Kansas Municipal News
USD 232 buying Olathe farmland south of K-10 for potential third high school
USD 232 in De Soto plans to buy about 150 acres just south of K-10 Highway as a potential site for three new schools, including a high school. The purchase: The USD 232 school board on Monday unanimously agreed to purchase the property at 30400 W. 127th Street, on the northeast corner of West 127th Street and Waverly Road, for about $1.6 million, or roughly $10,900 per acre, from property owner B&C Land and Cattle Company LLC. Potential uses: Cost for this land purchase will come from the roughly $5 million the district set aside for land acquisition as part of the May 2018 bond issue. Superintendent Frank Harwood said the site could be used for an elementary school, a middle school and the district’s third high school in the long term, if and when it is necessary.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Overland Park finalizes five-year plan for capital improvements
Overland Park’s next five years of capital improvements have officially been set. At its meeting Monday, the Overland Park City Council adopted the city’s capital improvement plan for the 2023-2027 duration. This follows approval from the Overland Park Planning Commission in March. Details: This includes projects in several categories across the city’s Fire, Police, Planning, Public Works and Parks and Recreation departments. The $232 million five-year plan includes capital improvements — which typically encompass new facilities or fixes to existing ones — along with some maintenance repairs and recurring costs for city programs.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Overland Park City Council debates how to regulate short-term rentals following shooting
Overland Park may soon have a new set of rules governing short-term rentals in the city. At its Monday meeting, the City Council’s committee of the whole discussed how short-term rentals, such as Airbnb vacation homes, should be regulated in town and considered if they should be allowed at all. Monday’s discussion comes two weeks after a shooting at an Overland Park residence that was being used as a short-term rental.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Prairie Village is restarting its civic center conversation
Prairie Village’s ad-hoc civic center committee reconvened for the first time in years last week, restarting a conversation that was largely put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But there’s a long history behind efforts to remake the four-square-block around City Hall that includes Harmon Park and Shawnee Mission East High School. The area, now being referred to by the city as Prairie Village’s civic center, is bound by Delmar Street and Mission Road on the east and west, and 75th and 79th Streets on the north and south.
Source: Prairie Village Post
70K Jayhawks on Mass Street, Lawrence police estimate
Following what will surely be remembered as one of the greatest comebacks in NCAA history, 70,000 KU fans flooded Massachusetts Street late Monday night into the early hours of Tuesday morning, according to an estimate from law enforcement. The Lawrence Police Department tweeted just before 2 a.m. Tuesday that “we ended the party with minimal incidents. Preliminary reports show 3 arrests and one person issued a notice to appear without a physical arrest. None included serious injuries.” The Douglas County booking log indicates arrests on suspicion of interference with law enforcement and battery on law enforcement; criminal damage to property; and criminal threat, possession of a firearm while under the influence and battery on law enforcement.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Report: Kansas is getting more transparent with its economic development incentives
A transparency law passed by the Kansas Legislature in 2019 has boosted the state’s score on a national list that grades transparency around economic development incentive awards. Kansas is among the most improved states on this year’s ranking from Good Jobs First, a nonprofit research center that promotes accountability in economic development. Kansas moved up 30 spots on the list, landing 15th out of 50 states with a score of 28.8 out of 100. “Kansas Commerce prides itself on disclosing to a great extent the companies attracted to our state, and those thriving in our state, as the result of these programs,” said Paul Hughes, Kansas Department of Commerce deputy secretary, in an email to the WBJ. “We do this with the desire to serve the taxpayer with the expectation that we not disclose information that would (be) proprietary or sensitive in nature for competitors.”
Source: Wichita Business Journal
What Russia’s war in Ukraine means for Kansas farmers
Together, Russia and Ukraine supply more than a quarter of the world’s wheat, and are also substantial producers of barley, corn and other grains. With war threatening to cut off international shipments of wheat, economists predict it could push up demand and prices for wheat grown in other parts of the globe. “This is probably the most impactful crisis we’ve had probably since World War II, simply because this has the potential to disrupt trade patterns for quite a long time,” said Allen Featherstone, head of the department of agricultural economics at Kansas State University. “Part of it is just going to be in terms of where the infrastructure damage is, especially in the southern part of Ukraine.”
