Kansas Municipal News
Event At Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum Celebrates Wichita’s 152nd Birthday
The Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum celebrates special 152st birthdays: The City of Wichita was officially “born” July 21, 1870, just 3 months after the establishment of Sedgwick County Kansas. The Historical Museum is the place to celebrate local history year-round and opens with free admission for the weekend in return for a Birthday Card to any of Sedgwick County’s. The event will be held on Saturday July 23rd and Sunday, July 24th from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum, located at 204 S. Main. Visit www.wichitahistory.org for more info.
Source: 101.3 KFDI
Municipal Bond Trends for July 15, 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.
Amid rising job vacancies, Lawrence city manager’s recommended budget includes $4.2M for employee raises
One of the priorities in the city manager’s recommended budget is improving pay for city employees, and the budget allocates $4.2 million toward raises. The 2022 budget included $5 million to increase pay, and City Manager Craig Owens said the $4.2 million included in the recommended budget would conclude a multiyear plan to bring city wages to market-competitive rates. Owens named employee compensation as one of a few priorities in the budget.
Source: LJWorld
Lawrence leaders to consider regulations and fees for long-term parklet program; $1,000 per parking stall proposed
City leaders will soon consider proposed limitations, design criteria and fees for a program that would allow businesses to construct patios and outdoor dining areas in downtown parking stalls on a permanent basis. As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will consider adopting an ordinance establishing the permanent program, which will establish various regulations and charge businesses $1,000 per year per parking stall used. The city initiated a temporary version of the program at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, and commissioners previously indicated they wanted to develop the permanent version and hired an architecture firm to help develop the draft ordinance.
Source: LJWorld
Will deal charge Kansas economy?
The news Wednesday that global technology giant Panasonic would be building a $4 billion electric vehicle battery plant in De Soto was treated as the biggest economic win for Kansas since an Abilene farmer started the trend of planting winter wheat in the 1870s. … officials now will have to answer the question of what comes next, both for the project and Kansas’ economic development landscape. … Patrick Lowry, a spokesperson for the Kansas Department of Commerce, said there are currently eight proposed megaprojects “in the pipeline.” “Industries range from advanced manufacturing to data centers to renewable energy with capital investment amounts ranging from $1 billion to $3 billion,” Lowry said in an email.
Source: Hutch News
Even at $200,000 a job, Kansas paid below the going rate in its deal to land a Panasonic factory
Even at roughly $200,000 per job, analysts say the tax breaks and other incentives Kansas put on the table to bring Panasonic’s battery-making plant to De Soto fall short of the giveaways other states have made in recent years. Still, the tax dollars devoted to bringing the $4 billion electric vehicle battery plant to Johnson County bust any records in Kansas for tempting a business to the state. And few details have been made public about the $829 million incentive plan that was negotiated behind closed doors. The factory will be the largest economic development plan in Kansas history. The company is promising 4,000 jobs subsidized at the rate of $200,000 per worker. Additionally, the package to Panasonic appears to be the fourth largest in the country since 2018, according to a subsidy tracker from Good Job’s First, a group largely skeptical about government giveaways to businesses.
Source: KCUR News
Wichita Public Library partners with USD 259 to bring students eCards
Wichita Public Library announced Thursday that through a partnership with Wichita Public Schools (USD 259), parents and caregivers can now opt-in their child for a library eCard at enrollment. When a student opts in for an eCard, they will be able to use their student ID as their library card and have the ability to access the library’s collection of eBooks, audiobooks, and research databases. In addition, their account will be active until they graduate high school and transition to a library card of their choice.
Source: KSN-TV
Weekend attractions bring people, revenue to Topeka
Country Stampede is back in Topeka, marking the third time Top City has hosted one of the biggest country concerts in the state. This weekend’s festivities kicked off with a pre-party, including performances from Drew Parker and Colt Ford. Early campers were able to pretend Wednesday’s concerts, and those individuals represent just a few of the thousands who are expected to be in town this weekend. “Country Stampede averages about 20,000 people a day,” said Shelby Ebert of Country Stampede Marketing. “There are years that are better than that, which is amazing. We’re expecting a really large crowd this weekend — we’re hoping for that. We’re excited for everybody to come out and see what we’ve got going on.”
