Municipal News & Jobs

Kansas Municipal News

Eureka sustains ‘direct hit’ from tornado, buildings damaged, emergency manager says

Five people were injured when a tornado caused damage to buildings and uprooted trees in Eureka on Tuesday night, officials said.

The Greenwood County emergency management director reported to the National Weather Service at 7:21 p.m. that a tornado was on the ground producing structural damage and uprooting trees in Eureka, which is about 65 miles east of Wichita. Eureka officials said Tuesday night that five people were injured, including one with critical injuries. No deaths were reported. There was also extensive tree damage.

(Read more: Local News |)

Shawnee city manager hired for ‘friendly, logical and community-oriented approach’

Nolan Sunderman, assistant city manager in Shawnee since June 2016, has been appointed Shawnee’s new city manager, Mayor Michelle Distler and the city council announced Tuesday.

Sunderman starts his new job early next month. He was chosen from four finalists.

“Nolan stands out for his friendly, logical and community-oriented approach to 21st century city management,” Distler said in a news release. “His references, and the council’s interactions with him, showed him to be hard-working, ethical, even-tempered and a caring leader.” Sunderman will replace Vicki Charlesworth, who has served as interim city manager since Carol Gonzalez left the city manager post in November 2017 to join the Mid-America Regional Council staff. Charlesworth plans to retire late this year.

Goessel council passes dog ordinance

The council spent considerable time discussing Ordinance 277 about dogs. The six-page ordinance provides for ticketing and fines for dogs running at large, prohibits dogs from being a nuisance or disturbing the peace, sets regulations for dangerous and vicious dogs, and stipulates penalties for violations.

The city’s attorney, Josh Boehm, answered questions and provided clarification.

(Read more: Hillsboro Free Press)

City of Hutch asks department heads for more cuts

After asking for major cuts to the budget, the Hutchinson City Council has asked department heads to find another $1 million in cuts, which could amount to about three percent.

The request came during the latest budget meeting held Tuesday. The city recently asked the departments to cut five percent from the budget requests after numbers showed the city with an ending balance of less than $900,000. The cuts further pushed that number to around $3.2 million.

(Read more: Hutch Post)

Saline County Commission considers televising all public meetings

Saline County commissioners are considering televising all of their public meetings.

Currently, only the commission’s weekly public forum is recorded by Access TV of Salina, so members of the public may watch the meeting on television or on the computer screen if they can’t attend in person.

Commissioners also meet in study sessions, typically held immediately after the weekly public forum. The study sessions are open to the public, but they are not recorded for Access TV.

Commissioner Bob Vidricksen estimated that it would cost the county an extra $1,500 a year to record the study sessions.

Karen Shade, Salina Area Workers Coalition member, advocated for televising all public meetings.

(Read more: News – Salina Journal)

Sales tax increase discussed in Salina as way to fund capital projects

The city of Salina has a lot of capital improvement projects lined up for the next five years, commissioners learned at a study session before their regular meeting Monday.

How will they be funded?

“I think there’s an element of the community that would support a small increase in sales taxes,” Mayor Karl Ryan said.

Salina city sales taxes are on the low end, compared with other Kansas cities, City Manager Jason Gage said.

The combined sales tax is 8.75 percent in Salina, Abilene and Hays. On a list compiled by Gage, Junction City has the highest combined sales tax, at 9.75 percent. McPherson has a combined sales tax of 9 percent tax, Concordia 8.5 percent and Derby 8 percent.

The Salina rate does not include Community Improvement Districts, such as downtown, which will charge another 1 percent beginning in July 2019. The new Homewood Suites hotel being built at East Mulberry Street and Santa Fe Avenue is in two Community Improvement Districts and will charge an additional 2 percent beginning in October 2019, on top of the city transient guest tax.

(Read more: News – Salina Journal)

Partnering agencies discuss ramifications of possible county budget cuts

Representatives from six partnering agencies that could potentially have their funding cut told Douglas County commissioners on Tuesday that county support was important in allowing them to provide needed services to residents.

Commissioners didn’t disagree. “We knew they were important when we funded them,” Commissioner Mike Gaughan said. But he said everything in the 2019 budget was on the table as commissioners looked for money to address overcrowding at the county jail.

But it wasn’t clear what the immediate ramifications would be from a county funding cut, since some nonprofits might have the ability to partner with other organizations to continue offering services, or, in some cases, nonprofits have reserve funds that could be tapped temporarily.

(Read more: LJWorld.com stories)

Reno county register of deeds office to implement electronic filing

The goal of the Reno County Register of Deeds office is start accepting real estate sales records via electronic filing on Aug 2.

