Kansas Municipal News
JoCo OKs $3.7M to renovate Lenexa hotel into homeless shelter
The proposed homeless services center at a repurposed Lenexa hotel took another step forward last week, as a majority of county commissioners agreed to fund $3.3 million in renovations. The commission also voted to approve a 10-year agreement with reStart Inc., the Kansas City-based nonprofit tasked with operating and ultimately owning the shelter. Commissioners considered whether to use federal Housing and Urban Development funds for the renovations, but rejected the idea because of the added cost and extended time period. Using a HUD grant would require an environmental impact statement that could take up to two years to complete, and the sale of the hotel and nearby restaurant depends upon closing by the end of October. HUD money also would drive the cost of renovations to $4.86 million and require a remediation plan for noise, radon and soil contamination. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has already monitored the site and determined the levels are safe, said Assistant County Manager Joe Connor. Instead, the money will come from COVID relief funds that are a part of the county general fund.
Source: Johnson County Post
City of Bentley entering Stage 1 of water conservation plan
The City of Bentley is entering Stage 1 of its water conservation plan. Bentley City Administrator Tim Bryan said the town is one of the few communities to purchase raw water from the City of Wichita. Wichita is planning for Stage 2 status and has been in Stage 1 since January 2023. Gary Janzen, the director of Wichita Public Works and Utilities, said Tuesday that projections indicate Wichita will reach Stage 2 criteria by Aug. 1. If the Wichita city manager issues a public declaration of Stage 2, residents will only be allowed to water lawns one day a week. The City of Bentley said Stage 1 is a voluntary effort and focuses on education and water-saving tips. “We want to be responsible partners with Wichita and good stewards of this finite resource,” Bryan said in a news release.
Source: KSN-TV
Sedgwick County commissioners looking for new way to fund arts and culture services
A plan to fund arts and culture services in Sedgwick County through a sales tax continues to move forward. Currently, arts and culture services are paid for with property taxes. County commissioners are trying to come up with a way to lower property taxes while funding community-centered programs. Commissioner Jim Howell thinks such a plan may need to get approval from the state legislature but says it could be a way to keep funding going without ever touching property taxes. He says property taxes should only fund core government and public safety services and is proposing a one-eighth-cent sales tax to pay for everything else. “If the economy thrives and there’s growth in the economy, then the sales tax generates more money, and that eighth of a cent generates more money they can share between, and we would have to have some type of advisory board that would create recommendations for it to be adopted by the commission on how that money should be split up,” Howell said.
Source: KSN-TV
The ‘Big Ditch’ prevents major flooding in Wichita. Could it serve another purpose?
Eighty years ago this spring, the Little Arkansas River spilled out of its banks in a way that spelled big trouble. Swollen by heavy rain, the river and nearby Chisholm Creek drove an estimated 5,000 Wichitans from their homes, washed out bridges and covered much of downtown. In Riverside Park, the historic Park Villa building was surrounded by acres of water four feet deep. In the stockyards along 21st Street, workers loaded 4,000 hogs onto railroad cars to keep them from drowning. To the north, Valley Center and a swath of Sedgwick County were under water. Flooding was blamed for two drownings and two fatal heart attacks. The deluge overshadowed news from World War II for a few days, although flooding in Wichita was nothing new. Large areas of the city had been submerged during floods in 1877, 1904, 1916 and 1923. The 1944 flood was only different in that it convinced local leaders that something had to be done, probably because the city had nearly doubled in size during the war years and the potential for damage was so much greater. But the proposed solution — what came to be known as the “Big Ditch” — was controversial.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
As drought deepens, Wichita is poised to double rates for biggest water users
Wichita could soon raise rates for its high-volume water users as it ramps up its response to the drought. Next month, public works director Gary Janzen will present the City Council with a proposal to roughly double rates for tier two and three water customers, which would largely affect businesses that get their water from the city. Most residential customers would not be affected by the proposed rate changes. Only 18% of residential customers ever reach tier two (more than 110% of average winter consumption) and only 2% reach tier three (more than 310% average winter consumption), according to data provided by Janzen at a council workshop Tuesday, Wholesale customers — including the cities of Derby, Valley Center and Bel Aire — also would not be affected.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Lawrence Police Department, DOJ to hold community partnership workshops
The Lawrence Police Department, working with the Department of Justice, will hold two half-day workshops “where DOJ facilitators hope to improve trust and develop partnerships between police and community members.” The program’s goals are to improve trust and develop partnerships between law enforcement and the community, engage in dialogue to identify issues and solve problems collaboratively and address longstanding community distrust and historical barriers, according to a flyer about the workshops. “I’ve always said I want our officers to police our community the way the people want to be policed,” Chief Rich Lockhart said in the release. “When I heard the Department of Justice facilitates a program to help strengthen our partnerships and continue the dialogue moving us in that direction, I knew they were the experts to bring on board.”
