Kansas Municipal News
These five large Johnson County projects could take center stage in 2022
Although several coming downtown Kansas City developments might garner brighter spotlights, few can compare to the sheer magnitude of some coming down the pike across the state border — at least, if they deliver on the full mixes of uses touted at their inception. In 2022, builders are poised to kick off or advance construction on multiple expansive projects throughout Johnson County, some spanning hundreds of acres. Others could return to the negotiating table in their respective cities over substantive plan updates or new incentive requests.
Source: Kansas City Business Journal
Efforts move to establish art district in Downtown Pittsburg
The art scene has always been strong in the City of Pittsburg, exploding in recent years. Now a new movement is underway to use that art to develop the community. “Here recently we’ve had a wonderful movement of artists in the area. Really the groundwork has already been laid,” said Christa Cunningham, Pittsburg Artwalk President. So at Monday’s Downtown Advisory Board Meeting, Cunningham presented the idea to establish an arts district in Pittsburg. “The idea is to encompass our downtown area. That would be pretty much from the Farmer’s Market Pavillion, and then south to Jolly Fox, west to the library, and then as far east as the Frisco Event Center and the new Fun Depot.” The effort is designed to help promote tourism through the local art scene that’s developing throughout downtown.
Source: KSNF/KODE
Oswego BOE selects new superintendent
The USD 504 Oswego Board of Education announced this week the selection of Mitchell Shaw as the new superintendent. Shaw will begin as superintendent July 1 after the retirement of current Superintendent Douglas Beisel. Beisel’s retirement is effective June 30. Shaw holds three degrees from Pittsburg State University with a bachelor’s in political science, a master’s in leadership and an educational specialist degree to better qualify for district level management.
Source: Parsons Sun
Spring Hill mayor appoints new council member ending political stalemate
Spring Hill Kansas now has both a mayor and enough council members to have a meeting. The small Johnson County city south of Olathe has been struggling for a couple months now to figure out whose in charge and how to move forward after a number of unusual departures and absences.
Source: fox4kc.com | FOX 4 – WDAF
How will Kansas build and repair its roads without a gas tax as more electric vehicles emerge?
Getting charged up about buying a new electric vehicle? More and more Kansans are — and it presents a conundrum for the state. Officials are expecting to see more EVs on the road in the years to come, as well as hybrid cars and those using alternative fuels. That might mean cost savings for drivers — but money not spent at the gas pump also has an impact on how the state builds and repairs its roads. Driving an electric vehicle has the same impact on roads in terms of wear and tear — but users are not paying gas taxes, one of the core mechanisms the state uses to fund infrastructure.
Source: CJonline
Survey: 52% of State, Local Public Workers Considering Leaving Jobs
Over half of state and local government employees are thinking about leaving their jobs, according to research released on Thursday. The statistic presents a red flag for public sector managers already dealing high rates of turnover and struggling to hire. The survey findings, from MissionSquare Research Institute, a nonprofit that studies government workforce issues, show that about 52% of state and local public sector workers are considering abandoning their jobs for different positions, retiring, or otherwise leaving the workforce. Burnout and inadequate pay are two reasons employees pointed to for feeling this way, the survey found. “If you’re working in state and local government and you’re not considering leaving your job, the person sitting next to you is,” Rivka Liss-Levinson, the lead author of the research, told Route Fifty. “I think it’s safe to say that we are definitely teetering on the brink of a public sector workforce crisis.”
Source: Route Fifty – All Content
Input for American Rescue Plan Sought
The Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK) Executive Committee is inviting Kansans to share their investment ideas for the allocation of federal coronavirus relief funds allocated to Kansas through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of March 2021. “This money offers the opportunity to make strategic investments that will have long-term positive impacts on our state,” Governor Laura Kelly said. … The online submission form for proposing a SPARK investment idea is available here. Currently, SPARK is requesting proposals for program-level investments. The four Advisory Panels may consider these submissions as part of the process to determine investment priorities and make recommendations to the SPARK Executive Committee. Advisory Panels will begin meeting in the coming weeks.
