Municipal News & Jobs

Kansas Municipal News

Closing CityArts boutique and gallery is possible cost-saving option for Wichita

Among the many ways the city is looking to recoup a $3 million deficit in operating revenue is the possible closure of the boutique and gallery within CityArts.

“I’d say it’s too early to get too concerned with it at this point,” says John D’Angelo, the city’s manager of arts & cultural services.

“They’re just looking at alternatives,” he says. “What kind of changes could be made to the CityArts operation . . . that would achieve some savings?”

D’Angelo says CityArts costs the city $800,000 annually and recoups only about $300,000 from class fees. The gallery and boutique make $50,000, but artists and the Arts Council share that profit.

Hays discusses two intersections for roundabouts

The Hays City Commission for a second time on Thursday put the brakes on a proposal to construct a roundabout at the intersection of 27th Street and Canterbury, but indicated a roundabout at 27th and Indian Trail might be a better investment. The issue was brought forth for discussion by Commissioner Sandy Jacobs, who requested the commission revisit the Canterbury intersection after Mayor James Meier initially suggested a temporary roundabout there in early March. The idea was rejected at that time, and Jacobs said she heard from many residents afterward who favored the proposal.

“When we discussed it the first time, interestingly after that I had a significant number of people say, ‘Why didn’t you do that? That was a great idea.’ So that was in the back of my mind,” she said. “The second thing was when we were working on Canterbury striping, whether we were going to do three lanes or four lanes, I spent a lot of time out there as I said last week. … When it’s not the busy times of day, you’re right, it’s not an issue. But the busy times of day, especially when the students are coming and going, they use it almost like a roundabout anyway.”

(Read more: News – The Hays Daily News)

Leavenworth County meeting notice was technical violation

An investigation by the Kansas Attorney General’s Office found that county commissioners committed a technical violation of an open meetings law by failing to include the location of a special meeting in a notice of the meeting.

That is according to two letters sent from Assistant Attorney General Lisa Mendoza to county officials. Mendoza is the director of the Open Government Enforcement Unit of the Attorney General’s Office.

The investigation was initiated by the Attorney General’s Office after County Treasurer Janice Van Parys filed a complaint last year about possible violations of the Kansas Open Meetings Act.

Van Parys’ complaint focused on several actions taken by county commissioners in 2016.

Based on the findings of the Attorney General’s Office, no formal enforcement action is being taken.

(Read more: Leavenworth Times)

KDHE waste grants benefit NW Kansas schools, townships

he Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s Bureau of Waste Management has announced the recipients of waste tire recycling grants. These annual solid waste grants are awarded to municipalities and school districts across the state. The grants total almost $468,000 for 2018.

The waste tire recycling grants go toward funding safe surfacing at playgrounds, running tracks, picnic tables and benches made from waste tires. This year’s 51 individual waste tire recycling grants range from $209 to $61,213. The grants are funded through a 25-cent tax paid on the purchase of new tires.

The list of grantees can be found at http://www.kdheks.gov/waste/grants/SFY18WTGSpreadsheetFinal.pdf.

(Read more: Hays Post)

Analyst: Wichita at ‘a really interesting moment’ in its history

It will be up to the people who live in Wichita — not government or corporate leaders — whether the city is to shake off decades of stagnation and achieve meaningful growth and prosperity, a Wichita-raised and Harvard-trained economic analyst says.

Wichita has been “stuck in neutral for about three decades, with basically no growth, amidst the landscape of a growing U.S. economy,” said James Chung, who graduated from Wichita Collegiate and now runs Reach Advisors, a New York-based strategy and research firm.

Chung’s firm was hired three years ago to analyze Wichita’s strengths, problems and potential. His initial report was sobering, saying Wichita had lost its mojo. It identified four key challenges where the community can make changes and influence its future: its business cycle, human capital, entrepreneurship and perception.

He is returning to Wichita to offer an update on how the city is responding to those challenges. His presentation, which is open to the public, will be at 4:30 p.m. Monday at the Advanced Learning Library, 711 W. Second St. N.