Currently, county residents must fill out paper documents, and then either deliver them in person or mail them into the office, Reno County Registrar Michelle Updegrove advised the Reno County Commission on Tuesday.

With the switch to eRecording, people will be able to fill out and send in those same forms online.

Updegrove explained that even though the process is changing, the majority of rules and regulations will still apply.

According to Updegrove, there was a large demand for eRecording. Throughout the last decade, the department has had to work with more and more document submissions from around the nation, whereas they had previously been primarily from local areas.

With eRecording, they will soon be able to work with a much larger customer base, and in a more efficient way, Updegrove said.

(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)

Lawrence and Douglas county sue Australian animal health firm that received local incentives

The city and county are suing an Australia-based animal health company that received startup funding from both local governments to begin operating in Lawrence.

The City of Lawrence and Douglas County filed a lawsuit against the company, Integrated Animal Health, in Douglas County District Court on Monday. The lawsuit alleges that the company breached its incentives contract, and the city and county are seeking to recoup one-third of a $100,000 grant provided to the company as part of the agreement. Integrated Animal Health announced it would move its global headquarters to Lawrence in 2015. The city and county subsequently approved incentives for the company, including the $100,000 grant, which was subject to a three-year performance agreement beginning in 2016. The city and county also agreed to pay the company’s rent in the Bioscience and Technology Business Center on the University of Kansas campus for three years, for an amount not to exceed $115,000 total, according to the incentives agreement. The Journal-World reported in April that the Kansas branch of the company appeared to have closed its Lawrence headquarters.

Every Wichita high school has an armed police officer. Should their roles change?

Wichita won’t be pulling its police officers out of Wichita high schools, but plans to retool the program to make it less about security and more about mentoring and counseling, the city manager said Tuesday.

City Manager Robert Layton told the Wichita City Council he’s not going to recommend ending the program, an idea that had been floated in a series of possible cuts to close a $1.7 million budget gap.

The idea of eliminating school resource officers was not popular during a social media town hall last week, particularly amid ongoing concerns over school shootings.

“As a result of that and also some discussions I had with the chief and the superintendent, I think what we’ll be doing is not proposing . . . the elimination of that program, but instead, at a later time this year, rolling out a different model,” Layton said.

(Read more: Politics & Government News |)

Douglas County expenses for Proposition 1 referendum expected to be about $177,000

When all the bills are paid, Douglas County will have spent about $177,000 to conduct this spring’s mail-in ballot for Proposition 1 and to provide educational material to voters.

In January, the Douglas County Commission agreed to conduct the mail-in ballot election asking voters to approve a half-cent sales tax to fund an expansion of the county jail and to create a behavioral health campus. Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew said he still had not received a bill for what was by far the biggest expense from the mail-in ballot. The clerk’s office hired the Omaha, Neb., firm of Election Systems and Software to print Proposition 1 ballots, process them for mailing and send them to county voters.

“They specialize in this,” Shew said. “They said they had a lot of special elections in May and are a little behind in billing.”

Shew does have a good estimate of how much the Election Systems and Software bill will be. The clerk’s office entered into a contract with Election Systems and Software not to exceed $150,000, which was the cost of printing and mailing 70,000 ballots. There were, however, about 63,000 voters when registration closed before the referendum, Shew said. He estimated that the cost of printing and mailing that many ballots to be about $130,000.

Wichita tackles another drinking emergency, legalizes champagne breakfast

Want to start your daily drinking at the crack of dawn?

Beginning this weekend, you’ll be able to do that in Wichita bars and restaurants.

On Tuesday, the City Council approved an emergency ordinance to allow eating and drinking establishments to start selling alcohol at 6 a.m., rather than the current 9 a.m. The change in the city code brings Wichita into line with House Bill 2470, passed by the state Legislature, expanding the hours that bars and restaurants can serve alcohol. As an emergency ordinance, the change could be enacted as final action without a second vote at the next council meeting.

It takes effect Saturday, City Attorney Jennifer Magana said.

(Read more: Politics & Government News |)

Douglas County to consider water district annexation, plan for transitioning service

The request before the Douglas County Commission from Douglas County Water District No. 5 to annex a small area south of the Wakarusa River has prompted Lawrence City Manager Tom Markus to suggest it is time to start planning how the area eventually will transition to city water service. More than 50 percent of property owners in the area, which is currently unserved by any water utility, have petitioned to be annexed by Water District No. 5. The 77 acres are within a three-mile fringe growth area of Lawrence, which has a water utility. That required that the city be notified of the annexation.

Roeland Park looking to reduce hurdles to incorporating solar panels on homes

Roeland Park residents wanting to incorporate solar panels into their homes may find the process easier in the future. Councilmembers signaled support during a recent workshop for removing a restriction that requires residents to gain approval from city council prior to installing all solar panel systems.

