Kansas Municipal News
Snowy winter predicted in Johnson County — see if your city requires homeowners to shovel sidewalks
Ok, we realize it’s not even Halloween yet, but residents of Johnson County may want to make sure they have their snow shovels ready. This winter could be a harsh one, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, which says the greater Kansas city area is predicted to be cold and snowy this upcoming winter. … And with snow comes the unavoidable chore of shoveling your driveway. And in some homeowners’ cases, shoveling city sidewalks next to their homes. Maybe the city of Overland Park had that in mind when it recently posted on its Facebook page a “City Code of the Month” reminder telling residents that, according to city ordinances, they are not only responsible for shoveling their property but should also clear public sidewalks adjacent to their property.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Iola raises pay 5.9%
Christmas came early for Iola city employees Monday night. Council members approved a 5.9% cost of living adjustment to employee paychecks next year, mirroring the same increases Social Security recipients will receive next year. The city traditionally has tied its COLA to the Social Security Index. Next year’s raise is the largest in the past 20 years. The last time COLAs were north of 5% was in 2009, when raises were 5.8%. While the raises are above what the Council planned when setting the 2022 budget earlier this year, with insurance premiums rising only about 1.3% next year, the city should have plenty of room to absorb the generous increase, City Administrator Matt Rehder explained.
Source: The Iola Register
How a meatpacking plant changed one Kansas town 40 years ago and left a Colorado community behind
Garden City and Lamar share the same river, the same highway, the same railroad line and the same Dust Bowl past. And through the 1960s, they were roughly the same size. But the population of Finney County — home to Garden City — has doubled since 1970. It’s now over 38,000. The number of people living in Prowers County — home to Lamar — has slowly slipped under 12,000. Larry Jones has watched the transformation of western Kansas’ largest city from his farm and cattle company that sits just outside of town. “If you’d been here 20 years ago and looked at it,” he said, “you wouldn’t recognize the town.” Next door to Jones’ milo field sits the giant, boxy structure that resuscitated Garden City: Tyson Foods’ Finney County beef plant. Inside, more than 3,000 workers — most of them immigrants and refugees — butcher 6,000 head of cattle every day.
Source: KSN-TV
Andover voters to decide on proposed sales tax
A question for a one cent sales tax will be on the Nov. 2 ballot for Andover voters. The sales tax will sunset in no later than eight years. The proceeds of the sales tax will pay for the purchase of a second fire station, a remodel of the existing fire station, and a complete teardown and renovation of the 13th Street Sports Park. A fire station south of US54 is important as the city continues to grow and especially as the expansion of US54 comes nearer, the city said in a release. The park reconstruction will add an additional baseball/softball diamond and provide lighting for all five diamonds. It will also move and properly grade the playing fields – aiming to reduce the need for game cancellations.
Source: Derby Informer | Area
Ordinance approved to address homeless living downtown
City commissioners on Oct. 19 approved a nuisance ordinance, which, according to the mayor, gives the city authority to take action against homeless people camping and blocking downtown businesses.
Source: Fort Scott Tribune
Barton County Commission wants to get tough with state
In recapping last week’s Kansas Association Of Counties annual meeting, Barton County officials who attended returned with a handful of key takeaways, and the review of these led to passionate discussion amongst county commissioners when they met Tuesday morning at the courthouse…. In addition to the educational workshops and vendor exhibits, the KAC’s Legislative Policy Statement was finalized. It was the soft-handed tone of this statement that sparked frustrations for commissioners. “The KAC needs to be tougher on the state,” said District 3 Commissioner Shawn Hutchinson, who was Barton County’s voting delegate and attended along with District 2 Commissioner Barb Esfeld. In particular, he referenced the statement on property taxes and Senate Bill 13, the so-called truth in taxation or revenue neutral law. “It’s very legal mumbo jumbo,” Hutchinson said. “It just needs to say this thing is stupid. You need to get rid of SB 13.”
Source: Great Bend Tribune
Parents took a fight against masks in schools to the Kansas Supreme Court, and an entire law is at stake
Parents took a fight over school masks in the Shawnee Mission School District to the Kansas Supreme Court Tuesday, and a controversial law limiting state and local pandemic responses is hanging in the balance. Oral arguments over the constitutionality of Senate Bill 40 focused on due process, the timeliness of the challenge and whether a district court ruling calling the law unconstitutional should be overturned. At the heart of the lawsuit is a bill fueled by Republican dissatisfaction with Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The GOP had been pushing back against Kelly’s actions, like closing businesses early in the pandemic and ordering masks.