(Read more: Wichita Eagle)

Biking Across Kansas kicks off Saturday

Biking Across Kansas — a 558-mile ride across the state — begins Saturday, with the eight-day tour originating at the Kansas-Colorado line west of Johnson City.Overnight stops will be at Montezuma, Ashland, Pratt, Clearwater, Burden, Fredonia and then at Arma, the final night together on June 15. The following morning, the group will cycle to the Missouri border in Arcadia and cycle into Fort Scott, where they will celebrate the end of the ride with a picnic at the Fort […]

City attorneys gather in Lenexa for continuing education seminar

Ranson Citycode Financial is in attendance at the City Attorneys Association of Kansas’ (CAAK) semi-annual CLE (continuing legal education) seminar in Lenexa, Kansas. These semi-annual conferences are a great way for local government attorneys to stay on to of the latest developments in Kansas municipal law. We look forward to seeing many of our clients here.

States Could Reap a Bonanza From Sports Betting — If They Play Their Cards Right

The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to allow sports betting in all 50 states met with excitement in the affected industries. The closest parallel to this infant industry occurred in the 1990s and early 2000s, when states permitted widespread casino gambling. Despite creating, through legislation, protected casino monopolies for commercial interests, the states didn’t receive an equitable portion of the value. Most settled for less than 50 percent of net gambling revenue, and few states auctioned off casino licenses to the highest bidders. Why did this happen? The negotiating table was uneven. Financially unsophisticated legislators and state executives went up against giant corporations, connected insiders and huge lobbying efforts. To avoid a repeat underachievement with sports betting, we think the states should lock arms and present a united front to commercial gambling concerns. A precedent for state-to-state gambling cooperation already exists: the Multi-State Lottery Association, which operates Powerball, the multi-billion-dollar, multi-jurisdictional lottery game.

(Read more: GOVERNING)

Is Your City Helping You Be Healthy? The Rankings Are In.

“Your mayor, city council and city manager has just as much of an impact on your health as your doctor,” say the authors of a new report. “Most people spend a few hours a year in the doctor’s office. The other 364 days out of the year, people are in the care of their city.” On Friday, during the opening night of the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ annual meeting in Boston, 24 cities will be awarded for their work in population health. The gold medalists are Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Jose, Calif. Nine cities earned a silver medal, and 11 earned a bronze.

The cities were each judged on nine policy areas: affordable housing, alcohol regulations, walkability, paid sick leave, food safety, healthy food options, universal pre-K, smoke-free places and the smoking age.

(Read more: GOVERNING)

Clay Center OKs new Dollar General building

A permit to construct a building on the current site of the bowling alley on West Crawford was granted to an Overland Park-based developer Tuesday night during the regular Clay Center city council meeting.

The building permit indicates a new 10,640 square foot building will be occupied by Dollar General.

Work on the $800,000 metal panel building will begin this summer with an anticipated completion date of this winter, according to the permit application.

City hopes to make Olathe’s trash system even more efficient

Olathe residents continue to lead the region in terms of recycling their garbage and expressing satisfaction in their city’s trash pickup services.

But consultants see potential problems on the horizon and are advocating a number of steps as part of the city’s first solid waste master plan to make Olathe’s trash system more efficient and better able to deal with the city’s growing population.

“We want to optimize the performance of the existing systems because you guys have a great program right now, and we want to continue that program,” Anastasia Welch, a project manager for SCS Engineers, told the City Council on Monday.

(Read more: KC Star Local News)

New dystopian TV show is called ‘Kansas City’ — but it will be filmed in Atlanta

Kansas City will soon become the center of a dystopian society, divided by a Berlin Wall-esque line that separates liberal and conservative states.

Or, at least it will on Hulu.

The streaming site has ordered a pilot run for “Kansas City,” which will begin filming this month in Atlanta, a haven for film tax breaks. Producers from Amblin Television — the studio behind “The Americans” and “ER” — came to Kansas City around a month ago to get a feel for the area, said Stephane Scupham, the city’s film commissioner. Unlike Georgia, neither Missouri nor Kansas offers incentive programs, such as a rebate, grant or tax credit.

So, for example, the 2014 Reese Witherspoon film “The Good Lie,” about Sudanese refugees settling in Kansas City, was filmed in the Atlanta area, though some background scenes showed the KC skyline.

