Municipal News & Jobs

Kansas Municipal News

Beccy Yocham named new Lenexa City Manager

With more than 20 years of experience serving the community in several capacities, Beccy Yocham has been appointed as the new City Manager for Lenexa, Kansas.
Following a national recruitment and selection process, the City Council unanimously approved Yocham’s contract during their April 16 meeting. Appointed by the City Council, the City Manager works closely with elected officials to set and achieve goals for the community and oversees the city’s professional staff.
When she officially begins her duties on May 1, Yocham will be the fourth City Manager to lead the organization. The appointment comes as current City Manager Eric Wade prepares to retire in June after serving the community for 15 years.
“One of the clear messages we heard during our recent Vision 2040 process is that Lenexans think we are on the right path and want us to continue delivering high quality services and programs,” said Mayor Michael Boehm. “We have great confidence in Beccy and the continuity she will provide for the organization. She has outstanding relationships throughout the community, is a proven leader and is dedicated to serving all of Lenexa.”
Since 2011, Yocham has served as Director of Community Development, leading a team responsible for planning, engineering, building and construction services, right-of-way management and community standards. Previously, Yocham served in Lenexa’s Legal Department in several roles including Deputy City Attorney, where she advised city staff and elected officials on a wide variety of legal matters. Her unique career path has afforded Yocham the opportunity to work closely with every city department.
“I am very pleased that Beccy was selected to be the next Lenexa City Manager,” said Ward 2 Councilmember Tom Nolte. “She is a valued leader that has already served Lenexa over the last 21 years. The ‘Lenexa Way’ will evolve and improve under Beccy’s leadership and, most importantly, continue.”
Ward 3 Councilmember Dan Roh said, “Beccy was one of the first city staff members I interfaced with as a new City Councilmember in early 2018. As a key player in my orientation, it was her responsibility to cover economic development. The topic is somewhat complex for a newbie, but with her excellent communication and listening skills and a deep understanding of how to manage local economic development, she presented the subject in a very clear, concise, understandable manner. Since the on-boarding session there have been countless times I’ve seen her demonstrate these skills, which will be very valuable as she begins her tenure as the new Lenexa City Manager.”
As one of the fastest-growing communities in the Kansas, Lenexa has seen record economic development for four consecutive years. Yocham is one of the primary leaders responsible for the development of Lenexa City Center, the community’s new downtown. To date, more than $655 million of public and private investment has occurred in Lenexa City Center.
“Beccy’s selection is fantastic news,” said Blake Schreck, President of the Lenexa Chamber of Commerce. “She has the skill set, the experience and the leadership qualities to be an excellent City Manager. Beccy has been directly involved with our economic development efforts during these record-setting years and has been a great partner with the Chamber and the business community. She will do a wonderful job for Lenexa, and we look forward to working with her.”
“I am grateful to the Lenexa Governing Body for giving me this exciting opportunity,” said Yocham. “Lenexa is a unique and special community – from our visionary Mayor and City Council to the dedicated and hardworking city employees that provide exceptional service to our residents. It has been my privilege to be a part of this organization for over 20 years, and I look forward to continuing to serve the Lenexa community in the role of City Manager.”
Yocham received a Bachelor of Business Administration, Marketing degree from Pittsburg State University and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Kansas School of Law. Prior to joining the City of Lenexa, she served as Assistant General Counsel for the League of Kansas Municipalities in Topeka, Kansas.
Yocham is an alumna and serves on the Board of Trustees of Leadership Kansas, a prestigious statewide program designed to enhance future leaders from various Kansas communities. She is actively involved with the United Community Services of Johnson County Board of Directors, the Urban Land Institute Kansas City District Council, the Mid-America Regional Council’s Total Transportation Policy Committee, and the Lenexa Rotary Club. Previous organizational involvement includes the United Way of Greater Kansas City, City Attorneys Association of Kansas Board of Directors, University of Kansas Women’s Heart Health Advisory Council Board of Directors, Pittsburg State University Alumni Association Board of Directors, Leadership Lenexa and the Kansas Bar Association, where she served as President of the Government Lawyers Section.
Yocham has received many awards for her service, including Lenexa City Employee of the Year in 2007.
The city will immediately look to fill the role of Community Development Director. Current City Manager Eric Wade will continue to serve in an advisory role until his retirement on June 21, 2019.
“Beccy is an exceptional choice to lead the dedicated team of professionals who work on behalf of Lenexa,” Wade said. “She is a strong believer in the vision, mission and values which drive our employees. I am confident that the community will continue to flourish under her leadership.”

