Kansas Municipal News
Johnson County Commission amends regulations guiding solar farm developments
The Johnson County Commission absorbed conflicting public comment Monday before voting to soften development regulations to allow individual solar projects as large as 2,000 acres, solar fields as close as 1.5 miles from city boundaries and operational permits of 25 years in length. The commission voted 6-1 at the conclusion of a three-hour special meeting to approve revised planning and zoning regulations for unincorporated areas of the county for construction of solar collectors and battery storage facilities. More conservative limits recommended by the county’s planning commission were rejected, including a maximum farm size of 1,000 acres, a 2-mile buffer from cities and a 20-year permit. Johnson County officials have studied options for locating utility-sized solar farms in the county since 2021.
Source: Kansas Reflector
Wichita placed under boil water advisory for second time in eight months
Wichita has been placed under a boil water advisory, as of 4:15 p.m. Tuesday. At a press conference, city officials said the earliest the advisory could be lifted is Wednesday evening. “During routine maintenance at the water treatment plant, for a short period of time, an unexpected water quality change occurred, resulting in a slight increase in turbidity,” a city news release states. A news release from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment termed the condition high turbidity and said the advisory would remain in effect “until the conditions that placed the system at risk of bacterial contamination are resolved.”
Source: Wichita Eagle
Parsons approves vacant building ordinance
Parsons city commissioners Monday approved an ordinance related to registration of vacant buildings and properties in the city. The ordinance also outlines procedures related to maintenance and inspections of empty buildings. Commissioners wanted to remove a section of the ordinance that said the city provides commercial and residential solid waste removal, electric, water and sewer service at no cost for 60 days. It now reads that the city will provide these services (minus the electric portion) at a discounted rate of 50% for the 60 day period. The cap is set at $200, officials said. The electric portion was removed in the ordinance, which commissioners asked for.
Source: Parsons Sun
Overland Park taps Johnson County native, former city official as new city manager
Following a months-long search, the city of Overland Park has found its new city manager to replace Bill Ebel, who retired earlier this year. Who is it? At Monday’s meeting, the Overland Park City Council announced Lori Curtis Luther as the new permanent city manager, just the city’s sixth in its history. Curtis Luther is not completely new to Overland Park, having served as assistant city manager from 2001 to 2005. She currently serves as the city manager in Beloit, Wisconsin, a position she’s held since 2015. She graduated from Olathe North High School and has a Master’s degree in public administration from the University of Kansas.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Leawood to look at amending city code following complaints about pickleball noise
On Monday, the Leawood City Council unanimously voted to have city staff review the city’s sports court ordinance after receiving noise complaints about a backyard pickleball court. Background: Concerns about the ordinance were brought to the council’s attention by Councilmember Debra Filla, who said she had received complaints from residents in northern Leawood about a neighbor’s private backyard tennis court being used for pickleball. “This was approved for a tennis court,” Filla said. “The sound differential for pickleball is like having a ping pong ball on steroids. It is not a soft tennis ball.” She said there have also been issues with how late the court is being used at night.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Leawood names experienced interim manager following sudden death of city administrator
Following the unexpected death of longtime city administrator Scott Lambers, the Leawood City Council on Monday unanimously voted to approve local business executive Patrick Geschwind as interim city administrator. Who is he? Geschwind served as an area manager for AT&T for 25 years before becoming a performance-based consultant with a specialty in interim management. He is the owner and senior consultant at Patrick Geschwind & Associates. Geschwind as served in prominent interim managerial roles before, including as interim city administrator for Roeland Park and interim CEO for Visit KC, Kansas City, Missouri’s visitors and tourism bureau.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Johnson County approves looser solar farm regulations
Johnson County commissioners overruled the county planning commission Monday, favoring a less-restrictive set of regulations for solar farms that solar power advocates say is more friendly to the farms’ future development. What was approved: After a three-hour discussion and 36 comments from the public, the county commissioners rejected proposed rules recommended by the planning commission that had been criticized as some of the most restrictive in the country.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Leawood names interim city administrator after sudden death of previous official
Leawood has named Patrick J. Geschwind as the interim city administrator after the sudden death of the previous administrator Scott Lambers in May. Lambers, 66, was found dead in his home May 31 after working for the city for over 20 years. The Leawood City Council unanimously voted to approve Geschwind on Monday, according to a statement. Geschwind worked for SBC, which is now AT&T, for over 25 years before starting his own business in management consulting, according to the statement. He previously was the interim city administrator for Roeland Park, interim CEO of VisitKC, superintendent of Blue Ridge Christian School and administrator of Schuyler County Health Department.
