Municipal News & Jobs

Kansas Municipal News

Proposal would cut county’s road and bridge fund by nearly half to pay for jail, criminal justice projects

A $1.4 million cut to the annual allocation used to improve county roads and bridges would require Douglas County Public Works to scrap some projects and reduce the scope or delay others, officials told county commissioners Monday during the first day of 2019 budget hearings.

The $1.4 million cut was among the $3.12 million proposed in the 2019 budget County Administrator Craig Weinaug presented to Douglas County Commissioners last week. The money saved from the cuts is to be reallocated to pay for solutions to jail overcrowding in light of voters’ rejection last month of Proposition 1 and the $44 million jail expansion it would have funded. The proposed budget maintains the current year’s mill levy of 46.018 mills.

Keith Browning, public works director, and Chad Voigt, deputy public works director, shared the consequences of the cut to the department’s annual capital improvement fund proposed in the 2019 budget County Administrator Craig Weinaug presented to county commissioners last week. The public works department cut, which would continue in coming years, would reduce the annual allocation to the road and bridge capital account by about half.

(Read more: LJWorld.com / Lawrence, Kansas)

Douglas County’s proposed 2019 budget maintains current mill levy, provides $3M for criminal justice needs

Douglas County Administrator Craig Weinaug has presented county commissioners with a proposed 2019 budget that maintains the current year’s 46.018 mill levy and identifies $3.12 million from spending cuts or reallocations to be used for criminal justice needs, including addressing overcrowding at the county jail.

The $3.12 million plan doesn’t call for significant cuts to social service agency funding, but rather would involve significant reductions in the amount of money the county sets aside for building and road improvements. However, some alternative recommendations Weinaug provided, which total more than the $3.12 million, would require cuts to some community partners.

Meeting involving future of Harvey county’s water source announced

Area residents will have the opportunity to weigh in and ask questions about possible changes made to the entire region’s source of drinking water.

That opportunity takes place at the Halstead High School Auditorium, at 7 p.m., Thursday, June 28.

The City of Wichita has proposed changes allowing it to draw down the Equus Beds aquifer further than it has in the last 25 years,to depths that would possibly impact shallow domestic wells in Harvey County.

The entire county draws its water from the aquifer located beneath its western half. Wichita also wants the State of Kansas to approve a new credit system on water stored in the aquifer.

For each gallon of water the city treats from the Little Arkansas River and uses, it wants a credit on a gallon of water stored in the aquifer. The rationale behind this system is to allow the City of Wichita to build up credits on the aquifer when the aquifer is already full. The proposed changes have drawn concern from the Harvey County Commission and the Harvey County Farm Bureau, as well as local farmers and residents.

(Read more: Newton Now)

City of Atchison discusses potential local tax windfall with Supreme Court decision

Governments at every level throughout the nation can be expected to lick their chops after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned this week a loophole on online retail sales tax.

“The Kansas Legislature should greet this with arms wide open,” said Atchison, Kansas, City Commissioner Dave Butler.

He reacted to Thursday’s news that states will be allowed to force online retailers to act as brick-and-mortar shops for sales tax purposes, even if they have no physical presence in a state. The court had previously ruled in 1992 that businesses with no such presence had no tangible connection, and so didn’t necessarily owe sales tax solely because residents of a given state purchased something online. For his part, Mayor Allen Reavis said it is a long-awaited opportunity for officials which shouldn’t be squandered.

“If (legislators) don’t take advantage of this, they need to be thrown out of office,” he said. “This could be huge for our town.”

City Manager Becky Berger said the local dividend from any new infusion of sales tax revenue is currently difficult to estimate. Current rough estimates anticipate revenues going up 10 to 15 percent, she said.

Kansas National Guard to haul bottled water to Norton

The Kansas National Guard has been called upon to haul 26 pallets of bottled water to a northwestern Kansas town where toxic algae has compromised the water supply.

The bottled water was donated by Harvesters, a community food network, in Kansas City, Missouri and Topeka, and will be delivered to Norton on Saturday afternoon.

Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer declared a state of disaster emergency on Friday for the City of Norton due to harmful algae blooms in Sebelius Lake. The toxic algae is affecting the surface water intakes for the city’s public water supply.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued a boil water advisory for the Norton public water supply on June 19.

Leo Henning with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment says the agency is working with others to monitor and test water supplies.

(Read more: KWCH News)

City of Augusta discusses alternatives on splash pad project

Perhaps due to feelings of frustration from the lengthy cemetery discussion or the news of snags in a construction project, tempers flared a bit near the conclusion of Monday’s meeting. Most visitors had left the meeting when City Manager Josh Shaw began discussion on the Splash Pad and drainage channel at Shryock Park. He explained that the discharge water from the Splash Pad can not be routed to the lake as planned.
“No action is needed tonight, but we now have to reconsider things and take a look at the cost and how to handle this,” Shaw said. Councilor David Bates asked, “What else can we do? We can’t dump it in the lake.“
Leffler responded, “We need to put thought into it and come up with a final solution.”

(Read more: El Dorado Times)

City mayor delivers Winfield’s status

The City of Winfield “is in pretty good shape, but there are things we can do to make it in even better shape going forward,” Mayor Greg Thompson said Thursday at the “State of the City” address.

These things include construction of the new public safety facility and new housing construction to keep up with good employment numbers, highlights of Thompson’s presentation.

Around 45 people attended the event at the Winfield Area Chamber of Commerce, part of the monthly Lunch Bites series where local government and industry representatives give an update on their organization’s latest happenings.

Thompson said funding public safety is the most important thing any city does. Fire/EMS and police are the top two departments receiving money from the general fund budget, receiving 34.57 percent and 28.31 percent of funds, respectively.

(Read more: The Arkansas City Traveler)

Land bank approved by Fort Scott city commissioners

After months of discussion and consideration, Fort Scott City Commissioners on Tuesday approved creation of a tool that could be used to address the issue of dilapidated, vacant or tax-foreclosed properties.

Commissioners approved an ordinance establishing a land bank and a seven-member land bank board of trustees, and also appointed a land bank manager.

City officials have said the ultimate goal of a land bank is to bring these types of properties back to productive use and once again generate property taxes.

Community Development Director Rhonda Dunn attended the meeting to request approval of the land bank.

“This is something I have a lot of passion for and been working on since I was with the county,” Dunn said.

(Read more: Fort Scott Tribune)

Public forum in El Dorado held for plan to outsource management of youth sports programs

Several citizens spoke out against a plan to outsource the management of youth sports programs currently managed by the City of El Dorado Recreation Department to the El Dorado YMCA at a public forum at the Civic Center Wednesday evening.

Among the crowd were coaches, parents, concerned citizens and ElDorado Recreation and YMCA respresentives.

El Dorado City Manager David Dillner said the plan was to transfer management of the youth sports programs to the El Dorado YMCA and use the resources previously allocated to Recreation Programming to upgrade the El Dorado parks and recreation facilities.

The YMCA would be allowed to use the City of El Dorado Rec facilities, potentially for a fee.

El Dorado Rec is funded mostly through the city’s general fund. USD 490 contributes no funding to El Dorado Recreation. Before a decision will be made, there will be another public forum to get more input from citizens.

(Read more: andoveramerican.com)

Bourbon County Commissioners release final numbers on jail project

Now that the move into the Bourbon County Law Enforcement Center is complete, questions have been raised about the final cost of the project.

During Tuesday’s Bourbon County Commission meeting, Commission Chairman Lynne Oharah shared information he has gathered from the treasurer’s office regarding the cost of the new Bourbon County Law Enforcement Center. He also shared additional information with the Tribune on Thursday.

Commissioners said all figures regarding the jail and bond issues are open records and available to the public.

On April 7, 2015, a bond issue was passed, which allowed Bourbon County to implement a .40 percent retail sales tax to pay for the construction, furnishing, and operation of a new jail as well renovation of the existing courthouse and other county buildings. The county was approved to issue general obligation bonds for up to $6,850,000 to finance the cost of the “jail improvements.”

The county began collecting the additional sales tax revenue on Oct. 1, 2015.

