Municipal News & Jobs

Kansas Municipal News

‘Meet Ike and Mamie again’: Eisenhower Museum reopens after a year of renovations

After a year of construction at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, renovations offer visitors the chance to meet Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie, through a new lens.

The museum, 200 S.E. 4th St., was renovated with the hope of creating a place that attracts all types of museum-goers, from researchers who read every detail to visitors who prefer to skim through Eisenhower’s story.

A dedication ceremony is scheduled for Oct. 12, the same weekend as Eisenhower’s birthday.

Restaurant corridor values drop, homeowners to cover more tax burden

Hutchinson taxpayers will experience a shift in the local tax burden next fiscal year as leases on several commercial properties along the 17th Avenue corridor start to show their age.

Following reappraisals by the Reno County Appraiser’s office, commercial property values within the city dropped this year by nearly $15 million, or about 3.3%, according to data from that office.

Residential values, in contrast, went up.

(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)

Attorney files to move wind-project suit to federal court

The attorney for a wind-project developer has filed to move a lawsuit to federal court.

The attorney for the Neosho Ridge Wind project filed a notice late Friday afternoon seeking to move a lawsuit against the project from the 31st Judicial District Court in Neosho County to US District Court.

The suit, filed by 45 plaintiffs against Neosho Ridge Wind, seeks an injunction against construction of the project, which would build 139 windmills on 44,000 acres in southwest Neosho County to generate 300 megawatts of electricity. The suit was filed July 9.

(Read more: The Chanute Tribune)

City to crack down on nuisance vehicles

The city of Osawatomie is mobilizing this fall to rid the community of inoperable vehicles that are violating city nuisance regulations.

On Sept. 1, city officials will begin notifying persons or property owners found to have a motor vehicle deemed to be a nuisance, according to a city news release. The stepped-up enforcement campaign will run through October.

The city’s current ordinance states that a motor vehicle is considered a nuisance if it is untagged, unregistered, inoperable or wrecked, according to the release.

(Read more: The Miami County Republic)

Newton Police: Look out for door-to-door solicitors claiming to raise funds for department

The Newton Police Department warns of a door-to-door fundraising effort that might be a scam.

Even if this isn’t a scam and they mean well, police say the solicitor isn’t doing this legally and does not represent the Newton PD.

“Although we appreciate the generosity of well-meaning citizens, we also have not been informed directly of any current fundraising activities for the Newton Police Department,” the department says.

(Read more: KWCH News)

Topeka Metro to share facts at meetings about cuts in service

The Topeka Metro bus service on Thursday will hold the first of three meetings in which it will share information and accept public input about reductions in service it plans to make beginning later this year.

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Topeka Metro announced July 15 it would hold meetings in August to receive public input and provide information on its plans to raise fares, reduce services, eliminate jobs and discontinue its bicycle sharing program. Topeka Metro then announced July 24 it was creating a community task force to review the bike program and its viability.

‘I’m glad I stayed’: Three generations of family work in Pittsburg salon

When Brian Hendrickson first peeked inside what had been Beasley Tire, an historical building on the southeast corner of Ninth and Broadway in Downtown Pittsburg, it looked about as far removed from a beauty salon as anything could be.

That was 2002, when his wife, Kelli, was pregnant with their second daughter, Ella — a full seven years before the City of Pittsburg completed a $3 million downtown streetscape project, and long before anyone could imagine the downtown being a destination, let alone a thriving one.

“I could see the potential in the shop and in the town,” Brian recalled. “But this far surpasses anything I could have envisioned.”

Today, Brian, Kelli, their daughters, and Brian’s mother, Nancy, own and operate the vibrant Salon 9 that pulls clients in from as far away as Tulsa, Okla., and the Kansas City area.

(Read more: Newton Kansan)

Tax base from machinary and equipment also continues to disappear

Besides the loss in appraised commercial property values for Hutchinson, the exemption on business equipment and machinery adopted by the state in 2006 continues to cut into taxes for the city and county. The value of machinery and equipment still being assessed by Reno County fell some $5.5 million, or more than 16 percent from 2018 to 2019. That brought it down to about $27.9 million, data from the Reno County Appraiser’s office showed.

