Kansas Municipal News
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)
Local pioneer helped found Salina, Minneapolis
A Salina road and a Minneapolis park are named after a pioneer who helped create the two cities in the 1800s.
Israel Markley served on the first Saline County Commission before he built a mill on the Solomon River that helped develop the area that would later become Minneapolis. He was an important public figure during the early years of Kansas, but few know much about him today.
(Read more: News – Salina Journal)
Marion County attorney tabbed to be judge
Marion County attorney Courtney Boehm has been appointed district judge for Geary County, which is part of the Eighth Judicial District, according to Eighth Judicial District chief judge Michael Powers.
There is no timetable for finding Boehm’s replacement, but there will be after she officially resigns, Marion County Republican Party chairman Bob Brookens said.
Gov. Jeff Colyer chose Boehm to replace judge Maritza Segarra, who is retiring Dec. 31. Boehm will be sworn in and take office in late January.
She will work in Geary County, hearing a portion of the county’s felony criminal and domestic relations docket, and all child in need of care cases.
(Read more: Marion County RECORD)
Developer told to lose his outhouse – or his whole house
An outhouse at a lake house has drawn fire from county authorities.
Garry and Sharlyn Dunnegan, Wichita, had a house built at 8 Horseshoe Rd. complete with a private well and an outhouse. Garry Dunnegan is developer of Saddle Creek Estates subdivision.
The county filed a petition in court Dec. 19 asking a judge to order the outhouse and well removed and the residence be connected to public water and sewer systems, or if not, everything including the residence itself be removed within 90 days.
(Read more: Marion County RECORD)
Hillsboro Community Hospital may face utility shutoff
After a $10,247.96 check bounced in December and with two additional months’ unpaid utility bills totaling $18,396.35, Hillsboro Community Hospital is in danger of having utilities shut off Jan. 4 because it is $28,644.31 in arrears.
Hillsboro City Council met in special session Thursday to discuss the hospital’s unpaid bills.
Council members were told that city attorney Josh Boehm had sent the hospital owners a Dec. 21 letter demanding immediate payment of $18,534.66 in delinquent utility charges and a $9,000 deposit to secure the account.
The hospital’s December bill adds $9,280.98 to the amount owed.
Boehm’s letter was addressed to Health Acquisition Co. in North Kansas City, now owned by EmpowerHMS. As of Thursday, UPS had not delivered the letter because the company was no longer at that address.
(Read more: Marion County RECORD)
Garden City sees highest single-day snowfall amount in nearly 10 years
Most of western Kansas woke up to a winter wonderland on Thursday morning, as blizzard-like conditions blanketed the ground. The weather caused many businesses’ and roads to be closed, while many were also without power.
“Our guys were out working all day long on the roads,” said Lisa Knoll, Southwest Kansas KDOT Public Affairs Manager. “A lot of people have asked why we didn’t treat the roads prior to the blizzard, but with the rain coming before it, we couldn’t have done anything about it. The rain would have just washed the melt away anyways.”
The National Weather Service reported Scott City received 9 inches of snow, while portions of Finney County received around 6-7 inches. It wasn’t just the snowfall that brought a lot of havoc, it was the wind. The NWS also said that areas of southwest Kansas had over 60 mph winds that caused a blizzard warning from midnight until 12 p.m. on Thursday.
Some places reported drifts as high as three feet in Finney County, while some places in Scott County saw even higher drifts.
(Read more: Western Kansas News)
County counselor says commissioner plans to resign; replacement will have to wait until Kelly is Governor
The 2nd District Neosho County Commissioner plans to resign at the end of January, the commission heard Friday morning.
County Counselor Seth Jones said during Friday’s meeting that Commissioner Jennifer Orr intends to resign. Orr has not notified County Clerk Randal Neely or the Kansas Governor, Jones said.
“Her job apparently won’t allow her to continue to come,” he said.
Orr has not attended commission meetings since Nov. 30, when she read a statement expressing frustration with a scheduling change of a previous meeting. She said at that time she did not intend to seek re-election.
Orr was elected in 2016 as a non-affiliated candidate and later affiliated with the Democratic Party. Jones said he does not think the party affiliation will matter, and mentioned a Topeka case where an official switched parties before resigning.
Under normal circumstances, the local party would nominate a replacement who would be appointed by the governor. Jones said that even if a notice went to the governor’s office today, Republican Governor Jeff Colyer would not have time to do anything in the few days before Democratic Governor Laura Kelly takes office.