How slow internet hurts rural Kansas, starting with cattle sales

Crawling internet speeds in rural Kansas make trying to sell cattle online exasperating. Instead of uploading photos and videos of cattle for sale from home, farmer and cattleman Jay Young drives to his parents’ house or into the town of Tribune in far west Kansas where internet speeds are faster. Young has a broadband connection and says he’s able to create a cattle listing from home, but the slow internet brings on additional work. “I just can’t post the videos to that listing,” he said. “So, what I’ll do is I’ll email them or I’ll go into town and, and put the photos on there.” In Kansas, rural internet speeds and spotty mobile phone service generate barriers for business owners like Young, hamstringing their efforts to make a living
in an increasingly online world. Sometimes workarounds, like driving to a public Wi-Fi connection, offer an option for taking
care of business online. But that can take time and, in some cases, cost business owners money. Susan Ness and her husband recently went online in their hometown of Jetmore to enter water usage reports required by the state. “It took us two nights,”
she told the Statewide Broadband Expansion Planning Task Force, “to put in all the information.”

(Read more: Scott County Record)

Tonganoxie City Council approves utility vehicle ordinances

Expansion of UTV usage in Tonganoxie moved forward with approval of ordinances addressing the vehicle use.

Tonganoxie City Manager George Brajkovic laid out ordinances and fees that he said staff did a good job of “streamlining” for residents who want to operate the vehicles within city limits.

If the ordinances become official after legal publication in The Mirror, the changes could go into effect next month.

Some of the highlights of updated UTV usage would be that they can only be operated on streets with speed limits of 30 mph or less. They also would need to be compliant with noise and standard traffic ordinances.

Valid driver’s licenses will be required to operate the vehicles, along with a city registration sticker that will need to be displayed on the UTVs.

(Read more: TonganoxieMirror.com stories)

City rejects $3.19 million increase in City Hall renovation funding

Topeka city manager Brent Trout won’t get the more than $3.19 million in additional funding he sought to carry out the first phase of a project to renovate City Hall.

But Trout did see Topeka’s governing body late Tuesday approve amended versions of his plans for capital improvements here.

That body, consisting of the mayor and city council, first voted 5-5 Tuesday evening — with six “yes” votes being needed for approval — to reject a proposal that would have added more than $3.19 million to the budget for a City Hall renovation project.

Council members Sylvia Ortiz, Tony Emerson, Aaron Mays, Jeff Coen and Mike Lesser voted against the increase.

Emerson said he felt most bothered by the size of the project’s proposed budget, given the city’s other needs. He said citizens have made it clear that their priorities for city spending are “streets, streets, streets.”

Sound and fury of Neosho County wind farm dispute reaches state Capitol

Alternative-energy controversy pulsated through Neosho County’s political circuits Tuesday with a force tantamount to one of the gigantic 600-foot-tall wind turbines at the root of this neighbor-to-neighbor clash in southeast Kansas.

Spokes of a passionate debate reached into rural economic development, corporate secrecy, property values, political leadership and green energy. The scuffle raised questions at the Capitol about whether it was time for state government to set standards for turbine setbacks from homes, access to service roads by power companies, guaranteed payments in lieu of taxes and decommissioning of old turbines for benefit of counties without a zoning framework to guide wind farm projects.

This impetus was Apex Clean Energy’s strategy of investing an estimated $500 million in installation and operation of 139 massive turbines and to swiftly gain approval for the project in time to gain the full benefit of federal tax credits.

Hutch City Council tables job incentive policy

The Hutchinson City Council discussed a proposed job incentive policy during its regular agenda session. After more than an hour of discussion, no agreement could be reached and the matter was tabled. The sticking point centered around whether there should be verbiage in the policy regarding job retention and job creation. Councilman John Daveline was spearheading the addition and said such incentives were given to Eaton when it threatened to close and to Lowen when it hinted at relocating jobs elsewhere.

Questions came up whether the extra wording might cause some restrictions in the policy. Council members also worried if the policy was left as is, it would keep the door open to other companies that might not entirely fit the scope of the incentive program.

(Read more: Hutch Post)

Kansas’ stronger beer likely won’t mean bigger buzz

Kansas finally abandoned a Prohibition-era rule that restricted certain stores to only sell beer with up to 3.2% alcohol content, but the stronger beer that’s now allowed doesn’t contain much more alcohol.

Kansas this month ended its law dating back to the 1930s, allowing groceries and convenience stores to stock beer with up to 6% alcohol by volume. Beer drinkers are unlikely to notice a big difference because the outdated law measured alcohol by weight but alcohol is now measured by volume, the Wichita Eagle reported.