Augusta City Council approves flags, banners for downtown

Following the usual approval of meeting minutes and an appropriation ordinance, Augusta City Council considered a request from the Augusta Lions Club to purchase and install American flags and mounting brackets on downtown light poles.
The Council had previously granted permission to Downtown Augusta, Inc. to display banners on light poles in the downtown area, and the organization has funds to install banners and brackets on the four corner posts at four downtown intersections. The plan includes additional banners and brackets to be added as funding becomes available.
Wendell Corneil with the Lions Club told Council members that the local organization looks at the flag and bracket request as a community service project and that the local Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts would help with putting up and taking down the flags.
Corneil also advised that the flags would be displayed properly at a 45 degree angle and when taken down, the flags would be stored properly. The Lions Club promises that any faded or worn flags would be replaced.

(Read more: andoveramerican.com)

McPherson selected to host Kansas Barn Sale

The City of McPherson has been selected to host the 2018 Kansas Barn Sale later this year. It will be held Oct. 6 in Lakeside Park.

The event attracts vendors and shoppers from across the Midwest to sell and buy antiques, vintage, re-purposed, handmade and artisan goods. Hours will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event is expected to draw 5,000 to 7,000 shoppers and at least 130 vendors. Owner Beki Hastings created the event to provide Kansans more access to antiques and original artwork. The need for additional space resulted in her decision to move the event to McPherson.

(Read more: Hutch Post)

News safety signs in place at intersection in Barton County

The new signs have been installed at the intersection of 30 Road and Washington Avenue, the site of a fatal crash that killed 18-year-old Shealee A. Stover on April 17, County Works Director Darren Williams reported to the Barton County Commission Monday morning.

These include larger, 48-inch stop signs, larger “Cross Traffic Does Not Stop” signs and larger “Stop Ahead” signs, all with ultra-high grade reflectivity.

In earlier action, on May 21, the commission changed the speed limit at the junction, extending the 45 mph zone a half mile north of the corner. Prior to the change, the speed limit on Washington jumped from 45 miles per hour south of 30 Road to 55 north of it.

The same new speed also applies to 30 Road a half mile west of the corner and from the corner east to U.S. 281.

Reason for sales tax vote explained in Ark City

Voters in Arkansas City will receive mailed ballots in early August asking whether they want to jettison two sales tax initiatives for South Central Medical Center in favor of one.

Instead of paying 1.5 percent on purchases in town to keep the hospital afloat, as they are now, residents and others would be paying just 1 percent, if the tax is approved. The deadline to return the ballots will by Sept. 6.

As city officials explained it, the key difference is that the new, 1-percent tax would not have an ending date, as the others do. That would help reassure those holding the hospital’s construction bonds that a constant stream of money exists to repay the debt, which now stands at nearly $40 million including principal and interest, and is scheduled to be paid off in 2038 under the current financing plan.

As of right now, a half-cent tax is scheduled to expire early next year, and a 1 cent tax ends in 2026.

So even thought the overall sales tax revenue for the facility will drop, the consistent revenue year after year through the life of the bonds will help the city to renegotiate a better interest rate and lower its annual payments, which today stand at $1,885,505 for 2018.

Bids approved for sidewalk, bike trail construction in El Dorado

The 5-foot wide Sixth Avenue sidewalk will stretch from Orchard to Star Streets along the south side Sixth Street. The bid awarded to SPS was $97,912.50. Pearson Construction also submitted a bid of $226,955. The engineer’s estimate of the project was $149,655. The sidewalk is being paid for with excess sales tax dollars.

The 8-foot wide bike trail from North Main Street to Country Club Drive on McCollum Road will cost a total of $66,365 to complete through SPS. The engineer’s estimate was $106,225. Pearson Construction bid the job for $115,225. USD 490 and the City of El Dorado are co funding the project.

Of the estimated cost of $142,934, the city was responsible for 72,934 and El Dorado Schools was to repay $70,000 over a four year period. The city funds are from the Federal Fund Exchange. The project costs will be bonded over 20 years for the improvement district to pay it off.

(Read more: El Dorado Times)

People of color may be the majority in Kansas by 2066. Here’s what that means

If current trends continue, the majority of Kansans will be black or Latino by 2066.

Experts call this a source of opportunity for the state, but also say Kansas will face increasing challenges unless racial and ethnic disparities are addressed in education, health and other areas.