“It’s possible but unlikely,” Jones said.
(Read more: The Chanute Tribune)
Lenexa uses hotel tax revenues to cover costs of Public Market operations
With the Lenexa Public Market wrapping up its first full year of operation, city staff and leaders are making plans to keep the space financially stable for the next few years.
The Lenexa council agreed in a 7-0 vote during its Dec. 18 meeting to make up the difference in Public Market revenues and expenditures for the rest of 2018 and all of 2019. Councilmember Thomas Nolte was absent.
The council’s action authorizes the transfer of funds from the Tourism and Convention Fund to the General Fund for Public Market operations for this year and next year.
Denise Rendina, communications director for Lenexa, said the council’s action “retroactively” makes up the difference in costs from 2018 and proactively covers the difference in 2019, Rendina said.
Costs have exceeded revenues, but city staff anticipate that as the Public Market grows in popularity, the difference will decrease.
(Read more: Prairie Village Post – Neighborhood news and events for Prairie Village, Fairway, Mission Hills)
City needs more housing starts
The Harvey County unemployment rate dropped as low as 2.8 percent in September. Recently, industry in the area has announced expansions and plans of having decent paying jobs, the kind that help pay mortgages on homes, if not support moderately priced rentals.
It’s no secret that housing, especially entry level housing for young professionals in the city, has been short. The City Office, in part, has tried to help alleviate the issues working with development companies to build moderately priced apartments.
Those apartments, such as Prairie Fire and Cottonwood Crossing, have filled up fast.
Looking at the influx of possibly hundreds of jobs in the area, Newton stands poised to whiff on its upcoming windfall.
All of our new employees are going to have nowhere to live.
Increased rooftops could be lifeblood to the city. Every house built means property taxes. It means residents living in the city, who are more likely to pot goods and services and pay sales tax.
It means more children, who are likely to use our schools and garner them additional state funding.
Should these people live elsewhere, we miss out on those things. They still drive down our roads. We still serve the business they work at, but somewhere else – perhaps Valley Center, Wichita or Park City — pick up benefits Newton has worked to help draw.
(Read more: Newton Now)
Goodwin’s to close after 66 years in downtown Hays
Saying it’s getting tougher and tougher for a small store to work with the big sporting goods companies, the owner of a long-time downtown Hays business decided it’s time to close the doors for good.
Terry Bright, owner of Goodwin Sporting Goods, 109 W. 11th, and his employees began preparing Friday for the store’s liquidation sale, announced in a flyer that arrived in many Hays mailboxes the day before.
“I was kind of on the QT for quite some time. My phone started ringing yesterday,” Bright said of the announcement.
The sale will begin Jan. 3 and run through Jan. 9, with further sales to be announced in advertising the following week.
The closing is not for a lack of business, but rather a large part is the growing complexities of working with suppliers over the last decade or so, Bright said.
“It’s becoming more and more difficult,” he said. “When I first started, you could have an account with a major company and you could purchase your needs to fulfill your customers.
“In this day and age, it’s not that way. Things have totally changed,” he said.
Now, companies like Nike have minimum order requirements and require orders six to nine months in advance.
“Then I wasn’t able to get access. They chose what I was able to buy style-wise. So I didn’t get the latest, the greatest, the early release stuff that the kids wanted,” he said.
(Read more: News – The Hays Daily News)
Hutchinson Police handing out safety bands
Police are always concerned with the safety of citizens in Hutchinson, especially for bicyclists who are hard to see. They are now offering to give out some safety bands which are reflective and can be worn on any limb.
(Read more: Hutch Post)
Shawnee County official: Traffic control ‘eating us up on costs’ for street project
Shawnee County is incurring considerable expense as a result of its commitment to accommodate motorists during a planned two-year project to widen S.E. 29th Street near Lake Shawnee, county commissioners were told Thursday.
“Traffic control is eating us up on costs,” deputy public works director Tom Flanagan told Commissioners Kevin Cook and Bob Archer.
The county could cut project expenses considerably if it shut down S.E. 29th altogether, Flanagan said at Thursday’s commission meeting, where Commissioner Shelly Buhler was out of town and absent.
County public works and solid waste department director Curt Niehaus told commissioners the county plans to accommodate motorists by providing at least one lane each for eastbound and westbound traffic for all but 81 days of the project being carried out in 2019 and 2020 to widen a roughly 1.2-mile stretch of S.E. 29th.