Chantel Fletchall, who handles brand registration for the Kansas Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, said that a 3.2% beer measured by weight contains as much alcohol as a 4% beer measured by volume.

Popular light beers, such as Miller, Coors and Bud Light, are between 4.1% and 4.2% alcohol by volume. For a 12-ounce can of light beer that wouldn’t have been permitted under the old law, it might contain just seven to 14 more drops of alcohol than the 3.2 variety.

Regular beers from the same brands have 5% alcohol by volume, which is roughly three-quarters of a teaspoon more alcohol per 12-ounce can than the 3.2% varieties.

But the change still helps brewers, according to Michael Uhrich, chief economist for the national industry group Beer Institute.

(Read more: The Arkansas City Traveler)

County mulls merging corrections, community corrections departments

Shawnee County commissioners plan to consider consolidation the county’s corrections and community corrections departments under the control of the corrections department.

Commissioners Bob Archer, Bill Riphahn and Kevin Cook plan to hear the first reading Monday of a proposed home resolution sponsored by Archer that would make that move, according to information in the agenda packet for that meeting made public this week by the county.

Community corrections had been part of the corrections department until commissioners made it a separate department in 2000. Archer said Thursday that Rebecca Cartmill retires soon as head of the community corrections department, and no succession planning has been performed.

“So, we are returning to the previous model of community corrections reporting to the department of corrections team to ensure strong leadership, results and accountability,” he said.

Archer’s proposal says: “Effective June 1, 2019, the personnel and functions of the Shawnee County Community Corrections Department shall be transferred to the Shawnee County Department of Corrections. The Director of the Shawnee County Department of Corrections shall supervise and direct the personnel and functions of the Shawnee County Community Corrections Department.”

Wichita moves forward with $7 million police station project

The Wichita City Council on Tuesday gave the green light to begin a $7 million project for the construction of a new police sub-station in east Wichita.

The new facility will be built next to the Patrol East sub-station, at 350 S. Edgemoor, that it will replace on adjacent Park Board land.

Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay told the council Tuesday morning that the new, approximately 23,000 square-foot facility is greatly needed to reduce cramped space at the existing sub-station.

While originally constructed for 30 to 40 officers, Ramsay said more than 100 officers work out of the sub-station now.

(Read more: KAKE – News)

City Council votes to narrow McLean to accommodate ‘walkability’ around new stadium

McLean Boulevard won’t be a boulevard anymore where it passes the new baseball stadium, the Wichita City Council decided Tuesday.

The council approved a plan to narrow McLean, now a four-lane street, to two lanes where it jogs around the $75 million ball park under construction at the corner of Maple and McLean.

“It will be reduced to one lane in either direction” between Maple and Douglas, with the intent “to make it more pedestrian friendly,” said Paul Gunzelman, the assistant city engineer who presented the plan to the council.

The overall plan for the stadium district includes a new walking bridge over the Arkansas River and commercial development along the west bank.

“Walkability” has been the watchword, as close-in parking will be far more scarce that it was at the now-demolished Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.

(Read more: Local News |)

PV council considering drone regulation. But the question is, how are rules enforced?

Putting together an ordinance to control recreational drone use is still on Prairie Village’s agenda — but just barely. The council voted 6-5 Monday night in favor of continuing its discussions on an ordinance that some members felt would be difficult to enforce.

The idea is to address the worries of residents like Kate Faerber, who was disturbed by a drone flying low over people in her yard.

“I think drones sound like a really fun idea, but … there’s a potential for harm and danger,” Faerber said.

The council’s majority vote to continue talking about the ordinance comes with concerns about both safety and the idea that people could misuse drones to harass or spy on people.

There was some confusion over what’s already regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration and in what circumstances a city ordinance could make a difference.

(Read more: KC Star Local News)

Leavenworth County population expected to swell

Mike Reilly, owner of The Reilly Company in Leavenworth, said the county population is expected to increase to more than 80,000 in the next 10 years. He said much of the initial growth will be in the extended northwest corridor out of Kansas City and into the Basehor area.

“We are situated in the bullseye of that growth pattern,” Reilly said. “And I don’t think we’ve seen the start of it yet. The county in 10 years will substantially change. Clearly, south county has been a beneficiary of that growth. Basehor has already seen a lot of growth.”

Several factors have influenced that population growth, Reilly said, including proximity to the Kansas City metro area and Interstate 70 and Interstate 435. He said another factor is that Basehor has affordable housing with a small-town way of life and high-quality schools.

