Kansas Municipal News
Prairie Village clerk Joyce Hagen Mundy wrapping up 3 decades with the city today
Joyce Hagen Mundy walked into city hall for her first day of work with Prairie Village on Dec. 1, 1985.
Today, more than 30 years and nearly 1,000 city council and planning commission meetings later, Hagen Mundy will enter city hall as an employee for the last time.
“It’s been a privilege,” said Mundy, who lives in Overland Park. “I’ve grown to love this town. It’s become my second home.”
(Read more: Prairie Village Post)
Farmer decides to grade road himself
A farmer who went off on his own to grade a county road isn’t in trouble for doing so, but he was advised at the county commission meeting Monday that he could be held liable if an accident occurs because of how he’s graded the road.
Highway Administrator Ronnie Tremblay and the Clay County Commission met … about unauthorized grading that had occurred on a Clay County road over the weekend…
Tremblay started the meeting by reporting that he had two phone calls on Sunday stating that Bob Wietharn was grading the road in the 1900 block of Kiowa Road with his personal tractor. Tremblay didn’t know how to handle this issue so he then called the Sheriff’s Office and talked with Deputy Stellner about this issue. Tremblay stated that he was concerned about the liability for the county and for Wietharn if there should be an accident.
(Read more: www.ccenterdispatch.com)
Clay Center City Council OK’s standards, rates for solar panels
Last night the Clay Center City Council approved an ordinance for standards for people wanting to connect solar panels to the city’s electric grid and another ordinance setting the rate of reimbursement for those generating electricity with solar panels who generate more electricity than they use. Public Utilities Superintendent Scott Glaves told the council the rate of reimbursement for those generating more electricity than they use by solar rate is 150 percent of the “deferred cost,” or what PU would have paid for that electricity had it not been generated by the solar panel. This rate is set by state statute.
There hasn’t been much call for people putting in their own solar panels around here, put as those panels become cheaper and more readily available, Public Utilities expands that trend to change.
(Read more: www.ccenterdispatch.com)
70 volunteer and part-time fire departments receive grants
Seventy volunteer and part-time fire departments across the state received funds this year through the Kansas Firefighter Recruitment and Safety Grant Program administered by the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM). The grant awards will be used by fire departments for the purchase of safety gear, washer/extractor machines for cleaning bunker gear, start-up of Junior Firefighter programs and physical costs for firefighters with no insurance or ability to be reimbursed by their department. This year, over $1.3 million in requests from 79 departments were submitted. Fire departments received approximately $310,000 to be used for safety gear and $90,000 for 26 washer/extractor machines. Due to the high number of requests, OSFM will be requesting the 2019 Legislature continue funding this important grant.
“We’ve seen, by the sheer number of requests for this funding, the need is high among our volunteer and part-time fire departments,” Doug Jorgensen, State Fire Marshal, said. Following is the list of grant recipients from the State Fire Marshal’s Office.
(Read more: The Salina Post)
Commissioner Dan Deming talks wind farm proposal
As we mentioned earlier in the week, the Florida company wanting to build a wind farm in the southern and southeastern parts of the county has yet to file an application for a special use permit for the project.
It has become quite controversial. Residents that will be affected by the project wanted a moratorium so more study could be done. They would also like to see regulations for such projects put in place.
That failed to get past the Reno County Commission mainly because commissioners Dan Deming and Bob Bush were concerned it might kill the project.
Commissioner Dan Deming, who leaves office Jan. 14, says he understands the two sides. He says both sides have a good case to be made:
(Read more: Hutch Post)
Frontenac history front and center at MHM
What do you know about Frontenac? Do you know about the 100-year-old businesses in Frontenac which are still in business today, how the Frontenac Raiders got their name or how teachers managed to teach students of different nationalities in the 1800s?
For the last several years the Frontenac Homecoming Committee amassed an array of artifacts from the coal mining days.
There are so many, in fact, the committee can’t show them all off at once at the Miners Hall Museum, Committee Member Linda Grilz said.
