Municipal News & Jobs

Kansas Municipal 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.”

Westar Energy and customers are fighting over the sun

Kansans who generate some of their own electricity are fighting Westar Energy over proposed rates they say could cast a huge shadow over solar power in the Sunflower State.

As part of a broader rate increase, Westar is proposing a mandatory extra charge on customers who install rooftop solar panels to cut their electric bills.

Solar power enthusiasts say Westar wants to crush home solar to maintain its monopoly control over energy long into the future. “One thing Kansans have always prided themselves on is their independence, resourcefulness and the like,” said Ryan Jamison, a Topeka business consultant who helps clients reduce energy use and get into self-generation. “Now, ingenuity and resourcefulness, in my opinion, almost seems like it’s about to be penalized.”

(Read more: Wichita Eagle)

Leavenworth taking bids for solid waste disposal

The city of Leavenworth is seeking bids for the disposal of garbage collected through the city’s trash service.

City officials plan to continue to operate the curbside trash pickup. But officials are looking to see if the city government can save money by switching the location of where the trash is taken.

Currently, the city government utilizes the Leavenworth County Transfer Station to dispose of the garbage picked up by city crews. Located in Lansing, the Transfer Station is operated by the county government.

An anticipated increase in fees charged to the city for the use of the Transfer Station has led Leavenworth officials to seek bids from other vendors for solid waste disposal fees.

(Read more: Leavenworth Times)

Ellis County faces tough choices in 2019 budget

Preliminary estimates suggest the Ellis County Commission will need to find a way to either increase revenue or cut spending in order to balance the 2019 budget.

If the commission chooses to slightly raise the mill levy as allowed under a state-imposed tax lid, the budget still appears to be approximately $400,000 in the red, County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes said. If the commission decides against a tax increase, the estimated deficit jumps to $645,000.

Smith-Hanes noted the proposed mill levy increase would be slight, approximately ⅝ of one mill. For a home valued at $100,000, that amounts to an additional $7.20 per year.

“This is not a desperate situation. Budgets are about making choices,” Smith-Hanes said. “We make choices all the time in our budgets at home, and we’re faced with some choices in the county budget for 2019. They’re not particularly pleasant choices, but we’ll get through this.”

(Read more: News – The Hays Daily News)

Summertime and Swedes: Lindsborg’s Midsummer Fest set for June 16

Fun in the sun can be had during Lindsborg’s Midsummer’s Festival, held this year on June 16.

The traditional Swedish festival is celebrated worldwide, welcoming the arrival of the summer solstice, and Lindsborg is hosting a day full of activities.

(Read more: McPherson Sentinel)

Wichita tests water quality for Riverfest activities

Like most Riverfest goers, Gabby and Jacob Marney spent the afternoon walking alongside the Arkansas River.

“It’s definitely a big focal point. Us being new here, we hear stuff about it all the time,” Gabby Marney said.

But what they hadn’t heard about are the flags located on the Douglas and Lewis Street bridges. The flags let festival goers know the water is safe, depending on the color.

“Blue or green means go ahead, get in, recreate. I mean, don’t drink it. That’s just dumb,” President and CEO of Wichita Festivals, Mary Beth Jarvis said.

Specifically, blue means the water is suitable for recreational use. Green flags mean the water is suitable but be sure wash your hands afterward and avoid swallowing the water.

(Read more: KAKE – News)

Salina Parks & Recreation Draft Master Plan Complete

The City of Salina Parks and Recreation Draft Master Plan is complete and available online at http://salina-ks.gov/parksandrecreation-masterplan.

The purpose of the Master Plan is to set goals and benchmarks for the future of parks and sports facilities. The overall vision of the Master Plan is to improve the spaces where community members go to make connections, enjoy the outdoors, and participate in recreational activities. The plan process includes independent analysis of parks and facilities, programming, agreements with outside agencies, staff interviews, public input meetings, and public surveys.

(Read more: The Salina Post)

Hutch City Council approves benefits consultant

The Hutchinson City Council gave approval to hire a new consulting firm to help with the city’s benefits package.

The council agreed to hire USI Consulting out of Wichita at a cost of $58,500. According to Human Resources Director Tom Sanders, the city sent out a request for proposals to numerous firms earlier this year and got seven replies. These several firms were then interviewed by the Health and Wellness Committee. Sanders says USI has its own in-house legal staff that will eliminate the need for an outside attorney to handle benefit cases involving city employees.