Leawood council unanimously approves 1% sales tax hike at Ranch Mart North to help fund shopping center redevelopment, raising rate to 10.1%

The Leawood city council on Monday unanimously approved a community improvement district (CID) sales tax that will provide revenue to fund certain redevelopment costs for Ranch Mart North, located near 95th and Mission Road.

The CID will increase sales tax from 9.1% to 10.1% for purchases made inside Ranch Mart North boundaries starting July 1, 2020 and can stay in effect for up to 22 years. Mayor Peggy Dunn and councilmember James Azeltine noted they had heard comments from individuals who believed the city should not approve the CID, and that public funds should not be used to fund private development.
Azeltine said Leawood has been very conservative in allowing these types of incentives and reiterated that the city would not receive funds from the CID.

“It really has no effect on the City of Leawood’s budget,” he said. “It’s neutral.”

Azeltine also commented that “if you don’t like the idea you certainly don’t have to shop there.”

KGS: Groundwater levels up slightly or near steady in western KS

Groundwater levels during 2018, on average, rose slightly or remained about even throughout most of western and central Kansas, according to preliminary data compiled by the Kansas Geological Survey.

“By and large, 2018 was a good year for groundwater levels,” said Brownie Wilson, KGS water-data manager. “Virtually all levels in south-central Kansas wells were up along with a good portion of those in northwest Kansas, and although southwest Kansas saw a few decline areas in the usual spots, they were not as great as in years past.”

(Read more: Hays Post)

Kansas tells court it should OK school spending law because of bipartisan support

Lawyers for Kansas told the state Supreme Court on Monday that it should sign off on a new law boosting spending on public schools and end a protracted education funding lawsuit partly because the law has broad, bipartisan support.

Attorney General Derek Schmidt, a Republican, filed written legal arguments defending the new law. It contains Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s proposal for an education funding increase of roughly $90 million a year and is aimed at satisfying a state Supreme Court ruling last year that education funding remained inadequate.

(Read more: Local News |)

Retired police chief (and current Maize city administrator) remembers Herman Hill riot in Wichita, 40 years ago

It was Easter Sunday on April 15, 1979 when Richard LaMunyon remembers getting the call of a hectic situation at Herman Hill park near Pawnee and Broadway.

A musical concert was taking place in the park, but thousands more people came to the concert than what the park was set up for. People began parking in the street, blocking in nearby residents in their homes.

Drugs and alcohol were also being passed around.

"They informed me that basically, they had a situation that was pretty much out of control and did not have sufficient officers to deal with it," LaMunyon said.

(Read more: Top Stories | KSNW)

Hutch City Council to consider new job incentive policy

The Hutchinson City Council will seek approval of a new policy for how it grants funds for economic development during Tuesday’s agenda session.

For the past few years, the City Council has provided cash incentives for economic development projects creating new jobs on a case-by-case basis. According to a memo from City Manager John Deardoff to the council, previous councils have been comfortable with this approach, citing more flexibility when looking at the various job creation projects that come before the council.

Other elected officials have cited the desire for a set policy like Reno County’s. For the past two or three years, the city has approved job incentive dollars equal to what Reno County provides based on its written policy that was originally adopted in 2010.

The proposed policy mirrors the county’s policy with a few exceptions.

(Read more: Hutch Post)

Finney County Commission OKs CIP requests

With a consensus approval, Finney County commissioners approved the county’s list of requested capital improvement projects expected to be placed on 2020 department budget requests in June.

All county departments and Finney County District Court submitted requests in February for the Capital Improvement Program spanning 2020 to 2024. With the list of many projects approved, department heads will now submit a budget request to the county with the projects in mind.

County Administrator Randy Administrator pointed to a handful of projects at the forefront of the list, including a $200,000 expansion to the county’s fiber-optic network and $1.56 million in overlay work on Lear Road. The County Clerk’s Office would also receive $90,000 in new equipment for elections.

Manhattan moving forward with Joint Maintenance Facility

The City Commission has given approval to move forward with site acquisition and design of a future joint maintenance facility located on vacant land west of the Wastewater Treatment Plant off US Highway 24. The facility would consolidate and house hundreds of public works and parks and recreation employees.

Currently, operations are scattered across the community in aging and undersized facilities for parks and forestry, street, water/wastewater distribution, and fleet divisions. The joint maintenance facility will create greater operational efficiencies to maintain and grow a high quality of life for residents and meet the needs of the community.

(Read more: Manhattan – News Flash)

City manager: Street markings took ‘a beating’ this winter

The harsh winter in Hays was rough on the streets.

In addition to numerous potholes caused by freezing and warming temperatures, a lot of sand and salt was applied to the streets, and the snowplows were kept busy.

As the plows moved snow to the street edges, the machines were also scraping the street markings.