“Change is gonna happen no matter what,” said Steve Coen, president and CEO of the Kansas Health Foundation. “This change is coming, so either we view it as an opportunity or we don’t, and I think we need to view it as an opportunity.” From 2000-2016, all the population growth in Kansas was among racial and ethnic minorities. In that same time period, non-Hispanic white Kansans decreased by 0.3 percent while minority populations (any group other than non-Hispanic white) increased by 52.5 percent — a rate higher than the 44.8 percent average in the United States.

(Read more: Local News |)

Regulators moving forward with application for injection wells in Douglas County

Kansas regulators on Thursday reiterated their plan to hold a hearing later this month on a request by Midstates Energy to inject saltwater waste into two injection wells in eastern Douglas County.

In addition, though, the Kansas Corporation Commission denied a request to offer public comment at that hearing from a Mission Hills woman who has argued that the permitting process being used does not comply with federal rules under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

The KCC regulates oil and gas production in Kansas in addition to regulating public utilities.

Midstates Energy filed the application in October, and a number of nearby residents quickly filed protests, arguing that the injection wells would pose an environmental hazard to underground drinking water supplies and the nearby Wakarusa River.

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

Downtown El Dorado designated as Opportunity Zone

Downtown El Dorado has been designated as one of 74 Opportunity Zones in Kansas. This is the only designated area in Butler County.

As an Opportunity Zone, eligible business in Downtown El Dorado will receive capital gains incentives from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

“The Opportunity Zone is a federal designation,” El Dorado City Manager David Dillner said. “The governors submitted eligible census tracts and then the Department of Treasury had to certify them. It’s incentive for capital gains taxes.” “The goal of the legislation is to give folks that have seen significant advances in their portfolio to sell some of those assets and invest them in what they are calling distressed communities,” Dillner said. By incentivizing those investments to happen in those areas, they’re hoping to get those dollars come into these communities and invest those directly into either real estate or the improvement of those communities.”

(Read more: El Dorado Times)

Garden City’s power portfolio now includes expanded wind energy

The municipal electric utility now uses more than 30 percent renewable energy resources to serve its customers after the City began taking a portion of its power needs from Buckeye Wind Energy Center on June 1.

Garden City is a member of the Kansas Municipal Energy Agency, which assists municipal electric utilities in securing low-cost power to serve residential and commercial customers. As a member city, Garden City takes advantage of KMEA’s ability to pool electric needs with other cities to secure such projects as Buckeye Wind Energy Center. KMEA entered into a contract with Invenergy, the owner of Buckeye Wind Energy Center, to purchase power for 21 of its member cities including Garden City.

(Read more: Western Kansas News)

Overland Park seeks advice on downtown park

Santa Fe Commons Park, on the edge of Overland Park’s rapidly changing downtown business district, has been home to the city’s annual Fall Festival, as well as Sunday night concerts and third Friday entertainment in the warmer months.

But the park, with its signature gazebo/bandstand, is in for a makeover.

“There is a common agreement it’s underused,” city spokesman Sean Reilly said by email. On June 14, the city is inviting the public to give their opinion about what the park’s future should be. A consultant has recommended that Overland Park move its Farmers’ Market there, but listed other options as well.

Which small Kansas town is the wealthiest in the state?

Which small town has the distinction of being the wealthiest in Kansas? According to one national website, it might not be the one you think.

(Read more: Government & Politics News |)

Douglas County administrator now says cuts to social services, mental health programs not likely as part of 2019 budget

Cuts to social service programs aren’t likely to be a part of Douglas County Administrator Craig Weinaug’s proposed 2019 budget, despite previous statements that warned such cuts were a probability if voters rejected a sales tax to expand the county jail.

County voters last month did reject that sales tax, but Weinaug recently told the Journal-World that he doesn’t plan to recommend any significant cuts to social service programs or cuts to the approximately $1.5 million of new behavioral health services programs that the county has begun. Instead, other cuts will be proposed to help fund some improvements at the jail.

“I will not propose cutting any of the $1.5 million,” he said. “The bulk of what I have identified as being things they can cut back on have nothing to do with social services.”

Manhattan accepts 99-acre donation

The Manhattan City Commission met at City Hall Tuesday night and accepted a large land donation from the Kansas Department of Transportation.