Although the committee often displays their work at their local town hall, the group had an opportunity to partner with the Miners Hall Museum.
(Read more: Pittsburg Morning Sun)
Merriam adds two pedestrian-friendly HAWK signals to Johnson Drive
Merriam is installing two pedestrian-friendly HAWK traffic signals on Johnson Drive.
Beginning Dec. 26, the city began work to install two signals on the corridor: one at Goodman Street and Johnson Drive and the other at Mastin Street and Johnson Drive. The city intends to complete work by Jan. 10.
HAWK signals, which stand for High Intensity Activated CrossWalK, flash red when pedestrians have signaled that they want to cross the street. This provides safer crossing than traditional crosswalks because drivers are more likely to stop for a red light.
“They also reduce the number of delays drivers experience in those areas since they are only activated when pedestrians who wish to cross are present,” said Meredith Hauck, assistant city manager. “These intersections were identified as places in the community with high levels of pedestrian traffic, and our hope is the HAWK signals help create a safer environment for both people traveling on foot and by car.”
(Read more: Prairie Village Post – Neighborhood news and events for Prairie Village, Fairway, Mission Hills)
Community discusses future of Century II
Community members gathered Wednesday night to discuss the future of Century II.
The Century II Citizens Advisory Committee has been working for nearly a year to decide if the building should be torn down and rebuilt or remodeled.
Several people in the community want to see the historic structure stay as part of Wichita’s skyline.
Century II has structural problems and safety concerns as well as millions of dollars worth of asbestos that needs to go but committee chairperson Mary Beth Jarvis says the issues inside the building are beyond simple repair.
“There’s such excellence created in our performing arts and our arts and culture groups. they’re the reason we want to make sure we’ve got a great facility for them to perform in for the future. we can’t kill them in the process by making them go dark,” Jarvis said.
(Read more: KWCH News)
Overland Park shifts ward boundaries to compensate for booming population in southern part of city
The continuing development boom in southern Overland Park has prompted the shifting of city council boundaries to add more territory to the wards in the northern part of the city — a factor that will come into play in this fall’s city council elections.
Under the city’s charter ordinance, Overland Park is required to review and adjust its city council ward boundaries when the deviation in population among the six wards exceeds 10 percent.
Population counts from mid-2018 found that the Ward 6, which encompasses a large swath of land mostly south of 151st Street, had grown to more than 36,200 while the three northern-most wards had populations in the 31,000s.
(Read more: Prairie Village Post)
Former county employee appeals contract decision
A former Leavenworth County employee whose contract was ruled to be invalid is appealing that decision.
The notice of appeal was filed Monday by an attorney for Tamara Copeland.
The decision by Senior Judge Edward Bouker that found Copeland’s contract with the county to be invalid is being appealed to the Kansas Court of Appeals.
…In July of this year, Bouker ruled that the severance provisions of Copeland’s contract had violated public policy and were an improper attempt to bind future commissioners.
(Read more: Leavenworth Times)
Joyce tabbed Finney County treasurer
Trista Joyce has been named the new Finney County Treasurer after she was appointed by the Republican Party on Wednesday evening.
Joyce is an accounting supervisor at Golden Plains Credit Union currently and has numerous years of living in Finney County and southwest Kansas.
Joyce will take over for current Treasurer Kelly Drees on Jan. 14 after Drees steps away following next week.
38 precinct committee members for the Finney County Republican Party submitted 44 votes. Joyce was elected with a 29-15 win over fellow candidate Emily Burns in the final running.
(Read more: Western Kansas News)
Other Shawnee Mission area cities plan to look at LGBTQ+ protection ordinances, but no firm plans are set
With Prairie Village and Mission’s passage of non-discrimination ordinances that provide legal protections for LGBTQ+ individuals last month, some local advocates are keeping a close eye on whether other Shawnee Mission area cities will follow suit.
And it appears the largest city in Johnson County may be among the most likely to look at an NDO this year.