The updated ordinance would only require solar panel projects that fall outside of regular usage parameters to gain council approval. Otherwise residents could gain approval by Roeland Park’s building official John Jacobson.

Mayor Mike Kelly signaled his support for the streamlined approval process.

“If we can keep the bureaucracy out of this and encourage people to gain some energy independence and lessen reliance on fossil fuels then I think it’s a good move for the city,” Kelly said.

McPherson City Commission votes to prohibit parking on selected streets

The commissioners voted to prohibit parking on several streets in McPherson. The change was made at the request from the McPherson Police Department and letters were sent to homeowners on all involved streets.

Jeff Woodward, with the McPherson City public work’s department, said the city has had several complaints that there is not enough room for emergency vehicles to get down the street when cars are parked there.

“That’s what drove the issue,” he said.

He said he hopes the move will provide adequate access for emergency vehicles as well as normal traffic.

Former HR director files response to motion in Leavenworth county

A former Leavenworth County human resources director had permission to work at home, and county authorities did not request that she return employment records in her possession when she was terminated last year.

That is according to a court document from an attorney for former Human Resources Director Tamara Copeland. The document was submitted as a response to a motion filed last week by an attorney for the Leavenworth County Commission. The motion was filed in a lawsuit that is challenging Copeland’s employment contract with the county.

The motion filed on behalf of the County Commission accused Copeland of being in possession of files with sensitive information about former and current county employees. The motion argued that these files are county property and should be returned.

(Read more: Leavenworth Times)

Starlite Drive-In owner seeks zoning change for theater land. Theater’s future unclear.

No one is talking, but changes are underway at the Starlite Drive-In.

The theater’s owner, Chuck Bucinski, filed an application last week to change the zoning of his drive-in’s land at 3900 S. Hydraulic Ave.

The reason listed on the application: “To permit a greater number of industrial and commercial uses.” The application for the zoning change itself cost $2,245.

So why the zoning change?

A representative for Baughman Co., a land development company listed as the agent for the zoning application, referred all calls to Bucinski.

Currently, the land can be used only as a drive-in theater. The change would allow the land to be used for a number of other uses, including convenience stores, restaurants, office space and retail.

(Read more: Wichita Eagle)

Chanute accepts design plan for neighborhood fiber

Fiber became a chicken-or-egg issue for Chanute commissioners Monday evening.

Commissioners voted to accept a proposal from an Oklahoma City engineering firm to design expansion of the city’s fiber optic broadband network into two neighborhoods. The quote from ACRS is $35,000-$45,000 to design and set specifications for residents near the 900 block of west 9th and the 400 block of south Westview, two neighborhoods whose residents have requested connection at previous commission meetings.

City Manager Jeff Cantrell said that this is not construction, but is the first phase of the possible project. He said he can’t estimate a model of potential rates without the study to determine cost, sort of a chicken-and-egg situation.

The costs involved will determine if the residents will still be interested.

“If these two neighborhoods can’t support it, I don’t know where else,” Mayor Sam Budreau said.

Three years ago, a study on expansion throughout the entire city would have cost $495,000 to $595,000, and at that time people used a figure of $40 a month as the potential rate for fiber to the home. Officials said Monday that rate is outdated.

Salina City Commissioners discuss use of cellphones during meetings

Salina city commissioners talked for a good while during their regular Monday meeting about the appropriate use of cellphones by commissioners, finally voting 3-2 to have staff develop a proposal for consideration.

Commissioner Mike Hoppock had asked at last week’s meeting that the topic of commissioner use of cellphones and computer tablets during meetings be added to this week’s agenda.

Commissioners Trent Davis and Melissa Rose Hodges voted against the motion that Gage and staff bring back to the commission proposed rules of procedure that would disallow the use of electronic devices at the commission dais.

Hodges asked that enforcement be addressed. She pointed out that it would be difficult to tell what commissioners were doing without looking at their screens.

(Read more: News – Salina Journal)

Kansas Supreme Court says school funding still inadequate but gives lawmakers another year to fix problems

The Kansas Supreme Court said Monday that the five-year, $522 million increase to school funding that lawmakers approved this year is still inadequate.

But instead of forcing lawmakers into a special session this summer to correct the problems, as it had earlier threatened to do, the court said lawmakers could address problems with the formula during the 2019 regular session that begins in January.

According to the Kansas State Department of Education, the Lawrence school district is expected to receive an additional $3.4 million in funding under the new formula, including just less than $1.3 million in new special education funding.

In a unanimous 39-page opinion, the court said the major problem with the funding plan was its failure to properly account for inflation during the first two years.