KDOT first offered Manhattan a 99-acre property known as the VMI tract — located north of K-18 and east of the Scenic Meadows subdivision — with the condition the city does not develop the property back in February, but the commission rejected the donation by a 3 to 2 vote. City Manager Ron Fehr told KMAN earlier in the week that commissioners wanted another consideration of the offer after getting new information on the tract following that meeting.

Director of Parks and Recreation Eddie Eastes said they envisioned the most “reasonable public use for it is trail development.” He said they already have plans to construct three miles of new trail in the tract which would connect trails from Warner Park to the Stone Haven Park tract to the VMI tract and beyond.

(Read more: 1350 KMAN)

Marion council takes action on long-term projects

The city of Marion took steps Monday to move forward on two long-term projects.

First, the city approved a bid to officially begin its downtown revitalization project, five years after the process began.

Then, the city accepted two grants from the Kansas Department of Transportation for upgrades to the city’s airport. This process began three years ago.

Each were unanimously approved with minimal discussion.

“While there was not much fanfare here tonight, these are major, long-term decisions for the city,” Marion Mayor Todd Heitschmidt said.

“Long term, I feel very good about these decisions.”

(Read more: Hillsboro Free Press)

Marion County Commissioners consider more ATV use county lake

Marion County residents may soon be able to take their ATVs to the lake.

Isaac Hett, director of the county’s parks and lake department, informed Marion County commissioners Monday that his department has discussed allowing full use of all-terrain vehicles on Marion County Lake roads.

“It’s something we’ve been talking about,” Hett said.

Currently, the county allows ATV use on lake roads only for those with a special handicap license and permit. Hett said he’d like to see ATV use expanded to all drivers.

“We’re talking about the possibility of offering the permit to any Marion County resident,” Hett said.

Use of ATVs on roads surrounding the lake, including Lakeshore Drive, is “perfectly fine” under the current rules, Hett said.

Hett said the department has run into the problem of people using the inner roads without permission.

(Read more: Hillsboro Free Press)

Changes at Junction City City Hall

There will be some changes in personnel in Junction City governmental job positions. That includes the city attorney, city clerk and finance director positions.

Officials confirmed Tuesday night that City Attorney Katie Logan is retiring, although she will continue to handle some cases that are still currently ongoing. The City Prosecutor, Britain Stites, will continue in that role, but also handle city attorney duties.

City Clerk Shawna Settles is departing due to a military move. Her husband is in the Air Force and has received orders to move to a new assignment in Las Vegas. Tammy Melton will become the new city clerk.

City Manager Allen Dinkel stated that Lindsay Miller will become the city’s new finance director.

(Read more: Junction City Post)

Hospital sales tax vote coming in Ark City

Arkansas City voters will soon have the opportunity to repeal both the one-cent and the half-cent sales taxes, and replace them with a one-cent sales tax for the South Central Kansas Medical Center.

City commissioners approved a resolution during their regular meeting Tuesday authorizing the special question election, which will be performed through a mail in ballot.

Both taxes were put in place to support the medical center. The one-cent tax was approved by voters in 2016, and was set to expire after 10-years. The half-cent tax was approved in 2008 and expires in March of 2019. If approved, the new one-cent tax will have no expiration date.

City Manager Nick Hernandez said the change would provide a better opportunity for the city to refinance the current hospital construction debt, which could provide a significant savings.

(Read more: The Arkansas City Traveler)

Proposed budget has Overland Park property tax rate holding steady, stormwater fee up by $3

Overland Park should be able to keep its mill levy at 13.565 for the 2019 budget, said City Manager Bill Ebel as he presented his recommendations for the upcoming year’s budget. The 5.7 percent rise in Overland Park’s home values was not so high that it exceeds the Kansas Legislature’s tax lid and would trigger a reduction in property tax rates, he said.

But he did recommend a $3 increase in the stormwater utility fee to accelerate a curb replacement program the city initiated in 2017. The increase would bring the fee to $33 per household.

Commission reaches consensus on stormwater fee ordinances in Leavenworth

Leavenworth city commissioners have taken additional steps toward implementing fees to generate money for maintenance of the city’s stormwater system.

During a special meeting Tuesday, commissioners reached a consensus to advance two ordinances related to the stormwater management program. The ordinances will be brought back to commissioners next week for a final vote.

