Kansas Municipal News
Horse in Wichita Police Department Mounted Unit dies
In a Facebook post from the Wichita Police Foundation on Tuesday, they announced the death of Scout, a saddlebred paint gelding who had been serving with the Wichita Police Department Mounted Unit since 2014. “Scout was fearless, not afraid of anything. Rode him in some tough situations on patrol, and he always did great. He was my horse until I retired,” said retired Wichita Police Department Sergeant and former Unit Commander Clark Bolan.
Source: KSN-TV
Wichita City Council approves SAFER Grant application for fire department staffing
Wichita City Council is asking for millions of dollars to help the Wichita Fire Department (WFD). This SAFER Grant would add somewhere between 36 and 39 firefighters to WFD’s staff. The additional staff would be added to two brand new ladder truck companies as well as supplement other ladder companies that are currently running with a three-person crew. “It’d be the added bonus that we’re really needing to continue to serve the citizens as we’re accustomed to and making the efforts to make sure that we have everybody safe,” WFD Battalion Chief Jose Ocadiz said. While going from three to four firefighters on a truck doesn’t sound like a huge difference, it makes an impact.
Source: KSN-TV
Baxter Springs welcomes back former officer as new police chief
Law enforcement in southeast Kansas is getting a brand new face — but it’s one that’s pretty familiar in a different part of the Four States. It’s the new police chief for the Baxter Springs Police Department. Brian Henderson is in just his first week on the job, but it’s a career he’s familiar with. “January 1996 was my start date,” said Henderson. The first time Brian Henderson was hired by the Baxter Springs Police Department as a reserve officer. Now he’s back in a much different role. “So it’s coming back home for me, after serving citizens of Joplin for 20 years. And I’m excited to be starting a new chapter in my career, but also coming back to a great and wonderful community to serve as police chief.”
Source: KSNF/KODE
Amelia Earhart Memorial Airport receives KAIP funding
Thirty-six projects have been selected for Kansas Airport Improvement Program (KAIP) funding for the purpose of planning, constructing or rehabilitating public use general aviation airports. “Grant programs such as the Kansas Airport Improvement Program make projects like these possible, and we are very fortunate to have been awarded three grants. It is a competitive program so I think these awards really speak to the progress that has been made with the airport,” Clinton McNemee said. The airport received $38,000 for design of the; primary apron expansion; $89,396 for construction on the new runway and $328,500 for construction of the primary apron.
Source: News | atchisonglobenow.com
New e-scooters arrive in Overland Park
Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog took a ride on a Bird scooter Tuesday afternoon around downtown to celebrate the official launch of a two-year pilot program for the electronic devices. The program is similar to other rental scooter programs in the metro, including in neighboring Prairie Village. The vehicles are electric and can be unlocked for relatively short rides with an app and an account. The pilot was approved by Overland Park City Council unanimously in early February.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Douglas County Commission to allow mask mandate to expire
As new COVID-19 cases have continued to drop in Douglas County, commissioners on Wednesday evening were set to let a countywide mask mandate expire. An emergency health order with a countywide mask mandate went into effect Jan. 7 as the county was seeing a rolling 14-day average of new cases nearly double previous pandemic spikes. That number eventually reached more than four times the previous records from November 2020, but new cases began to drop within two weeks of the mandate going into effect. Early last month, the commission had considered an option of a loosened mandate that would have required masks only for indoor gatherings where more than 500 people were present. Instead, they opted to extend the mandate until Wednesday, March 2.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Council vote halts years-long effort to outsource management of city golf courses
A decade-long effort to hire a private company to manage Wichita’s city-owned golf courses has failed again. In a 5-2 vote, the City Council decided not to contract with Illinois-based Kemper Sports, with vice mayor Becky Tuttle and Council member Bryan Frye casting the votes in favor of the contract. The decision followed about two hours of spirited public discussion, including several local golf enthusiasts who spoke against the move to privatize operations and instead advocated for the city to fill the long-vacant golf director position.
Source: Wichita Business Journal
With inflation and Ukraine, Powell must thread a needle on Capitol Hill this week to calm markets
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is tasked with telling Congress this week that the central bank will be doing more to control inflation at a time when markets expect it will be doing less. With fears over the Russian invasion of Ukraine causing turmoil in the financial world, Wall Street has quietly dialed down its expectations for Fed action. Where markets had been expecting the Fed to raise interest rates up to seven times in 2022, recent pricing now indicates just five moves. That would be the equivalent of bringing the Fed’s benchmark short-term borrowing rate up about 125 basis points, or to a range between 1.25%-1.5%.
Source: CNBC
Municipal Bond Trends for March 1, 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.
NLC First Vice President Testifies Before Congress on Success of Local COVID Relief Funds
National League of Cities (NLC) Vice President Mayor Victoria Woodards of Tacoma, Washington, testified on behalf of NLC before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform in a hearing on the impact of the American Rescue Plan Act’s (ARPA) State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF). In March of 2021, President Biden signed ARPA into law, providing $350 billion to intergovernmental partners, including $45.57 billion worth of assistance for metropolitan cities like the City of Tacoma. This critical investment helped cities manage the public health emergency, address urgent community needs, anticipate long-term impacts of the pandemic, and pave the way for a more equitable long-term recovery.
Source: NLC
El Dorado PD’s Project Good Morning offers daily check-ins
The safety of our community’s citizens is a top priority for the El Dorado Police Department. One of the ways in which the Department strives to achieve this is through Project Good Morning. Project Good Morning is a service provided by the Department to check on those who need extra assistance in assuring their security and independence. Through the program, residents who sign up for the service are offered daily check-ins to be sure they are safe. “If they do not call in by the given time, we try calling them,” explained Police Chief Curt Zieman. “If contact is not made, a police officer will go to their address and check on them.”