Poll indicates most Topeka voters would support raising citywide sales tax

Results of a recent opinion poll indicate 53.8 percent of Topekans would support increasing the citywide half-cent sales tax to three-quarters of a cent and keeping it in place for 10 years.

Those results were made public Thursday by Jim Parrish, of the nonprofit group Future Forward, which runs campaigns to promote sales tax ballot questions.

“There is a huge sentiment that we need to get these streets fixed,” Parrish said.

Future Forward commissioned Topeka-based ASA Strategic Marketing to conduct a scientifically accurate poll of 500 registered Topeka voters, Parrish said. The poll was taken in late May and had a margin of error of 4.38 percent.

ASA used a “computer-aided interview system capturing random samples of likely voters who plan to vote in November 2018,” with participants being contacted on both cellphones and landlines, Parrish said.

Reno County sees drop in mortgage registration tax

A change can be seen in the numbers after the state passed legislation to gradually eliminate the mortgage registration tax.

In May, the county collected $7,182.47 — less than half of what it collected in May of 2017: $18,194.64.

The recording fee amounted to $36,040. That number is above May of last year.

In May of last year, the county collected a total of $227,895.74. So far this year, it has collected $196,398.00.

(Read more: Hutch Post)

New distribution center, jobs coming to Park City

A new distribution center is expected to bring 20 new jobs to Park City.

Crossland Construction announced on Monday that it is breaking ground on the WinField United Solutions project, a distribution hub for 20 area service centers.

The building will measure 253,000 square feet and be built at Broadway and Brian Rose Lane, just south of 81 Speedway.

WinField United Solutions provides research-based product solutions and expertise to help farmers, retailers and others related to the agriculture industry. “We are looking forward to continuing our relationship with the city, helping to promote local economic growth and prosperity for our Park City friends and neighbors,” Mattie Crossland, director of Crossland Realty Group, said in a prepared statement.

(Read more: Wichita Eagle)

Engineers give Kansas a ‘C’ for infrastructure, but roads barely pass

Kansas received a passing grade for its highways when the state’s chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers released its latest “infrastructure report card.” However, the engineers also warned that sweeping cuts to Kansas Department of Transportation funding are still causing roadways to suffer.

Kansas earned a C on the report card, which ranks the quality of state infrastructure in nine categories, such as bridges, roads, energy and drinking water. This is up from a C- in 2013, the last time the Kansas ASCE chapter released a report card. And while some areas, such as levees and bridges, increased in quality roads went down.

Over several years, lawmakers have diverted more than $2 billion from KDOT to fill deep holes in the Kansas budget. The cuts dipped into funds for T-WORKS — a 10-year, $8 billion program for projects to preserve and update highway infrastructure across the state.

(Read more: The Salina Post)

Following city lawsuit, Lawrence restaurant removes patio canopy

After being sued by the city over its patio canopy, a local restaurant has taken the structure down.

The wooden canopy was constructed about two years ago on the north side of Dempsey’s building, spanning the width of an open area between Dempsey’s and the adjacent building.

Last month, the Lawrence City Commission directed the city’s legal staff to bring a lawsuit against the owner and occupant of 623 Vermont St., which is the location of Dempsey’s Burger Pub. The city alleges that Dempsey’s constructed a canopy structure for its patio without first getting a permit from the city and that the canopy violated the city’s building and fire codes.

Director of Planning and Development Scott McCullough said in an email to the Journal-World that the city found that the building materials used in the canopy were not compliant with code and presented a fire hazard. McCullough said the lawsuit was needed to address the code violations and potential hazards.

Great Bend announces administrator candidates interviews, schedules

The Great Bend City Council announced Monday morning the city administrator candidates and schedule for their visit to the community this week. The City of Great Bend will be interviewing three candidates on Wednesday and Thursday.

Candidates include: Larry Collins, who served as fire chief and interim city administrator in Ann Arbor Michigan; Kendal Francis, who served as city manager in Coffeyville and city administrator in Lakin; and Scott Hildebrand, who currently serves as the city administrator for Valley Center.

Manhattan Regional Airport Director Earns Professional Accredidation

Jesse R. Romo, A.A.E., Airport Director, Manhattan Regional Airport, Manhattan, KS, has been awarded the distinction of Accredited Airport Executive (A.A.E.) by the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE).

To qualify for his distinction, Jesse had to successfully complete three phases of the accreditation process: (1) pass a 180-item multiple-choice examination, (2) fulfill a writing requirement, and (3) demonstrate, in the final interview by a panel of A.A.E.s, his knowledge of airport management, business administration, and general transportation economics. Jesse’s achievement attests to his ability to meet these stringent
requirements and his experience in managing a public airport.

(Read more: Manhattan – News Flash)

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)