Kansas Municipal News
Johnson County discusses stormwater management
Johnson County Government plays a large role working with cities to manage stormwater projects, to alleviate flooding and improve water quality. March 10, the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners authorized term and supply contracts with nine vendors for stormwater management services. Johnson County’s Stormwater Management Program has used a term and supply contract for multiple years as a way to expand the program to address specialized needs without having to hire more staff. Examples of past efforts executed with term and supply contract vendors include watershed master planning, floodplain mapping updates, water quality sampling and system management support. “Having contracts with multiple vendors provides flexibility and options for the Stormwater Management Program when specialized expertise is required,” said Madison Crowl, Johnson County Stormwater Management Project engineer. “Through these contracts, we, along with any other jurisdiction in Johnson County, have access to a team of specialists and can benefit from locked-in billing rates.”
Source: Gardner News
What’s summer without a splash? Johnson County needs lifeguards for various pools
Overland Park will be forced to curtail its outdoor swimming program unless it can hire more lifeguards, which are in short supply there and elsewhere. “Right now we have enough lifeguards to open one outdoor pool this summer with full staffing,” Aquatics Supervisor Renee Reis said in a news release. “Aquatics is an incredibly fun operation, but safety has to remain our top priority. It’s simply not safe to operate pools without a full staff of lifeguards.”
Source: Joco 913 News
Municipal Bond Trends for March 16, 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.
10-year Treasury yield jumps to highest level since 2019 after Fed raises rates
The 10-year Treasury yield topped 2.17% at one point Wednesday, with the Federal Reserve expected to announce an interest rate hike in the afternoon. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note last rose 1 basis point to 2.171%. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond fell 2 basis points to 2.476%. Yields move inversely to prices and 1 basis point is equal to 0.01%. The 10-year rate has surged since the beginning of the week, ahead of the Fed’s latest policy decision. The Fed is expected announce that it will raise interest rates by a quarter point on Wednesday, the first hike since 2018. Watchers also anticipate that the Fed will offer a new quarterly forecast that could indicate five or six more hikes this year.
Source: CNBC – Bonds
Municipals take back seat as Fed hikes rates
After the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates for the first time since 2018 and said it would raise them six more times this year, U.S. Treasury yields continued to rise, while munis were relatively stable and equities rallied to close the session. Municipal to UST ratios showed the five-year at 76%, 90% in 10-years and 97% in 30, according to Refinitiv MMD’s 3 p.m. read. ICE Data Services had the five at 78%, the 10 at 95% and the 30 at 99% at a 4 p.m. read. Trading was mixed ahead of the Fed’s announcement but a few blocks traded post-FOMC. Howard County, Maryland 5s of 2030 at 1.96% and 5s of 2031 at 2.01%. Their original levels were 1.48% and 1.52%, respectively, when it priced the first week of March.
Source: The Bond Buyer
Why the Federal Reserve raises interest rates to combat inflation
The Federal Reserve is poised to announce its first interest rate hike since 2018 on Wednesday. The central bank is likely to raise its target federal funds rate by 25 basis points to address the worst inflation in more than 40 years, partially brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. A basis point is equal to 0.01%. Yet consumers who are already grappling with higher prices putting a strain on their wallets may be wondering how increasing borrowing costs will help tamp down inflation. Its main tool to battle inflation is interest rates. It does that by setting the short-term borrowing rate for commercial banks, and then those banks pass rates along to consumers and businesses, said Yiming Ma, an assistant finance professor at Columbia University Business School.
Source: Economy
Manhattan finalizes STAR district expansion, looks to April public hearing on redevelopment plan
The location of a proposed Art and Light Museum in Downtown Manhattan, KS (Courtesy of the City of Manhattan). The blue line indicates the old border of the STAR bond district and the red-dotted line is the approved expansion which includes the new museum location. Manhattan City Commissioners Tuesday unanimously approved the expansion of the Downtown STAR bond district, with a public hearing scheduled to update the redevelopment plan on April 5. The expansion is related to a $43.6 million Art and Light Museum being planned by the DeBruyn’s, owners of The Master Teacher in Manhattan. By expanding the lot to include the proposed development site in the lot north of Pierre and west of 3rd Street, the project is opened up to potentially $23 million in sales tax revenue projected to be generated in the district through 2026.
