Kansas Municipal News
Sedgwick’s city park is getting several new additions soon
The Sedgwick city maintenance crew laid the foundation last week at the city park for what will be the new playground equipment recently purchased by the city. The playground is called the flying alpine by Actively Play and includes two straight slides, a double straight slide, a sectional left turn slide, a sectional right turn slide, a honeycomb climber, net climber, upright snake climber, tic tac toe panel, gear panel, storefront panel, drum, and a rain wheel. “We’re not lacking for slides,” Mayor Bryan Chapman joked about the new playset.
Source: Harvey County Now
Sedgwick County jail critically understaffed, sheriff says as he seeks to boost deputy pay
The Sedgwick County Jail is experiencing critical staffing levels, with the deputy to inmate ratio more than double the national jail standard recommended average of one deputy to 30 inmates, Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter says. The jail now is staffing one deputy for about 69 to 75 inmates, according to Easter, who plans to ask the Sedgwick County Commission on Wednesday to increase starting pay for detention deputies by more than $4 an hour, from $19.34 to $23.50. The jail is budgeted to have 228 detention deputies but currently has 113 unfilled positions, according to Easter.
Source: Wichita Eagle
It’s proving increasingly hard to hire cops in Kansas — and to avoid losing them to other jobs
The Dodge City Police Department struggles to keep officers. Stress, in an era where police complain they’ve become pariahs, only makes it harder to hire and keep officers on patrol. All that turnover means more work for the officers that remain, which could bring on more burnout. “We asked these people to do so much more with less staff,” said Deputy Police Chief Jerad Goertzen. “When we’re putting so much more on them and asking them to do more, (it) seems like burnout is hitting a little bit earlier.” A week after making that observation, two more people had put in their resignation letters. Law enforcement agencies across the country are straining to hire. Job postings that used to get hundreds of applicants now have a fraction of the interest. Officers are logging more overtime, morale is low and jails are struggling. Sedgwick County, for instance, is spending $2.3 million to install cameras in its jail to compensate for the people it can’t hire.
Source: KCUR News
Municipal Bond Trends for August 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.
Free land? How about a free house? Kansas town tries a little of everything to grow
If you’re looking for evidence of rural decay and postindustrial decline in this dusty north-central Kansas town, you can find it. The last remaining manufacturing employer, US Tower, closed its facility during the pandemic, putting about 25 local workers out of a job. On the edge of town lies a subdivision without any houses, a barren reminder of a free land program that has failed to attract much interest. In the middle of the day, the shutting of a car door echoes for blocks, bouncing between the aging two-story buildings that bracket Lincoln Avenue downtown. Many are vacant.
Source: Wichita Eagle
Damaged Andover elementary school ready for new semester
Students are set to return to Prairie Creek Elementary School on August 11. The Andover school was damaged in the April 29 tornado, and workers have been making repairs since then. The school has been closed since the tornado, and students had to finish the semester elsewhere. Work is not expected to be completely done by the first day of school, but the building will be usable.
Source: 101.3 KFDI
New medical school opens in downtown Wichita
A new medical school is opening in downtown Wichita with its first class of 91 students. The Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine is located in the former State Office Building at Broadway and William. It has 116,000 square feet with classrooms, labs, and workshops as well as examination rooms that will allow students to simulate experiences working with patients. Students went through orientation on Friday and classes will begin Monday. There are 18 students from Wichita and Kansas. The school is planning for 127 students next year, and 170 students each year after that.
Source: 101.3 KFDI
Mission city planners approve apartment project at former JCPenney call center site
The former JCPenney call center in Mission has sat vacant nearly two decades, but city planners and Block Real Estate Services LLC are working to change that. The Mission Planning Commission recently gave unanimous approval for the developer’s preliminary plan and final plat to construct a four- to five-story, 307-apartment building on a 5-acre site at 5665 Foxridge Drive. The site includes the former one-story, 39,825-square-foot call center, which was built in 1970. With an average unit size of 974 square feet, the building will include 185 one-bedrooms, 112 two-bedrooms and 10 three-bedroom options. Amenities include an outdoor pool and courtyard, fitness facility, bocce ball court, putting green and a pickleball court, according to city documents.
Source: Kansas City Business Journal
City to consider supporting new historic district in historically-Black area
Manhattan city commissioners on Tuesday will consider signing a letter to support creating a historic district in an important area for the Black community. …The letter would support the nomination of the 900 block of Yuma Street for the state and national Register for Historic Places. The buildings in the proposed district include the Douglass Community Center (former site of United Service Organization built in 1939), Douglass Center Annex (Douglass School in 1939), Pilgrim Baptist Church (Second Baptist Church in 1911) and the Kaw Blue Masonic Lodge (Shepard’s Chapel in 1916).
Source: themercury.com
Butler launching new Fire Academy in fall 2022
Zachary Lindsey knows firsthand what Butler Community College’s Fire Science program teaches. He started his Fire Science education at Butler and spent 17 years in the fire service in North Carolina. Lindsey, originally from Eureka and a Bluestem High School graduate, returned to Kansas in early 2020 and is now head of Butler’s Fire Science program. Since taking over the program, he’s been innovating to give Butler Fire Science students greater leverage in the marketplace. His most recent innovation is the creation of the Butler Fire Academy – designed to train students to be firefighters in 16 weeks. It’s a heavy lift but needed, according to Lindsey.