(Read more: Fort Scott Tribune)

Atchison County steps up delinquent tax collections

Area property owners may soon learn there is a new home rule in the land to move assets in arrears on taxes to the front of the auction line.

Atchison County Commission Board members officially took this action Tuesday, June 19, adopting Charter Resolution No. 2018-1. The move indicates the county’s desire to have constituents seeking redemption from property tax delinquency pay current taxes and interest owed, rather than older back taxes.

According to statute, properties in tax delinquency for a period of three years or more are subject to the tax sale process.Commissioners expect adoption of the home rule will keep the tax sales on a more consistent pace and efficient course to bring delinquent tax payments to the county coffer.

(Read more: Atchison Globe Now)

Merriam community center team unveils details on proposed exterior design at open house

Merriam residents got a first look at the proposed design for the city’s new $30 million community center at an open house Thursday.

The big reveal at city hall gave attendees a peek of the designers’ plans for the building as well as the site layout, which will include a spot for a new Antioch branch of the Johnson County Library and a parking structure to serve both facilities. The community center design features a large courtyard area. The center’s interior spaces of a lobby, gallery, community spaces and pool will all view the courtyard through continuous glass. Factors such as the site landscape, seating, shade, lighting and public art were all considered in the design, according to city plans revealed at the open house.

Wichita postpones decision on closing south-side Clapp Golf Course

A decision on whether to shut down Wichita’s Clapp Golf Course will have to wait for another day.

City Hall canceled a special meeting of the Park Board set for 4 p.m. Friday, where officials had planned to consider closing the course and freeing up part of the land for commercial and residential development. City staff notified news media of the closure through Twitter: “FYI: the Wichita Park Board MTG today about Clapp GC has been postponed due to scheduling of members. MTG to be resched at a later date.”

The golf course is at Harry and Oliver and is the smallest in the five-course golf system.

City staff is proposing to close the course as soon as possible.

The course has run a total of about $600,000 in the red since 2013, including a $235,000 operating deficit last year, a city staff report said.

Parks Director Troy Houtman says closing Clapp would just about make up for a $579,000 operating deficit in the overall golf system projected for next year.

(Read more: Wichita Eagle)

Long-term drought plan for northeast Kansas counties reviewed

Moderate drought may be plaguing Northeast Kansas counties, but the dryness isn’t about to prevent a group of state officials from pursuing safeguards for the resource’s future.

The Missouri River Regional Advisory Committee of the Kansas Water Office met Thursday in Atchison to discuss a laundry list of water-related issues. Among the more prominent and obvious topics was the current drought.

Committee chairman Carl Johnson voiced fears of the drought’s lingering impacts at the end of the meeting. “It’s moving this way,” he said during a conversation with Alan Kelley of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, who shares those concerns.

In line with countering drought’s long-term effects, the group heard updates on a rollout of an online campaign initiative dubbed Kansas Runs on Water. Kirk Tjelmeland, a water resource officer for the state office, said the effort aims to provide information on water-related issues to the public.

“The whole idea behind this is to have one umbrella for education,” Tjelmeland told members.

Yet trying to secure a full budget is already proving to be a challenge.

(Read more: Atchison Globe Now)

Lenexa embraces system to reduce train noise

Lenexa has allocated $350,000 for two horns that should reduce train noise for the more than 1,200 residences and businesses within a half-mile of the Old Town Lenexa railroad crossings.

Wayside horns, already being used in Merriam, mimic train horns but are mounted at the railroad crossing instead of on the locomotive. When the train approaches, the system automatically activates and projects the sound down the roadway toward the motorists who need to hear it. Far less sound goes down the tracks and into the neighborhoods.

The wayside horn system will cover the Plfumm Road and Noland Road crossings on the BNSF Railway tracks, which run adjacent to Santa Fe Trail Drive through Old Town.

Moeder explains benefit of new sales tax bill on Kansas State Fair

There has been a lot of talk about legislative approval that will allow the Kansas State Fair to keep 5 percent of the 6 1/2 percent sales tax it generates from events throughout the year.

How exactly will that work?