(Read more: Hutch Post)

Shawnee infrastructure plan calls for efforts to improve walkability along 71st Street, near new Monticello library

The Shawnee City Council has unanimously approved the city’s 2019-2024 Capital Improvement Plan, including the addition of improvements to sidewalks along 71st Street from Clare Road to Hedge Lane Terrace.

The CIP is a project-funding forecast, and all projected costs are subject to change and must be individually approved by the council, Caitlin Gard, Shawnee’s strategic initiatives manager, said after the council’s May 29 meeting. The 71st Street sidewalk program was added to the CIP presented at the meeting, and the council authorized a $300,000 annual expenditure for it from 2020 through 2024.

The project would add sidewalks and regrade the existing drainage ditch along the north side of 71st Street from Clare Road to Hedge Lane Terrace. The project also would include adding a sidewalk from 71st Street to the existing Erfurt Park sidewalks and would require additional right of way at several locations.

Lawrence City Commission to consider giving police review board access to bias investigation files

A community board may soon be able to review police investigation files related to certain racial or other bias complaints made against police.

At its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will consider allowing the city’s Community Police Review Board to review the police department’s internal investigation file when the person who made the bias complaint disagrees with the police findings.

The current board, the Citizen Advisory Board for Fair and Impartial Policing, reviews only a summary of the investigation provided by police that some have said provides limited information. The proposed change is part of a revamp of the board meant to give it more oversight.The proposed ordinance now states that the board will be provided a copy of the entire file of the internal police investigation, which is conducted by the police department’s Office of Professional Accountability. Previously, the ordinance did not guarantee the board would have full access to the file.

As previously written, the ordinance only stated that the board shall “review the police department’s investigation to determine if further investigation is needed.” City legal staff previously told the Journal-World that in some complex cases that may be a written summary rather than the investigation file itself.

Want to fight cybercrime? Wichita may be in your future

Wichita could soon emerge as a hub for the ongoing battle against cybercrimes, officials say.

“We could create a place that’s attractive for IT companies — maybe not the extent of Seattle or Silicon Valley, but a regional magnet,” said Col. Joe Jabara, vice wing commander for the 184th Intelligence Wing of the Kansas Air National Guard at McConnell Air Force Base.

The momentum is being driven by the development of cybersecurity programs at a number of colleges and universities in the Wichita metropolitan area. There’s a voracious demand for employees trained in how to protect computer networks.

That, in turn, could bring firms specializing in information technologies to the area because of the availability of a freshly trained workforce, Jabara said. Wichita is well-positioned to become a cybersecurity hub for a number of reasons, Jabara said. It’s far from the coasts, where competition for cybersecurity specialists is intense.

That means companies would be more likely to hold on to their prized employees.

The terrain is flat, “so it’s easy to get bandwidth in and out of here,” he said. Ample bandwidth would be a must for IT companies.

Having the 184th Intelligence Wing at McConnell is a strength for Wichita-area colleges, school officials say.

The wing handles network operations for the entire National Guard, detects and assesses cyber-intrusions on Department of Defense computer networks and has a “red team” that tests the strength of security systems by “replicating the adversary,” Jabara said.

“I think there’s a lot of room for collaboration,” said Scott McIntosh, assistant professor of strategic intelligence at Newman University.

Lincoln Schroeder, who has been hired to expand Wichita State’s cybersecurity program, said he’s working to build partnerships with the 184th Intelligence Wing.

“We want to be able to provide a really good ready-to-work workforce,” Schroeder said.

(Read more: Wichita Eagle)

Shawnee City Council approves policy change to allow for remote participation

Shawnee city councilmembers will now be able to vote or give their two cents during city meetings no matter their physical location, whether it be across the country for a business trip or home sick in bed.

At its council meeting on May 28, the governing body unanimously approved policy revisions to allow council members to participate remotely in city meetings, should they be otherwise unable to attend in person.

Each council member will be allowed to remotely attend a maximum of two meetings, including executive sessions, using an internet program like Google Hangouts, so they can be seen and heard by the mayor or council president and be recognized when they want to speak.

The two-meeting rule will not apply to special call meetings.

The revised policy also includes the following provisions:

(Read more: The Dispatch stories)

Not your parent’s walking trail

They won’t be walking uphill both ways in the snow, however local residents — particularly children — will soon have better access to safe walking trails.

According to a release, the City of Pittsburg reviewed the condition of sidewalks and crosswalks around of Pittsburg Schools. Pittsburg Community Middle School, Westside and George Nettels were identified through the study as having a need for change.