Source: KSNT 27 News
Municipal Bond Trends for July 14, 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.
Contain the Rain Workshop
Johnson County’s Contain the Rain Program invites you to attend a workshop on stormwater containment, hosted by Bridging The Gap and Johnson County Community College’s Center for Sustainability. This workshop will take place in the Regnier Center Building, Room 101, on the Johnson County Community College Campus: 12345 College Blvd, Overland Park, KS 66210. Bridging The Gap will review many of the tools and solutions you can implement on your property to help capture stormwater and mitigate runoff. We will also discuss the benefits of stormwater capture and why it is so beneficial for our communities. Registration for the workshop is free, and we will discuss the reimbursement opportunities cities of Johnson County provide to their residents for implementing these stormwater solutions. Visit www.containtherainjoco.com for details on the reimbursement program, and register for the free workshop.
Source: Johnson County Kansas |
Jowers hired as permanent superintendent of USD 386
Although he’s not new to the building, there is officially a new man in charge as Jeff Williams made a motion to approve Stephen Jowers as Superintendent. He was hired during Monday’s annual reorganizational meeting of USD 386. Jowers is not new to the role — he was superintendent-in-waiting while he obtained certification that was needed to officially serve in that capacity. He has worked closely under interim-superintendent Michael Argabright over the last year. Now that he is certified, he will be acting on his own for the 2022-23 school year.
Source: Emporia Gazette
Fed Governor Waller says he’s open to ‘larger’ rate hike this month than in June
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said he’s willing to consider what would be the most aggressive interest rate hike in decades at the central bank’s meeting later this month. While Waller said he supports a 75 basis point hike at the July 26-27 meeting, he will be watching data and keeping an open mind about what the Fed should do to control inflation, which is running at its fastest pace since 1981. … If that data comes in materially stronger than expected, it would make me lean towards a larger hike at the July meeting to the extent it shows demand is not slowing down fast enough to get inflation down.”
Source: CNBC – Bonds
Where is De Soto? Here are 4 things to know about Kansas’ new Panasonic battery factory
This week Gov. Laura Kelly announced that the Japanese company Panasonic will be building a $4 billion factory in De Soto, Kansas. This factory will focus on building batteries for electric vehicles and will bring over 4,000 jobs to De Soto. Here’s what you need to know about De Soto, Kansas, and the new Panasonic factory on the way. De Soto is a small city in Johnson and Leavenworth counties. The city is northwest of Olathe and is about a 30 minute drive from Kansas City proper. It also sits along the south bank of the Kansas River. The town has a population of just over 6,300 people, according to 2021 estimates from the Census Bureau. The Panasonic factory will be taking over the old 9,000 acre Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant, which closed in 1992. In January, De Soto annexed 6,000 acres of land from the site, in preparation for the development of the Panasonic plant, The Star reported.
Source: KC Star Local News
Panasonic’s $4 billion electric vehicle battery factory will bring 4,000 jobs to De Soto, Kansas
Panasonic announced on Wednesday it has chosen De Soto, Kansas, as the site of a massive new factory. The plant will be the largest vehicle battery production facility in the world and will cost $4 billion to construct. As one of the Kansas lawmakers who had to sign a non-disclosure agreement while working for months to land a mysterious economic development project, Rep. Stephanie Clayton, a Democrat of Overland Park, says she could not be happier with the final outcome. State officials announced on Wednesday that Japanese electronics giant Panasonic would build a $4 billion factory in De Soto to produce batteries for Tesla’s electric vehicles. They estimated the plant would eventually create 4,000 jobs for Johnson County and thousands of other jobs in the surrounding region. “This was a heavy lift on the part of so many people, not just in the legislature, but also for a lot of our local chambers, local economic development officials, the city of De Soto and the entire state, ” Clayton said.
Source: KCUR
Here’s how much Kansas offered Panasonic to bring massive battery plant to De Soto
While early estimates put the cost of the incentives at $1.3 billion, the Kansas Department of Commerce on Wednesday said Panasonic would be eligible for $829 million in tax credits, exemptions and other incentives. The state’s new incentive program created refundable tax credits, which allow firms to not only reduce their tax burdens but receive cash from state coffers for meeting certain hiring and investment goals. Paired with an expected local property tax incentive from De Soto, the state deal means taxpayers will fund close to a quarter of the projected $4 billion cost of the project. Kelly said the cost to the state would more than be recovered by Panasonic’s investment, both in full-time employees and the thousands of construction crews who will build the factory.
Source: Wichita Eagle
High-Speed Internet Grant Application Window Opens July 18 (Webinar on July 21)
Governor Laura Kelly announced today that more than 21,000 Kansas homes and businesses are set to receive high-speed internet access for the first time thanks to an $83.5 million grant program through the Kansas Department of Commerce’s Office of Broadband Development. The new grant program results from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s approval of Kansas’ Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund (CPF) broadband infrastructure plan. … The Kansas CPF broadband infrastructure grant application window will be open for four weeks beginning July 18. A full list of program guidelines and the application will be posted on the Office of Broadband Development’s website next week. The Office of Broadband Development will also be conducting a webinar to review program guidelines on Thursday, July 21, at 12:30 p.m. CDT. Registration for the meeting can be found here.
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce
County recycling might change destination
Recyclable materials from Marion County may soon be taken to a recycling center at Fort Riley instead on one in South Hutchinson that charges $120 a ton. Josh Housman, director of the county transfer station, told commissioners Monday that Fort Riley contacted him and was willing to start taking county recycling, apparently for free. Making the change would not be instant, however.
Source: HILLSBORO Star-Journal
Panasonic battery project likely to create major demand for growth in Eudora, Lawrence, leaders say
About a century ago, Wichita began to learn what being in on the ground floor of the aviation industry could do for an economy. Now, there are predictions Douglas County and the surrounding area may soon experience a similar boom by being an early player in the electric vehicle industry. “I don’t think the idea of how much potential there is for growth is really understood by the public yet,” Eudora Mayor Tim Reazin said as Panasonic Corp. announced Wednesday that it plans to build a $4 billion battery plant for electric vehicles in De Soto, which is only about 5 miles from Eudora and the Douglas County line. … The state is estimating that number at 16,500 jobs. That’s potentially a lot of new residents coming to the region, looking for places to live near their new worksite. Not all of them will end up in De Soto. “All the way into east Lawrence,” Reazin said as he contemplated the future growth pattern. “I think there is potential for quite a bit of growth along K-10. The idea of Lawrence growing only to the west is going to change.” Steve Kelly, vice president of economic development for the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development Corporation of Lawrence and Douglas County, said the Douglas County area will have opportunities to land both businesses and new residential housing as part of the project. A longtime executive with the Kansas Department of Commerce before serving Lawrence, Steve Kelly said the only other Kansas project that seems analogous to the Panasonic deal — the governor said it is the largest in the state’s history by dollar amount — is the development of Wichita as the Air Capital of the World.
Source: LJWorld
Municipal Bond Trends for July 13, 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.
Governor Kelly signs multi-state commitment to expand computer science education
TGovernor Laura Kelly recently signed onto a multi-state agreement to expand computer science education in K-12 schools. The agreement, spearheaded by the National Governors Association, comes after Gov. Kelly signed bipartisan House Bill 2466 in May to promote computer science education, provide training for current and aspiring computer science teachers, and create a pilot program to assist students in their transition to the workforce. “Promoting K-12 computer science education is one more way my administration is working to prepare our students for the future,” Gov. Kelly said.
Source: Derby Informer | News