Source: Wichita Business Journal
Johnson County will reconsider proposed solar farm regulations critics say are too restrictive
After a four-hour public hearing of speakers solidly in support of solar energy development, the Johnson County Commission voted to send proposed solar farm regulations back to the county planning commission with suggestions that would make them less restrictive. … The county planning department began working on the regulations for large-scale solar farms about a year ago, after learning Florida-based NextEra Energy was interested in building an array of panels in western Johnson County and eastern Douglas County. The county did not have any rules for solar farms yet, and planners needed them on the books before any applications for specific projects could be considered.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Lawrence to reconsider policy that requires most homeowners to pay for sidewalk repairs
Lawrence city leaders are set to discuss the city’s controversial sidewalk policy that generally requires property owners, not the city, to pay for repairs to sidewalks bordering their homes and businesses. As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will receive a staff presentation about the city’s sidewalk repair policy and related financial assistance program, and respond to commissioners’ questions regarding potential policy changes, according to a city staff memo to the commission. … the commission will discuss the origin of the current policy that was adopted in 2018, the subsequent implementation of the program in 2019, and changes to the program that have been made over the past couple of years. The city’s long-standing ordinance requiring all property owners to pay to repair the sidewalks running along their property had not been fully enforced for decades, and the policy and related program were intended to begin enforcing the ordinance.
Source: LJWorld.com
The history of Arma on display in Southeast Kansas
People are getting a look at the history behind one Southeast Kansas community. The Miner’s Hall Museum has opened its second quarterly exhibit titled “Little Balkans Coal Camp – Arma.” Before it was incorporated in 1909, Arma was formerly known as Rust, Armiton and Armacost. The exhibit will feature three presentations over three months. They will feature stories of Arma, its French cookies and the history behind the longest held WWII homecoming.
Source: KSNF/KODE
Some policy issues unresolved: Legislators debated past midnight before leaving Topeka
Kansas lawmakers left Topeka Saturday morning after advancing a rash of bills but without acting on some major pieces of legislation. … Legislators failed to pass the K-12 budget, opting to save the bill for when they return for veto session. … Tax policymakers repackaged dozens of proposals into three bills: one just on the food sales tax (HB 2106), another with smaller or less controversial tax cuts (HB 2239) and a third with larger or more controversial positions (HB 2597). Only HB 2239, a compilation of 29 different bills, was taken up by both chambers. It passed with bipartisan support. It would cut taxes by an estimated $91 million in fiscal year 2023, $100 million in 2024 and $120 million in 2025. The new food sales tax plan is not as aggressive as Kelly and fellow Democrats have pushed for. They wanted to axe the state’s 6.5% sales tax on groceries to zero, starting July 1. The plan negotiated by Republicans would gradually cut the rate to zero over three years, with the first cut to 4% not coming until Jan. 1.
Source: Salina Journal
Municipal Bond Trends for April 4, 2022
The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS “investment grade” yields. Every issuer’s credit is different. For rates that may be applicable to your municipality, contact our Municipal Bond Advisors, Larry Kleeman and Beth Warren.
Prairie Village housing panel says city needs to be ‘part of solution’ to metro’s rising costs
Johnson County suburbs like Prairie Village need to “opt in” to being part of a metrowide solution to rising housing costs and inequities in home ownership. That was one of the key messages delivered at a special panel discussion on housing in Prairie Village Sunday, which continued the city’s ongoing conversations around attainable housing and diversity. The panel discussion, entitled “Housing in Prairie Village—Past, Present and Future” was part of an almost two-year-long effort by the city of Prairie Village to address housing and diversity issues. In surveys and in public meetings in recent years, Prairie Village residents — and Johnson Countians more generally — have consistently reported housing costs as one of their biggest concerns.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Signals point to retail return to munis, for now
Municipals were steady to firmer in spots Monday, while U.S. Treasuries strengthened inside five years but key parts of the curve remained inverted while equities ended in the black. Triple-A municipal yield curves were relatively stable, while the two-, three-, five- and seven-year UST were still sitting above the 10- and 30-year. More activity surfaced in the municipal market on Monday as the first full week of the second quarter got underway and after last week ended with more of a bid from retail accounts. “We have seen some pretty good situations coming out on the longer end; the maturities have a firmer tone compared to last week,” a New York trader said Monday afternoon. The overall appetite for municipal bonds, he said, picked up noticeably at the end of last week.