Source: Fort Scott Biz
Work to convert electric system begins in Marion
Groups of bucket trucks are making their way around eastern Marion as work to complete a long-planned upgrade of the city’s electrical system has begun. Workers for Integrated Electrical Services Commercial and Industrial in Holdrege, Nebraska, are replacing poles and cross arms where needed, replacing transformers, and installing new lines to convert older 2,400-volt electrical service to 12.5-kilovolt service for three city circuits not earlier upgraded. After lines are replaced along the circuits, IES will overhaul the city substation, including installation of a system that reroutes power quicker during an outage.
Source: HILLSBORO Star-Journal
Rural counties struggling with lack of resources to treat COVID-19 patients
COVID-19 has brought record setting hospitalizations in Sedgwick County, but some rural counties in Kansas have it much worse. In Wilson County, the health department reports nearly 24% of its entire pandemic cases have occurred since Jan. 3. Dr. Jennifer Bacani McKenney, the Wilson county health officer, said her community doesn’t always have the resources it needs, whether that’s ventilators or hospital beds. They’ve tried reaching out to large hospitals to help get patients care. “We will call 30-40-50, there was one point where we called I think we contacted 115 hospitals and there were no beds,” she said. “No beds that were available for our ICU patient that needed to be on a on a ventilator.”
Source: KAKE – News
McPherson officer dances with local high school
A McPherson officer joined in on a dance performance with the McPherson High School dance team, The Steppers. McPherson Police Department School Resource Officer Brady Winkler joined The Steppers to dance at the high school boy’s basketball home game against Central. The Steppers asked officer Winkler to join them, and the rest is history. They danced to a mix of songs, including “Bring Em Out” by T.I. and “Yeah!” by Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris.
Source: KSN-TV
Kansas senate approves billion-dollar, mega-project plan
An economic development bill that could bring a $4 billion business and over 4,000 jobs to Kansas was approved by the Senate on Thursday. SB 347 would enact the attracting powerful economic expansion, or APEX, act which could add a significant boost to the Kansas economy if it is passed by the house and signed off by Governor Laura Kelly. The senators approved of the bill 32 to seven on Jan. 27 after it was amended. If APEX is passed into law, it could mean that a $4 billion company, which remains secret for legal reasons, could come to Kansas. Many in the Kansas Legislature believe that it is important to move quickly before the mysterious company moves to a different state.
Source: KSNT News
Johnson County Charter Commission shoots down proposal for non-partisan sheriff’s election
The Johnson County Charter Commission decided in a meeting Wednesday to wrap up its work next month leaving the county’s governing document pretty much as is. With their last votes on substantive issues, commissioners confirmed that no changes will be put on the ballot for voter approval, and there will not be any recommendations for the county commission to consider. The charter commission meets once a decade to decide whether the county’s foundational operating rules need fixing. The 25 members, chosen by a variety of civic and political groups, have been meeting since March 1, 2021, but much of that time was spent hearing from county officials how their departments are run. It wasn’t until fall that the group began to discuss ideas for improvement.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Senate passes incentive for $4 billion development
The Kansas Senate on Thursday approved new development incentive to help win the recruiting battle for a $4 billion economic development prospect that’s been characterized as one of the biggest projects in state history. The chamber voted 32-7 to approve the package of incentives for the mysterious development prospect that is considering Kansas along with another site for what Lt. Gov. David Toland described as the largest private-sector investment in state history. The bill creates a special tax incentive for economic development projects with at least a $1 billion investment, although a new provision was added to reduce corporate income taxes in order to provide a benefit to existing businesses. The incentive also would be eligible to suppliers that sell more than $10 million worth of products to the primary project.
Source: Sunflower State Journal
How Humboldt, Kansas, became a must-see destination for 2022
The work done by a dedicated group in the small town in southeast Kansas caught the attention of The New York Times. Over the past five years, the economic development group A Bolder Humboldt has been at work building up the town with new businesses and renovations along with venues for recreation, all to revitalize their community. Their efforts paid off as Humboldt was just included on The New York Times’ list of “52 Places for a Changed World.” In writing of the town with a population of fewer than 2,000 people, the Times noted that Humboldt was “becoming an unexpected and affordable oasis of cool surrounded by fields of wheat and soybeans.”