Overland Park Mayor Carl Gerlach said that the city will convene a committee in 2019 to discuss a non-discrimination ordinance.
“At some point [this] year I do anticipate discussing an NDO with members of the Overland Park City Council,” Gerlach said.
Other large Shawnee Mission area cities say the issue is on their radar, but that they don’t have firm plans in place for bringing an NDO forward for consideration.
(Read more: Prairie Village Post)
Airbnb increasing Wichita presence, but is that bad for hotels?
With Airbnb reporting that stays nearly doubled in Kansas from 2017 to 2018, the home-sharing service is clearly growing its slice of the hospitality pie.
Does that mean, however, that hotels and motels are losing out on revenue? According to numbers supplied by the company, about 87,000 guests stayed at Airbnb properties in Kansas last year. That’s up from about 47,000 in 2017.
Locally, Airbnb counted 7,730 guest arrivals in Wichita in 2017. For last year’s tally, the company recorded stays by county instead of by city, with the Sedgwick County number growing to about 13,000 guest arrivals. Most of those, obviously, were in Wichita.
Jerry Keeble and Winnie Chien, a husband-and-wife Airbnb host from Park City, rent out three properties in Sedgwick County, including a home in the Delano neighborhood.
Chien says she’s not so sure that Airbnb guests take much of a bite out of the hotel and motel pie in Wichita.
“I think they are different clients, different guests,” Chien says.
(Read more: Wichita Business Journal)
Wichita Fire Department’s Engine 6 off duty as city looks to put grant money elsewhere
As of January 1, 2019, Wichita Fire Department’s Engine 6 is off duty. It’ll sit at an east Wichita fire station shared between the city and Sedgwick County next to a city squad unit and a county fire engine.
“We don’t really know what the problem is. We’re not understanding why we have to take Engine 6 off track. The city’s not in a crunch. It’s not in a budget failure area,” Matt Schulte said.
Schulte is the president of IAFF 135, the city’s chapter of the firefighter union. The union was clear in its disdain for the city’s decision to pull Engine 6 on social media writing posts in a “countdown” format and urging neighbors in the area to write to their city council member or the mayor to advocate for Engine 6. But Wichita Fire Department’s Fire Marshal Stuart Bevis said the county fire engine and the city squad unit can handle the calls in that area just fine. He said there’s no other fire station in the city with two engines.
“Because of the call volume in that area, and we have a county engine already covering that area and covering both the county and city area due to our mutual aid agreement, that we would be pulling that engine out because we no longer have the funding for it,” Bevis said.
(Read more: KWCH News)
Financial concern raised as Hillsboro hospital falls behind on utility payments
The hospital hasn’t paid utilities for October, November or December. Hillsoboro City Administrator Larry Paine says it is behind more than $28,000
“If this continues and we never get paid, that becomes a problem” Paine says….
He says the hospital didn’t communicate with the city about the bills, and that’s why the city is frustrated.
“But if we hear from people, we will work with them, find ways in which they can get payment plans in play,” Paine says.
…
Both the hospital and the city agree the hospital’s future is not in question and it will remain open.
(Read more: KWCH News)
‘We started together, we end together’: WPD recruit class has near record number of women
New faces will soon be hitting the streets in Wichita.
Wichita Police Department’s latest class of recruits will graduate next month. Officials say this group will add even more diversity to the department.
They say this is the largest group of women in a class since 2011, and it’s a trend they’re expecting will continue.
In the Law Enforcement Training Center, there is a sisterhood.
“I really hope that one of you at least will be at whatever bureau I’m at,” said Brittney Thomas, Recruit Officer.
Of one, two, three, four, five, six women all looking forward to becoming Wichita Police officers together.
(Read more: Top Stories | KSNW)
Parsons to check into wind farm
A city official will attend a Neosho County Commission meeting Friday morning to try to gather information about the effects of a planned wind farm.