“Our street markings have taken a beating,” says Toby Dougherty, city manager, “especially on the arterials. They’re very rough and they degraded very quickly over the winter.” Typically, the city improves the street markings as they begin to deteriorate. Employees can do some thermoplastic applications and painting in-house.

This year though, given the scale of the deterioration, the Public Works Department and the city project planner are devising a project to bid “a rather large marking project,” according to Dougherty, “probably a $150,000 to $160,000 project to get all the arterials back into place with professionally applied paint and thermoplastic markings.”

(Read more: Hays Post)

Overland Park residents rally to try and save park gazebo

Neighbors are fighting to preserve a popular Overland Park, Kansas gathering spot.

They don’t want to see the gazebo in Santa Fe Commons Park, along Santa Fe Drive, be replaced. The Overland Park City Council is expected to vote on the plan to replace the gazebo and rename the park Monday night.

The City Council is expected to give final approval to the $3.6 million park renovation.

Neighbors say the gazebo, which is on the chopping block, holds a lot of history, and brings character to downtown Overland Park.

The gazebo was built in the early ’80s.

A grassroots effort to save it and attempt to incorporate it into plans for the renovated park are under way. However, city officials said wood rot and electrical issued don’t make that feasible.

(Read more: KMBC)

Parsons OKs joint drug enforcement task force agreement

The Parsons City Commission approved an agreement on Monday evening that will set up a joint drug enforcement task force.

The commissioners approved the memorandum of understanding with the Labette County Sheriff’s Department and Labette County Attorney Stephen Jones to set up the Kansas Combined Anti-Drug Task Force. The agreement outlines the scope, goals, staffing and budget implications to create K-CAT, a small force that will be devoted to drug enforcement.

Police Chief Robert Spinks gave the details of the task force during a Thursday work session, so the commission had no questions and quickly approved the agreement Monday.

(Read more: Parsons Sun)

Kansas cops to patrol 4/20 pot holiday: ‘Impaired driving is not a victimless crime’

Law enforcement agencies across Kansas will be patrolling for impaired drivers on the 4/20 marijuana holiday weekend.

The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office said the special campaign against impaired driving will run April 19-20 — or Friday and Saturday — and involve cops from Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.

“This has been an increasing epidemic for the past several years … Impaired driving is not a victimless crime,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

April 20, or 4/20, or 420, is the stoner holiday when some people tend to smoke more marijuana than usual.

(Read more: Local News |)

Effort to save downtown Overland Park gazebo fails as council votes to move forward with Santa Fe Commons project

A neighborhood group trying to save the 1980s-era gazebo in downtown Overland Park went away disappointed Monday after the city council voted to award a bid for construction.

Around 30 people holding “Save Our Gazebo” signs had hoped to stop or at least pause a complete redo of Thompson Park because of the gazebo, which was built with a similar look to the historic carriage house in the park. Council members, however, said they had plenty of chances to object during multiple public input sessions held since last summer.

(Read more: Prairie Village Post)

Sharp Hike In Commercial Grain Elevator Valuations

Commercial grain elevator owners in Scott County are protesting a sharp increase in the appraised valuation of their facilities.
A change in the formula for determining the value of storage facilities has been put in place, effective with the 2019 tax year, by the Kansas Property Valuation Department.
It has added about $1.5 million to the value of the operations in Scott County. Appraisal values are up about $1 million in Wichita County.
As expected, the sharp increase in value – and the property tax bill that comes with it – has caught the attention of local operators.

Some Lawrence residents voice concerns as affordable housing board considers density increases

As the city embarks on a new venture in its affordable housing efforts — one involving the first changes to the local development code — some residents are asking questions about how those changes could affect neighborhoods.

If approved, the proposed affordable housing density bonus would be the city’s first land use rules connected to the affordability of homes. Though the draft code changes are preliminary, the concept is to allow two homes to be built on one lot as long as they are designated as affordable housing. That could mean a second home being added alongside an existing home or two new homes being built on a single lot.

Gardner dissolved airport committee, replaced it with advisory board

The city of Gardner has dissolved the city’s airport committee and replaced it with an Airport Advisory Board.
In a March 18 meeting, the council approved an ordinance change revoking the legal authority granted to the Airport Commission to form a non profit corporation to supervise the operations of the airport.
According to Amy Nasta, city clerk, the advisory board will consist of five members tasked with advising the council on matters pertaining to the growth and improvement of the airport.
The board will advise the council on acquisition of property, construction and reconstruction of airport facilities, the institution of programs and procedures which will increase usage of airport facilities and review and make recommendations on the airport master plan.