(Read more: Local – The Topeka Capital-Journal)
Big Bend Groundwater District #5/Quivira National Wildlife Refuge water plan bounced by official
The Big Bend Groundwater District #5 Rattlesnake Creek/Quivira National Wildlife Refuge Local Enhanced Management Area (LEMA) plan submitted less than two weeks ago to Kansas Chief Engineer David Barfield was bounced back last Thursday.
“I cannot complete a review of the proposed management plan because it contains no measurable goals and it is unclear if the proposed corrective controls would meet such undetermined goals,” Barfield stated in his two-page letter, throwing the ball back to GMD5 board members.
“Please also make clear if is it the intent of the Board of Directors that this management plan fully or partially solves the impairment of Quivira National Wildlife Refuge,” Barfield’s letter said.
“Additional information is also needed to determine how voluntarily conservation was taken into consideration as well as a clear definition of the proposed boundaries of the LEMA. I encourage you to revise your plan based on the comments contained in this letter so that your proposed management plan can be properly considered and that your full intent is clear and duly considered,” Barfield’s letter concludes.
(Read more: Pratt, KS – Pratt Tribune)
New treatment plant has Hiawatha water in the clear
The Hiawatha water treatment plant has been up and running for over two months, now, and the improved water quality has been earning rave reviews.
After years of unsafe nitrate levels, the plant’s ion exchange purification system has the city’s drinking water well within safe levels, and according to Hiawatha Water Superintendent Brad Scott, should keep them there for years to come.
Along with Sewer Superintendent Dave Grimm, Scott toured different types of treatment facilities in 2016, and after many meetings with engineering firm BG Consultants, settled on a final design, which was approved in 2017, with AHRS beginning construction on the $3.5 million project in late 2017 about 3 miles north of Hiawatha. Scott announced to the Hiawatha City Commission on Oct. 15 that the plant was up and running. The city’s nitrate levels immediately came down from a borderline to violation level average of 10 to 11 milligrams per liter to a safe level of 6 to 7 milligrams per liter.
“The plant will ensure the continuing quality for the citizens of Hiawatha for the foreseeable future,” said Scott, also noting that the plant allows the use of a high-nitrate well field that will take some strain off of other wells.
Dr. Julie Rosa’, M.D., of the Hiawatha Community Hospital, says the solution of the city’s nitrate problem means citizens can safely drink from the tap again.
(Read more: Hiawatha World Online)
County to tackle bridge work in 2019
Miami County Road and Bridge plans to replace several bridges in 2019.
The Miami County Commission on Wednesday, Dec. 12, authorized Project Manager Matt Oehlert to solicit price proposals for construction inspection on four bridge projects as well as construction bids for three of those structures.
Kansas Department of Transportation will let bids for construction of a fourth bridge, which is located on 217th Street, 0.7 miles west of Waverly Road.
KDOT will fund 80 percent of the estimated $470,000 joint project, with the county responsible for covering the other 20 percent, Oehlert told commissioners at their study session Dec. 12. KDOT would like to let bids for the project in March, he said.
(Read more: The Miami County Republic)
Miami County hires consultant to help develop new radio system
Miami County would not build a bridge without hiring an engineer first, Commissioner Danny Gallagher said.
Gallagher said he viewed hiring a professional consultant to help the county build an emergency radio system the same way.
“This is our engineer for the radio system,” Gallagher said. The other commissioners agreed, voting 5-0 during their meeting Dec. 19 to hire Tusa Consulting Services for $82,200 to help commissioners arrive at a radio communications solution that would allow all first responders in the county to communicate with each other.
(Read more: The Miami County Republic)
Fire board governance debated at public hearing in Miami County
A possible shift in governance of Miami County Fire Districts No. 1 and No. 2 sparked a lively debate for 40 minutes Wednesday, Dec. 19, in the County Commission chambers.
County commissioners scheduled a public hearing to gather comments about a possible shift in governance from the fire districts’ current boards to the County Commission.
Paola Fire Chief Andy Martin said he thought it would be a mistake to eliminate the First District No. 1 board.
“They’ve come a long way and done a lot of long-range planning … and generally improving fire service,” Martin said.
Martin said the board may have “ruffled some feathers” for its decision to acquire 800 MHz radios for the Paola and Fontana fire departments without upgrading other departments.
“I think they were looking at the future and wanting to make sure firefighters were safe, and you can’t fault them for that,” Martin said. “They are a solid organization now, they are well led, and I think it reflects well what we’ve got done in the last year or so.”
(Read more: The Miami County Republic)