City Attorney Ross Albertini will go to the meeting, and City Manager Debbie Lamb and Derek Clevenger, director of utilities, may follow up with a phone call to Apex Clean Energy. Apex is planning to build the Neosho Ridge wind generation project that would consist of over 100 wind turbines of up to 600 feet tall. The specifics of the project are still widely unknown, and some figures made public have differed.
A suggestion from Commissioner Tom Shaw during a Thursday afternoon work session prompted the city to try to gather more information about the project that has proven to be highly controversial in Neosho County.
(Read more: Parsons Sun)
Emergency radio upgrades in Saline County could cost $16 million
Saline County needs to upgrade its 911 radio system. This week, emergency management warns the estimated price tag for the upgrades is $16.2 million.
In 2012, Saline County made changes to its emergency radio system to comply with FCC regulations. Today, the Kansas Highway Patrol is on a different system than Saline County and the Salina Police Department.
This means the agencies can’t directly communicate with one another. This is why the expensive upgrade is a necessity.
“Our troopers in the field could speak to the deputies and police officers in the field in real time. There would be no time delays by relay through phone and it makes events run a lot smoother and it’s a lot safer for everybody in the field when they can talk direct to each other,” KHP Captain Jim Oehm says.
(Read more: KWCH News)
Lawsuit filed against Garden City Community College, former president for violation of employee rights
A lawsuit has been filed against the former president of Garden City Community College and the college.
In court documents filed on Wednesday, plaintiffs consisting of six current and former employees of the college accuse Herbert Swender of several violations, including infringing upon their constitutional rights on a number of occasions. The plaintiffs are seeking relief in the form of compensatory and punitive damages.
Last May, the faculty senate presented a 28-page report to the board, accusing Swender of bullying, intimidation, sexual harassment and retaliation against employees.
The college also terminated Swender’s contract back in August and agreed to pay a $278,000 settlement.
(Read more: Top Stories | KSNW)
Investors signal confidence that Fed won’t hike rates further
Investors widely appear to be betting that swings in the market and changes in hiring and consumer spending could stall economic growth and hold interest rates steady through 2019. The Federal Reserve predicted two more rate hikes in 2019, but federal funds futures show a 91% chance the rate will be the same or lower at the end of the year.
Read more: Wall Street Journal.
Overland Park households placed in new City Council wards
As of Jan. 1, about 5,200 Overland Park households were placed in new City Council wards as part of district boundary review that takes place every two years. The idea is to balance the number of residents among wards as residential growth continues in the south part of the city.
Under city policy and state law, the population should not deviate more than 10 percent among the city’s six wards. However, last year’s review found a 15 percent deviation.
(Read more: KC Star Local News)
New traffic roundabout planned in Junction City
There will be a new traffic roundabout built near the intersection of McFarland Road and Eisenhower Drive in 2019.
Junction City Public Works Director Ray Ibarra explained it will help deal with the traffic load coming through the intersection, and making turns at 5th Street. The roundabout will be located just south of the McFarland Road – Eisenhower Drive intersection. Ibarra stated, “The roundabout will take care of McFarland and it will also take care of the traffic coming out Lincoln Elementary School, and that way we’ll have a good traffic flow out of there.”
Ibarra added a crosswalk at the intersection at 5th and Eisenhower will be eliminated. “We will make the sidewalk go all the way to the roundabout and then cross the roundabout and back out to the east by Lincoln School. That way it will make it much safer for the kids.”
(Read more: Junction City Post)
Saline County Administrator Deister to retire in March
After serving Saline County for 27 years, Saline County administrator Rita Deister will be retiring March 24.
Deister has been the county’s administrator for 18 years. Before that, she served in the roles of personnel director and assistant county administrator for Saline County.
Deister said she has enjoyed her time in county government.
“I think I’ve served under 8 boards and 21 commissioners,” she said. “It’s been fun, and I’ve enjoyed getting up and going to work every day.”
Saline County Commission chairman Bob Vidricksen announced Deister’s retirement Wednesday morning.
