Kansas Municipal News
Emporia City Commissioners resuming wage increase discussions
Emporia City Commissioners are all in agreement a wage increase for city staff is needed, the only question is what the increase might look like. During their recent study session Wednesday afternoon, commissioners reviewed six potential options to that end. The option that saw the most conversation included a four percent immediate wage increase, and health insurance increase and would keep the city’s mill levy flat. No formal decision was made as commissioners plan to bring the item back for action on Jul. 20th. Regardless of the ultimate decision, City Manager Trey Cocking tells KVOE News it will just be a “band-aid” on the issue until a wage study can be conducted later this year.
Source: KVOE Emporia Radio
McPherson residents to vote on sales tax
On Tuesday, Aug. 2, citizens of McPherson will vote in the primary election. Among items on the ballot, voters will consider a renewal of the city’s second half-cent sales tax. The city has scheduled eight public meetings during the next few weeks for citizens to get more information about the proposed renewal as well as have the opportunity to speak with city officials about the purpose of the sales tax. The meetings will consist of a 20-minute presentation, followed by a question-and-answer session with various representatives from the different city departments. This is not an additional tax; it is a renewal of the tax already in place.
Source: McPherson Weekly News
Five Shawnee firefighters hospitalized after ‘mayday’ call battling blaze at house
Five Shawnee firefighters were transported to area hospitals after responding to a basement fire late Tuesday. Shawnee Fire Chief Rick Potter says firefighters were called to the home at 4610 Silverheel Street at 9:10 p.m. Arriving firefighters reported smoke visible from the front side of the house as they began an interior attack on the fire. “During the time that crews were fighting the fire, we had a partial collapse inside the building, and a mayday was called at 9:31,” Chief Potter told reporters at the scene. “We did have firefighters that were rescued from the building.”
Source: Prairie Village Post
Appeals court allows lawsuit against Wichita police officer (not the city) to proceed
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit agreed with a lower federal court in Kansas a family could pursue a lawsuit against a Wichita police officer but not the city of Wichita for a fatal shooting of an innocent, unarmed man who was targeted in a hoax emergency call to law enforcement. Officer Justin Rapp, who was recently promoted by the Wichita Police Department, shot and killed Andrew Finch, 28, in December 2017 while responding to a 911 call about a possible murder and hostage situation. Rapp said he fired on Finch because he thought — incorrectly — Finch was holding a firearm. The Sedgwick County district attorney didn’t file charges against Rapp, and the police department took no disciplinary action against Rapp after the shooting.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Wichita cracks top 10 in national luxury apartment report
While Wichita’s housing market remains especially tight, the city has seen a boom in luxury apartments over the last decade, according to a recent study. A StorageCafe analysis of Yardi Matrix data ranks Wichita No. 10 among the 100 largest American cities for its percentage of “new high-end apartments” built from 2012-21. The study found that 95% of 2,620 apartments built in the city during that time fit the luxury label. “One attribute for which Wichita, Kan., might not be on everyone’s radar is luxury living,” the analysis said, while also noting the city stands out for low cost of living.
Source: Wichita Business Journal
Fairfax exhibit opens at Wyandotte County Museum
An exhibit on the history of the Fairfax industrial district opened today at the Wyandotte County Museum, Bonner Springs. The exhibit will be open through Sept. 24, according to a museum spokesman. The Fairfax Industrial District 100th Anniversary exhibit will show the progression of the district alongside personal memories, and will include familiar and untold stories of people, places and events in the district, the spokesman stated. The Fairfax district is in the northeast area of Kansas City, Kansas. The exhibit will help visitors connect with a place where tens of thousands of residents have worked during the past 100 years, according to the spokesman. Many of the objects and stories on display were shared for this exhibit.
Source: Wyandotte Daily
Shawnee chief credits training with saving lives of firefighters trapped in house
Shawnee Fire Chief Rick Potter says all five firefighters who were hospitalized after last night’s house fire in western Shawnee have been released from the hospital and are back at their homes. Firefighters from Shawnee and Lenexa initially responded to the house at 4610 Silverheel Street for a reported basement fire at 9:10 p.m. Potter says that at 9:31 a mayday was called following the collapse of a staircase leading into the basement. “We did activate our rapid intervention crew, who was able to then rescue the firefighters from the basement,” Potter said. Four firefighters had to be rescued through a basement window.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Eudora’s Giving Garden blossoms from small plot into full-fledged nonprofit
In 2018, a small group of business owners along Eudora’s Main Street started maintaining a nearby unused plot of land, turning it into a space for small-scale gardening. About four years later, that small effort has blossomed into a full-scale nonprofit called the Eudora Giving Garden. It has now turned into a community garden and relocated to an entire acre of land, which it uses to provide food donations to a number of local agencies and educational workshops for community members and students.
Source: LJWorld
Bringing out the city’s ‘welcoming nature’: New street banners represent diverse people of Lawrence
From a hip-hop artist to a hotel manager, the faces that greet Lawrence residents and visitors from street banners are meant to highlight the diversity and uniqueness of the city. The banners are part of a campaign of the Lawrence visitors’ bureau, Explore Lawrence, and feature 10 local residents. They hang from light posts around the downtown, at big intersections, and various other locations across the city. Andrea Johnson, director of marketing and communications for Explore Lawrence, said the hope is that the diversity of residents picked for the city banners — both in demographics and what they represent — highlight what makes Lawrence special.