(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)

A look at what Lawrence’s new city manager has learned so far, and a peek at a possible debate to come

With about one month on the job, City Manager Craig Owens already has made some observations about his new community.

For one thing, we have plenty to say in public meetings. Owens has been to three City Commission meetings, and booked about 12 hours as part of them. The long meetings haven’t scared him away.

“You care and you should,” said Owens, who previously served as city manager for Clayton, Mo., just outside St. Louis. Such a process may not always produce a quick consensus, but Owens said he’s OK with that.

“It is hard and it takes time, but it works,” he said. “It works.”

Although he’s still probably more of an expert on St. Louis, Owens also has learned something about Kansas City in his short time here. Lawrence doesn’t want to be Kansas City. As the luncheon speaker at a recent chamber of commerce event, Owens said he readily picked up on Lawrence’s “pride in uniqueness.”

Eudora entices new parks and rec director from city twice as large

The newly named Eudora parks and recreation director said she is stepping down from a similar position in a much larger community because of the greater opportunities Eudora offers.

Sally Pennington is wrapping up her duties as parks and recreation director at Neosho, Mo. She has had the job in the city of about 13,000 people 15 miles south of her hometown of Joplin for 2 1/2 years.

“The size of a city has nothing to do with the recreational amenities available,” she said. “Neosha doesn’t have a rec center, aquatic center or ballfields.”

Kansas auditors predict Cabinet-agency IT consolidation to raise costs

The cost to Kansas taxpayers of consolidating information technology services in the executive branch of state government could increase by millions of dollars depending on the level of IT staff retained and the replacement of outdated infrastructure, auditors said Monday.

The Kansas Legislature’s auditing division estimated that continuing with existing consolidation plans for state Cabinet agencies could increase annual costs $2.6 million to $38 million, depending on how many of 230 targeted IT personnel were eliminated because of efficiencies and the unavoidable expense of addressing the “poor condition” of Kansas’ IT infrastructure.

“Their plan will likely increase state costs instead of achieving savings,” auditor Andy Brienzo told a joint House and Senate committee.

Federal grant to enable GraceMed to enroll 8,000 more Kansans into KanCare

GraceMed Health Clinic says it will be able to enroll or re-enroll more than 8,000 Kansans into the state’s Medicaid/CHIP program over three years with a grant from the federal government.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid has awarded GraceMed a grant of $1.095 million. GraceMed will use the funding for enrollment of Kansans in 29 counties in the south-central and eastern parts of the state.

(Read more: Wichita Business Journal)

Pottawatomie County Commission at odds over contingency plan to fill county administrator position

For the first time since Pottawatomie County Administrator Robert Reece announced his retirement, the county commission was tasked with discussing the next steps in filling the position during their Monday meeting.

HR Director Crystal Malchosa presented commissioners with an estimate of hiring a third party search committee to recruit for the position. The county is currently a member of third-party firm ICMA which was presented as the most cost-efficient.

“We’re already a member of ICMA and they range anywhere from $15,000 to $30,000 to do the recruitment for the administrator position,” Malchosa said.

(Read more: 1350 KMAN)

County OKs more than $700,000 in parks and rec spending

Shawnee County commissioners voted Monday to allocate more than $700,000 for parks and recreation repairs and improvements, including $200,000 to make the Lake Shawnee Trail safer in an area that was the scene of a fatal bicycle accident on a steep hill in 2007.

Commissioners Bob Archer, Bill Riphahn and Kevin Cook voted 3-0 to re-purpose $200,000 the county previously borrowed by issuing bonds for other purposes to enable its public works department to flatten a section of the parks and recreation department’s Lake Shawnee Trail, which runs parallel to S.E. 45th Street.

The work will be done as that department carries out an upcoming project to widen a nearby stretch of S.E. 45th. The county currently has signs posted along the trail directing cyclists to dismount and walk their bikes because the hill’s steepness makes it unsafe.

County officials discuss proposed $10 million in parks and rec spending

Shawnee County Commissioner Kevin Cook isn’t against pickleball, he said at Monday’s commission meeting.

Cook addressed dozens of pickleball enthusiasts — many of them senior citizens — who attended to show support for creating a “Family Park” featuring new trails and pickleball courts on county-owned land just south of S.W. 21st and Urish Road.