“Thank you for your years of service,” he said. “You have done a wonderful job, and I know how hard you work, have worked, and will continue to work. I know that you will be here until 6 o’clock or later on the day you retire.”
Vidricksen announced that Andrew Manley, assistant county administrator, will be promoted to county administrator after Deister retires.
(Read more: News – Salina Journal)
Ford County pays more than $70,000 to firm hired in voting rights case
Ford County has paid more than $70,000 in legal fees to the firm representing County Clerk Debbie Cox, who was sued over voting access in one of the state’s few majority-minority cities.
In October and November, the county paid $71,481 to the Hinkle Law Firm, which is based in Wichita, a document obtained through an open records request indicates.
The money comes from the county’s general fund, Cox said.
The ACLU sued Cox in late October after she moved Dodge City’s sole voting location outside city limits because the original location was to undergo construction. The lawsuit alleged that the move disenfranchised voters and in particular, the Hispanic population, who make up about 60 percent of the town.
(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)
Geary County Rural Fire Department to receive funding through state program
The Geary County Rural Fire Department will receive $5,523 through the Kansas Firefighter Recruitment and Safety Grant Program.
The department is one of 70 Kansas volunteer or part-time fire departments to be awarded funds.
Rural Fire Chief Garry Berges noted the funds will be used to purchase structure firefighter gear for three new firefighters. The gear will include coats, helmets and boots.
(Read more: Junction City Post)
Old airport terminal building demolition expected to begin this month
The old airport terminal building at Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport won’t be around much longer.
Conco Inc. has pulled a $5.5 million building permit related to demolition of the remaining structure. A copy of the permit will appear in the next weekly edition of the Wichita Business Journal.
Brad Christopher, assistant director of airports for the Wichita Airport Authority, says the razing of the old building is expected to begin in late January and run through the middle of June.
Demolition of the old terminal, which served the city for more than 50 years, was spilt into separate projects to save on costs.
(Read more: Wichita Business Journal)
New assistant Manhattan city manager named
Manhattan City Manager Ron Fehr has announced that Dennis Marstall has been named Assistant City Manhattan. Marstall, a 1987 Manhattan High School graduate, was selected from a group of four finalists. He plans to begin work January 25th.
Marstall will be responsible for assisting with the day-to-day management of City operations including supervision of staff and administrative policy development, working with the city manager and deputy city manager on various projects and redevelopment activities, serving as the city manager’s designated representative to the Riley County Law Board, staff liaison to the City-University Special Projects Fund Committee and coordinating state legislative activities.
Marstall holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Kansas State University, and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Louisville. His professional experience includes 14 years with the City of Charlotte, North Carolina, most of which was focused on assisting the mayor and city manager’s offices.
(Read more: Junction City Post)
Lawrence bus drivers prepared for possible strike after city changes contractor
Amid renegotiation of their contract, members of the local transit union are prepared to strike, raising the possibility that local bus service could come to a halt.
The city of Lawrence and the University of Kansas recently decided to hire a different company to operate their coordinated bus services. The City Commission voted in November to hire First Transit, which is set to replace longtime contractor MV Transportation on Jan. 1.
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1754 President Justin Priest said that union members, at a meeting on Sunday, voted to strike. Priest explained that the vote doesn’t mean that drivers, mechanics and dispatchers won’t be showing up for their shifts, but the vote paves the way for a strike in the future if negotiations break down.
“If the negotiation part goes poorly, then we have the option,” Priest said. “We are giving ourselves the option.”
Read more: LJWorld.com.
Spring Hill’s Broadband Task Force kicks off fiber feasibility study
The Broadband Task Force officially kicked off its fiber feasibility study with CTC Technology and Energy last month.
The Task Force met with CTC Sept. 7 and mapped out how the next six months will go during the study and what Internet options the Task Force may be able to recommend to the Spring Hill City Council early next year. The Task Force, with assistance from City staff, will work with a team of six people throughout the course of the study. Options for better Internet speeds could range from making Spring Hill a more fiber-friendly community to potentially attract more Internet service providers or developing a city-run utility. The Task Force will examine the pros and cons of each model in addition to others to determine a recommendation.