Source: The Bond Buyer
Lawrence businesses ready to face KU crowds
Downtown Lawrence bars said this is one of their busiest days of the year and they’re ready to face the big crowds on Mass St. While they were preparing for the crowd, people waited in line for hours until the bars opened. “I got out here at 10:30 and I was the third person in line,” KU fan Jacki Becker said. The bars anticipated the madness after the turnout they had during Saturday’s game when the Jayhawks beat Villanova. Sean Donnely at Louise’s in Downtown said they over prepare for a day like this.
Source: fox4kc.com | FOX 4 – WDAF
Think the roads look trashy? MoDOT and KDOT say they don’t like it either and they’re looking for workers to help
The departments of transportation for both Missouri and Kansas want you to know — they see it, too. Officials with MoDOT and KDOT have been getting call after call from people all complaining about the same thing — trash. And, they don’t like it either. But it’s not an easy fix right now. Officials with KDOT say most of the state’s complaints come from the Kansas City core metro area where there’s a high volume of traffic. In Missouri, officials said the department spends more than $1 million on cleanup in our area alone each year, but it’s not enough. “Across the state, we’re facing a staffing shortage that impacts our litter pickup efforts,” said Matt Killion, Assistant District Engineer for MoDOT. Both departments are facing the same problem — they don’t have enough workers to pick up all of the trash.
Source: KMBC.com
29 buildings to be razed for Topeka viaduct
Plans call for 29 buildings to go under the wrecking ball to clear the way for the project, aimed at eliminating a sharp curve atop the Polk-Quincy Viaduct on Interstate 70 in downtown Topeka. A chart and map sharing the details were provided to The Capital-Journal by the Kansas Department of Transportation, which remains in the process of acquiring those properties. “Due to ongoing negotiations, we cannot provide information about what was paid for the properties,” said Kelly Kultala, KDOT’s public affairs manager for northeast Kansas. KDOT plans “total acquisition” of 41 properties, it said.
Source: CJonline
Making downtown thrive: A new stage means more things to enjoy for Salinans
Making downtown thrive is a high priority for Salina Downtown. Last week, the organization came one step closer to helping Santa Fe Avenue remain a thriving artery – they moved onto the downtown street. … Along with the city, Salina Downtown is helping to open up a performance stage at Santa Fe Avenue and Ash Street. This stage is expected to open May 6, with a Salina Arts and Humanities event. On May 7, Visit Salina will have the sculpture unwrap event, featuring 23 sculptures.
Source: Salina Journal
See the celebration in downtown Lawrence as fans celebrate KU Final Four victory
The University of Kansas men’s basketball team is moving onto the NCAA National Championship game. Here’s a look at some of the scenes from downtown Lawrence on Saturday as KU beat Villanova in the national semifinal game. Check back for more updates as tens of thousands of fans are expected in the downtown area following the KU game.
Source: LJWorld.com
Markets will be looking for clues from the Fed ahead, as historically strong month gets underway
The stock market is heading into what promises to be a volatile second quarter, but April is traditionally the best month of the year for stocks. The major indices were higher in March, but they turned in a weak performance for the first quarter, the worst since the pandemic. Investors have been worried about rising interest rates, the war in Ukraine and inflation, which was made even worse by disruptions in commodities exports from both Russia and Ukraine. … The Dow was off 4.6% for the first quarter, while the S&P 500 was down 5%. The worst performer by far was the Nasdaq, down 9.1%. In the past week, the Dow and S&P were slightly negative while the Nasdaq was flat. Interest rates also moved dramatically during the quarter, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield temporarily touching a high of 2.55% in the past week, after starting the quarter at 1.51%. On Friday… the 2-year yield, which most reflects Fed policy, was at 2.43%. The 2-year was yielding 0.73% at the beginning of the year.
Source: CNBC – Bonds