Source: LJWorld
Valley Center Considers 3D-Printed Home Project
The City of Valley Center is in discussions with a local company to develop the first 3D-printed community of homes in the State of Kansas. “We are excited to be working with the City of Valley Center to bring the first 3D-printed homes to Kansas. 3D-printed construction will revolutionize the housing construction industry by providing beautiful, high-quality, cost-effective, and sustainable housing options. 3D-printed concrete construction is an innovative application of tried-and-true materials and technology that will allow the shell of a home to be constructed in a few days rather than a few months. Our aim is to provide affordable, safe, sustainable, and attractive homes in Kansas communities. We believe the innovation and efficiency of 3D-printed construction is the gateway to deliver these homes.” Eric Ross, CEO, CC3D.
Source: City of Valley Center
Municipal Bond Trends for July 5, 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.
10-year Treasury yield slips as recession fears rattle market
U.S. Treasury yields retreated on Tuesday as concerns about a potential economic recession continued to send investors in search of safety. At around 5:30 a.m. ET, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was down at 2.8821%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond slipped to 3.1106%. … Markets reopened on Tuesday following the July Fourth holiday after the major averages finished another losing week, compounding one of Wall Street’s worst first halves in decades. In this shortened week, investors are looking ahead to the release of June jobs report data on Friday. According to Dow Jones estimates, job growth likely slowed in June, with 250,000 nonfarm payrolls added, down from 390,000 in May. Economists surveyed expect the unemployment rate to hold at 3.6%.
Source: CNBC – Bonds
Munis yields fall further as recession fears grow
Municipals yields fell for the third session in a row following the flight-to-safety bid in U.S. Treasuries as recession concerns continue to grow. Equities were mixed. Triple-A benchmark yields were bumped three to six basis points Tuesday with the strongest moves out long. Falling yields over the past two weeks have been “a welcome sigh of relief as we have seen yields as low as 0.67% back in February to as high as 2.97% back in April on 10-year notes,” said Jason Wong, vice president of municipals at AmeriVet Securities. “As we shift our focus from high inflation to a possible recession, we could see investors jump back into the fixed income markets” as recessions tend to be favorable to them “which will limit some of the losses we’ve had in the first half of the year,” Wong said in a Monday report.
Source: The Bond Buyer
Commission appointed to look at Wichita City Council districts
Wichita City Council members have appointed a seven-member commission of electors to look at redrawing the boundaries for the six council districts. Scott Wadle with the city’s planning department presented population maps of the districts to Council members on Tuesday, and the maps show an imbalance in districts 2 and 3. The boundaries will have to be redrawn to reflect population changes from the 2020 Census, and the commission could look at the possibility of expanding the Council from six to eight districts. Wadle said there can be no greater than a five percent difference in population among the districts.
Source: 101.3 KFDI
More fireworks complaints; only one criminal case in Lyon County
The most explosive season of the year in Lyon County officially fizzles out Tuesday night. Legal fireworks discharges in Emporia and rural Lyon County ends at 10 p.m. As usual, that’s far too late for some people. “We have had 64 complaints,” Emporia Police Capt. Lisa Hayes said at mid-afternoon Tuesday. That was the total throughout Lyon County since July 1. And it’s up from 50 complaints at the same point in 2021. Hayes said police filed one criminal complaint Sunday night, after a person claimed to be struck by fireworks. But officers normally don’t go around town to lock up people for causing explosive noises.
Source: Emporia Gazette
County Fair: Bringing Communities Together
The County Fair is an exciting time for 4-H and FFA members and the surrounding community. It is an opportunity to showcase the handiwork they have made and show the animals they have worked with for months leading up to the fair season. Through their various projects with these youth programs, the members have “learned by doing.” They have learned how to work with others, learned to make decisions, and take responsibility to complete their projects. At the county fair, their projects are judged on their quality of workmanship, ingenuity, and skills learned throughout the project.
Source: Fort Scott Biz
Wichita to spend $1 million to add fresh produce to convenience stores, dollar stores
Wichita plans to spend $1 million on a plan to install refrigerated cases in convenience and dollar stores to provide healthier food to residents who may not have access to grocery stores. The money will come from federal pandemic relief funds. A 2013 study by the Health and Wellness Coalition of Wichita found that neighborhoods with the lowest incomes experienced the highest food prices. It also found that 44 square miles of Wichita was considered a food desert, an area with a significant number of residents more than 1 mile from a supermarket.
Source: Wichita Eagle
Kingman man on mission to save small town America
A Kingman native is on a mission to save small-town America, particularly his hometown. “I am a place guy and this is a great place and I think it has kind of made me who I am over the years,” said Scott Mueller. Scott Mueller grew up on a farm just outside of Kingman, Kan. The K-State graduate spent the last three decades on the west coast pursuing his career in agriculture economics. However, he never forgot the place that raised him. “I think there’s a lot of ways to go back to your roots. A lot of people go back physically. I kind of went back and said, ‘what can I do?'” That “do” began with one building project in 2017 after a trip home to see his dad, Charles Mueller.
Source: KSN-TV
How Cities and Counties Are Thinking Big With Their ARPA Plans
When President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act into law on March 11, 2021, the fiscal future for states and localities looked bleak. Public officials on both sides of the aisle were predicting that the pandemic was putting their cities and counties in dire financial straits and they would not recover for the foreseeable future. As a result, many anticipated that the $350 million of APRA money that was going to states and localities would be used to simply dig the country out of a covid-based hole.
Source: Route Fifty
Great Bend Fire Department busy with Fourth of July calls
Great Bend Fire and EMS were flooded with calls on the Fourth of July. At one point, the majority of the department was called back to work to assist due to high call volumes. The department said they responded to 25 fireworks fires, one of which the home was a total loss. Seven of the calls were for EMS, one for a gas leak, and another five were from fires of an unknown cause.
Source: KSN-TV