(Read more: City of Spring Hill news)
Reno County Commissioners to Deming: Learning from his example
Reno County Commissioner Dan Deming wraps up his eighth and final year on the board when Ron Sellers is sworn in Jan. 14.
The farewells began Monday because Commissioner Bob Bush will not be present for Deming’s last commission meeting on Jan. 8.
Commission Chairman Ron Hirst presented Deming with a certificate etched in glass. “I’ll keep that at home with a lot of pride,” Deming said. During the last two years, Deming, 76, served with first-term commissioners Hirst and Bush. They told Deming they learned from his example.
“I wish I emulated you more,” Bush said, as a “budget hawk.” “You and I probably argue more than anybody on process,” Bush said, but they remained friends and Bush said he was very glad he served with Deming.
Hirst said from Deming he learned not to take it for granted what people say, but to delve into things a lot more.
Deming said he’s leaving a commission offering greater transparency, with meetings televised and recorded. He also pointed out that about a dozen ministers take turns leading the opening prayer, and he hoped the commission continues the tradition of the prayer. Among those Deming thanked were County Administrator Gary Meagher and County Counselor Joe O’Sullivan.
(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)
Industrial park in Parsons discusses possible tenant
Labette County commissioners heard Monday that the owner of the administration building at the former Kansas Army Ammunition Plant may have an interested tenant or purchaser.
Becky Dantic, Tim Peoples and Bob Wood provided commissioners with an update on activities at Great Plains Industrial Park, which occupies the former KAAP. The Army announced the plant would close in 2005, which generated a community response to take over the property and market its buildings and parcels to create jobs. Dantic is Great Plains project manager, Peoples is property manager and Wood is a Great Plains board member. Peoples said he performs maintenance on the grounds and in Building 101 — the former KAAP administration building at 23018 Rooks Road — for Cornwall Specialty Trading Inc. of New York. Cornwall bought the 67,000-square-foot building at public auction for $282,777 in 2015. Peoples said a Cornwall official told him there was a prospect interested in the building. Wood said he received an inquiry last week from an interested entity as well.
(Read more: Parsons Sun)
Landowners to receive written notice of wind farm hearing
Owners of property within a thousand feet of any proposed wind turbine location in NextEra Energy’s planned Pretty Prairie Wind Farm will receive notice by first-class mail of the public hearing – tentatively expected to take place Feb. 21 in Hutchinson.
As of Monday morning, NextEra Energy had not submitted its application for a conditional use permit, but that probably needs to be filed before Jan. 15 if the company wants to meet pre-hearing requirements for a Feb. 21 hearing, according to County Counselor Joe O’Sullivan.
In the application, O’Sullivan said, the exact proposed location for each of the towers should be identified.
(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)
Hutch has extra time to file legal response
The city of Hutchinson has extra time to file its response in U.S. District Court to charges by a former Hutchinson police officer that it violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and retaliated against him.
Former Officer Devin Berman has Tourette’s syndrome and he sued the city Dec. 20, claiming in part that after he threatened to file a lawsuit against the Hutchinson Police Department charging discrimination, he received a poor performance review and was denied a raise.
(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)
Commissioners relent, won’t hire administrator
In a striking reversal, county commissioners voted 2-1 Monday to rescind their controversial decision of three weeks earlier to hire a county administrator.
Commissioner Dianne Novak made the surprise motion despite also having made the original motion to create the position, the idea of which was rejected by 55.3 percent of voters in a non-binding referendum a year ago.
Randy Dallke, who opposed Novak’s original motion, agreed with her to rescind it. Kent Becker, who favored the original motion, cast the lone vote against reversing it.
Novak’s motion came after concerned citizens, some of whom already had left the meeting, spoke out against hiring an administrator.