Source: KC Star
Overland Park announces new city manager — a familiar face here from the early 2000s
Lori Curtis Luther, who has been hired as Overland Park’s new city manager, might have a familiar look — she worked for the city in the early 2000s. Luther, most recently the city manager for Beloit, Wisconsin, is returning to Overland Park where she served as the assistant city manager from 2001 to 2005, the City Council and Mayor Curt Skoog announced in a news release on the city’s website. “Lori has a proven track record of local government leadership, and I’m excited about her passion and energy to move our organization forward,” Skoog said in the news release.
Source: KC Star
With funds dwindling, spending Kansas’ COVID relief funds has been marred by opacity, finger-pointing
In March 2021, Kansas lawmakers got the news they had been waiting for: The state would be in line for $1.6 billion in direct aid from Washington, D.C., to help cope with the aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Officials soon learned, however, the problem with having over a billion dollars in funding: Everyone has a billion ideas for spending the windfall. The state initially was slow to spend the funds, with lawmakers instead intent on setting up a process to identify worthy projects outside the normal appropriations process controlled by the Legislature. In the months since, observers have complained of a convoluted process for spending the money, one plagued by delays and, at times, a lack of transparency regarding who will get some of the coveted federal aid.
Source: CJonline
Biking Across Kansas to return to southwest Kansas
The longest-running bicycling event in Kansas history, a 512-mile ride across the State, begins Friday, June 10, after canceling the tour due to the pandemic in 2020 and hosting a three-day rally in 2021. Biking Across Kansas is an eight-day tour originating at the Kansas-Colorado line with an anticipated 600 bicyclists, including support staff. The bicyclists will start at the Kansas-Colorado line west of Syracuse and will stop overnight in Garden City, Spearville, St. John, Hutchinson, Hillsboro, Olpe, and Ottawa on the route. The cyclists’ final night together will be in Ottawa Friday, June 17.
Source: GC Telegram
Salina’s new hotel is having success downtown
Bringing a downtown hotel to Salina helps the city thrive. With a high occupancy rate, Homewood Suites on Santa Fe Avenue is serving as a focal point for organizations and driving visitors to downtown. High-end furnishings and friendly staff welcome visitors to Homewood Suites by Hilton Salina Downtown. This extended stay hotel is located blocks away from some of the city’s top attractions and dining options…. The company went to great lengths to make sure the hotel’s interior design reflected Salina. From brick and tile imprinted with the town’s name to framed photography and historical maps, references to Salina can be seen throughout the hotel.
Source: Salina Journal
Municipal Bond Trends for June 6, 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.
Fed minutes point to more rate hikes that go further than the market anticipates
Federal Reserve officials earlier this month stressed the need to raise interest rates quickly and possibly more than markets anticipate to tackle a burgeoning inflation problem, minutes from their meeting released Wednesday showed. Not only did policymakers see the need to increase benchmark borrowing rates by 50 points, but they also said similar hikes likely would be necessary at the next several meetings. They further noted that policy may have to move past a “neutral” stance in which it is neither supportive nor restrictive of growth, an important consideration for central bankers that could echo through the economy.
