Kansas Municipal News
John Brown’s Underground is proposing a change to Lawrence city codes on downtown liquor sales. The bar’s survival depends on it
John Brown’s Underground, a speakeasy-inspired craft cocktail lounge in downtown Lawrence, has made a creative addition to the local bar scene since it opened in 2014. But a city code that was designed to limit liquor sales downtown is now threatening the business’s future. This rule requires establishments with liquor licenses to derive no more than 45% of their sales from liquor. Passed in 1994, the rule allowed exemptions for 29 existing locations, including Louise’s and Harbour Lights. The code still exempts new bars that open in the same buildings as any of those original 29.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Kansas might let homes take more toddlers amid child care shortage. Critics worry about safety
Corinne Carr has about a half dozen seven parents the waiting list to enroll their children in her home day care business. Changes pending with state regulators would let her take in more children, but she’s not headed in that direction. “I don’t feel that it’s safe for the children,” she said. Currently, a child care operation with two workers can take in four children younger than 18 months. Now the state is looking at loosening the rules so that family child care providers with just one worker could look after up to four toddlers, or children under 12 months old, at once and still enroll two children between the ages of 1 and 5 years old.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Planners begin to outline Chanute’s 150th celebration
Planners for Chanute’s 150th anniversary celebration will meet next Thursday to begin their work. Chanute Area Chamber of Commerce & Office of Tourism Director Jane Brophy told members of the Tourism Committee at Wednesday’s meeting that the 150th anniversary committee will meet at 5:15 pm Thursday, Nov. 10, at the office of Main Street Chanute, which is partnering with the Chamber to take the lead on the anniversary celebration. Brophy shared the results of a survey of proposed events, which the committee will review, she said. It will also set a year-long timeline for events, and plans to be on the city commission agenda Nov. 14 to present preliminary ideas.
Source: www.chanute.com
Municipal Bond Trends for November 2, 2022
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 Bond Advisors, Larry Kleeman and Beth Warren.
Reno County puts liquor by drink without food sales on 2023 ballot
The next round is on the voters. The Reno County Commission on Tuesday agreed to put a question on the ballot this time next year asking voters whether to allow businesses to serve alcohol by the drink without a minimum food sales requirement. The issue was raised in September when Hutchinson microbrewery owner Pippin Williamson ran into trouble with state regulators who threatened not to renew his license because he’d not met the state requirement that 30% of gross sales come from food. The community rallied around Williamson and Sandhills Brewery during a week of nightly events, and he raised more than $35,000 from food sales to meet the minimum.
Source: Hutch News
Garden City discusses childcare crisis
The local childcare shortage was discussed at the Garden City Commission’s regular meeting Tuesday. Community member Brock Kendrick voiced his concern on the shortage of daycare within Garden City, especially among the temporary closure of the Community Day Care Center this week. While temporarily closed, Kendrick said the center is battling through “its last title wave before it’s set to sink”. The Community Day Care Centers Board held an emergency meeting on Oct. 28, choosing to close for a week with the possibility of closing within three to five months if no help is given. The day care has been struggling in multiple areas for some time now, Kendrick said. On the financial side, it’s been operating in the red for an extended period of time, on remaining open until recently because they were using the government provided Paycheck Protection Program funds which were originally supposed to be a loan COVID-19 relief but was later chosen to be forgiven.
Source: Garden City Telegram
Fed rate hikes could go even further than expected as Powell commits to stomp out inflation
Going into this week’s meeting, markets were hoping for a sign that the Fed, after a fourth straight 0.75-percentage-point rate increase, might soon pivot to a slower tightening pace, and perhaps an outright pause. The Fed statement released at 2 p.m. Wednesday suggested it would: “In determining the pace of future increases…the [Fed] will take into account the cumulative tightening of monetary policy [and] the lags with which monetary policy affects economic activity and inflation.” The resulting jump in stock prices and the fall in bond yields was short lived. Soon after Mr. Powell started his press conference at 2:30 p.m., he explained that even if rate increases slow, “we may ultimately move to higher levels than we thought at the September meeting.”
Source: WSJ
Fed approves 0.75-point hike to take rates to highest since 2008 and hints at change in policy ahead
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday approved a fourth consecutive three-quarter point interest rate increase and signaled a potential change in how it will approach monetary policy to bring down inflation. In a well-telegraphed move that markets had been expecting for weeks, the central bank raised its short-term borrowing rate by 0.75 percentage point to a target range of 3.75%-4%, the highest level since January 2008. The move continued the most aggressive pace of monetary policy tightening since the early 1980s, the last time inflation ran this high.
Source: CNBC – Bonds
Washington County to receive almost $1.6 million from wind farm over next decade
Towers will be at least 1,500 feet from non-participating occupied primary residential dwellings and 1.2 times the tower height away from non-participating property lines from the center of the base of the tower. Towers will be setback at least 1.1 times the tower height plus 30 feet from any county, township, state or federal right-of way currently in existence, excluding private roads. No turbines will be installed within a mile of a town. Four agreements with High Banks Wind, LLC, were unanimously signed by the Washington County Commission on Monday for the High Banks Wind Project, including a development agreement, road use agreement, contribution agreement and decommissioning agreement.