The sales tax is collected by the Kansas Revenue Department. The sales tax would then come back to the fair, according to Interim Fair Manager Bob Moeder. With as much as $400,000 possibly coming in each year, some wonder what the fair will do in terms of capital improvements on the fairgrounds. These sales tax dollars will allow officials to bond projects, much like the city and county do. This will allow fair officials to pay those projects off over time. Despite the infusion of cash from the sales tax, Moeder says the fair could possibly look at grants for things on the grounds.

(Read more: Hutch Post)

Mission police officers honored for handling of dangerous situation

Nearly the entire Mission Police Department turned up for the council meeting Wednesday in support of their colleagues.

Patrol officers Samantha Kunzler and Tony Schuberger recently completed their police training and were introduced to council members. Kunzler and her field training officer, Nathan Fleming, earned special recognition for successfully handling a dangerous situation with a violent suspect several months ago. Captain Dan Madden bestowed the honors on the officers.

Fleming received a letter of commendation “for his brave and extraordinary performance, which reflects greatly upon himself, the Mission Police Department and the city of Mission.” Kunzler, in turn, received a Purple Heart — the first ever for the Mission Police Department — “for her brave and resolute performance that led to her suffering serious injury during an assault.”

Sunday liquor sales to hit Emporia ballot in August

The issue of Sunday liquor sales in Emporia will be on the ballot in August, thanks to a petition arguing against a move to legalize Sunday sales within the city.

The petition, which had the requisite 5 percent of signatures needed to force the vote, was turned into the Lyon County Clerk’s Office on Wednesday. The Emporia City Commission unanimously approved an ordinance to allow Sunday liquor sales during an April 11 meeting. Anyone opposed to the ordinance had a 60-day protest period — which ends Saturday — to present a petition containing signatures from 5 percent of the number of Emporians who voted in the 2016 general election to get the measure on the Aug. 7 primary ballot.

(Read more: Emporia Gazette)

Lenexa mayor, Kansas governor credit City Center vision with helping attract Kiewit investment in new headquarters

ansas Gov. Jeff Colyer was in Lenexa Thursday to celebrate the start of construction on a regional headquarters facility for Kiewit Corp., one of the largest construction and engineering firms in North America.

The project will include construction of a new six-story building on the vacant lot adjacent to the current Kiewit Corp. offices at 8900 Renner Blvd. The new building will be approximately 182,000 square feet. Combined with the existing facilities, the Kiewit campus will have about 385,000 square feet of office space housing around 1,300 employees. The project is schedule to be complete in January 2020.

What City Leaders Should Know about South Dakota v. Wayfair (Online Sales Tax Case)

On Thursday, in a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court handed down a major victory in South Dakota v. Wayfair, concluding that state and local governments can require remote retailers with no physical presence in the state to collect and remit sales taxes. After years of congressional inaction, the decision brings cities one significant step closer toward achieving Main Street fairness.

Every city leader should have questions about Wayfair‘s impact. These initial reactions and answers will help them catch up quick:

In deciding the case, Justice Kennedy wrote the majority opinions and was joined by four other justices: Ginsberg, Alito, Gorsuch (filed a concurring opinion) and Thomas (also filed a concurring opinion). Justice Roberts penned the dissenting opinion and was joined by three other justices: Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan.
…
Going forward, having a substantial economic presence in a state will be sufficient grounds for a state and local government to require a retailer to collect and remit sales taxes. This is a huge step forward in our nearly three-decades-long fight to close the online sales tax loophole.

Despite some reports, however, this is not about imposing new taxes — but rather about closing an unfair tax loophole that has cost state and local governments billions in lost revenue each year. In fact, the International Council of Shopping Centers and the National Conference of State Legislatures have estimated that the loophole cost state and local governments $26 billion in lost revenue in 2015.

(Read more: CitiesSpeak)

Great Bend to announce finalists soon for City Administrator position

The City of Great Bend has been without a permanent city administrator since Howard Partington announced his early retirement on August 16, 2017. Interim City Administrator George Kolb was hired on a short-term basis only to fill the gap until a permanent candidate was found. The selection of the next Great Bend City Administrator is getting closer as the City plans to bring three finalists to town next week for interviews and meet and greets.