Source: The Lawrence Times
Lawrence school district administrators say cell phone ban in draft handbook was a mistake; board approves teacher raises
A districtwide cell phone ban was included in a draft of an updated student handbook, but Lawrence school district administrators and board members made some clarifications on Monday. Students aren’t to have their cell phones out while they’re in class across the district. Elementary and middle school policies don’t allow students to use their phones at all during school hours unless granted permission. High school students, however, are still permitted to use their phones outside of class time. The handbook draft originally included in the school board meeting agenda for Monday said that “students found using their phone during school hours without permission will be required to check their phone in and out of the office each day,” and phones “must be turned off before entering the building and remain in their backpacks until dismissal.” Between Monday morning and the evening meeting, that original draft was replaced with a redlined copy. The handbook was also reclassified from a consent agenda item — which would typically be approved in one motion with no discussion — to a new business item. Previously, the district used separate handbooks for elementary, middle and high schools. Jayci Roberson and Waymond Ervin, who are the district’s new director of elementary schools and director of secondary schools, respectively, said they noticed all were very similar. Consolidating them into one would hopefully create better alignment across the district, they told the board. “That increases our consistency, as far as communication with our community, our students and our staff,” Ervin said.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Municipal Bond Trends for July 23, 2024
The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.
Municipal Bond Trends for July 22, 2024
The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.
Manhattan city manager candidates to meet with public Monday
Finalists for Manhattan city manager will meet with residents of the city on Monday from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the Flint Hills Discovery Center. The list of the four finalists for the position of Manhattan city manager have been released to the public and they’re coming to Manhattan to meet with the public and commissioners next week. … The finalists are Jacob J. Wood of Salina, Jaime Miller of Paris, Kentucky, Jason Gage of Springield, Missouri and Danielle Dulin of Warrensburg, Missouri. Both Wood and Dulin are K-State graduates.
Source: themercury.com
Cyber outage affects Wichita, Sedgwick County
A worldwide cyber outage affected computer systems across the U.S. and around the world, with impacts on airlines, banks and other systems. The issue was apparently triggered by a software update from the CrowdStrike cybersecurity firm. The CEO of CrowdStrike said they were “actively working with customers” globally and that a fix was being deployed. CEO George Kurtz added that “this is not a security incident or a cyberattack.” In Wichita, the outage affected records systems for the Police Department, along with other systems. Sedgwick County closed its tag offices because of the outage. The county treasurer’s office is open, but it was only able to process payments by check or cash for customers with their bill in hand. Treasure Brandi Baily said the motor vehicle system is on the state software and that was still down Friday morning, so the tag offices were closed. The county’s chief information officer, Mike Elpers, said the software update had a negative impact on all Windows devices. He said about 75 to 80 percent of the county’s work stations received the update. Elpers said his staff worked throughout the night late Thursday into Friday morning to get systems back online, and he said they were making good progress.
Source: 101.3 KFDI
Park City to gauge tourism, visitors
According to the Ark Valley News, the Park City City Council recently took action to monitor data related to tourism and economic development within the city. During its July 9 meeting, the council authorized a one-year, $10,000 contract with Placer.ai, a company that gathers data and provides insight into how residents, visitors and tourists move through communities. According to the Ark Valley News, the Park City City Council recently took action to monitor data related to tourism and economic development within the city. Planning to utilize STAR bonds for Park City’s Champtown entertainment district, the data from Placer.ai is intended to help with that as well as optimizing public outreach efforts and strengthening grant applications.
Source: Derby Informer | Area
Mulvane gets AARP walkability grant
The Mulvane Recreation Foundation was recently awarded a $2,500 grant through the AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons). Mulvane was one of seven Kansas cities to receive funding through the 2024 AARP Community Challenge. The goal of the program is to “make communities more livable,” especially for seniors, by creating more walkable, connected cities. A meeting of volunteers will be scheduled soon, with those individuals to help with walk audits researching needed safety measures and improvements to pedestrian infrastructure in select areas of Mulvane.