Source: Derby Informer | Area
Great Bend council drops idea of stipends
After much discussion Monday night, some heated, it was clear the many on the governing body, including four council members and the mayor, opposed the of offering stipends to entice more people to run for the city offices. Although divisions amongst the council members remained, it was the consensus following a work session that the matter be laid to rest. The idea of the city offering some sort of benefit as an enticement first arose at the June 20 meeting, raised by Ward 1 City Councilwoman Lindsey Krom-Craven. It surfaced again at the next meeting July 5. City Administrator Kendal Francis said Monday he had polled other cities, asking what they did. Most that responded offered some form of pay, ranging from a few dollars to over $900 per month with benefits.
Source: Great Bend Tribune
JoCo approves $4.6M for retention bonuses for sheriff’s office and corrections workers
The Johnson County Board of County Commissioners last week unanimously approved the use up to $4.6 million in county reserve funds to pay for retention bonuses for sheriff”s office and corrections department employees. The move aims to address ongoing challenges these departments have faced and attracting and retaining workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding will go toward the sheriff’s office and corrections department — both of which, county staff said, don’t have the means in their existing budgets to pay for retention incentives.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Municipal Bond Trends for July 29, 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.
The Kansas Supreme Court rules that police can be liable when their actions injure a bystander
The Kansas Supreme Court has reversed a lower court decision that shielded a Wichita police officer from criminal charges when he shot at a dog and a young girl was injured. Former Wichita police officer Dexter Betts was responding to a domestic disturbance call when a dog lunged at him, his attorneys say. Betts shot at the dog, but missed. Bullet fragments hit someone behind the animal. Betts was charged with reckless aggravated battery in 2018, but prosecution was blocked because a court ruled he qualified for statutory immunity — a provision in state law that protects officers from prosecution for doing their jobs. The Kansas Supreme Court disagreed, and in an opinion by Justice Dan Biles sent the case back to a trial court.
Source: KCUR News
Lawrence to swap all 15-minute parking stalls for 2-hour stalls
The City of Lawrence will soon convert all 19 of its short-term parking stalls to two-hour spots. The city’s 15-minute stalls have been underutilized compared to the two-hour ones, according to a city news release Friday. “When introduced, the 15-minute time frame was intended to encourage high frequency turnover rates for visitors when picking up or dropping off items at Downtown Lawrence storefronts,” according to the release. “… Because the two-hour parking stalls can also be used for short-term parking needs, the City made the decision to convert all 19 of the current 15-minute parking stalls to two-hour parking stalls.”
Source: The Lawrence Times
Johnson County commissioners approve spending over $4.6 million for retention bonuses
Johnson County commissioners on Thursday approved funding for up to $3,000 in retention bonuses to combat staff vacancies in the sheriff and corrections departments due to a labor shortage. In an unanimous vote, commissioners agreed to spend more than $4.6 million over the next two years to help those agencies retain staff. The money is coming from the Countywide Support Funds reserves. “We are struggling, at least in some areas of the organization, to be able to recruit and retain,” said Maury Thompson, interim director of the human resources department.
Source: KC Star Local News
Osawatomie Completes Levee Certification
The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was pleased to announce they have accepted the accreditation materials for the City of Osawatomie levee system! Wood Environment and Infrastructure Solutions, Inc. submitted the materials on behalf of the City of Osawatomie and was a tremendous partner in completing the accreditation. Now that the accreditation has completed, FEMA will produce a new countywide Flood Insurance Study (FIS) report and Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for Miami County, Kansas. The levee will be shown as fully accredited on this future FIRM.
Source: City of Osawatomie
Governor Laura Kelly Announces Cybersecurity Company to Move Headquarters to Kansas
Governor Laura Kelly today announced cybersecurity company Novacoast is relocating its corporate headquarters to Wichita from Santa Barbara, California. The company plans to bring 100 new high-tech jobs to the state and help make Wichita a center for cybersecurity training. The announcement comes as Governor Kelly embarks on her “Prosperity on the Plains” economic tour talking with business leaders across Kansas about how to continue her administration’s record-breaking economic success. “I’m thrilled Novacoast is moving its headquarters to Wichita and creating 100 high-tech jobs for Kansans,” Governor Kelly said. “More and more companies are choosing to come to our state because they’ve seen that our talented workforce, strong infrastructure, and pro-business climate will help them grow and succeed.”
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce » Press Releases Category Feed
McPherson approves further restrictions on water park
The McPherson City Commission set new hours for the McPherson Water Park for the remainder of the season during their meeting on Tuesday. Staffing issues have persisted at the facility, a joint venture between the city and the McPherson Recreation Commission, notably with regard to lifeguards. It’s a component of an issue that affects aquatic centers all around the country. The water park’s new hours for Tuesday through Friday will be 1 to 5 p.m. The water park will continue to be closed on Mondays to wrap up the season. The park will be open on Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. and on Sunday from 2 to 6 p.m.
Source: McPherson Weekly News » Feed
Nicodemus, Kansas’ historic Black town, celebrating 144 years
The town of Nicodemus in northwest Kansas is holding a big celebration this weekend and is inviting people to stop and visit. The Nicodemus Homecoming Emancipation Celebration LLC Committee is holding its annual homecoming weekend to honor its 144 years of heritage and history. As many of the town’s initial population has relocated, descendants of Nicodemus come back every July to celebrate the community’s history, educate the next generation, and get together with old friends and family. This celebration will feature a parade, food vendors, games, live music, a 5k run/walk, pancake feed, karaoke, and more through July 31.
Source: KSN-TV