Source: 1350 KMAN
Burrton students learn importance of civic engagement
Students in Burrton are learning about the importance of being involved in their community. Several high school students attended last week’s USD-369 Board of Education meeting to fulfill a civic engagement requirement for their history class. Social studies teacher Kara Sorenson explained that she asks students to participate in three different civic engagement events each semester. “There are two categories to choose from, community service (volunteering) and government participation,” she said. “Each of my students is required to complete one activity from each category, plus an additional activity of their choice. For example, they can attend a city council meeting, a board meeting and complete one community service, or they can complete two different community services and attend one board or council meeting.”
Source: Harvey County Now
Halstead Council asks residents if they’d pay more to keep recycling service
The Halstead City Council has their ear to the ground, listening for citizen support for routine recycling pickup. The local waste management contractor, Nisly, is wondering where they should take recyclables after next month, when they will no longer be accepted at the Harvey County Transfer Station. That’s according to City Manager Ethan Reimer, who told the council at Monday night’s meeting that it could cost citizens $2 to $4 more “to continue to collect recycling and take it to a drop point other than Harvey County.” Nisly should be contacting him soon with a plan and a price point for maintaining the service, he said.
Source: Harvey County Now
USD 410 and Hillsboro partner on city improvement projects
USD 410 students presented to the Hillsboro City Council in a special city council meeting on Wednesday, March 9. … Two different groups, led by teacher Darrel Knoll, presented during the 30-minute meeting, and both gave some simple and fairly cost-effective ideas to improve the town of Hillsboro. The first group offered some revisions of the shelter houses in the park. The group consisted of Callie Plenert, Katherine Maxfield and Emily Paulus. They talked about how the shelter houses are outdated and need updating and fixing. The group suggested revamping and improving the shelter houses located in the park. “People usually have events outside of them and don’t really use the inside of them because it’s just so nasty,” said Kate Maxfield.
Source: Hillsboro Free Press
Colwich Fire Department staff, equipment stretched thin due to recent grass fires
Recent wildfires across Kansas are taking a toll on trucks and staff at the Colwich Fire Department. Fire Chief Moe Lallement said there haven’t been any grass fires in Colwich’s immediate jurisdiction yet this year, but the department still helps respond when one breaks out somewhere else if help is needed. “It seems that we’re in a cyclic pattern, so about every week or so, every three of four days, you get what we call a red flag day, which is something we’re experiencing today,” Lallement said. Lallement said it’s so frequent that some of his volunteer firefighters are taking days off work to come in and help. “Some have the ability to, depending on their type of work, they can work from the fire station but still respond to an alarm,” he said.
Source: KAKE – News
Kansas increasingly meeting the need for rural broadband speed
At a time when civic problems often seem intractable, Kansas is actually making progress on increasing access to quality broadband, a deficiency exposed all too clearly by the pandemic. With the help of state and federal investments, spurred by the pandemic, and private companies taking leaps of their own, some Kansans are noticing the difference in internet speeds. But it’s a push that hasn’t been without hiccups and is far from complete. After hearing rumors that better broadband would finally be coming to historic Cottonwood Falls in the scenic Flint Hills, Sandy Carlson was skeptical.
Source: KLC Journal
Calls for service on the rise for Spring Hill PD
The Spring Hill Police Department’s annual report shows there was an increase in calls for service in 2021 compared to each of the two previous years. Police Chief Cindy Henson gave the annual report during the Feb. 10 Spring Hill City Council meeting. The report shows there were 7,990 calls for service in 2021, compared to 6,285 calls for service in 2020 and 7,045 in 2019. Criminal reports of battery and drug arrests both saw large increases in 2021. Battery reports increased from 42 in 2020 to 61 in 2021. Drug arrests increased from 26 in 2020 to 40 in 2021.