Source: Derby Informer | Area
108 feet tall mural on Inman grain elevator now complete
Mindy Allen of Mindy’s Mural has completed her largest project ever, a mural on a grain elevator in the small town of Inman. “I told my daughter, ‘It feels like the last day of school,’” said Allen. “You know, the last day of school when you’re cleaning out your locker, and you’re cleaning your desk and all that stuff. It’s so exciting.” Allen started this project nearly five weeks ago after the city decided to celebrate its 150th anniversary of turkey red winter wheat being brought to Kansas. She really wanted to get the mural right for the town. She even set up a donation poll to decide what color to paint the combine. “I worked really hard on it and wanted to make sure that all of the pieces were just right, you know. That the equipment in the background was the right colors and everything was just right so that the people seeing it and that live here in Inman that, you know, that they don’t have anything that they’re saying ‘Well, I wish that it would’ve been this or that.’ You know that everybody enjoys it,” she said. “Everybody that I’ve spoken to seems to really love it. People are always driving by and honking and stopping by and saying ‘thank you for doing this’ and that they love it. So, I mean, everything that I’ve heard has been positive. If there’s anything negative, they haven’t told me,” she laughed. “I’m really proud of this one.”
Source: KSN-TV
Newton affected by global network outage
The City of Newton says some of its systems are down due to a global technology outage. The global outage was caused when a popular cybersecurity company released a faulty update overnight. The company says it was not a cyberattack or security incident. The City of Newton says its Utility Billing Office, Newton Municipal Court and Engineering Office cannot take payments or access accounts.
Source: KSN-TV
Osage City Library offers ‘care cupboard’ stocked with personal care products
The Osage City Library is creating a “care cupboard” for individuals who have a need. The Care Cupboard has the following items: Toothbrushes, toothpaste, shaving cream, razors, denture cleaner, shampoo and conditioner, soap, body wash, deodorant, feminine pads, tampons and bladder pads for women and men. The library received a grant from the Northeast Kansas Library System to create the Care Cupboard. The library will accept donations of items and monetary donations to keep the cupboard stocked after the grant money has been depleted.
Source: Osage County News
Voters to decide on sales tax for local hospitals in November
Nemaha County voters will soon decide if they want to continue a 1/2 percent retailer’s sales tax for two local hospitals — Sabetha Community Hospital (SCH) and Nemaha Valley Community Hospital (NVCH). The question — which is a renewal of a sales tax already being collected since July 1, 2015 — will appear on the General Election ballot on Tuesday, Nov. 5. If approved, the money collected would continue to help fund health care services in Nemaha County for an additional 10-year period. The funding is used by the hospitals for capital improvements, equipment upgrades and general operating expenses. Representatives for both hospitals also said that sales tax funds will not be used for building projects. The funds will solely be used “in operating budgets to support services, including purchasing and maintaining equipment and paying for staff training. Building projects are being accomplished through grants, loans and private donations, and their budgets are separate from everyday operating costs.”
Source: The Sabetha Herald » Feed
City of Manhattan approves agreement with K-State for fire services
The Manhattan city commission on Tuesday approved a new agreement with K-State for a continued ground lease and fire protection services at 2000 Denison Avenue. In 1983 the city government and KSU signed the current interlocal agreement for the city to provide fire services to university properties and for the city to lease K-State’s land at 2000 Denison Ave., where the city owns and operates the fire department headquarters, fire station and training grounds. The new agreement extends the city’s lease term until 2075, and coincides with the estimated $5 million investment the city may make in replacing the Training Center at the Amherst fire station sometime before 2028.
Source: themercury.com
Atchison hires new City Manager
The City of Atchison officially has a new city manager. City Commissioners and Mayor La Rochelle Young just recently announced Mark Westhoff as Atchison’s next City Manager. His contract was approved on July 1 with an official start date of August 27. Westhoff comes to Atchison from his current position as County Administrator for Prowers County in Colorado, serving since 2022. Westhoff is a graduate of the University of Colorado and is currently completing his Master’s in Business Administration with a concentration in Public Management from Colorado State University – Pueblo. “I’m overjoyed at the opportunity to join the excellent team in Atchison and build on the positive momentum they and the City Commissioners have created there,” Westhoff said. “My wife Brianne, our four children, and I are also looking forward to jumping into the community as quickly as possible and getting to know all of you. We are so excited. Let’s grow together, Atchison.”
Source: www.atchisonglobenow.com
Wichita’s 154th birthday celebrated at the historical museum
Wichita celebrated its 154th birthday Sunday. The city was established in 1870, just three months after Sedgwick County was recognized. The Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum celebrated by having an ice cream social, live music, and free admission for people to experience and check out the exhibits. The museum is also celebrating 85 years of existence. “It’s the only museum that’s focused on our local history in a broad sense. And that’s the history back to the founding of the county and right after the Civil War. And here we are, 154 years later, still working on it.” Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum Director Eric Cale said.
Source: KSN-TV