Source: CNBC
GFOA debt committee launches ‘wholesale review’ of best practices
The Government Finance Officers Association’s debt committee Saturday recommended repealing a decades-old policy position against taxable debt and revamping a swath of best practices ranging from issuing variable-rate debt to hiring underwriters as part of a wider updating of its best practices and policy statements. Meanwhile, the GFOA’s next debt-focused best practice is likely to focus on designated green bonds, debt committee members said Saturday. At its meeting Saturday ahead of the GFOA’s 116th conference in Austin, Texas, the debt committee spent hours recommending updates to the association’s best practices, which guide tens of thousands of local and state governments across the country. It’s the first time in 10 years that the committee has undertaken a comprehensive review of all its best practices, which the association’s website says “aim to promote and facilitate positive change or recognize excellence.”
Source: The Bond Buyer
Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard says it’s ‘very hard to see the case’ for the Fed pausing rate hikes
Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard said Thursday that it’s unlikely the central bank will be taking a break from its current rate-hiking cycle anytime soon. Though she stressed that Fed policymakers will remain data-dependent, Brainard said the most likely path will be that the increases will continue until inflation is tamed. “Right now, it’s very hard to see the case for a pause,” she told CNBC’s Sara Eisen during a live “Squawk on the Street” interview that was her first since being confirmed to the vice chair position. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do to get inflation down to our 2% target.” The idea of implementing two more 50 basis point rate increases over the summer then taking a step back in September has been floated by a few officials, most notably Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic. Minutes from the May Federal Open Market Committee meeting indicated some support for the idea of evaluating where things stand in the fall, but there were no commitments.
Source: CNBC
Fed Governor Christopher Waller says he’s prepared to take rates past ‘neutral’ to fight inflation
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said Monday he sees interest rate increases continuing through the rest of the year as part of an effort to bring inflation under control. Specifically, the central bank official said he would support hikes that exceed the “neutral” level considered neither supportive nor restrictive for growth. Estimates Fed officials provided in March point to a 2.5% neutral level, so that means Waller sees rates increasing at least another 2 percentage points from here. “Over a longer period, we will learn more about how monetary policy is affecting demand and how supply constraints are evolving,” Waller said in remarks delivered in Frankfurt, Germany. “If the data suggest that inflation is stubbornly high, I am prepared to do more.”
Source: CNBC
Riverfest attendees provide big boost for business downtown
Large crowds at Riverfest this year are breaking records…and selling out hotels nearby. Downtown Wichita, a local organization working to develop the area, said events like Riverfest are huge for economic and community development in Wichita. Executive Vice President Jason Gregory said that this Riverfest is especially important for downtown development post-pandemic. “It couldn’t happen soon enough,” Gregory said. “I can tell you that. But, yeah, now that we’re here it’s really exciting to see all the people come back to support downtown.” One business benefiting? The Fairfield Inn & Suites just down the street from Riverfest. Staff there said the hotel was sold out last weekend and will be this upcoming one as well.
Source: KAKE – News
Johnson County approves less strict set of regulations for solar power facilities
At a special meeting Monday, the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners approved a set of regulations for solar energy facilities that was less strict than those recommended by the county planning commission. Commissioners met to discuss the planning commission’s latest recommendations for regulating a utility-scale solar energy generating facility that it submitted on May 10…. The board went against the planning commission’s recommendation to cap the maximum acreage for facilities to 1,000 and approved a 2,000-acre maximum instead. It also voted to keep the original proposal that any solar facility be one and a half miles from a city border instead of the planning commission’s suggested two mile requirement.
Source: KC Star
Could more entrepreneurs help revive the heartland?
For heartland communities hoping to thrive, encouraging and supporting entrepreneurs can energize the local economy. Places such as Ord, Nebraska, have emerged as regional poster children for economic development. Peers such as Council Grove in Kansas are seeing green shoots of their own. But such shifts can be difficult to make, and there isn’t a tried and true formula that works everywhere. To figure out what works, communities have to develop their own combination of tactics and be willing to push until they find their version of success.
Source: KLC Journal