Cook suggested the three-man commission would overextend the county government financially if it approved Commissioner Bob Archer’s proposal to incur $10 million in new debt to finance new construction in parks and recreation, with some of that going to develop the Family Park in an amount that hasn’t been made specific.

Kansas auditors question lack of rules, transparency of $25 million jobs program

The Kansas Department of Commerce operated an open-ended job growth program for five years that awarded $25 million without defining boundaries for making financial awards and in some cases didn’t mandate a formal application nor hold recipients accountable for delivering economic growth, state auditors said Monday.

Under the Kansas Job Creation Program Fund created in 2011 to provide cash awards to companies to help create jobs and foster growth, the Kansas Legislature’s division of post audit said, the commerce department failed to develop written policy to dictate the size of cash awards and how recipients were to be selected. State law didn’t establish criteria.

Commerce personnel considered the program a “deal-closing” mechanism and didn’t make creation of jobs or economic activity a condition of grant approval for all recipients, the audit said.

(Read more: News – The Topeka Capital-Journal)

Newly renovated Eisenhower museum reopens in Abilene

A museum honoring President Dwight Eisenhower in his childhood home in Kansas has reopened after undergoing a massive, yearlong renovation.

Visitors got their first glimpse Monday of modernized exhibits in the 25,000-square-foot (2322-sq. meter) museum. They feature new graphic panels, display cases, theater experiences and digital interactive stations.

The original schedule was to open in time for the 75th anniversary of D-Day in early June, but the federal government shutdown delayed the timeline.

(Read more: Great Bend Post)

As Rural America Slips, Governors Look for Ways to Help

… governors recognize there’s a huge disconnect between the nation’s superstar cities and rural areas left wondering when the recession’s going to end. Governors of states including Iowa, Kansas, North Carolina and Pennsylvania have started programs to bolster rural economies…

Rural America is too vast and varied to paint with a single brush. Many rural areas are thriving. Still, it’s clear that overall, the rural economy is falling far behind major metropolitan counties.

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In Kansas, Gov. Laura Kelly has created an Office of Rural Prosperity. The effort is beginning with a listening tour of rural areas, led by Lt. Gov. Rogers and featuring several cabinet officials. The tour has already hit 28 cities in eight regions, with two more stops planned this week.

Rogers says that broadband and housing always come up, along with complaints about cuts to state services. “We closed a lot of agencies in rural Kansas, so they have to call Topeka,” he says. “Rural Kansas probably got hit harder than our urban areas did for the last eight years.”

(Read more: GOVERNING)

New broadband map for Kansas coming soon

An updated and finished detailed broadband access availability map of Kansas will be “rolled out” Tuesday in Dodge City, in conjunction with a telephone service association conference.

The end of July was the deadline for Connected Nation’s mapping project, carried out in partnership with the governor’s office and the Kansas Department of Commerce, said Connected Nation’s vice president of government affairs, Brent Legg.

“What it’s going to show is service availability at the street level, essentially, for broadband all across the state,” Legg said.

“Seventy broadband service providers participated in the map, and then we had another 10 who elected not to participate, unfortunately, but we were able to use the data they filed with the FCC to supplement the more granular date here,” Legg added.

(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)

Frontenac files lawsuit against Pittsburg

The dispute between the Pittsburg and Frontenac city governments over a section of Wild Red Road — sometimes erroneously referred to as Wild Berry Road — escalated this week, with Frontenac’s filing of a lawsuit in Crawford County District Court on Tuesday.

According to a copy of the suit obtained by the Morning Sun, Frontenac is seeking a court order that the portion of the road within its city limits — which was built by Pittsburg last year and intersects with East Atkinson Avenue near the Pittsburg Highlands housing development — be removed. Frontenac is also seeking at least $85,000 in damages, as well as for Pittsburg to pay Frontenac’s legal fees associated with the case.

(Read more: Pittsburg Morning Sun)

Wichita officials respond to T-Mobile lawsuit saying, City Council can’t be sued

Wichita officials respond to a lawsuit by T-Mobile against The City of Wichita and the Wichita City Council.