The City plans to release the names of the three finalists Monday morning, June 25. On Wednesday, June 27 the candidates will go through internal tours, official interviews, and interviews with the media. On Thursday, June 28 the public will have a chance to meet and interact with the candidates. The Great Bend Chamber of Commerce is opening up a meet-and-greet for Chamber members at 10:30 a.m. at the Great Bend Events Center. The public will also have a chance later in the day starting at 4:30 p.m., also at the Events Center.

(Read more: Great Bend Post)

Great Bend City Council to start future meetings an hour earlier

Anyone interested in attending or watching the Great Bend City Council meetings live online will need to remember to prepare for an hour earlier start time. The City Council voted 6-1 this week to make a change in the ordinance to move future meetings’ start time to 6:30 p.m. from the previous 7:30 p.m. time.

Councilmember Jolene Biggs was in favor of the switch and felt it was a good move for city staff that has to attend the meetings.Councilmember Cory Urban touched on the family aspect as well, stating that starting meetings at 7:30 p.m. made it challenging to see their families on Monday nights. The Council experimented with the earlier start times this past month with regular meetings and budget sessions. The Council meets the first and third Monday each month at City Hall.

(Read more: Great Bend Post)

Wichita moves toward closing south-side golf course to clear land for commercial use

This could be the last round for Clapp Golf Course.

The city Park Board has called a special meeting Friday to vote on a proposal to close down the little course at the corner of Harry and Oliver in south Wichita.

A staff recommendation calls for the course to be shut down as soon as possible, with a goal of selling part of the land for commercial/housing development. Some other park use could go on the remainder of the land, which is in an unbuildable flood plain. Clapp would be the second public course to close in the last four years. In late 2014, Wichita State University razed its Braeburn Golf Course to clear space for development of the Innovation Campus, a mix of educational and business ventures at the east end of the university.

(Read more: Politics & Government News |)

Finney County Economic Development Corp. continues work on childcare issue

Lona DuVall, president and CEO of the Finney County Economic Development Corp., told city and county officials earlier this week that the FCEDC hopes to soon share details of its plans to open new facilities to help address the local childcare shortage.

“I think we’re getting really, really, close, and hopefully we’ll be able to share details and what that plan looks like very shortly,” DuVall said at Tuesday’s Garden City Commission meeting.

FCEDC officials have yet to announce specific plans, but have proposed establishing two large childcare facilities for 110 to 145 children, two midsized centers for 50 to 75 children, and four small centers for 30 to 45 children.

Lawrence, Douglas County planners want your feedback on bikeways

Lawrence and Douglas County residents will have a handful of opportunities to share their input on an update to the Countywide Bikeway Plan.

The purpose of the plan is to “develop a low-stress bicycle network that can make bicycling an attractive choice for transportation,” according to the city’s website, lawrenceks.org.

There are two ways to participate. First, there is a survey available at lawrenceks.org/mpo/tellus, which the website says takes about 10 minutes to complete. It will be available until Aug. 31. Those wishing to share their opinions with transportation planners and Bicycle Advisory Committee members face-to-face can find them at upcoming “mobile meetings”.

(Read more: LJWorld.com / Lawrence, Kansas)

Supreme Court: Online shoppers can be forced to pay sales tax

The Supreme Court says states can force online shoppers to pay sales tax. The 5-4 ruling Thursday is a win for states, who said they were losing out on billions of dollars annually under two decades-old Supreme Court decisions that impacted online sales tax collection.

The high court ruled Thursday to overturn those decisions. They had resulted in some companies not collecting sales tax on every online purchase. The cases the court overturned said that if a business was shipping a product to a state where it didn’t have a physical presence such as a warehouse or office, the business didn’t have to collect the state’s sales tax. Customers were generally supposed to pay the tax to the state themselves if they don’t get charged it, but the vast majority didn’t.

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that the previous decisions were flawed.

“Each year the physical presence rule becomes further removed from economic reality and results in significant revenue losses to the States. These critiques underscore that the physical presence rule, both as first formulated and as applied today, is an incorrect interpretation of the Commerce Clause,” he wrote.

(Read more: Leavenworth Times)

Overland Park approves nearly $300,000 in improvements for 4 playgrounds

Four Overland Park playgrounds will get new equipment and/or resurfacing this year. The city council recently approved bids for upgrades at four parks that would replace the surfacing and current playground equipment. The new play gyms will replace equipment that is almost 20 years old, said Scott Shierk, manager of parks and forestry for the city’s park service.

El Dorado tables Lake Debt discussion

Waiting to confirm opinions from a financial and legal expert, the El Dorado City Commission tabled a discussion Monday night about paying off approximately $8.3 million in debt from the lake in the 2019 budget.

The debt of stages 2 and 3 is under a 50-year contract that started when El Dorado Lake combined with Bluestem Lake in 1981.

The contract is with the United States Army Corp of Engineers for access to water from 1,296 to 1,339 feet about sea level for city or industrial use. This is about 22 million gallons per day. The city currently uses about 9 million gallons per day.

The city has already paid $3.3 million in interest and is looking to save $8 million in future interest payment with the one time lump sum payment.

(Read more: El Dorado Times)

Derby Fire Chief calls for earlier truck replacement, more staff

Derby Fire Chief Brad Smith has proposed moving up the timetable for replacing one of the city’s fire trucks by a year. Engine 82 was set for replacement in 2020, and Smith said he would like to see that done next year.

Smith made the proposal in his report in the 2019 city budget, which is now in the process of being examined by the public and City Council members.

Engine 82 was purchased in 2001 and for four years was used by the city’s volunteer fire department. Since 2005, it has responded to all types of fires, emergency medical calls and vehicle accidents, he said, but it’s now reaching the end of its life as a main resource.

“Historically, 19 years is the limit on front line dependability for an engine,” he said.

While the engine may look fine to the casual observer, appearances don’t always provide the total picture, he said.

“It does looks new, but then our goal is to keep them up,” he said. “We don’t let them get beat up.”

Former Haysville Activity Center to become sports, entertainment venue

The City of Haysville leased the former Haysville Activity Center (HAC) at 7106 S. Broadway to a local couple that plans to re-open it as a sports and recreation venue called 060 Sports.

The building has been empty since 2017 when the HAC moved to a new location.

Kyle and Lindsey Brown, lifelong residents of south Wichita, began renovation this month, and hope to have the venue up and running before the end of July.

“There’s just not really a lot to do on the south side,” Lindsey Brown said. “Our kids play several sports, and there was nowhere for them to practice.”

After opening, 060 Sports will host a variety of activities for both entertainment and practice, including:

Derby Historical Society receives county assistance

On June 13, the Sedgwick County Commission voted on and approved assistance in the amount of $10,000 to the Derby Historical Museum to replace the windows. The museum is one of seven sites being recognized during the upcoming 150th anniversary celebration for Derby and submitted the proposal in hopes of moving closer to the completion of a window replacement project.

Butler County offering incentive program to retain detention officers

With the Butler Detention Center currently having 12 openings for staff, the Butler County Board of Commissioners reinstated a Detention Retention Policy Tuesday that gives incentives for officers that stay with the detention center.Once an officer passes the screening process, incentives begin paying at six months. After six months there is $1,000 in incentives. After nine months and 12 months another $500 is awarded. Positions currently pay $15.50 to start.

(Read more: andoveramerican.com)

Clay Center City Council supports dog park

A plan to place a dog park near the Clay County Animal Rescue and Education Center received a letter of support from the Clay Center city council last night.

Officials with CCARE asked for the endorsement in order to apply for a grant that would be available to dog owners who want to walk their dogs. The project would be funded entirely by grant funds and no city money will be involved.

Officials said the park would not be used by dogs being held at the Center’s facility even though it is on property owned by the Center.

Wichita promises fines for illegal fireworks. ‘This year, we are serious,’ mayor says

If you plan to shoot off fireworks in Wichita this year, you better make sure they’re legal.

If not, you could face a $250 fine from the city.

“This year, we are serious about making sure that people adhere to our policies and write tickets,” Mayor Jeff Longwell said Thursday. “In the past, we’ve had those tickets as high as $2,500. I know firemen that have worked for the city for 30 years and have never written a $2,500 ticket, so we’ve dropped that to $250, because we will write $250 tickets and we will enforce that.”

Firework sales start next Wednesday, and Longwell said most fireworks bought in Wichita have been checked and should be legal. Even if they were bought legally in other cities in the area, only fireworks tested and approved by the Wichita Fire Department are allowed.

(Read more: Politics & Government News |)

Residents turn out to ask about zoning code rewrite in KCK

Gravel driveways, AirBNBs and tiny homes were just a few of the topics that came up at the first Kansas City, Kansas, zoning code rewrite meeting today.

A lot of community interest was shown in the zoning code rewrite, with a packed meeting room today at the Salvation Army Harbor Light Village at 6723 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas. About 115 people attended the meeting.

Some residents had wide policy comments, while others who attended were concerned about how a zoning code rewrite would affect their own property.

(Read more: Welcome to Wyandotte Daily!)

Plans for a Sikh temple in Lenexa raise concerns, but also draw praise

The Lenexa City Council has endorsed plans for a new worship temple for a growing Sikh community, despite some concerns that the building is too big and doesn’t fit well with surrounding neighborhoods.

The Council voted 4-2 Tuesday night in favor of a preliminary plan for the Midwest Sikh worship space, also known as a gurdwara, at the northeast corner of 101st Street and Lone Elm Road.

“I think it’s a beautiful building,” Councilman Andy Huckaba said in support of the $4 million project. Council members Mandy Stuke, Corey Hunt and Steve Lemons also voted for the preliminary plan. But the building as conceived was not supported by Ward 2 council members Bill Nicks and Thomas Nolte, who represent the area where the temple will be built.

(Read more: Government & Politics News |)

Kobach’s office: Counties may continue to ‘track’ citizenship if they don’t ask

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s office has told county election offices that they may no longer ask prospective voters for proof of citizenship but they can collect the documents if the voters provide them voluntarily.

Kobach’s office provided instructions Wednesday afternoon to the state’s 105 county election offices following a federal judge’s decision Monday to strike down the state’s requirement that people must provide proof of citizenship before they can register to vote.

Bryan Caskey, the state’s director of elections, instructed the county election officials to change the status of any voter registration record marked canceled or in suspense to “active” after the ruling.

Caskey said in an email that about 25,175 voter records would be changed to active status.

(Read more: Politics & Government News |)

Great Bend audit report a good one

It was welcome news for the Great Bend City Council Monday night as Vickie Dreiling of Adams, Brown, Beran and Ball presented the city’s 2017 annual audit. After the presentation, it adopted the audit as reported.

“Our opinion is an unmodified opinion,” Dreiling said. “It is the highest form of opinion we can use on a regulatory basis.” In more good news, Dreiling said this was the time in many years she has not had to bring up several recommendations from the previous year. “The staff has done a good job cleaning up any old, outstanding issues.”

The only remaining suggestion was the implementation of an ambulance write-off policy. The department should continue to utilize the new software to help with these processes.

A tour of the audit

Because there are several new council members, Dreiling took a little more time walking those present through the auditing process.

County attorney’s request for an assistant spurs negative reaction from county board

During a contentious county commissioners meeting that twice was called to order by Chairman Dave Baier, County Attorney Laura Johnson-McNish asked the board to consider what would happen if she was no longer the county attorney.

“Let me make a point right here,” said Commissioner Lynn Feldhausen. “No one is irreplaceable. No one. Not me, not (Commissioner Bob Connell), everybody. Not irreplaceable.”

The discussion began when Johnson-McNish, an elected official, requested $216,900 for 2019 for her office, which is an increase of $69,850 from this year.

The commissioners have added some funding to her office since the 2018 budget was set last year and the county attorney’s projected actual budget for 2018 is $165,252.

Johnson-McNish said she seeks additional funds for her office so that she can begin training an assistant county attorney to deal with a growing caseload of crimes.

(Read more: The Marysville Advocate)

Community Memorial Healthcare sales tax petitions presented to Marshall county officials

Marshall County Board of Commissioners met with representatives from Community Memorial Healthcare on Monday to discuss whether to allow a public vote on a proposed countywide, half-cent sales tax to help fund CMH.

Hospital representatives presented a petition with 456 signatures from people requesting an election on the issue. The commissioners tabled the matter until July 2 and gave CMH two options:

• Accept a public vote on a quarter-cent sales tax.

• Accept a public vote on a half-cent sales tax, with a quarter-cent for the hospital and a quarter-cent for other health services that the county funds such as ambulance services for Marysville, Axtell, Blue Rapids, Frankfort and Waterville; Twin Valley Developmental Services; and Pawnee Mental Health Services.

“Something is better than nothing,” said Commissioner Lynn Feldhausen.

(Read more: The Marysville Advocate)

Douglas County puts off decision on Baldwin City’s trail easement funding request

Douglas County commissioners indicated Wednesday that they were interested in helping Baldwin City with its purchase of a trail easement along the Midland Railway, but said they wanted to fold the request into their budget discussions for 2019 rather than approve it outright.

Baldwin City Administrator Glenn Rodden requested that the county provide $94,167 in annual installments of $18,833 over the next five years. The money would help the city recoup part of the $354,000 the Baldwin City Council approved in April to purchase 11 miles of hiking and biking trail easement along the railway. Rodden said the city had already received commitments of $25,000 each from Mid America Bank of Baldwin City and the Baldwin City Economic Development Corporation and $12,500 from the Douglas County Economic Development Corporation that would cover part of the easement cost. He also said he was making the same request of the Franklin County Commission that he was making of Douglas County leaders. If both counties were to approve Rodden’s request, Baldwin City’s total cost for the easement would be $94,167, the same as each county’s contribution.

(Read more: LJWorld.com / Lawrence, Kansas)

Lawrence City leaders question study results for bus transfer hub location

Some city leaders and neighbors are questioning the results of a consultant-led study that determined the two best locations for the city’s bus transfer hub.

One of the recommendations, on Stewart Avenue, is one block north of a site recommended by a 2014 location study. As was the case then, some residents of the nearby Schwegler Neighborhood oppose the location, citing concerns about noise, traffic and safety. Residents submitted a petition to the commission against the Stewart Avenue site and in favor of one on Bob Billings Parkway, and more than a dozen attended the commission’s meeting Tuesday.

Saline County approves policy giving preference to local bidders

The Saline County Commission approved a policy giving preference to local bidders Tuesday morning.

The policy states that a local bidder will be preferred if the local bid is within 1% of the low bid; the local bidder agrees to match the low bid by filing a written agreement within 72 hours of being notified; and the quality, suitability and usability of the materials or goods are equal.

Commissioners began considering giving preference to local bidders a few months ago.

(Read more: News – Salina Journal)

Hays to consider water park addition

The Hays City Commission on Thursday will discuss possible purchase of a new play feature at Hays Aquatic Park, 300 Main.

The proposed addition offers many features, including two small slides and a large bucket that will occasionally drop water, as well as other water play sprinklers. It would be located in the zero-depth entry pool, replacing a current starburst water sprayer.

The city commission in January spoke in favor of adding new features to the swimming pool, and directed staff to seek proposals with a price cap of $185,000.

There were three proposals received, and staff from the city and Hays Recreation Commission are recommending an “Elevations” water playground from RJR Enterprises, at a cost of $185,000.

(Read more: News – The Hays Daily News)

Council recognizes first Tonganoxie Citizens Academy class

The first Tonganoxie Citizen Academy class officially graduated.
Members of the first academy class attended Monday’s City Council meeting. The academy was established to enhance citizen knowledge of operations and services, recruit informed and engaged residents to serve on city boards and commissions, encourage a unified community identity and increase in participation in city events and meetings.

The academy ran from February to May with four sessions lasting two to three hours each.

(Read more: TonganoxieMirror.com stories)