Source: Andover American
Olathe school voters overwhelmingly OK $298M bond issue
Johnson County voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved the Olathe school district’s request to issue $298.3 million in bonds to replace a middle school building and fund several facility, technology and safety improvements. Unofficial results from the special mail ballot election show the bond initiative passing with 67.7%, or 15,936 votes, in favor, according to the Johnson County election office, while 32.3% voted against it. In total, 22.6% of eligible voters, or 23,542, cast ballots. Ballots were due by noon on Tuesday. The final results will not be determined until after the canvass and after the official vote count is certified by the Board of Canvassers.
Source: Joco 913 News
House eager to overhaul loan program earmarking veterinary graduates for rural counties
Veterinarian Anna Hickert found a home in central Kansas under a program at Kansas State University allowing graduates to work off college loans in exchange for serving in a rural community starved for big-animal vets. Hickert, a 2020 graduate of the College of Veterinary Medicine, landed at a mixed practice caring for livestock such as cattle and horses as well as small animals that include dogs, cats and other pets. Under terms of her loan-repayment program, she can wipe out $20,000 of debt for each year she sticks with a vet practice far, far away from metropolitan areas where salaries exploded beyond $120,000 a year in a bid to meet demand. “As I continue into my career and work to build my business skills with my medical knowledge, I can confidently state that this program has an incredible return on investment,” she said.
Source: Kansas Reflector
Rent prices in Wichita have risen over 14%, study finds
A local realtor who says the driving factor behind rising rent prices is a low supply and high demand. Ryan Smith is a managing partner with At Home Wichita Property Management. He claims homes for rent are not staying on the market very long before a new tenant gets the keys. “They moved out Wednesday. I got it on the market on Friday and I had an open house on Sunday and I’m probably going to move somebody in tomorrow,” said Smith. According to a rent report from Apartmentlist.com, since the pandemic began in march of 2020, rent prices in Wichita have risen over 14 percent. Smith said it’s likely more.
Source: KSN-TV
Many Kansas school districts remove mask mandates for buses
As of February 25, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is not requiring masks on buses or vans operated by public or private school systems, including early care and education/child care programs. The change comes as the CDC is going to align with the updated guidance that no longer recommends universal indoor mask-wearing in K-12 schools and early education settings in areas with a low or medium COVID-19 Community Level. At a school’s discretion, they may still choose to require that people wear masks on buses or vans.
Source: KSN-TV
Shawnee Co. Commission bumps pay for difficult to fill positions
Shawnee County will pay Department of Corrections workers more after the Shawnee County Commission approved a series of “significant pay adjustments” on Monday. According to the commission, the need to keep and hire “quality” officers required the commission to take steps to approve higher wages. The multi-level base and differential pay program can bring wages for current and new corrections officers up by $6.00 an hour on top of an enhanced base pay rate. In addition to the starting wage for a Corrections Specialist increasing to $20.24 an hour, the Commission also approved: A $1.50 hourly pay differential for all hourly staff working within the detention facilities. A $2.00 hourly pay differential for all department uniformed security staff within the detention facilities. $2.50 hour pay differential for all 24/7 security staff working within a detention facility with a vacancy rate of 25% or higher, which is considered a “crisis staffing level”.
Source: KSNT News
Wichita golf courses to remain publicly run after City Council rejects privatization
Wichita’s public golf courses will remain publicly run. The City Council on Tuesday rejected a contract with KemperSports that would have privatized operations of the city’s four municipal golf courses. The proposal failed 5-2, with council members Becky Tuttle and Bryan Frye voting for privatization. KemperSports, based in Illinois, is a national golf company that runs 120 courses, a quarter of which are publicly owned. It was chosen by a selection committee and the park board to take over the city’s system that includes Sim Park, Consolver, Auburn Hills and McDonald courses. The system had five courses until the closure of south Wichita’s Clapp Golf Course in 2019.
Source: Wichita Eagle
Labette County mulls leasing fleet vehicles
Labette County commissioners are considering leasing fleet vehicles for law enforcement and Public Works from Enterprise Fleet Management as a way to save money on maintenance costs. Commissioners discussed the matter with Sheriff Darren Eichinger, sheriff’s Cpl. Dusty Conrad and Public Works Director Sandy Krider Monday. Kenneth Olsen attended the meeting representing Enterprise. The sheriff’s office has the newest fleet of vehicles but mileage adds up quickly on deputies’ patrol vehicles, up to 35,000 miles a year.
Source: Parsons Sun
Pickleball in Lenexa keeps gaining popularity, and the city is reminding players how to properly reserve courts
With the overwhelming demand for pickleball court time and new players joining the sport every day, Lenexa city officials are highlighting a system for allowing teams and individuals to reserve courts. It’s affectionately called the “paddle saddle,” a curved plastic device with ten numbered slots hanging on the exterior fencing of pickleball courts around the city. It works like this: put your paddle in a slot in order of your arrival, denoting who’s next in line for the next available court.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Broad coalition seeks $50 million for rural housing
These should be good times for Norton County. It’s got four companies ready to invest $6 million in expansions, adding about three dozen jobs. Plus, area businesses have posted another 185 job openings. All welcome news in this northwest Kansas county with a population of 5,459. But there’s a catch. The county has so few homes available that it’s not only struggling to attract employees to fill existing openings, but fighting to meet the demands of new development. It’s a problem facing all parts of the state especially western Kansas, which has prompted a broad coalition of business and government interests to ask the Legislature for a one-time $50 million appropriation to help solve a rural housing shortage.
Source: Sunflower State Journal