City Manager Paul Kramer said the first ordinance establishes the program. Kramer said the ordinance lays out the program and the rules and regulations that govern it.

The second ordinance amends the city’s schedule of fees to include the new service fees for the stormwater management program.

(Read more: Leavenworth Times)

Leavenworth County Commissioners review proposed change to Port Authority agreement

The process for appointing people to the Leavenworth County Port Authority Board of Directors soon could change.

When they met Tuesday, Leavenworth County commissioners reviewed a proposed amendment to an agreement that established the Port Authority.

Currently, members are appointed to the economic development organization’s board with approval from the County Commission as well as the Leavenworth City Commission. But the amendment to the agreement would give the County Commission the sole authority to appoint people to the Port Authority.

(Read more: Leavenworth Times)

Water meters in Derby will get an extreme makeover

The city could embark on a smart management system to replace all water meters in the city by later next year.

The meters work via wireless technology to collect and transmit water usage data to a central base station and remote host.

Already, some 2,000 of the advanced meters are in place, but the remaining 7,569 meters could be replaced and upgraded with the new technology. The project would cost $2.6 million and would be funded via general obligation bonds.

If approved by the City Counicl, the installation would be carried out next year, from March to October.

Jason Bradshaw, Public Works utility manager, said they if the meters are put in place, they would provide customers and the city-owned water entity, El Paso Water Co., “a great benefit from the get-go.”

“The big advantage is they can monitor it down to the hour,” he said. Thus, leaks can be quickly detected. “This will really catch them,” he said.

(Read more: Derby News | derbyinformer.com)

Dino park opens for business in Derby

Derby’s newest attraction, Field Station: Dinosaurs greeted its first visitors Memorial Day weekend. Executive Producer Guy Gsell, shown here at the front gate giving a brief presentation on the park for the first attendees, said the final week was “crazy frantic,” but the park was basically finished. “The last week was like drinking water from a fire hose,” he says.

(Read more: Derby News | derbyinformer.com)

Teardowns have divided Prairie Village. Now residents have a chance to weigh in

Prairie Village is one step closer to guidelines that leaders hope will help blend new large homes more compatibly into existing neighborhoods, preserving the small-town charm that people love about the city.

The City Council endorsed a preliminary set of guidelines Monday night and is ready to seek input from residents on the contentious issue of teardowns and new home rebuilds.

The guidelines would place restrictions on how oversized a house can look and how much land it can consume, plus add some rules for trees, driveways, garages and other aspects of residential development.

(Read more: KC Star Local News)

Lawrence City Commission delays action on police review board, fearing the body could be denied access to investigative files

The Lawrence City Commission has delayed creation of a community police review board, citing concerns that the board could be denied access to investigation files and related video or audio recordings.

At their meeting Tuesday, commissioners voiced concerns about the police department and city legal staff’s broad ability to redact police internal investigation files and the ability to withhold video and audio recordings from the board under some circumstances. Vice Mayor Lisa Larsen said she strongly disagreed with not giving the board every piece of information that police used to come to their decision.

North Newton gets no funding commitment for bike path but plenty of questions from county

The North Newton mayor as well as city administrator came to the Harvey County Commission to ask for funding for part of a bike and walking path project. The North Newton City Council, at last month’s meeting, approved asking the county for $20,000 to help pay for a bridge over Kidron Creek. The bridge would be part of a larger bike project that North Newton received a state grant to construct.

At Monday’s county commission meeting, North Newton Mayor Ron Braun told the commission North Newton wants to put in a foot bridge across the creek at a cost of $90,000. That is about $40,000 more than installing a low-water crossing on the creek. The North Newton Council thought to ask if the county might want to split the difference of the additional cost by providing funding to the project.

“There are several benefits the county might want to consider to warrant being a part of the investment,” Braun said, noting the project benefits the public and could be a good publicity opportunity for the county commission.

Initially, reception to the funding allocation from the commissioners seemed lukewarm at best.

(Read more: Newton Now)

Ark City artifact dig continues

Archaeologist Don Blakeslee and his crew of seven field school students are back at work on a hillock just east of the Walnut River in Arkansas City to unearth more artifacts from the long-lost city of Etzanoa.
They are searching for additional clues about how one of the largest prehistoric Native American communities in North America lived some 400 years ago.
“This was a swanky neighborhood,” said Blakeslee, describing the dig site.