(Read more: Gardner News)

City of Edgerton to build community center

Edgerton residents attended an open house on a proposed “Greenspace” Community Center.
During the April 4 event at city hall, residents met with city officials and staff and discussed ideas on what they would like to see at the center. The city has set aside $4.1 million for the center which will be located on a vacant lot between the Edgerton Bank of Knowledge and the fire station.
According to Beth Linn, city administrator, the proposed building will include at least two floors of approximately 1,500 sq. ft. each with the possibility of a basement. Construction could begin as early as late August, 2019.
Among activities proposed during the event are a gym, a conference room, offices, an indoor sports facility for basketball, volleyball and other indoor sports, and a shelter in the basement.
During Edgerton’s State of the City address on Feb. 21, Don Roberts, mayor, announced plans for the city to build a new gathering place.
“Both the Downtown Edgerton Plan and the Parks Master Plan confirm what residents have always known. The Greenspace is the right place for the city to build a new gathering place for our community,” he said.

(Read more: Gardner News)

City seal design will remain on vehicles after new flag is unveiled

The city of Topeka government’s official seal adorns its letterhead and the sides of many of its vehicles.

And that won’t quickly change after the design for a new city flag is announced, said Molly Hadfield, the city’s media relations director.

City officials plan to retain the seal design on its vehicles, documents and social media while deciding over time whether to incorporate the new flag’s design into those images, she said this past week.

Hadfield added that city officials see Topeka’s seal — which is adorned with phrases that include “Golden City” and “The Capital City of Kansas” — as being representative of the city government and the new flag as being a symbol for the entire community.

The Greater Topeka Partnership plans Thursday to reveal the winner of a recent, week-long community vote to choose Topeka’s next city flag. The unveiling will take place during the annual State of the Community Event at the Ramada Hotel and Convention Center in downtown Topeka.

Riley County Commissioners approve 13 CIP funded requests to improve county buildings and offices

Riley County commissioners gave their approval for 13 department requests to be funded by the Capital Improvement Fund.

The commission continued their 2019 first quarter CIP session from last week. The original estimate for all requests was $4.9 million out of the $5.3 million budget authority, but was reduced to $3.7 million. The total cost of the 13 requests is $990,700.

Most of the requests come from public works and are facility maintenance for county buildings and offices . A last minute request was made by Public Works Director Leon Hobson for a new truck. This was due to one of their fleet trucks being damaged from a rollover accident on Wednesday. This request was approved.

The list of the 13 approved requests includes:

(Read more: 1350 KMAN)

Johnson County micro-breweries hoping to see 30% sales from food requirement lifted

A proposal that would make it easier to run a brew pub in Johnson County is being discussed as a possible ballot issue in upcoming elections.

The Johnson County Commission are looking into how soon voters might be able to decide whether to continue a requirement that an establishment must make at least 30 percent of its sales from food in order to also sell alcoholic drinks. The rule has been in place since the mid 1980s and has been a major impediment to craft brewers, which have become a popular draw in other parts of Kansas City. The county’s fledgling micro-brewery scene and fans of craft beer are keen to get it changed.

Commissioner Becky Fast said she’s heard from over 40 people, many of them in their 20s and 30s, who would like to see the 30 percent rule gone. “People are excited about it,” she said. Fast and Commissioner Steve Klika said they would support putting it up for a vote.

The 30 percent rule is a vestige of Kansas’ strict alcohol regulations dating back to the 1880s. The state had prohibition until 1948, but eventually allowed counties the option of becoming “wet.” In 1986, Johnson County allowed public houses, but only with the 30 percent rule.

A conversation with Lawrence Mayor Lisa Larsen on city-county cooperation, a new fire chief, downtown growth

Would anyone who lives in rural Douglas County really care if the city and the county merged their information technology departments? Or their purchasing departments? Or their payroll offices?

Larsen’s best guess was that most residents wouldn’t object to that type of cooperation.

“I would think any citizen would want to have their governments continue to look for efficiencies,” Larsen said.

She said some of those administrative functions would be good places to consider for consolidation. After all, is overseeing the computer systems at City Hall really that much different than overseeing them at the Douglas County Courthouse? Such consolidation doesn’t require a new governing body. It simply requires a good, functional agreement between the city and the county.

City of Emporia discusses downtown sound system

City commissioners will soon decide on the installation of a new sound system for downtown Emporia.

Emporia Main Street Executive Director Casey Woods spoke to the city commission about the proposed project during a Wednesday morning study session. The system would be used to play music and relay messages downtown. It could also be used to announce emergencies during events.