T-Mobile alleges that The City of Wichita violated the Telecommunications Act of 1996 when a “conditional use permit application” requested by the phone carrier was denied by the city.

The suit includes Wichita City Council as a defendant, however, a government body is “not capable to sue, or be sued” according to previous court precedents.

(Read more: KSN-TV)

59th Annual Dodge City Days kicks off

Dodge City Days kicked off Thursday night, celebrating its 59th year in the Ford County community well known for its rich history associated with the Wild West.

The week-and-a-half-long celebration carries on through next Sunday (Aug. 4). You can find further information on the celebration, including a detailed schedule of events on the Dodge City Days website.

(Read more: KWCH News)

Nine counties added to the disaster declaration

Today, FEMA notified the State of Kansas that nine additional counties will be added the to FEMA Disaster Declaration DR-4449 following severe weather damage April 28 to July 12, 2019.

President Trump has approved Governor Laura Kelly’s request to add the applicants in these counties, now eligible to apply for Public Assistance funding to restore damaged public infrastructure.

(Read more: KSN-TV)

State overreach: Local government doesn’t need tax lid constraint

Local units of government – Scott County, Scott City and USD 466 – have crunched the numbers and each are proposing budgets during the upcoming year that will reduce the property tax mill levies.

The three units have combined to lower the overall tax levy by 4.478 mills.

Of course, an increase in the county’s assessed valuation by slightly more than $4.3 million helps, but that’s not the only factor. A lot of credit goes to department heads in the city and county who are careful with the spending of tax dollars. And county commissioners, city councilmen and school board members have been equally prudent.

(Read more: Scott County Record RSS)

Johnson County faces ‘puzzling,’ ‘catastrophic’ threats of plunging revenues

Month after month, officials around Johnson County are watching the sales tax numbers come in, hoping they’ll improve.

It doesn’t make sense. The economy is humming, the tax base is growing and the unemployment rate is historically low. But in the most affluent county in Kansas, retail sales tax revenues — among the key sources of funding that cities use to function — is flatlining or even shrinking.

“It makes you go, OK, well what is going on here? And we don’t have an answer for it,” said Merriam City Administrator Chris Engel.

(Read more: KC Star Local News)

Chief Justice Nuss to retire from Kansas Supreme Court

Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawton Nuss plans to retire in December, giving Gov. Laura Kelly a second appointment on the court.

Nuss announced Friday that he plans to step down Dec. 17 after serving on the court since 2002 and as chief justice since 2010. He was an appointee of Gov. Bill Graves.

During the 66-year-old Nuss’ tenure as chief justice, the seven-member court came under increasing criticism from conservative Republicans for rulings that overturned death sentences in capital murder cases and directed legislators to increase spending on public schools. And the court ruled in April that the state constitution protects abortion rights.

(Read more: 1350 KMAN)

Game wardens help rescue 2 adults, child after boat sinks on Kan. lake

Kansas game wardens helped in a dramatic water rescue Thursday in Jefferson County.

Shortly after 3a.m., Jefferson County officials dispatched a Kansas Game Wardens to a reported boat that had sunk on Perry Lake with at least three or four people trapped out on the water, according to a social media report.

After experiencing mechanical problems and discovering his boat was taking on water, the owner swam to shore wearing a personal flotation device to call for help.

(Read more: Junction City Post)

Group pushing for ban on plastic bags in Wichita

Lori Lawrence with the group, “Bag Free Wichita,” says one of the major concerns with the plastic bags, offered by many stores, is how many are made and the fact that their lifespan of actual use is typically small, even though they stick around for a long time.

“There are already so many plastic bags in our environment that we will never see an end to them, even if we ban plastic bags across the world right now,” Lawrence says.

The Environmental Protection Agency says 100 billion single-use plastic bags are used in the U.S. each year, but they’re only used for an average of about 12 minutes.

(Read more: KWCH News)

Wichita State considering adding electric scooters

WSU Police Chief Rodney Clark says they are taking a serious look at how to safely and legally allow motorized e-scooters on the Wichita State campus.

“The safety of students, employees and visitors is always our top priority,” Clark said in a statement. “We know from increasing usage around the country that these scooters are fun and convenient. We also know they present safety hazards to their riders, pedestrians, motorists, and property. When you put a motor on something, it changes everything.”