Source: Backroads News
Panasonic breaks ground on massive De Soto battery plant predicted to transform KC region
Panasonic officially started construction of a new electric vehicle battery plant in De Soto, Kansas, on Wednesday. It’s the largest economic development project in the history of Kansas. The Japanese company said it will begin mass producing batteries in De Soto for the booming electric vehicle market by March 2025. Panasonic said building cylindrical “2170” lithium-ion batteries in De Soto will spur innovation and provide critical production capacity to fuel economic growth and other opportunities for the entire region.
Source: fox4kc.com | FOX 4 – WDAF
City of Emporia set to rollout new mass notification system Monday
The city of Emporia is set to expand communication with local residents with the rollout of a new mass notification system. According to City Communications Manager Christine Johnson during the Emporia City Commission’s regular action/study meeting Wednesday, beginning next week the city will be utilizing the CodeRed mass notification system for non-life threatening emergency situations and general notifications. This includes water line breaks, street closures and the like. Johnson says increased communication with local residents has been a major goal for the city in recent months and this is a great tool to help reach that goal.
Source: KVOE Emporia Radio
Osawatomie celebrates trail grant
Representatives of federal, state and local government agencies joined members of the community on Saturday, Oct. 29, to celebrate a $24.8 million federal grant recently awarded to improve and expand the Flint Hills Trail State Park, which begins at the Mile Zero trailhead in Osawatomie. The Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant will help make infrastructure improvements on 40.5 miles of the trail and open 27 new miles of the trail, from Council Grove to Herington, according to a news release.
Source: republic-online.com
Grant will increase high-speed internet in 2 counties
Blue Valley Technologies has received another major grant to boost high-speed internet in Marshall and Washington counties. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s rural development office will provide $3,066,752 for faster web access by deploying fiber inside the city limits of Frankfort, Waterville, Hanover and Washington. About 3,000 people along with 255 business and 14 educational facilities will benefit from this area’s project, according to BVT and USDA news releases. “High-speed internet is essential for success in education, health care and business in the 21st century,” said Christy Davis, Kansas director for USDA rural development.
Source: The Marysville Advocate
Municipal Bond Trends for November 1, 2022
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 Bond Advisors, Larry Kleeman and Beth Warren.
Pottawatomie County approve raises for employees
Pottawatomie County commissioners approved a second cost of living adjustment for its employees Monday. The move will give county employees an overall 10 percent boost in their COLAs after the commission OK’d a 3.5 percent increase in July. The county deferred any additional increases to see if inflation concerns would diminish. County Administrator Chad Kinsley noted department heads began tightening their belts to ensure they could take on the adjustment for the remainder of the year. The commission already had approved a 6.5 percent COLA for the 2023 budget, amounting to roughly $1 million.
Source: 1350 KMAN
Sedgwick celebrates Halloween with downtown activities
Sedgwick held its third-annual Trunk or Treat on Halloween evening, closing down Commercial Street so trick-or-treaters could safely walk the streets and collect candy from residents and businesses alike. Activities included decorated trunks, candy distribution, a haunted tunnel, and free hot dogs.
Source: Harvey County Now
Wichita plans to replace two tennis courts with six pickleball courts at east-side park
Picklers just scored a key victory in the ongoing turf war between Wichita’s pickleball and tennis communities over the use of city parks facilities. The Wichita City Council on Tuesday approved the conversion of two tennis courts at Edgemoor Park into six more pickleball courts. Parks and Recreation Director Troy Houtman said the problem with the six existing pickleball courts at Edgemoor is there are no court lights, limiting their use in the evenings.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Wichita and Coffey County are competing for Kansas megaproject incentives, sources say
Wichita appears to be competing with Coffey County for a massive state subsidy package aimed at helping Kansas land billion-dollar “megaprojects” — the same incentives program used in July to lure Panasonic to the Kansas City area. It’s a competition because APEX incentives can go to only one more project before the program expires at the end of 2023. To qualify, companies must agree to spend $1 billion or more to expand operations or relocate their headquarters anywhere in Kansas.
Source: Wichita Eagle
Governor Laura Kelly Announces $1M For Central Kansas Affordable Housing Development
Governor Laura Kelly today announced $1 million will be going to the City of Russell to increase affordable and moderate-income housing options in central Kansas. Russell is using the funds, allocated through the bipartisan House Bill 2510 Governor Kelly signed this past May, to redevelop the former Holland Hotel into loft-style apartments. “Across Kansas, we are expanding housing in innovative ways so every Kansas family can afford to put a roof over their head – and so we can attract and retain the workers needed to continue our record-breaking economic success,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “I applaud the City of Russell for finding a solution that preserves their history and benefits future generations.”
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce
Worthwhile book digs into Cowley’s 100 year history
Who knew that Cowley College started out in 1922 and was referred by first-time students as “BU” or Basement University, due to the first classes being held in the lower level of the Arkansas City Senior High Building? Or that Renn Memorial Library is named after Oscar Renn, who was the head of the new Social Sciences Department in the fall of 1923? Between the Roaring Twenties is a new book authored and compiled by the Cowley College Centennial Book Committee, and it is a truly fascinating trip through a century of life in Ark City.
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler