Municipal News & Jobs

Kansas Municipal News

Kechi receives funding for arts district

It’s been a long time coming.

The City of Kechi announced this week that it received funds to design and construct a downtown arts and business district in the city.

The city has been waiting for approval for four years.

“The city council and staff members have been going the extra mile over the last few years to get to this point,” said City Administrator Robert Conger. “Once the planning phase is complete, things should move rather quickly since the funding has already been approved.”

In a 2015 strategic plan, residents expressed a vision for a vibrant, downtown arts and business district in the heart of the city. Original graphic renditions captured elements that would expand downtown opportunities for artists, crafters and different types of small business.

(Read more: Ark Valley News)

Valley Center considers prepay fuel law

On Aug. 25, Valley Center police responded to a gas drive-off at Casey’s General Store in the 200 block of South Meridian.

An older-style, red, two-door vehicle driven by a white male with long hair pumped $26 worth of fuel and left without paying.

Officers searched the area, couldn’t find the suspect and returned to the gas station to get information for a theft report.

It’s a familiar scenario, which rarely has a successful conclusion for either law enforcement or the gas station.

That’s why the city and the police department are proposing an ordinance that would make Valley Center a preapproval or prepay gasoline town.

“It takes 40 minutes, typically, from when the call comes out to taking a report,” Chief Lloyd Newman said. “… That’s part of our job, and we’ll do it. But there is a way to prevent it from happening.”

(Read more: Ark Valley News)

Junction City Commission Consensus: Sell Land Bank Lots Without Specials

The Junction City Commission by consensus has decided to leave lots in the Land Bank available for sale without special assessments. Those assessments are normally used to fund infrastructure related to the lots, but the City has several hundred of those lots available and they are not selling rapidly.

There was a push by a contingent of home owners in the Land Bank area to require the lots to be sold with the specials. They pay special assessments and are concerned that when the time comes to sell their homes they will not be able to do so since newer homes could potentially be built by developers and sold for less due to the lack of those assessments. Mayor Pat Landes noted he wants to see the City succeed. “We have valuable resources here in these Land Bank lots. We just have so many of them, and that’s the issue. We will continue to beat the drum with our economic development folks to try to bring jobs here and get more people to come to Junction City.”

(Read more: Junction City Post)

Atchison restricts smoking, approves demolitions

Smoking on areas of land owned by the City of Atchison will be prohibited following a divided vote by its governing body on Tuesday.

Resolution No. 6950, which prohibits the use of certain products within 25 feet of a playground, passed 3-2 during the regular City Commission meeting held following the Labor Day break.

Now-prohibited items include, but aren’t limited to, cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, snuff, pipes, electronic smoking devices and any nicotine infusion device or product that isn’t backed by the Food and Drug Administration for use in addiction cessation.Chief Mike Wilson said after the meeting that City Attorney Bob Campbell is prepared to prosecute any violations as a Class C misdemeanor, entailing fines of up to $500. Wilson said his police officers will be enforcing the measure in a similar manner to the citation of traffic violations.

(Read more: Atchison Globe Now)

Walnut Valley Festival delayed due to wet weather

Officials at Walnut Valley Association have announced that the Land Rush for this year’s Walnut Valley Festival will be delayed till the weekend in order to allow for drying of the campgrounds. Land Rush will NOT be held on Thursday, September 6, as planned. On Thursday at noon, officials will announce whether the Land Rush will be held on Saturday, Sept. 8, or Sunday, Sept. 9. The information will be posted on the WVF website, wvfest.com, on the Festival’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, and posted on the mobile app as well.

Festival officials ask that people delay their arrival to festival grounds until Friday.

(Read more: KWCH News)

New charter ordinance defines uses of transient guest tax in Leavenworth

Last week, Leavenworth city commissioners approved a charter ordinance concerning the use of funds from the city’s transient guest tax. But the ordinance has not yet taken effect because it is subject to a 60-day protest period.

Assistant City Manager Taylour Tedder said the ordinance provides more guidance regarding how money from the tax can be used.

The transient guest tax is charged to people who stay at hotels in the city.

The state government ordinarily collects transient guest tax revenue for municipalities. But in 2015, the City Commission approved a charter ordinance to allow the city, instead of the state, to collect the money from the city’s transient guest tax.

But this earlier charter ordinance did not expand on the uses for the transient guest tax beyond what was already written in state law, Tedder said.

According to state law, money from the transient guest tax can be used for convention and tourism promotion.

“You can argue a lot of things are related to tourism,” Tedder said.

He said the charter ordinance approved last week provides clear-cut guidance.

(Read more: Leavenworth Times)

Leavenworth County Commission seeks to void entire contract, dismiss counterclaims

After a judge ruled that severance provisions of a former county employee’s contract are void, a lawyer for the Leavenworth County Commission is seeking to have the entire contract deemed void.

The County Commission also is asking the judge to dismiss counterclaims filed by former Human Resources Director Tamara Copeland.

The motion for a summary judgement was filed Aug. 24 by attorney Scott Ryburn, who is representing the County Commission in a lawsuit that was filed last year.

The motion focuses on a five-year contract that was approved for Copeland in September 2016. The contract included provisions that required the county to continue paying and providing benefits to Copeland if she was fired.

Copeland was terminated from her position with the county in October, and commissioners stopped paying her at that time.

In July, Senior Judge Edward Bouker ruled that the severance provisions in Copeland’s contract extended beyond the term of the County Commission that approved the contract and were an “attempt to improperly bind successor boards in matters incident to their own administration and responsibility.” Bouker ruled the provisions were contrary to public interest.

(Read more: Leavenworth Times)

Wichita councilman asks planning commission to look at tiny home rules

A Wichita city councilman is asking the planning staff to look at city rules after a controversy sparked surrounding a tiny homes development.

The 90-home development is in the works at 143rd and Harry.
That was approved by the council two weeks ago.

It is surrounded by large, expensive homes, and now some of those neighbors are upset about the tiny homes – saying they’re worried it might affect their home values.

These luxury tiny homes are advertised as small as 408 square feet for the development in southeast Wichita.

A city councilman formally requested research be done on building requirements when it comes to size, as well as the public notification process for changes in nearby property.

“I wasn’t just going to sweep it away and say okay it’s on to the next deal, this one is too important that we don’t relook at the seriousness of it,” Wichita City Council member Pete Meitzner says.

(Read more: KWCH News)

Governor declares state of disaster emergency due to flooding

Gov. Jeff Colyer MD has issued a state of disaster emergency declaration for five Kansas counties affected by flooding over the weekend. Named in the declaration are Jewell, Kingman, Marshall, Pratt, and Riley Counties.

Damages in these counties included washed out roads, bridges, culverts and flooding to some businesses and residential properties.

“Here in Kansas we make it a priority to take care of our neighbors,” said Colyer. “Those impacted by the recent flooding have our full support and we will continue to do whatever is needed to help during this time of emergency.”

(Read more: Little Apple Post)

Lindsborg hospital’s past, future to be highlighted

Health care has seen a number of rapid changes in recent decades, and those changes necessitated an evolution in the way hospitals were set up to treat patients.

Larry Van Der Wege, administrator at Lindsborg Community Hospital, will present “75 Years and Counting” at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 11 at the Bethany Home Activity Center, 321 N. Chestnut in Lindsborg. The program is sponsored by the Smoky Valley Historical Association.

Van Der Wege intends to share some of the hospital’s history and its different locations throughout the year.

“A big story to tell is that we still have a very high-functioning, capable health care system here in Lindsborg and have for 75 years as the Lindsborg Community Hospital Association and had it even prior to that with private practices,” Van Der Wege said.

(Read more: McPherson Sentinel)

Overland Park is the best place in the country to raise a family, according to new rankings

With affordable cost-of-living, great schools and child care options and strong socioeconomic factors like intact families and high employment rates, Overland Park is the best place in the country to raise a family.

That’s according to the 2018 installment of WalletHub’s national Best Places to Raise a Family rankings.

Overland Park topped the list of more than 180 U.S. cities, including the 150 most populous. It’s the second year in a row that it’s taken the Best Place to Raise a Family honor.

Tonganoxie’s economy struggling as popular farm’s sunflower crop slow to bloom

It was an unusual Labor Day weekend in the metro’s favorite sunflower patch.

They’re one of nature’s splendors and Leavenworth County’s brightest sights. Labor Day weekend is always busy at Grinter’s Farm in Tonganoxie since it’s about the time Ted Grinter’s legendary sunflower crop begins to bloom.

However, the flowers aren’t nearly as tall and colorful as they normally are, thanks to a dry summer that hasn’t provided enough rain since Grinter planted flowers six weeks ago.

And a small town that depends on flower power is taking notice. “This year, it’s been a little tricky because God didn’t cooperate,” Kathy Link, operator of Kathy’s Kottage, said with a grin Monday.

(Read more: fox4kc.com | FOX 4 – WDAF)

Hutchinson City Council approves support for bike trail grant

The Hutchinson City Council gave its approval to support a KDOT grant that would extend the GVI bike trail to the west of Plum Avenue.

The Transportation Alternatives grant would pay for 80 percent of the project while the city would be responsible for the rest. The estimated cost of the project would be $641,000 with the grant paying for $513,000. The city would be responsible for the remaining balance. That does not include land acquisition along the trail. KDOT announced it will not have such grant funds available after this year. No price tag was available on the project, which would be constructed in 2020.

(Read more: Hutch Post)

Hannes Zacharias completes river advenuture

Kayaker Hannes Zacharias will miss the solitude of spending months on the river – “something about the measured pace,” he said – but he won’t seek to repeat the solo adventure he just finished.

Zacharias paddled – and partially hiked, drove, and rode – as he followed water flowing east from the Continental Divide in Colorado to the Mississippi River and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico. He began the journey May 2,6 capturing snow from Tennessee Pass in Colorado that he poured into the Mississippi River Over Labor Day weekend.

Zacharias grew up in Dodge City and paddled from Dodge City to New Orleans in 1976 when he was a 22-year-old. He was determined that one day he would do the complete trip, following the water from Colorado to New Orleans.

This year found him between jobs as the former county manager of Johnson County and the future professor of practice at the University of Kansas’ School of Public Affairs and Administration, so he undertook the adventure on the Arkansas River.

(Read more: News – The Hutchinson News)

Hutch seeks to improve rental inspection program

The Hutchinson City Council decided to continue a controversial rental property inspection program for another year while waiving the fees charged to landlords and ordering a restructuring of the policies.

Council members on Tuesday heard from a handful of landlords, most of whom called the 2015 Rental Registration and Inspection program unfair.

The council voted unanimously to have the city’s Housing Commission study ways to improve the program, which was meant to protect renters. But the landlords said it was often used as a way for residents who don’t pay rent or were facing eviction to retaliate against property owners.

The original program required registering and interior inspections of rental properties – a policy that landlords argued violated the Fourth Amendment rights of their tenants against search and seizure. The state legislature upended the ordinance, along with others around the state, by passing a law preventing cities from conducting periodic inspections of rental housing without a warrant.

Members of the Housing Commission asked the council to continue the program and allow them to look for ways to improve the program and make it more equitable.

(Read more: News – The Hutchinson News)

Shawnee County Treasurer Larry Mah says state, not county, charges online vehicle registration fee

The Shawnee County Treasurer’s Office charges no fee to renew motor vehicle registrations online, but the state of Kansas does, says county Treasurer Larry Mah.

He spoke in response to concerns expressed by Topeka Capital-Journal readers after the newspaper published an article about fees associated with the registration process.

Mah had said in a Topeka Capital-Journal article published Saturday that while his office charges a $3 facility fee to people who renew their registrations at its office or annex, it assesses no such fees to those who renew those registrations by mail or online.

Mah shared that information in response to a question posed by a Capital-Journal reader as part of a public engagement project.

He said that because interacting with customers in person is more time-consuming and expensive than processing payments submitted by mail or online, the treasurer’s office charges the $3 facility fee to those who pay vehicle registration fees at the office or annex.

Chanute utilities director ‘unicorn’ remembered by friends, co-workers

Friends and co-workers reacted Tuesday to the death of Chanute Utilities Director Larry Gates. Gates passed away early Friday after a brief illness.

Chanute City Manager Jeff Cantrell recalled Gates as rock-solid, confident in his work, compassionate and someone who would give the shirt off his back.

“The loss is a shock to our organization,” Cantrell said.

Although he did not give details, he said officials knew about 30 days ago that Gates had serious health issues. Cantrell said even while undergoing treatment, Gates kept involved with city services through texts and emails.

“Larry was my boss, my mentor,” retired utilities employee Dave Hawkins said. “He knew how to conduct business and get things done.” Gates was a member of the Board of Directors of Kansas Municipal Utilities, first representing the city of Erie and later Chanute. He was also chair of the KMU Legislative and Regulatory Committee in 2000 and was Regional Coordinator for the Kansas Mutual Aid Program for Utilities. Cantrell said he does not anticipate replacing Gates.

“Larry was a unicorn in this line of work,” Cantrell said.

Instead, the city expects to reorganize the department with three groups, department heads and the city manager picking up Gates’ duties and some work being outsourced.

Parsons OKs loan, small grant for Domino’s

Domino’s Pizza could open in Parsons as early as February, the future owner told city commissioners Tuesday.

The Parsons City Commission approved a $115,000 loan for Pizza Properties LLC for the future Domino’s carry-out and delivery restaurant that will be built east of the new Dollar Tree, 2105 Main. The 20-year loan with 4.25 percent interest will come from a revolving loan fund created by three contributions from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development and city funding.

The commissioners also approved a $5,000 retail recruitment incentive grant to Pizza Properties.

Emily Elwell, who owns Pizza Properties with her husband, Dan, told the commissioners Dan Elwell discovered Parsons as he was taking a different route back to their Webb City, Missouri, home from their Domino’s in Fort Scott.

Elwell said the Parsons store will be their ninth. The Elwells met while working for a Domino’s. Dan Elwell was a driver and Emily Elwell was an order taker. They worked their way up until they bought their own Domino’s and then expanded from there.

“We have a great story and would love to expand into your city,” Emily Elwell said.

Mayor Kevin Cruse said the Elwells and the city are fortunate that there is plenty of money in the revolving loan fund because it hasn’t been used in several years. Interest rates had been low enough on the private market to make the 4.25 percent offered in the revolving loan fund to be less attractive.

(Read more: Parsons Sun)

Carbondale celebrates coming of fall at annual festival Saturday

Carbondale is gearing up for its annual fall festival, returning this year to the second Saturday in September. The 2018 Carbondale Fall Festival is this Saturday, Sept 8.

All activities will be in the new side of City Park., with vendors, a car show on Kansas Avenue, special parade for youth, variety of bounce houses, slides, and obstacle courses appropriate for toddlers to adults. Farmers market vendors will have a bonus sale opportunity at the festival, along with assorted foods and crafts. The Osage County Sheriff’s Office will have an information table and gifts for children and adults. The Carbondale Lions Club will fire up its funnel cake stand at 5 p.m., with all proceeds going to Santa Fe Trail High School Scholarship Fund.

Belleville is looking a lot better

The appearance of residential areas in Belleville are improving.
After getting off to a rocky, contentious start the North Central Regional Planning Commission as the determining agency for nuisance abatement in Republic County’s largest city has turned in a “thumbs up” assessment.
“If you have not driven around you really need to,” Carol Torkelson of the NCRPC told members of the Belleville City Council last week. “You will see amazing thing. People really do have pride in their properties.”

Flooding closes south side of Pratt

Torrential rains Sept 3 dumped from six to over eight inches of rain across the county causing heavy flooding on the Ninnescah River pushing water over the banks and causing numerous road closures especially in the Pratt area. Parks and the Pratt County Veteran’s Memorial Lake were filled to overflowing. Several families in low lying areas had to be rescued.

Smoky Hill Museum in Salina hosts presentation to focus on ancient site of Etzanoa

Etzanoa. For centuries it lay buried beneath the Kansas soil, holding its secrets and waiting. It waits no more. Join Dr. Donald Blakeslee as he discusses this exciting archeological discovery.

This free presentation is hosted by the Smoky Hill Museum on Thursday from 5:30-6:30 p.m. To accommodate a larger crowd, the presentation will be held at the First United Methodist Church’s Fellowship Hall, 122 N Eighth St., just across Iron Avenue from the museum.

Spaniards called it the Great Settlement, while a native name for the town was Etzanoa. This ancient settlement in southern Kansas was home to more than 20,000 ancestral Wichita Native American people.

Blakeslee will share why he decided to look for this city and how he gathered and deciphered clues. He’ll also share information about the initial dig and what they’ve found so far, as he works to uncover one of the largest Native American cities in North America. Blakeslee is an author and professor of archeology at Wichita State University.

(Read more: The Salina Post)

Shawnee Mission looking to make gun locks available for pick up at schools

As part of its continuing efforts to provide the safest and most secure learning environments possible, the Shawnee Mission School District’s police department is mounting an effort to promote gun safety within the homes of students. Giving an update on the department’s current strategy and tactics to the board of education this week, Director of Safety and Security John Douglass said that staff will be working with schools to promote a “culture of safety” that extends beyond the school building.

Part of that push will be encouraging parents to lock gun cabinets in their homes and otherwise secure weapons. The district is also hoping to make free gun locks available for pick up through school buildings in the coming months.

Douglass said that while much work has been done to allow schools to create a secure perimeter in the case of an active shooter situation — which he noted are still exceptionally rare — there needs to be a focus on preventing kids’ access to firearms.

City of Topeka considers raising sales tax to aid Cyrus Hotel investment

Topeka’s governing body, which two years ago authorized a 1 percent extra sales tax upon purchases made at downtown Topeka’s Cyrus Hotel, on Tuesday will consider raising that to 2 percent.

A proposal to make that move is among items on the agenda when that body, consisting of the nine city council members and Mayor Michelle De La Isla, meets at 6 p.m. in its chambers at 214 S.E. 8th. The city’s governing body plans to hear public comments and consider raising the special sales tax imposed to aid development of the $30 million Cyrus Hotel and restaurant property, which remains under construction at 912-924 S. Kansas Ave.

That body voted in September 2016 to establish a community improvement district enabling Cody Foster’s AIM Strategies LLC to assess a 1 percent sales tax on all purchases made on the property to reimburse private investment in the development. That tax is to be assessed in addition to other sales taxes levied in Shawnee County.

Assistant city manager Doug Gerber told city governing body members last month that the developers initially pitched a 2 percent tax, but officials didn’t feel comfortable with that at the time.

“The general sense now is 2 percent is appropriate for larger projects,” he said.

McPherson business owners push for Sunday liquor sales

McPherson residents are renewing a push to allow liquor sales on Sundays.

Stores like Dotties Girls are closed on Sundays meaning McPherson residents have to drive out of town just to get alcohol, something the owners hope changes soon

“There is so many people that have it, canton, Lindsborg, Salina, so we figured why not here in McPherson.”

Rhonda Boyston and Amy Russell own Dottie’s Girls Liquor Store in McPherson. They’ve been pushing for Sunday sales for a while now, something they say is long over due.

Mcpherson is one of the few cities in Kansas that does not have sales on Sunday following a law change in 2004 which lets cities decide if they can sell alcohol.

(Read more: KWCH News)

They created a new downtown ‘basically out of a field.’ Lenexa City Center is booming

The line of customers formed early and kept coming Saturday at the Red Kitchen Tamales food stall in Lenexa City Center’s Public Market. Owner Alejandra de la Fuente paused briefly from serving to reflect on her start-up’s remarkable blossoming over the past year.

“I think it’s amazing,” said de la Fuente. “There are always more and more people coming.”

Red Kitchen Tamales’ success is just one example of the progress at Lenexa City Center, the new heart of the suburb 15 miles from Kansas City. It has sprouted from what was farmland not too long ago, west of Interstate 435 at 87th Street Parkway and Renner Boulevard.

“The unique part for us is creating a Lenexa downtown basically out of a field,” said Keith Copaken of Copaken Brooks, the master developer for the southwest corner of Lenexa City Center. “It’s creating its own destination and its own draw, not just for Lenexa but for all residents of western Johnson County.”

Manhattan, Kan., hit by ’500-year event.’ Hundreds evacuated in flash flood.

Nearly 9 inches of rain that pounded Manhattan, Kan., overnight and into the day Monday caused major flash flooding, forcing more than 300 people to evacuate their homes. Some 750 homes still lack power, the city of Manhattan reports.

“We’re saying it is a 500-year event, perhaps a 700-, 800-year event,” said Manhattan’s Municipal Government Manager Mark Fehr at a 2 p.m. press conference Monday.

Aerial photographs posted by the Riley County Police show buildings flooded nearly to their roofs. Two emergency shelters have been established, one at Cico Park and a second at Bramlage Coliseum.

‘”It is estimated that about 300 individuals have been impacted as of now,” Fehr said. The Army Corp. of Engineers, he said, reported 8.9 inches of rain had fallen in the area, causing Wildcat Creek to overflow its banks. Three bridges were overcome, two on Kansas 18 and the bridge on Scenic Drive.

(Read more: KC Star Local News)

Labette County supports widening U.S. 400

Labette County commissioners on Friday approved a resolution that recommends prioritizing U.S. 400 in Southeast Kansas as the Kansas Department of Transportation and Kansas Legislature consider the next statewide transportation program.

Jim Zaleski, the city of Parsons economic development director, brought the resolution to commissioners for their support. He said the Parsons City Commission will consider a similar resolution on Tuesday.

The hope is that U.S. 400 will become a four-lane road in the near future. The highway recently received passing lanes and county commissioners and Zaleski noted on Friday that much of the right-of-way is probably purchased for the expansion.

A transportation task force, created by legislation this year, is traveling the state gathering input for road work to consider for the next transportation plan. The task force meets in Pittsburg on Sept. 20 and Zaleski said he is on the agenda to speak.

(Read more: Parsons Sun)

Parsons applying for grant to help fund, light and extend trail

The city of Parsons likely will apply for a grant that would add lighting and concrete to much of the trail in Tolen Creek Park while also extending the path.

During a Thursday afternoon work session, the Parsons City Commission gave its approval for the city staff to prepare an application for a Kansas Department of Transportation grant through the agency’s Transportation Alternatives Program.

The grant would be used to pave the portion of the gravel trail that begins on Cattle Drive and follows the west side of the park to underneath the U.S. 400 bridge continuing northwest to near Union Road. From where the trail turns back east, the trail would be branched off to the north a short distance to Union Road and then extend west along the road to North 16th Street (U.S. 59). The existing part of the trail is gravel but would be converted to concrete as well as widened from 8 feet to 10 feet to comply with KDOT standards.

The project also would add solar lighting every 100 feet along the improved and extended portions of the trail.

City Manager Debbie Lamb said KDOT now has a short turnaround from the time funding is announced to the deadline to apply, so she would need approval to apply from the commission during its Tuesday evening meeting. The commissioners on Thursday gave their consent to continue working on the application so they can consider it Tuesday.

“I see this as a really good project,” Mayor Kevin Cruse said. “I don’t see any problem with moving forward.”

(Read more: Parsons Sun)

New ordinance in place for downtown sidewalks in Spring Hill

Bicycles, skateboards and other similar modes of transportation are no longer allowed on the sidewalks in Spring Hill’s downtown area.

At the Aug. 9 City Council meeting, Ordinance No. 2018-12 was approved, determining the use of bicycles, skateboards, coasters, roller skates, roller blades and other similar devices a public nuisance on the sidewalks of Main Street downtown.

“The Governing Body finds that the use of such devices on the public sidewalks in the downtown area creates a hazard to the physical safety of the general public due to the limited setbacks between the sidewalk and the downtown structures fronting the public sidewalks; the inherent hazard of such devices in close proximity to pedestrians in the limited space of the public sidewalks in the downtown area and the density of pedestrian uses on the public sidewalks.”

(Read more: City of Spring Hill news)

Wyandotte Co. DA to create new unit for reviewing claims of wrongful convictions

In his 18 months in office, Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree Sr. said he has heard from about hundreds of people in prison or from their families who claim wrongful convictions.

Now, his office will have the funding and staff to look into some of those claims.

A spokesman for the Unified Government Commission said the district attorney’s office will receive two payments of about $167,000 each in the fourth quarter of 2018 and fourth quarter of 2019 for a new conviction integrity unit.

Dupree said at a press conference Friday that his office expects to hire three people for the unit: a full-time senior attorney, a part-time investigator and a part-time assistant. Dupree has previously cited the case of Lamonte McIntyre as a reason to create the unit. McIntyre’s convictions for a 1994 double murder were thrown out last October after a judge ruled he had been the victim of manifest injustice.

The Wyandotte County unit’s staff will work with law school students from the University of Kansas and the University of Missouri-Kansas City to help identify cases to examine.

Overland Park staff to formally recommend against relocating Farmers Market to Santa Fe Commons

Overland Park staff next week will make a formal recommendation to the city’s Community Development Committee on a conceptual design plan for Santa Fe Commons that will not include relocation of the Farmers Market from its current site. The potential relocation of the Farmers Market to Santa Fe Commons has been under consideration for months, with consultants hired by the city to look into ways to improve market operations laying out a number of benefits to the idea. But the prospect proved divisive among residents, with many saying it would eat into precious green space in Santa Fe Commons.

In a staff comments memo included in the agenda for the Sept. 5 Community Development Committee released today, city staff said they were recommending the conceptual plan for the park called “Park Stroll” that includes an airplane-shaped performance venue, shelters and a natural play area — and plenty of green space.The memo details a number of reasons staff were recommending against relocation of the Farmers Market.

Disc golf thrives at premier course in Hays

As Ron Rice was out and about on Wednesday he saw a class of Hays middle school students throwing discs around the nine-hole Rolling Hills Park Disc Golf Course at 41st Street and Autumn Lane.

“It’s nice to see,” Rice said. “The P.E. teacher is teaching them disc golf.”

Rice has been playing the sport — what old-timers refer to as Frisbee golf — since he was in college at Fort Hays State University in the late 1970s. A lot has changed since those early days.

He is one of 132 disc golf players registered so far for the 34th Annual Frontier Open at the Flying Bison Disc Golf Course in Frontier Park. And hopefully it won’t just be golfers on the course.

“They really like it when people come out to watch,” Rice said.

The three-day tournament is set for Sept. 7, 8 and 9, at a course that is considerably more challenging than Rolling Hills. The Flying Bison course has 21 permanent holes sprinkled throughout the 75-acre city park.

Attendance at the tourney this year is likely to break the 2016 record of 136 golfers, said Brett Straight, Hays, tournament director for a number of years.

“It looks like we’ll be setting another record,” said Straight. “We have room for 180 and I’m really hoping we’ll get 150 or 160.”

(Read more: News – The Hays Daily News)

Homeowner sues City of Wichita to lower special assessments when bonds are re-financed (which probably NO city in Kansas does)

Thousands of Wichita homeowners, mainly those who bought new homes built between 2002 and 2011, could be paying more in special assessments than they should, according to a Wichita lawyer suing the city on behalf of a local couple.

The attorney, Austin Parker, contends the city of Wichita is deliberately collecting more money from property owners who pay special than it needs to pay off bonds that funded streets, sewers and other infrastructure improvements in what could be dozens of developments across town.

The issue, Parker says, stems from the city’s practice of refinancing more than $220 million in general obligation bonds, including some that funded the improvements, to lower interest rates and cut payback costs. “Kansas statutes specifically provide for municipalities to refinance bonds but DO NOT require redistributing to property owners the money saved through refinancing,” a motion to dismiss filed Aug. 24 by Gilmore and Bell, the city’s bond counsel, says. “There is simply no legal duty to do what plaintiffs (the Snodgrasses) assert should have been done.”

(Read more: Politics & Government News |)

Augusta’s new downtown playground takes shape

A 2003 economic development study recommended ways to improve the economy downtown, and in the past 15 years, it has been a goal of members of the Augusta City Council and residents to see a downtown playground for local children.
That wish is about to come true.
City Manager Josh Shaw advised that a downtown playground ties in with the rehab of the Frisco Depot and the enhanced Rail to Trails project.
“To be a destination, an economic driver, the park has to be unique with different options,” Shaw said. “Something not found everywhere.“ Hopes are that the park will be popular and will generate interest, which could result in obtaining grants for enhancements and more additions to the park, such as upgrading to a more expensive rubberized surface.
City Councilman Cale Magruder recently stated on social media, “We’re excited about this and thankful to the community partners – the Palmer family for donating the ground, Alan’s Excavating for going above and beyond…We hope to have the playground open for the 150th Celebration to enjoy this great addition to Augusta.”

(Read more: Augusta Gazette)

Business occupancy rate 93 percent downtown Leavenworth

Vacant buildings are rare in downtown Leavenworth, and the statistics prove it.

According to Leavenworth Main Street Executive Director Wendy Scheidt, 93 percent of the buildings are occupied in the 28-block downtown district.

She said the occupancy rate is comprised of approximately 250 businesses in downtown Leavenworth.

Scheidt said downtown Leavenworth maintains that percentage because “it’s a good business community that works together.”

Taylour Tedder, assistant city manager for the city of Leavenworth, said such a high occupancy rate for a municipality the size of Leavenworth “is fairly rare.”

He said that high occupancy rate can be attributed to numerous long-standing businesses and their promotional efforts.

“It’s just a place people want to be,” Tedder said.

(Read more: Leavenworth Times)

Prairie Village sets public hearing date on new home design guidelines

Prairie Village announced it has set a public hearing date of Sept. 11 for the city’s planning commission to review a new set of home design guidelines intended to address concerns about the wave of teardown-rebuild projects in the city. “These proposed changes would add neighborhood design standards for R-1A and R-1B zoning districts, which would regulate building massing and frontage design,” reads a message about the hearing posted by the city on Nextdoor. “The proposed changes would also add impervious coverage limits and revise and re-format other existing standards related to accessory buildings, setback, and lot exceptions.”

Ceremonial shots set off Winfield alarms

Parts of Winfield went on alert for a short time Wednesday after a report of shots being fired near an elementary school that later were identified as coming from a memorial service at a nearby cemetery.

Winfield officers were dispatched around noon to a report of gunshots heard by children and adults at Whittier Elementary School, 1400 Mound St. Officers checked the area and confirmed the gunshots came from St. Marys Cemetery, 1938 E. 12th Ave., and were part of a veterans’ memorial service, according to the Winfield Police Department Facebook page.

The ceremonial shots were fired during recess, and as part of USD 465’s Emergency Standard Response Protocol, students and staff were moved inside until the area was deemed free of any threat. All students and staff are safe, according to school district representatives.

As a result of the misunderstanding, Winfield school district advised all the Winfield funeral homes to notify the school district of any future memorial services so everyone can be informed.

Monthly drills at Kansas schools now include other alerts and evacuation drills so school staff and students can be more prepared in the event that something serious occurs, according to a school official.

(Read more: The Arkansas City Traveler)

Cowley County emergency management to conduct full-scale exercise

Cowley County Emergency Management will facilitate a full-scale exercise on Sept. 6 at the Tisdale United Methodist Church, 17507 U.S. 160 Highway, east of Winfield.

At least 22 separate organizations are expected to participate in this exercise, which is slated to begin at 9 a.m. and complete no later than 1 p.m.

Emergency operations planning is a key role of the Emergency Management agency. To successfully test a plan’s effectiveness, specific aspects of the plan need to be tested and evaluated for any necessary improvements.

The Tisdale United Methodist Church is one the newest community partners and has accepted the role as a post-event community evacuation shelter. As a final step, numerous agencies from the area will join together in a full-scale exercise at this venue.

The exercise will test four Core Capabilities:

(Read more: The Arkansas City Traveler)

Derby: Rules exist for outbuildings

A new business, Graceland Portable Buildings, is selling outbuildings at 2230 N. Nelson Drive, including some large models. The Derby Informer asked City Engineer Dan Squires about what local residents need to know when looking at the structures. Generally, such buildings are allowed, but they do have to meet zoning requirements, Squires said.

“Any accessory structure has to be permitted and meet the setback requirements for the zoning district and the individual lot,” he said.

Also, there are a lot of coverage requirements.

In the single-family residential district, the lot coverage is limited to 30 percent.

Thus, on a 10,000-square-foot lot with a 2,500-square-foot house, the maximum building size for an accessory structure would be 500 square feet.

Individual developments may also have restrictive covenants that provide limitations on the size and material for accessory structures, he said. Graceland officials said they will work with clients to meet those requirements, including matching colors as needed.

Derby City Council looks at refurbishing pools

After 15 years of use, the pools at the city’s water park, Rock River Rapids, are in need of a total facelift, say city officials.

At issue are all the layers of paint that have been put on the pool surfaces over the years. That’s 12 layers to be precise.

While they have served their purpose, they also can potentially hide concrete damage such as cracks, said Steve White, director of parks, who submitted a refurbishment proposal to the City Council for its consideration at its Aug. 28 meeting. The city has received five bids to thoroughly sandblast the pools, clean and inspect them and then repair any identified failures. The job also calls for a new epoxy-based coating.

The bids range from $120,750 from JTP Painting and Sandblasting to $320,700 from Kramer Industrial Inc.

The water park’s budget includes $300,000 for the job, so the low price is well under the limit. The city’s bid board reviewed all the proposals and recommended going ahead with the low bid, which the council usually does.

Age, the sun and pool chemicals take their toll on the pools’ surfaces.

“The old paint is thick, brittle and separating from the surface,” White said.

The danger of cracks, he said, is that they permit water loss under the coating.

Currently, White doesn’t know when the project will start.

“Once we have finalized the signatures on the contract, we will then have a better idea of a start date,” he said.

‘Small step for Topeka’: Topeka Metro unveils new after-hours wheelchair accessible vehicle

After 7:30 p.m., when Topeka Metro ends it service for the night and heads toward the bus barn, ways to get around the city narrow for those who need a wheelchair-accessible ride.

Topeka Metro and Capital City Taxi have teamed up to fill that gap by adding a wheelchair-accessible vehicle that will run after Topeka Metro’s regular service hours end. Kevin Moten, owner of Capital City Taxi, said the move was a small step for Topeka when it comes to people with disabilities.

“I’m excited to be a part of this project and help everyone out in the city,” Moten said. “Hopefully this will be the very first part, first step, in growing of everything.”

For the month of September, anyone using the MV-1 vehicle will pay $10 for a one-way ride in the city, Moten said. On Oct. 1, the MV-1 will start charging regular taxi rates.

While the $10 special lasts, Moten said, drivers will only transport people within the city limits, but once rates return to normal, the taxi will take passengers wherever they need to go.

Susan Duffy, Topeka Metro general manager, said they expect the taxi to book up quickly and suggests calling Capital City Taxi to secure a ride if needed.

Town hall meeting discusses wind generation project in Neosho County

As many as 80 people attended a town hall meeting Tuesday evening, some to learn about and some to oppose a planned wind generation project in southeast Neosho County.

The Neosho County Commission held the meeting at the Galesburg Community Center with representatives of Apex Clean Energy to discuss the project to place 100 to 130 wind turbines in a 100-square-mile area roughly between Anderson and Platt roads and between 140th and 50th roads.

“We’re here tonight because we want to hear from you,” Commissioner Jennifer Orr told the gathering, “not because we’ve made a decision.”

Chris Ollson of Environmental Health Management gave a slideshow about the health issues involved in wind farms, including the flickering shadows caused by moving blades, the noise levels and risk of ice or debris from a damaged turbine being thrown.

The turbines will be located 1,200 feet from homes, where the noise level would be about 50 decibels. An attendee at the meeting said the community center’s air conditioning system measured 65 decibels at the far side of the hall.

Turbines could be located at least 1,400 feet from homes that are not participating in the generating leases, and one mile from Galesburg.

County Clerk: Elections make job stressful

While the County Clerks office handles a lot for the county, from payroll and paying the bills to keeping records, County Clerk Kayla Wang told Lions on Tuesday elections are the most stressful part of her job.

“I’ve enjoyed it immensely,” Wang said of the 26 years she’s worked for the office, including the last 10 as county clerk. “Some days the public can be a challenge, but mostly it’s a joy.”

The turnout for the August primary was 36.7 percent of the 5,610 people registered to vote. That’s a little higher than typical for a primary, and higher than the state average of 27 percent. Wang ordered enough ballots for 45 percent, which was “cutting it close.”

(Read more: Clay Center Dispatch)

Merriam formally kicks off new community center construction with groundbreaking ceremony

Merriam celebrated the beginning of construction for its new $30 million community center with a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday morning.

Residents, city leaders and representatives from the contractor, McCarthy Building Companies packed into the upstairs training room of city hall as a thunderstorm, which forced a last-minute relocation of the event, rolled through town.

Mayor Ken Sissom said talks for the city to build a new community center began in 2014, prompted by major expenses from maintaining two of the city’s facilities, the existing Irene B. French Community Center and the Merriam Aquatic Center. After several studies and soliciting feedback from residents — including “an overwhelming majority” of yes votes, Merriam leaders decided to “make the wise decision” of building a new community center, Sissom said.