Source: KCUR News
‘Reframing Topeka’ meetings discuss ways to improve the city
A project called “Reframing Topeka” is looking to make the city a better place. It’s a series of open conversations and anyone is welcome to attend. Leaders from the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library guide the discussions. Their goal is to spark real conversations about practical solutions to make Topeka better. People who attend the event are placed into small groups. Within those groups, they discuss the issues they see throughout the Topeka community and share ideas and suggestions. The talks are broken up into categories such as how to make Topeka safer, fairer, more successful or more fun. “When we talk about it we talk about the trade-offs of each idea,” Lissa Staley with the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library said. “So if we did something, what else might happen and can we accept that?”
Source: KSNT News
Pops of color on the street helping your drinking water
The Topeka Zoo and the city have teamed up to create the “Waterways Protection Project.” This new project is centered around the creation of colorful, painted storm drains that will help raise awareness of the pollution going down them. Storm drains in Topeka lead out to the Kansas River, which eventually leads to the Mississippi River, which then goes out to the ocean. This means that if the number of pollution going into storm drain’s in Topeka drops, so will the amount of pollution going into the ocean. According to Dennis Dinwiddie, the Director of Conservation and Education at Topeka Zoo, it takes only a gallon of oil to contaminate up to a million gallons of river water. By creating these colorful storm drains, the zoo is hoping to attract attention to the issue of pollution going down the drains and thus affecting wildlife and the quality of our drinking water.
Source: KSNT News
Shawnee considers giving property tax relief to low-income residents — here’s how it would work
Shawnee is planning to create a new property tax rebate program for low-income residents. Funding for the pilot program would come from roughly $98,000 that comprises the remaining balance in the 10 Quivira Community Improvement District Fund. The Shawnee City Council on Monday had an extensive discussion about the rebate pilot program, driven mainly by comments in favor of helping out low-income residents as much as possible. Still, no official action was taken, and the city council unanimously agreed to consider enacting the program at a future city meeting. The 10 Quivira CID, also called Ten Quivira Plaza, is the shopping center located at the northwest corner of Shawnee Mission Parkway and Quivira Road.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Supreme Court digs into emergency management law
Who went too far? A Johnson County district judge who found the state’s new emergency management law unconstitutional. Or the Legislature that authored the law? The Kansas Supreme Court on Tuesday grappled with those issues as it tried to decide the fate of the new emergency management law passed last session. The bill – known as SB 40 – gave Kansans new legal recourse if they believed they’ve been aggrieved by a health order issued by the state and local governments, including school districts. The law came about in response to complaints that health officers across the state had over-asserted their authority with restrictions – such as stay-at-home orders and mask mandates – that were imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: Sunflower State Journal
Topeka’s $10K relocation incentive has ‘changed the trajectory’ of city, Greater Topeka Partnership VP says
Topeka is offering $10,000 to remote workers willing to buy a house and relocate to the Golden City. Since the pandemic’s forced work-from-home shift, remote workers have become the gold in a rush by rural towns and shrinking cities to attract these free agents and their out-of-state salaries. “Looking at talent has become one of the most important assets that people are going to be vying for over the next 10 years for sure,” said Bob Ross, vice president of marketing and communications for the Greater Topeka Partnership, which runs the program. “We decided to go ahead and put our money where our mouth is and say you know what, if you’re willing to relocate here to work remote or for one of our local employers, you could get $10-15,000.”
Source: The Chanute Tribune
Webinars about the ReConnect Program (loans and grants to facilitate broadband deployment in rural areas)
ReConnect Program Webinars FY2022
Interested to learn more about our Rural Development ReConnect Program? USDA will host four webinars covering the ReConnect Program Regulation and the recently announced ReConnect Program FY2022 Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA).
ReConnect Program Regulation Webinar
We will present this webinar twice. The second presentation will provide the same information as the first one; no new information will be added to the second session. Please register for the session that’s most convenient for you.
Tuesday, November 9, 2021 from 2:00PM to 3:30PM Eastern
Tuesday, November 16, 2021 from 2:00PM to 3:30PM Eastern
ReConnect Program FY2022 FOA Webinar
We will present this information twice. The second presentation will provide the same information as the first one; no new information will be added to the second session. Please register for the session that’s most convenient for you.
Wednesday, November 10, 2021 from 2:00PM to 3:30PM Eastern
Thursday, November 18, 2021 from 2:00PM to 3:30PM Eastern
Slides, a transcript, and a recording of each webinar will be posted on the ReConnect website after each session.
You can also find registration links at the events page on the ReConnect website.
ReConnect Program Regulation Webinar
Presented by USDA Rural Development’s Rural Utilities Service, this webinar will provide information about the ReConnect Program regulation published on February 26, 2021. This rule describes the eligibility requirements, the application process, and the criteria that will be used by USDA to assess applicants’ creditworthiness.