Source: Local News | republic-online.com
Leaders talk about state of the city, school district and county
Completion of two major street projects, updating the city’s comprehensive plan, and ringing up record sales tax collections were just a few of the topics Leigh House touched on Wednesday, March 9, while delivering her first State of the City remarks as mayor of Paola. “Paola saw a record amount of sales tax collected, showing that the community is choosing to shop local to support our businesses. And thank you all for that,” House said. “It does make a huge difference.” About 50 people gathered for the State of the City on Wednesday morning at Town Square event center in Paola. The event was organized by the Paola Chamber of Commerce. Jeremy Smail, chief financial officer of First Option Bank, served as moderator. The city of Paola issued 472 building permits with a construction value of over $9.7 million in 2021, House said.
Source: Local News | republic-online.com
County issues over 600 burn permits via new online system
The county has issued 620 burn permits through its online permit system since it was launched in mid-November. Mark Whelan, emergency management coordinator for the county, said Tuesday, March 15, that 151 of those permits have been issued in the last 30 days. Permits are required, and the permit holder should call 294-3232, Option 4, when they plan to burn. The new online burn permit system will save applicants a little leg work. Whelan said the new system should help streamline the process because it will no longer be necessary for someone to get a paper permit.
Source: Local News | republic-online.com
McPherson School Board recall election will take place, thanks to lawsuit
Residents of USD-418 will soon have a chance to decide if they want to retain Board Members Jeff Johnson, Emily Greer, and Ann Elliott after McPherson County Clerk Hollie Melroy certified the success of a recall effort. She certified its failure fewer than two months ago. The recall election is set for May 24, with advanced voting available from May 4 through 23. What changed? The reversal of decisions came after 12 members of the recall committee filed a lawsuit against Melroy on Feb. 18, claiming she hadn’t correctly counted, specifically contesting Melroy’s disqualifications due to address changes, the use of nicknames, and clerical issues, according to Clinton Sides of the recall effort.
Source: McPherson Weekly News » Feed
Merriam approves one-time employee retention bonus amid staffing shortage
The Merriam City Council on Monday approved a one-time, approximately $300,000 employee retention bonus. Why it matters: Merriam is experiencing staffing shortages — just like other cities, and even hospitals and school districts. The city is seeing fewer applicants to fill vacancies, particularly in the public works and police departments, according to city documents. City Administrator Chris Engel said the city traditionally faces competition from other local government agencies. Now, he said, it’s gotten to the point where the city is competing with Hy-Vee for police officers.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Governor joins effort in asking for $50 million for rural housing
Gov. Laura Kelly is getting behind efforts of a broad coalition of business and government interests to get the Legislature to approve $50 million to help solve a rural housing shortage. The governor announced a $50 million budget amendment on Tuesday that would be transferred to the State Housing Trust Fund administered by the Kansas Housing Resource Corp.
Source: Sunflower State Journal
City to-do list has hefty price tag
Iola city leaders crossed several big-ticket items off their to-do lists Monday, totaling more than $978,000. The first was a bid of $145,000 to PAR Electrical, Inc., out of Kansas City, Mo., to install three 69kV power poles. The PAR bid was the lowest of three for the laminated, cambered wood poles. The Council approved the pole purchase in November. Monday’s action was for installation. As an aside, the poles arrived Monday prior to the meeting, said Mike Phillips, power plant supervisor. NEXT up was a $543,500 expenditure to Peaker Services, Inc., out of Brighton, Miss., to upgrade the MED controls for the five city-owned electric generators at the Bassett substation and within the power plant.
Source: The Iola Register
Humboldt gets to work on projects
City leaders took official steps Monday night to get the ball rolling on two big projects. First, they approved a Community Development Block Grant for $700,000 for street improvements. The State of Kansas, through the Department of Commerce, will shoulder $492,086 of the expenses; Humboldt, $210,894. About 44 blocks of downtown Humboldt are slated for work. Bruce Boettcher of BG Consultants is overseeing the work. The planning of the project is complete, Boettcher said, with the design phase to be next. Council members also approved a public hearing for April 11 to discuss the funding of a $13 million upgrade to the city’s water system. The city is applying for the loan through the United States Department of Agriculture.
Source: The Iola Register