“I don’t understand why we’re pushing for an administrator for the county if the people already have voted against this,” spectator Patricia Nystrom said. “If you are as concerned about the budget as you say you are, how are we going to pay for the administrator?”
(Read more: HILLSBORO Star-Journal)
Subzero wind chills impact fire efforts, community responds with kindness
Hutchinson fire crews were called to a structure fire just before 7 a.m. on New Year’s Day.
A wood hobby shop in the 900 block of South Main caught on fire. But crews were not only battling the blaze but also the cold. A press release from Hutchinson fire claims the subzero wind chills hampered fire operations with a broken hydrant, freezing water, slippery conditions, and wet gear for the firefighters.
“Obviously, we use a lot of water, it instantly turns to ice. Not only does it factor with the people, but it also factors with the building as it continues to build up ice, the structure becomes more heavy which means a bigger potential of collapse which is what we did have here,” Deputy Chief Doug Hanen said.
Across the street, the cold weather kept business owners Randy and Susan Puls from their New Year’s Day plans. To get a kickstart on 2019, the couple went down to their store, Hutchinson Industrial Supply, Inc., to do some year-end inventory.
They looked out the windows of their storefront to see flames coming out of the building across the street.
“It was lighting up the night sky,” Randy Puls said.
The couple invited fire crews inside to warm up between firefighting efforts.
(Read more: Top Stories | KSNW)
Garden City flights take off after five days of cancellations
Flights in and out of the Garden City Regional Airport operated as scheduled Tuesday after five days of frequent cancellations due to weather.
As a heavy snowstorm rolled into southwest Kansas last week, the airport canceled its Dec. 26, 2018, evening flight and subsequently the Thursday morning flight. Over the next several days, all flights — morning, afternoon and evening — on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday were also canceled, as well as the morning and evening flights on Monday.
Monday afternoon flights went forward and the runway opened Saturday, but only for smaller aircrafts, said the airport’s Director of Aviation Rachelle Powell.
The storm, which blanketed Garden City Thursday in six inches of snow and berated it with 60 mph winds, caused white-out and zero-visibility conditions that grounded earlier flights on Thursday, Powell said.
(Read more: News – The Garden City Telegram)
Proposed eight-minute limit for Topeka City Council presentations off table
Topeka city manager Brent Trout recently proposed setting an eight-minute limit for presentations to the city council.
Trout then made a presentation to the council that was noticeably longer, which Councilwoman Sylvia Ortiz pointed out.
Now the proposed eight-minute limit appears to be off the table.
It is no longer among proposed revisions to the council’s rules and procedures the city’s governing body plans to consider approving Jan. 8, according to the preliminary agenda for that meeting released this past week.
The proposal’s current version would instead direct the city manager to tell those he invites to make presentations before the governing body to be mindful of its time and take into consideration the subject matter involved.
(Read more: Local – The Topeka Capital-Journal)
Design chosen for Augusta’s new flag
Judges for the Augusta Flag Contest presented two final designs to the public last month and 331 people voted. Online votes numbered 270, while 61 people voted in person at the Augusta Public Library.
The public vote ended on Dec. 18, 2018. The flag design by Jessica Dunegan, received 74.5 percent of the vote, with the other 25.5 percent going to another design.
(Read more: andoveramerican.com)
Manhattan Chamber renews contracts, looks ahead to 2019
Officials with the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce continue to look at new ways to market the community to others traveling through Kansas.
Lyle Butler, President and CEO of the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce, was on In Focus recently and provided an update on Marketing Manhattan and some of the recent contract renewals approved by the Manhattan City Commission recently.
(Read more: 1350 KMAN)
County commission approves sewer benefit district resolution
The Riley County commissioners on Thursday approved a resolution determining a treatment lagoon project at the Bridgeview Heights sewer benefit district to be not feasible.
Deputy County Counselor Craig Cox says the sewer district was created in June 2017 and the commission at that time authorized construction of a multi-residential lagoon. Now, the property owners qualify for a private sanitation system which would make the current project obsolete.