(Read more: KWCH News)

Dodge City manager to retire in 2020

After more than 37 years with the city of Dodge City, city manager Cherise Tieben will retire by July 2020.

Born and raised in Dodge City, Tieben has worked with the city since she was 16.

Tieben is the eighth person to hold the title of city manager and is the first woman to hold the title.

Tieben graduated from St. Mary of the Plains College in Dodge City and always has worked with the city in some form.

(Read more: Leavenworth Times)

I-70 truck plaza development moving forward

Graders and dump trucks can be seen doing preliminary dirt work on a planned 40-acre truck plaza development north of Interstate 70 at Exit 157 on the western outskirts of Hays.

But developers won’t start actual construction until they hear from the city of Hays about whether they can get Tax Increment Financing incentives to bring water and sewer under the four-lane divided interstate highway.

“They are indeed putting together the documents they need to make application for incentives for a TIF for infrastructure for the projects,” said Doug Williams, executive director of Grow Hays. “At the same time they are busy soliciting hotels and restaurants for the development … all of that will be submitted to the city.”

Painkillers flood communities – including central Kansas

In Harvey, Butler and McPherson counties, 4 million pills were sent to pharmacies and physicians in 2006, a GateHouse Media analysis of the data show. In 2012, the area received 6.8 million, an increase of 70 percent in seven years.

For the first time ever, the public can see details of who manufactured pain pills and which pharmacies stocked them, revealing exactly what drug companies knew as they flooded communities with opioids that fueled a national epidemic.

(Read more: Newton Kansan)

Rose Hill loses water pressure suddenly; city works to investigate the cause

Butler County Dispatch confirms that several citizens have called saying there is little to no water pressure in the City of Rose Hill.

The city is aware of the issue and working to find the cause, which is unknown at the moment.

KSN reached out to the Rose Hill public works director and the city’s superintendent but have yet to receive any updated information at this time.

(Read more: KSN-TV)

Shawnee Mission preparing for possible impact of ‘dark store theory’ appeals on district budget

TThe ripples of the Kansas Board of Tax Appeals’ recent ruling in case brought by Walmart alleging that Johnson County had overcharged the retailer millions in property taxes have extended to the Shawnee Mission School District.

The so-called “dark store theory” appeals brought by Walmart and other big-box retailers have challenged the method Johnson County appraisers used to value commercial property. Though the issues will likely be tied up in appeals for some time, they’ve caused alarm among local government officials, who are preparing for the possibility of millions in commercial property tax revenue disappearing — and having to pay back money collected in recent years.

Salina first responders concerned about elevated number of drug overdoses

In the past week, the Salina Police Department and Salina Fire Department have responded to nine reports of drug overdoses, which is highly unusual for the city.

According to information from the Salina Police Department, the investigations suggest that all of the incidents are related to methamphetamine, possibly mixed with another substance. The police noted that they have reason to believe that two recent deaths may be connected to the use of illegal drugs and at least five other incidents have resulted in the persons being taken to the emergency room.

(Read more: Hays Post)

Hutchinson Housing Commission seeking answers to rental inspection program

The Hutchinson Housing Commission is expected to make a recommendation to the city council within the next couple of months about the rental registration program.

What that will be is still to be seen. “The committee is looking at how can we incentivize the good landlords…and then hopefully, market pressures will put pressure on some of the bad actors to either change up their business practices or maybe decide is it worthwhile to stay int he landlord business,” Ryan Hvitlok City Planning Director said.

(Read more: Hutch Post)

Moundridge applies to CDBG program to assist The Hub

Blaine Stucky, owner of UN Properties, LLC, asked the Moundridge City Council to apply to the Kansas Department of Commerce for a Small Cities Community Development Block Grant through the Downtown Commercial Rehabilitation category.

Stucky plans to use the funds to assist with renovations to the former convenience store location at 100 S. Christian Avenue.
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Rose Mary Saunders, with Ranson Financial Group, told council members about the scope of the project.
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There will be a brick oven pizza restaurant and coffee shop, with a 1,100-square-foot kitchen and bath flooring and a 5,100-squarefoot dining room.