“The downtown speaker system is a project we have been working on in Emporia Main Street for a number of years,” Woods said. “We initially worked on a speaker system with Ed Rathke, the former facilities manager, and the technology didn’t quite work out.” The initial purchase and installation would be paid for by Main Street, with an additional $25,000 coming from LifeTime Fitness, which owns the Dirty Kanza. Woods said he was not asking the city for money for the project, but wanted to have a conversation with the commission to make sure it could move forward. Under the current proposal, Woods said the sound system would be donated to the City of Emporia, but maintenance and repair would be handled by Main Street.

(Read more: Emporia Gazette)

City of Horton looking to take over nursing home

The Horton City Commission, during a special Wednesday evening meeting, took action as part of the process necessary to attempt to save the city’s lone nursing home.

It was a full house at the Horton Blue Building, and those in attendance, by a show of hands, indicated overwhelming support for the City to do whatever is necessary to keep the facility open.

The City of Horton was notified at the start of the month regarding the decision of the Mission Village Living Facility Board of Directors to close the facility. Mayor Bryan Stirton told MSC News it’s the City’s intention to keep the facility as a nursing home without relocating the residents. “The City has decided to take the next step to do some more exploring for different options,” he said. “We have two or three viable interests in the facility, so this allows us to continue to move forward. I worked really hard last week, reached out to some different companies that were interested. We still have some sorting out to do with them. It’s going to be a process, but hopefully it’s a timely process. We’ll need funds raised, how to finance, how we’re going to finance this transition, but it can be done with the community support that we just had tonight.”

(Read more: WIBW News Now)

Main Street grants fund new signs in Winfield

Mumford Kitchen, Bath and Flooring, at 715 Main St., has a new look thanks in part to a grant provided by Winfield Main Street.

The Mini-Grant Program provides money for businesses in the WMS core district that would like to improve the façade of their building and add or improve signage. A few other businesses that have recently received grants are Shiok!, Ginny’s Gifts and Get Branded.

To qualify for a mini-grant, businesses must be located in the WMS core district and must be a member of the Winfield Area Chamber of Commerce.

Mulvane cancels school after car crash causes city-wide power outage

Power has been restored to thousands of Mulvane residents after an early morning car crash.
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The Mulvane School District has cancelled school Friday after a car crash caused a city-wide power outage.

Police say a car crashed into a power pole near 103rd and south Rock. The main line that feeds power was damaged in the accident.

Officers say the driver was able to walk home and have someone take them to the hospital for treatment. No word on the person’s condition.

(Read more: KWCH News)

Johnson County breweries, taprooms hope for changes to old law

Breweries in Johnson County are hoping to change an old rule, and now they’re asking the county commissioners to step in and let them vote.

If you plan on getting a beer in Johnson County, you may want to pick something up on the menu as well. Businesses like restaurants and breweries that serve beer or liquor are required to have 30% of their overall sales be food.

“At this point in time there has been no action in the last 30 years plus to make any changes in Johnson County, but several microbreweries, taprooms I would call them, have suggested that times have changed,” said Ed Eilert, chairman of the Board for Johnson County’s Board of Commissioners.

(Read more: fox4kc.com | FOX 4 – WDAF)

Hays, region could draw R9 water by 2022

It might be another four years before Hays draws water from its R9 Ranch 67 miles away in Edwards County.

But when it does, the city has promised the state of Kansas it will draw much less from the sandy soil than when the ranch was used for agricultural irrigation, according to Hays City Manger Toby Dougherty.

“We told them we had no desire to use this source in an unsustainable manner, and so we’ve actually agreed with a 30 percent reduction in our available water rights in order to get this done,” said Dougherty on Monday evening during a presentation on the project to the Ellis County Commission.

“We’re doing something that nobody else down there in the area is doing,” Dougherty said. “No other water right holders are lining up to take a voluntary 30-percent reduction of their water rights.”

(Read more: News – The Hays Daily News)

Neosho County wind project arguments focus on setbacks

Concerned residents of southern Neosho County on Thursday evening wanted to get back to the basics of their argument against a proposed wind energy project — the setbacks.

Lori Whitworth said during a regular county commission meeting that people concerned about the potential Neosho Ridge Wind energy project are just seeking responsible siting of the over 139 turbines measuring more than 600 feet tall.

Whitworth said the county should require setbacks in a road-use agreement that would force Apex Clean Energy, the project’s developer, to build turbines far enough away from nonparticipating properties to allow people to continue enjoying and using their land, to negate a potential loss of property value, and to allow people to live in their homes without health effects.

“I feel like we keep trying to get pulled into things we don’t want to argue about,” Dustie Elsworth said.