“Now each property owner will have their own on site sanitary system on their property,” said Cox,” I’m asking the commission to make the determination that the lagoon system is no longer feasible.”
Cox mentioned that according to a sewer district statute, the commission has the power at any point during the project, to find the project no longer feasible.
(Read more: 1350 KMAN)
Kansas court system granting employees paid parental leave
The Kansas court system’s employees will now receive six weeks of paid leave following the birth or adoption of a child.
The Kansas Supreme Court issued an administrative order Friday covering the 1,600 judicial branch workers under its supervision.
The court’s order came a month after Gov. Jeff Colyer issued an executive order establishing a similar policy for more than 17,000 employees in executive branch agencies. The Supreme Court sets policy for the judicial branch. Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawton Nuss said providing paid family leave is a step toward keeping the judicial branch competitive with private companies in recruiting employees.
Employees on family leave will receive their full pay. The order applies to any employee who had or adopted a child after Oct. 5.
(Read more: Government & Politics News |)
Leavenworth County Commission approves new district boundaries
The Leavenworth County Commission has approved new boundaries for commission districts.
Commissioners approved the redrawn districts Thursday.
The commission districts had to be redrawn after voters approved the expansion of the commission from three districts to five.
Thursday’s vote came after Vicky Kaaz officially joined the commission.
Last month, voters elected Kaaz to represent the County Commission’s 2nd District. She had been scheduled to take office next month. But she has joined the commission early after being appointed to fill a vacancy created by the recent resignation of former Commissioner Louis Klemp.
Following Klemp’s vacancy, the commission was temporarily down to only two members. And Commissioners Bob Holland and Doug Smith could not agree on a map for the five new commission districts.
(Read more: Leavenworth Times)
Special election planned for March 26 in Leavenworth county
Now that voters have approved the expansion of the Leavenworth County Commission, county officials are planning a special election to add two members to the commission.
County Clerk Janet Klasinski plans to have the election March 26.
Voters in the newly created 4th and 5th districts will elect their representatives on the commission.
…
District boundary lines were redrawn after voters in the Nov. 6 general election approved the expansion of the County Commission from three districts to five.
After approving the new boundaries Thursday, commissioners voted to forward a copy of a map of the new district boundaries to Gov. Jeff Colyer with a request that he call for a special election.
Under state law, the governor had five days to make an official declaration for a special election.
(Read more: Leavenworth Times)
El Dorado Public Schools superintendent to retire, replacement chosen
The superintendent of El Dorado Public Schools will work her last day with the district on June 30, 2019.
The USD 490 Board of Education announced the retirement of Sue Givens after 12 years with the district.
She was chosen as the Kansas Superintendent of the Year in 2016 and has earned numerous awards during her career, according to USD 290’s website.
A search process was conducted to find a replacement for Givens. The BOE selected and interviewed five finalists, before choosing Teresa Tosh as the new superintendent.
Tosh comes from Haysville Public Schools, where she served as Assistant Superintendent of Learning Services, overseeing curriculum, instruction and professional development.
(Read more: KWCH News)
Kansas has new academy to promote now-legal industrial hemp
A northeast Kansas businessman is opening a new academy to train farmers to grow industrial hemp now that its production is legal.
Joe Bisogno’s belief in the crop’s potential inspired him to open America’s Hemp Academy in DeSoto, about 20 miles southwest of Kansas City. It plans to offer four-day courses led by agronomists and botanists starting in January. “Industrial hemp is not pot, but it is a pot of gold for Kansas farmers,” Bisogno said during the academy’s recent ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Industrial hemp and marijuana come from the same species of plant, but hemp is cultivated to produce small amounts of THC, the main component in the cannabis plant that produces a high.
Legislators approved legislation nearly unanimously this year to allow for the production of industrial hemp for research purposes. Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer signed it in April and said the goal is encourage the resurgence of hemp as a production crop and promote economic development in rural Kansas.
(Read more: Great Bend Post)