than 900 responses.
Some questions focused on future development. When asked if they would like more big box stores and chain restaurants, or locally owned businesses, over the next 20 years, 65.5 percent said they would like the local businesses.
(Read more: The Arkansas City Traveler)