Elsworth, who along with Whitworth was on the commission’s agenda, said his main concern is requiring Apex to build its turbines a minimum distance from lakes and wetlands so they don’t disturb fowl.

NextEra reponds to 13 hours of public comment

The Reno County Planning Commission has nearly completed its public hearing on the application by NextEra Energy for a permit to build a 220-megawatt wind farm in southeast Reno County.

The board heard a 90-minute rebuttal presentation from a half-dozen NextEra employees and a participating landowner, and then the planning commission members asked close to 60 questions of the company over the ensuing hour.

Reno County staff, however, deferred presenting its rebuttal and final report until a later date, so the hearing was once more recessed, to resume at 5 p.m., either April 22 or 23 at Memorial Hall or April 29 at the Atrium Hotel. At that hearing, the board is also likely to go into executive session to discuss the application then return for a vote.

The date is expected to be announced next week.

In its presentation, the company attempted to address many of the concerns voiced by more than 100 residents who spoke during the 13-plus hours of public comment.

(Read more: News – The Hutchinson News)

Hutchinson Chamber of Commerce absorbs downtown coalition

The Hutchinson Chamber of Commerce held its second downtown coalition meeting on Wednesday.

Chamber President Debra Teufel says the meeting was part of the continued process of absorbing the city’s downtown revitalization sector into the Chamber. “We’re kind of working through some of the transition as the downtown Hutchinson revitalization partnership becomes an entity within the Hutch Chamber,” Teufel said. “We had about 30 people in attendance, about the same attendance we had last month, and a lot of people passionate about the downtown.”

Teufel says the group has some specific goals for the coalition. “Really the goals of this coalition coming together are to continue to do great promotion of the downtown Hutchinson area and then keep the lines of communication open.”

(Read more: Hutch Post)

Judge orders Australian animal health firm to repay local incentives after abandoning its Lawrence offices

An Australia-based animal health company that received startup funding from both the City of Lawrence and Douglas County has been ordered to repay some of that money now that it has abandoned its local offices.

However, city officials say there’s no easy way for the local governments to collect what they’re owed, because the company appears to be defunct and the money is in a foreign country.

Last year, the two local governments filed a lawsuit against Integrated Animal Health in Douglas County District Court. The lawsuit alleges that the company breached its incentives contract, and the city and county sought to recoup one-third of a $100,000 grant provided to the company as part of the agreement.

Manhattan City Commission planning land acquisition for new joint maintenance facility

City officials will attempt to acquire agricultural land near the Wastewater Treatment Plant for a joint maintenance facility. The City Commission gave consensus to pursue the site off of Highway 24 at its Tuesday work session.

Commissioner Wynn Butler says they’re not building for buildings’ sake. They’ve run out of room for both Public Works and Parks and Rec maintenance staff and equipment in the facilities, and they need significant renovations as well. The net cost of the new facility is estimated at just under $12 million, divided in-part between benefiting department funds to reduce property and sales tax impact. The joint maintenance facility would be on a 36-acre plot in Pottawatomie County near the Manhattan Wastewater Treatment plant.

(Read more: 1350 KMAN)

Marysville City Council restores Koester House Museum’s hours

Marysville City Council agreed Monday to restore the regular hours of the Koester House Museum & Gardens after reducing them at their last meeting.

At the March 25 meeting, Mayor Carla Grund asked council to cut hours, stating the museum didn’t draw enough paying visitors to justify paying a museum employee.

Council members agreed to cut two hours a day, going from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to new hours of noon to 4:30 p.m. weekdays and Saturdays and 1 to 4:30 on Sundays.

At Monday’s meeting, Koester House advisory board member Sharon Kessinger and board president Ralph Balaun challenged the contention that the museum doesn’t merit the current staff hours.

The change came just as the museum was to open for the season and its marketing materials had been printed with the original hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“Every bit of our publicity has said we’re open at 10, including a passport you can get at other museums,” Kessinger said. “Our hours are on the website and Facebook. People traveling through here look on their Facebook or the internet sites and see our hours.”

To replace all of these would be difficult, she said.

(Read more: The Marysville Advocate)

As election on property tax increase nears, advocacy groups spring up on opposing sides of proposed Shawnee community center

Tonight, representatives of the city of Shawnee will give the first of two public presentations regarding the mail-in ballot election to be conducted next month on whether the city will raise property taxes to pay for a proposed $38 million community center. But the city isn’t the only organization trying to educate Shawnee residents about the issue. With just weeks to go before ballots start hitting Shawnee homes, two advocacy groups have sprung up trying to sway voters to their position.