Kansas Municipal News
USD 383 looking for input on budget plan for $7.25 million federal grant
USD 383 is seeking public input on a budget plan for millions of dollars of federal funding coming to the district. The Manhattan-Ogden school district was allocated over $7.25 million by Congress in March of 2021 intended to help elementary and secondary schools respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in various ways. This is the third round of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency (ESSER III) funds distributed since 2020, provided this time as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). USD 383 previously received over $812,000 through the CARES Act and over $3.2 million as part of the CRRSA Act. “The ESSER III award is a substantial amount of money that we’re working on trying to get feedback from community to build a budget plan for those moneys,” USD 383 Director of Business Services Lew Faust said on KMAN’s In Focus Friday.
Source: 1350 KMAN
Kansas provides $2M for electric vehicle charging stations
Kansas has awarded $2 million in grants to the operators of travel centers on Interstate 70 and the Kansas Turnpike to install charging stations for electric vehicles. The state Department of Transportation announced grants Friday for stations in seven locations. The grants are financed with funds from legal settlements with German automaker Volkswagen Corp. over its admission in 2015 that diesel-engine cars were programmed to turn on emissions controls during government lab tests and turn them off while on the road. The department said the grants were designed to put charging stations along the state’s most-traveled highways.
Source: Andover American
Hillsboro experienced a record-breaking sales tax numbers
Hillsboro experienced a record-breaking tax income with December’s sales tax, according to Hillsboro City Administrator Matt Stiles in the Hillsboro City Council meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 4. Stiles said they do not know the exact reasons for the month’s collections of $872,024.52, which was 23 percent higher than 2020 and 47 percent than the rolling five-year average. “There could be any number of reasons. Car sales were high, and we also have new businesses doing well with The Building Center and bomgaars,” said Stiles. Mayor Lou Thurston added, “And frankly all of our businesses do a really good job and work hard so it could be a combination of it all.”
Source: Hillsboro Free Press
JCDHE works with City of Mission to improve recycling, decrease contamination
Johnson County Department of Health and Environment is partnering with the City of Mission and GFL Environmental (trash and recycling hauler) to provide recycling education to reduce contamination and improve recycling habits as part of the “Recycle Right” campaign. On Monday, Feb. 7, JCDHE’s recycling specialists will be walking through neighborhoods in Mission, assessing the contents of recycle bins. If non-recyclable items are found, feedback offering tips on ways to improve their recycling will be left on the bin. The first area to be observed will be the part of the city that has a Monday recycling collection.
Source: Johnson County Kansas |
Lenexa police officer helps deliver baby
Police find themselves in all kinds of emergency situations. Even so, what happened on Interstate 35 early Thursday morning is something a Lenexa police officer will likely always remember. Officers responded to a QuikTrip at I-35 and 95th Street around 12:15 a.m. When they arrived they found a woman in labor. Her husband had been driving her to the hospital, but they weren’t going to make it before the baby arrived. A 15-year veteran of the police force helped the woman deliver the baby in the family’s car before paramedics arrived. “And units responding to 95 and Lenexa Drive, your baby has been delivered,” dispatchers were heard saying on audio shared through Broadcastify. Mom and baby are now resting at a hospital and Lenexa police said they are doing well.
Source: KSN-TV
Osawatomie reestablishes tourism committee
A big box store may not be in Osawatomie’s future. But city officials agreed tourism can play a larger role in driving Osawatomie’s economy. With that in mind, the city has reestablished the Osawatomie Tourism Committee in part to promote signature events designed to draw people to the community. The city is seeking applicants for the newly reformed tourism committee, which was originally established in 2013 but has been dormant for some time. The city is accepting applications through Wednesday, Feb. 9. See the city’s website www.osawtomieks.org for more information and details about how to apply.
Source: Local News | republic-online.com
Chanute tourism board continues work on proposed mini golf course
Members of the Chanute Chamber Tourism Committee discussed proposals for a downtown mural and miniature golf course at Friday’s monthly meeting. The discussion continued plans to apply for grant funding for a miniature golf course along the hike-bike path near the Chanute Public Library and the Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum. The Chanute City Commission has approved $13,200 for design work on the course, to be paid from the Transient Guest Tax fund. The deadline is March 11 to apply for Tourism Attraction Sub-grants for Kansas program funding. New member Nancy Isaac, who is a city appointment to the committee, said she went through the miniature golf course on the grounds of the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum in Kansas City and later contacted a Kansas City builder who referred her to an architect who was involved in that project. Two potential contractors on the project visited Chanute in November.
Source: The Chanute Tribune
Two Columbus students start composting programs in Cherokee County
Two Columbus High School seniors who aren’t afraid of getting their hands dirty to protect the environment have helped launch an effort to implement composting programs on campus and throughout Cherokee County. Emily Welch, 17, and Casey Soper, 18, have been composting at home with small containers since the onset of the pandemic, but they felt like they needed to step it up a notch. Now, they’re encouraging others to do the same. “Last year, I did a majority of the greenhouse work for my ag class,” said Welch. “I had started putting the plant scraps into a bucket and thought why don’t I just turn this into soil? Then, I did that, but with food scraps, there’s more nutrients. With this composter, we’ll be able to use the soil in the school’s greenhouse.”
Source: www.joplinglobe.com
Scott City ‘port’ will expand rail import, export opportunities for region
Why would Scott City be the destination for fertilizer from Russia and grain from North Dakota? The bigger question, asks Michael Deines, is, “Why not?” The local businessman and his partner, Woodrow Fanning, have a shared vision of making Scott City a regional trade hub with construction of additional railroad and warehouse facilities over the next year. Those plans are quickly moving from the drawing board to reality. “Even as we speak, our first shipment of fertilizer is being loaded in Russia,” Deines said on Tuesday afternoon. After being off-loaded in Texas, about 45 days from now that shipment will be arriving in Scott City. This is just the beginning, says Deines, who says this project has been in the works for six years.