Source: KCUR
Kansas Supreme Court to hear ‘dark store’ case
The so-called “dark store” debate over how big box stores are valued is now in the hands of the Kansas Supreme Court. The state’s highest court has agreed to hear Johnson County’s appeal of a court decision that found the county overvalued 11 big-box retail stores. Last fall, the Kansas Court of Appeals upheld a decision by the state’s tax appeals board, which found the county overvalued a group of Walmarts and Sam’s Clubs by about $60 million in 2017 and $63 million in 2016. The appeals court’s fueled the so-called “dark store theory,” a criticism leveled at retailers that believe their property should be appraised as if their property is vacant, separate from the business activity it generates such as leases. The case has major financial implications for local governments and Kansas businesses with millions of dollars in property taxes hanging in the balance.
Source: Sunflower State Journal
Lawrence’s Sister Cities program connects community with Japan, Germany, Greece
In 1986, the City of Lawrence launched a Sister Cities program to bring people together. And it has. The program has planted the seed for four marriages between Lawrencians and residents in Eutin, Germany; it’s brought our quilting community closer to the one in Hiratsuka, Japan; and it even helped KU Theatre collaborate on a Greek tragedy performed in the ancient open-air theatre of Iniades, Greece. For 36 years, the award-winning nonprofit has been promoting peace and understanding between Lawrence and its three sister cities.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Hutchinson task force recommends bulk of local ARPA allocation be used to address childcare issues
Members of a task force created to recommend where $17 million in federal COVID-19 relief coming to Hutchinson and Reno County should be spent in order to have a lasting impact on the community suggested Tuesday the bulk of money go to addressing child care issues. The group held more than 40 interactive community meetings over a couple of months to receive public input on priorities for using the American Rescue Plan Act dollars. While seven key areas were identified from among the more than 1,100 ideas generated during the sessions, addressing daycare was mentioned at every meeting and was among the top three issues for more than half the participants, according to the study’s findings.
Source: Hutch News
USDA Invests Nearly $23 Million to Improve Community Infrastructure for Rural Towns Across Kansas
Funding Will Increase Access to Health Care and Public Safety for 15 Rural Communities in the State. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Acting State Director Kansas Dan Fischer today announced that USDA is investing $22,965,600 to build and improve critical community facilities in 15 communities. This infrastructure funding will increase access to health care and public safety while spurring community development and building sound infrastructure for people living in rural communities.
The programs assisting these communities include Community Facilities Direct Loans and Grants, Community Facilities Loan Guarantees, Community Facilities Disaster Grants, and Economic Impact Initiative Grants. The projects will finance emergency response vehicles and equipment; build or improve hospitals and clinics and help fund other essential community facilities.
These are the Kansas projects receiving financial assistance:
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Population growth, COVID among concerns as Topeka mayor, city manager lay out vision for 2022
A month into the new year and both of their respective jobs, Topeka Mayor Mike Padilla and interim City Manager Bill Cochran see a bright future for Topeka in 2022. At their first joint news conference, Padilla and Cochran said one of the city’s biggest challenges, aside from managing COVID-19, will be retaining and growing population. … Padilla said lower population numbers could lead to some budget issues, and the city will have to anticipate some potential budget challenges.
Source: CJonline
Saline County using COVID relief funds for workforce development, business recovery, mental health
Saline County, with the use of federal COVID relief funds, will be working with local higher educators and national technology organizations to help with workforce development, business recovery and mental health in the county. The Saline County Board of Commissioners approved four programs during its meeting Tuesday morning as part of the Phase II funding of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes said Saline County was allocated over $10.5 million, half of which has been received while the remaining half is expected to come later this year. The ARPA funding can be used to help meet community needs and the county got feedback from a survey and town hall about what community members identified as those needs.
Source: Salina Journal