Blakeslee has conducted summer field schools each year since 2015 in Ark City to learn more about Etzanoa, a settlement of at least 20,000 ancestors of the Wichita Nation.
Between 1450 to 1715, Etzanoa thrived as a community of 20,000 farmers and bison hunters who lived in clusters of beehive-shaped grass-and-wood houses surrounded by agricultural fields of corn, beans and squash.

Preserving Prairie Village’s character

After months of debate, the Prairie Village City Council is ready to seek input from residents on the contentious issue of teardowns and new home rebuilds. The council will hold public hearings and hopes to adopt guidelines by late summer.

JoCo could pull out of RideKC bus system over secrecy policy

Johnson County officials are concerned about a new policy that allows the Kansas Area Transportation Authority to keep records private and hold secret meetings.

(Read more: KC Star Local News)

Housing Authority moving ahead with plans for apartments at site of proposed behavioral health campus

Construction of an eight- to 10-unit apartment complex that was to be part of a behavioral health campus could start late this year or early in 2019, despite county voters’ recent rejection of Proposition 1, the executive director of the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority said.

The apartment complex was to be the long-term housing piece on a continuum of residential care options for those with behavioral health issues to be included in the $11 million behavioral health campus. Last month, county voters rejected Proposition 1 and the countywide half-cent sales tax it would have created to fund a jail expansion, the behavioral health campus and $5.1 million in additional behavioral health services. What made the apartment complex different from the behavioral health crisis center and group home to be built in the proposed campus was that its construction wasn’t dependent on the half-cent sales tax that would have been authorized with the passage of Proposition 1. Instead, the Housing Authority always planned to pay for its construction with $2 million it had saved from efficiently managing past U.S. Housing and Urban Development grants.

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

Schoenchen Fire Company gets improved ratings

Residents in Schoenchen will see an reduction on insurance costs because of the continued improvements to the Ellis County Fire Department.

Ellis County Director of Fire and Emergency Management Darin Myers informed the county commission Monday that the Public Protection Classification for Company 8 in Schoenchen improved from a 7 and a 9 rating to a 6 for within 1,000 feet of a hydrant and a 6 X within 5 miles of a fire station.

“More good news to the community members of Ellis County,” Myers said. “Basically every incorporated town and most of the areas surrounding those have all got ISO improvements this year.”

(Read more: Hays Post)

Douglas County Commission to consider renewing Lone Star Lake fishery management agreement with state

The Douglas County Commission on Wednesday will consider renewing a Lone Star Lake fishery management agreement with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism.

In a memo to commissioners, Keith Browning, county public works director, wrote that the county first entered into a Community Fisheries Assistance Program in 2009. With the agreement, the KDWPT stocks the lake with fish, provides fishery management expertise and pays the county $7,781 a year to help with the routine maintenance the county performs at the lake. The county’s participation in the program also makes it eligible for KDWPT grants for improvements at the lake.

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

McPherson will pay for sewer main

Homeowners were informed that the City of McPherson will assume the cost of a new sewer main in their neighborhood, during a public meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday at the Municipal Center, 400 E. Kansas.

Nine owners living on Hartup Street and Grand Ave. will now have the option of hooking to the new sewer main with a contractor chosen by the city, using their own contractor or passing on hooking up to the new line, said Jeff Woodward, McPherson’s director of public works. The city had originally planned to divide the cost of the new sewer main and laterals among homeowners based on the assessed evaluation of their homes, said Woodward.

(Read more: McPherson Sentinel)

Suchy retires as public works director in Great Bend

With regrets, the Great Bend City Council Monday night reluctantly approved the retirement of long-time Public Works Director Charlie Suchy. In a letter to the council, he made his intentions known to leave the city after over 30 years effective Friday.

“I was disappointed when I got word he was retiring,” Councilwoman Jolene Biggs said. In his overseeing of the Street, Water, Sewer and Sanitation divisions of the Public Works Department, “he was always energetic, patient and sensitive to community needs.”

“Charlie always wanted what was best for Great Bend,” Biggs said. “You have left an impression on Great Bend and you will be missed.”