Source: Scott County Record
Cities open to hiring non-residents to fill jobs
Arkansas City commissioners unanimously approved an ordinance this week that will allow the city to employ outside residents. City Attorney Larry Schwartz said the ordinance will exempt the city from a state statute that requires individuals appointed to a city office to live within a two-mile radius of the city. “We are asking and recommending that you do away with that requirement,” he said. “We live in a different time and a different space.” Winfield City Manager Taggert Wall said Thursday that Winfield has the same exemption in place and does have several nonresident employees.
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler
Andover helps KDOT clear icy roads on US-400
Drivers who take US-400 on a daily basis say conditions on the road are the worst they’ve seen in years, and the Andover police chief said the department has responded to a jack-knifed semi, slide-offs and other crashes. “We’ve had about 12 cars that have either been an accident or have gone off the road,” said Chief Buck Buchanan…. The highway is maintained by the Kansas Department of Transportation. A spokesman said five trucks are assigned to that area, but those crews have other highways to get to as well. … The city of Andover posted this on social media: “While the highway is technically not our responsibility to maintain, we know our friends at KDOT are spread thin & short on drivers! At the request of @AndoverKSPD, we will focus on the portion of US 54/400 that falls within our city limits to get it in better shape!” Its crews were planning to step in and help get the highway in better shape.
Source: KSN-TV
Cherokee Co. program brings citizens necessities during hard times
Local law enforcement is braving the roadways to help out the community. The Cherokee County Sheriff’s office is offering free grocery and prescription pickup. Also known as “Cherokee County Cares,” the program started as a response to the lockdowns at the beginning of the pandemic. The department then formed partnerships with local pharmacies and grocery stores to help people get what they need.
Source: KSNF/KODE
Lawrence City Commission extends fast-track economic incentives program for business parks, other industrial property
Crediting it for helping spur recent additions at the city’s business parks, Lawrence city leaders have extended a fast-track economic incentives program. As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission voted unanimously to authorize an extension of the Catalyst Incentive Program for another three years, until April 1, 2025. … Under the program’s shortened review and approval process, companies bypass the city’s regular economic incentives policy requirements and the commission approves incentives directly. When the program was introduced, city staff and local economic development leaders argued that the city’s usual economic incentives policy could not accommodate companies that wanted to construct an industrial building “on speculation” before tenants were identified and job information was known.
Source: LJWorld.com
Lawrence plans to take legal action against what it considers a potentially unlicensed strip club
The City of Lawrence is preparing to take legal action against a local business that the city believes is operating without the license required for a sexually oriented entertainment business. Following an executive session Tuesday evening, the Lawrence City Commission voted unanimously to direct the city attorney to file the appropriate court documents to take action against Lawrence Entertainment LLC, doing business as Allstars, and related parties.
Source: LJWorld.com
Lawrence is working to address water meter issue that led to three customers being overcharged $164,000
An issue with some of the city’s new automated water meters resulted in three commercial utility customers being overcharged close to $164,000 on their water bills over the past several months. The City of Lawrence has been working to replace its old water meters with automated meters, which capture and transmit usage data digitally instead of requiring manual reads. A particular issue with certain retrofitted commercial meters resulted in $163,834 of erroneous charges on the three accounts, which has since been refunded or corrected, according to a city staff memo to the commission.
Source: LJWorld.com
Lyon County invests in text-based 911 communication service
The Lyon County Emergency Communications Center will become the first 911 center in the state to utilize a text message-based instruction and quality assurance service. The Lyon County Commission approved the purchase of a year’s subscription to CueHit, a program offered by PowerDMS. LCECC director Roxanne Van Gundy said the service provides several benefits, such as passing along follow-up information to callers after they have hung up with 911.
Source: Emporia Gazette
Newton High School football coach tells team to shovel snow for neighbors
With schools across Kansas closed on Wednesday (and Thursday), the Newton High School football coach said he’s starting a new snow day tradition. Coach Greg Slade directed the team on Twitter to shovel driveways or sidewalks for those who need the help. He also gave a shoutout to the Bethel Park football coaches for the idea.
Source: KAKE – News
Mysterious dog deaths leaves a Kansas community terrified
People living in Parsons, Kansas, say they’re terrified. Someone in town is brutalizing and killing neighborhood pets. There have been four dogs attacked in the last several months, and it appears each attack gets more violent. It started with Zeus—a Miniature Schnauzer. … There was a conviction in that case, but the attacks didn’t stop and the brutality escalated.
Source: KAKE – News
Some school districts cancel classes third day in a row, citing weather concerns
Students at Wichita Public Schools will have a third snow day on Feb. 4. The district says students will return to class on Monday, Feb. 7. USD 259 said schools would be closed Friday “due to several winter weather factors that create a dangerous situation for our students”
Source: Wichita Eagle
Statewide Survey yields interesting facts about growth of cities in Kansas
Atchison interim City Manager Justin Pregont hosted an event in December with a group of other city managers heard first-hand about the survey taken and the market analysis for specific areas of Kansas. Kansas will face housing challenges and opportunities in the next 10 to 15 years so the timing of this study and the results will help cities to plan for their futures. Atchison County and City participated in this study and some of the pertinent information is listed below. “It has been 30 years since a housing needs assessment was done,” Pregont said. “The survey gives legitimacy to what the city managers already know, a reality check about the problems we face.” The large picture shows a need to add or free up more middle-income housing, diversify the housing stock to match local demographic employee needs and extend housing security by preserving and investing in the older units so that affordable units don’t disappear.
Source: atchisonglobenow.com