Patron surprises Erie library with gift

Small, rural town libraries usually operate on pretty tight budgets, and Erie City Public Library is no different.

A few weeks ago, during the library’s summer reading program, the children had the opportunity to watch a movie on the little 24-inch television in the community room at the library.

Following the movie, a woman in attendance asked head librarian Julie Coover Kent if the library had a bigger screen for movies, lecture materials and other things to be displayed.

Kent assured her that was the biggest screen the library had because of budget restraints.

(Read more: Parsons Sun)

In response to resident concerns, Shawnee improves communication on strategic visioning process

After a Shawnee resident raised concerns about Imagine Shawnee, city staff is working to create “a more informed environment” around the strategic visioning process for the city.

Imagine Shawnee is the city’s first ever strategic plan. As part of the process, city staff and consultant Strategic Government Resources are seeking public input on the strategic plan through three “imagineering” sessions — the first of which took place earlier this month.

(Read more: Prairie Village Post)

YMCA celebrates grand opening of ‘Dome’ project in Garden City

The Garden City Family YMCA celebrated the grand opening of the YMCA Dome on Thursday morning, located just northeast of Kenneth Henderson Middle School at 1706 E. Mary St.

The Dome began as a joint partnership with the City of Garden City, USD 457, and the YMCA, according to information on the YMCA’s Facebook page. Both KHMS and the YMCA needed additional gym space so they came together to create a mutually beneficial solution.

“It’s been a long journey,” said a visibly moved Chad Knight, CEO of the YMCA of Southwest Kansas, during the ceremony inside the facility.

(Read more: Greater Garden City » Feed)

Wichita on track for new water plant in 5 years, city says

Wichita is on track to receive a $270 million federal loan that would help pay for a new water treatment facility, Director of Public Works and Utilities Alan King said.

The loan could save the city more than $70 million and allow the project to break ground by the end of 2020. The Environmental Protection Agency gives loans, called Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, or WIFIA, to repair the country’s crumbling infrastructure.

Wichita needs a new water treatment facility because the old one is in bad shape.

(Read more: Local News |)

KDOT announces I-135 mill, overlay work in McPherson County

The Kansas Department of Transportation will begin a mill and overlay project on Interstate 135 in McPherson County.

The project is scheduled to begin Monday one mile south of the Kansas Highway 61 junction and continuing north to the Saline County line for approximately 19 miles.

Traffic will be reduced to one lane with a 14-foot width restriction at the location the contractor is actively working.

APAC Inc. of Hutchinson is the prime contractor and have scheduled this project to be completed by Sept. 9, weather permitting, at a cost of $5.8 million.

(Read more: The Salina Post)

Douglas County will continue using one herbicide for invasive plant in Lone Star Lake, discontinue another that’s likely killing trees

Douglas County will end the use of one herbicide and continue using another for the treatment of unwanted vegetation at Lone Star Lake.

After hearing from public works director Keith Browning during their regular meeting on Wednesday, Douglas County commissioners accepted his plans for herbicide use at the lake. But before that, the commissioners heard from a local fishing enthusiast who argued that some of the unwanted vegetation was actually beneficial.

Topeka Metro gets $1.7 million federal grant for electric buses

The financially strapped Topeka Metro bus service got a jolt of good news Thursday in the form of a nearly $1.74 million federal grant to help it buy or lease environmentally friendly electric buses.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration has awarded the Topeka Metropolitan Transit Authority, which oversees Topeka Metro, that grant to buy or lease of “zero-emission and low-emission transit buses,” Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., announced in a news release.

The grant — totaling $1,737,825 — may also go to cover costs that include the “acquisition, construction and leasing of required supporting facilities such as recharging, refueling and maintenance facilities,” said Moran, who is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Kansas school district votes to protect students from ICE

The USD 497 Board of Education in Lawrence approved a resolution this week in response to recent decisions made at the federal level regarding immigration and customs enforcement, according to the district’s web site.

“The school board objects to Immigration and Customs Enforcement making any attempt to use public schools to interview students or gather information on potentially undocumented students and families.”

The proclamation references board policies related to law enforcement access to students and families’ educational rights to privacy.

(Read more: Junction City Post)