This webinar will include:
- An overview of the ReConnect Program regulation requirements
- A high-level look at eligibility requirements
- The application submission process and key evaluation criteria
- An opportunity to ask questions about the regulation
ReConnect Program FY2022 FOA Webinar
On Monday, October 25, 2021, USDA Rural Development’s Rural Utilities Service issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) announcing that it will begin accepting applications for fiscal year 2022 for the Rural eConnectivity Program (or ReConnect Program). The application window will open on November 24, 2021. In addition, this announcement also details the requirements that have been established based on feedback from the public comment period that closed on April 27, 2021 (as outlined in the regulation).
To support the application process, staff from USDA Rural Development’s Rural Utilities Service will conduct a webinar on the funding announcement.
The webinar will include:
- An awards update from previous rounds
- Program requirements and scoring criteria for this FOA
- An opportunity to ask questions about program requirements and scoring criteria
Additional Information
RUS encourages you to submit questions about the regulation or the FOA ahead of each webinar; please submit them through this form. We’ll address questions as time permits during each session; we’ll include the most common ones on our frequently asked questions page on the ReConnect website (link here: https://www.usda.gov/reconnect).
New visitor’s center near Mullinville opens featuring the metal artwork of M.T. Liggett
On October 2, a ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the official opening of the M.T. Art Environment visitor center near Mullinville. Director Ann Dixson said she was relieved and happy that those scissors she held signified the grand opening that she as site steward and director was long planning for and working toward steadily. “We served cookies at the grand opening event that had little hearts on them because M.T. liked to make heart shapes in his sculptural works,” Dixson said. Myron Thomas (M.T.) Liggett became famous for creating politically charged, sometimes comic or slightly infuriating metal totems and whirligigs. He has created a line-up of pieces that grace the roadside essentially of pasture fence along US Hwy 400 and Kansas Highway 54.
Source: Salina Journal
A stroll through Hutchinson’s past
On Friday, Stage 9 Hutchinson volunteers made history come alive as tour guides lead patrons around downtown, from Avenue A to Second Street, to see Hutchinson’s historical sites during their If Walls Could Talk event. Each location provided either a live performance or a pre-recorded performance to teach residents and tourists about each buildings’ history. Hutchinson, founded in 1871, has a long history, with multiple buildings that have stood the test of time. “Imagine!” Stage 9 Hutchinson volunteer performer Rachel Hein said. “This place was once a glittering hotel and restaurant in 1889,” she told the guests of the If Walls Could Talk downtown walking tour.
Source: Hutch News
Sky-high murals on silos and buildings are transforming these Kansas communities into works of art
From Hays to Great Bend to Lecompton, small towns across the state increasingly turn to larger-than-life works of art to inspire pride among residents and attract tourists. And as more towns blaze this artistic trail, the economic benefits of murals — and the roadmap to getting them done — come into focus. Miller, an artist who has lived and worked in Hays for the past 10 years, is putting the finishing touches on a painting that depicts Indigenous bison dancers from tribes who once used the western Kansas plains as hunting grounds.
Source: CJonline
Abbyville named as a top rodeo
Being tucked away in western Reno County and having less than 100 residents, is not stopping Abbyville from achieving national recognition. Last week, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association nominated the Abbyville Frontier Days PRCA Rodeo as one of the top five small rodeos of the year. National recognition did not stop there. Two of the town’s natives are also nominated. Haley (Rumford) Bridwell and Justin Rumford are once again in the top five in the nation for secretary and clown.
Source: Hutch News
Municipal Bond Trends for October 25, 2021
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.
KSU receives $350,000 in grants to support first U.S. research project into novel tick disease
Researchers at Kansas State University are the first in the country to look into methods of keeping a foreign tick-borne livestock disease at bay. The Center of Excellence for Vector-Borne Diseases recently received $250,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and an additional $75,000 from the Kansas National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility to build upon past research into containing and controlling heartwater disease. Heartwater is deadly to cattle, sheep, and goats. Center Director Roman Ganta and his team recently published results of the first heartwater risk assessment experiments in sheep. While heartwater originally was identified as a sub-Saharan African disease, it has been established in several Caribbean islands, posing a potential threat to the U.S. cattle industry.
Source: 1350 KMAN
Derby neighborhood firearm regulation resolution deferred
Residents in a Derby neighborhood speaking up about concerns to Sedgwick County Commissioners after hearing gunfire and seeing stray bullets end up in their backyards. Coming from other neighbors shooting off rounds in the area behind their homes. “We can’t be ignored. You know, our lives are just as meaningful and important as your life,” said Shannan Puchalla. Puchalla has only lived in this neighborhood in Derby since June, but she has already picked up on an issue that’s concerning many people in the area. “Since we’ve lived here, there have been several instances where we’ve heard gunfire, and neighbors have mentioned that there is debris that’s coming into their fence and into their yards,” said Puchalla.
Source: KAKE – News