Pittsburg City Manager Daron Hall said the city is working to make transportation safer for all residents. He said he’s thankful for the Kansas Department of Transportation and the national Safe Routes to School program. The Safe Routes to School is a program which encourages active transportation, such as walking or riding bikes, particularly to school.

Thanks to this grant the construction has began on a 10-foot trail along Broadway in front of Pittsburg Community Middle School. Director of Public Works Cameron Alden said it took the city about a year to get the KDOT grant which is making the projects possible.

(Read more: Pittsburg Morning Sun)

Earthquake hits shake up Saline County

Rick Miller, a senior scientist at the University of Kansas’ Geological Survey division, said that, clustered along the eastern border of Saline County, there have been four earthquakes over the past three years that have been large enough to be felt and more than 50 too small to feel.

“They have been caused by some subsurface faults that exist in this area,” he said.

Miller said that following earthquakes in Harper and Sumner Counties in southern Kansas in 2014 and 2015, the Kansas Legislature in 2015 authorized the establishment of seven regional network stations that record earthquakes. “There was only one reliable station operated by the USGS in Cedar Bluff prior to the increase in stations,” he said. “With the new stations, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in the number of earthquakes recorded. That can be attributed to us just not recording all earthquakes unless they were felt or of a high magnitude.”

Miller said his office has for several years monitored the area where the earthquake struck Monday.

“With the size of the earthquakes and the size of the area, there isn’t any kind of imminent danger,” he said. “We can’t predict earthquakes, but based on what the last three years of earthquake recording has shown us, there appears to be no threat of significant damage from an earthquake in this Saline County cluster in the near future.”

(Read more: News – Salina Journal)

More ambulance service coming to parts of Wichita, Sedgwick County

Working to address a gap in emergency medical service coverage in the northeast part of Wichita, Sedgwick County officials have begun building a new ambulance post.

Construction began Monday on the $799,000 project, which is expected to be completed by mid-January 2019.

The new emergency medical service post will be at 3575 N. Webb.

Sedgwick County EMS Director Scott Hadley said the gap in emergency medical coverage has existed since 2014, when an ambulance post was relocated away from the area.

(Read more: Wichita Eagle)

City of Shawnee may change parade rules after Kris Kobach’s gun-mounted Jeep draws backlash

Some say it was a controversial choice by Kansas Secretary of State and gubernatorial candidate Kris Kobach. On June 2, the politician rode through the Old Shawnee Days parade with a believed replica machine gun on a Jeep wrapped in an American flag decal. The City of Shawnee apologized on Saturday “for the concern and frustration” it caused parade attendees. The city isn’t taking sides on the issue, but they may be changing the rules to their parade that is a yearly tradition.

“What happened yesterday was clear that we probably need some set guidelines, so moving forward we have kind of a set of rules to say this is what’s okay, and this is what’s not,” Julie Breithaupt, a communications manager with the City of Shawnee, said.

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

Roeland Park gets new K-9 unit dog

Three months after getting permission to start raising funds for the program, the Roeland Park Police Department has acquired a dog for its new K-9 unit. Rango, a German shepherd from Minnesota, arrived in Roeland Park late last week. The department will use the K-9 unit for building searches, tracking, officer protection and drug detection.

Two Ellis Co. Public Works departments will implement four-day work week

Beginning Monday, the Ellis County Road and Bridge and Noxious Weed departments will begin implementing a four days per week, 10 hours per day work schedule.

Public Works Department Administrative Manager Rick Rupp said, “During the duration of this summer schedule our work days will be from Monday through Thursday each week and our work day will commence at 7 a.m. and end at 5:30 p.m.”

The one exception will be the work week of July 2 to July 6. The department will go back to a five-day work week because the Fourth of July holiday will be observed on Wednesday, July 4.

The changes will continue through Aug. 30.

(Read more: Hays Post)

Solar power shines at Winfield

The Kansas Power Pool is considering a measure that would make it easier for member cities to take on community solar energy projects, a KPP representative told the Winfield City Commission on Thursday.

The measure, if approved, would allow the power pool to cover half the cost for member cities to install a small solar facility of 25 kilowatts or smaller, KPP director Mark Chesney said. This size facility would take up less than a half acre of land, maybe even only one-tenth of an acre, Chesney said.

Currently, KPP representatives are visiting member cities to gauge interest in the project.

Commissioner Phil Jarvis and Mayor Greg Thompson expressed interest in learning more about a solar facility.

Having a solar facility could provide educational opportunities for local students, utilities director Gus Collins said.

Chesney said it’s a good idea to get comfortable with solar power.

(Read more: The Arkansas City Traveler)