Kansas Municipal News
Lenexa council supports Retreat on the Prairie project off K-10 as a ‘housing for all’ solution
The Retreat on the Prairie, a mixed-use residential and commercial development proposed near K-10 and Ridgeview, got the go-ahead from Lenexa city leaders this week… Some councilmembers also said the project would help the city provide a diverse housing stock. “It’s all of the things that we as Lenexa have done,” said outgoing Councilmember Mandy Stuke. “I just kind of want to bring it to the forefront that I think this is really a good use of the space. “I’m pleased to see that we have different types of housing for all, young to old, and I think this is going to fit another type of Lenexan that may not have this type of option, our empty nesters. People’s lifestyles are somewhat changing. I think this will only enhance and bring new Lenexans to come to love our city even more.”
Source: Shawnee Mission Post
New Wichita website intends to clear way for small businesses to bid on government contracts
A new website from the city of Wichita aims to be a one-stop shop for doing business in and with the city. The website, workwith.wichita.gov, is a platform from software startup Qwally, which works with local governments to build a more inclusive digital landscape for government contracting, procurement and resource access. “We’ve never had a site like this before,” said Chris Haislett, contract compliance officer in the city’s purchasing department. “So a lot of this information is probably on wichita.gov right now, but a lot of is not centralized.”
Source: Wichita Business Journal
‘Painful history’: Overland Park could terminate tax incentives for apartment complex
The city of Overland Park could terminate its tax incentive agreement with the developers of the long-troubled Market Lofts project downtown. The city’s Finance, Administration and Economic Development Committee on Wednesday unanimously agreed to end the tax increment financing deal after the developer sold the project without the City Council’s approval — putting it in default of the agreement. The council will make the final decision once the required documents are prepared, spokesman Sean Reilly said. The Market Lofts multifamily development, at the northwest corner of 80th and Marty streets, was among the first mixed-use apartment complexes to be planned in the heart of downtown, which is now home to several projects of the sort.
Source: Joco 913 News
Man pleads guilty to shutting down rural Kansas water system
A man has admitted that he shut down a rural central Kansas water system but said he was too intoxicated to remember what happened, prosecutors said. Wyatt Travnichek, 22, of Ellsworth County, pleaded guilty Wednesday to tampering with a public water system and reckless damage to a public computer during unauthorized access. Prosecutors said Travnichek used a shared pass code to shut down the Post Rock Rural Water District in Ellsworth, which supplies water to about 1,500 customers in central Kansas.
Source: Wichita Eagle
Grant awarded to Finney County Historical Society
The Finney County Historical Society has received a SHARP Recovery Grant of $10,408 from Humanities Kansas. SHARP Recovery grants are designed to support Kansas Cultural organizations that provide humanities programming and have encountered challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The awards provide funds for general operational support, staff retention and needed digital or operational transitions for cultural work in the post-pandemic era. “Humanities Kansas is honored to be able to support Kansas cultural organizations as we recover from the impact of COVID,” said Julie Mulvihill, HK executive director. “This past year has demonstrated that Kansans lean into the humanities during challenging times.”
Source: Greater Garden City » Feed
Trey Cocking to become next Emporia city manager
The city of Emporia has found its next city manager. The city commission approved an employment agreement with Trey Cocking to replace outgoing city manager Mark McAnarney Wednesday evening, with Cocking to officially take over the role Dec. 7. … Cocking currently serves as the Deputy Director of the League of Kansas Municipalities. He was the city manager for Atchison from 2009-2017 and the city administrator for Cherryvale 2006-2009. He earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice/law enforcement administration from Washburn University in 2002 and a master’s degree in public service and administration from Texas A&M University in 2004. He is originally from Derby. Cocking said that his experience in Atchison — which shares a lot in common with Emporia — has prepared him for the work he will do starting in December.
Source: Emporia Gazette
Mandatory ten-digit dialing begins Sunday in area codes 785 and 620
Kansans that live in area codes 785 or 620 will be required to use 10-digit dialing when making local calls beginning Sunday. Local calls dialed with only seven digits will not go through, and a recording will inform you that your call cannot be completed as dialed. The change is being made to make it easier for persons in crisis to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline that goes into effect in July. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved 988 as the new abbreviated number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Any area code that uses the 988 prefix in telephone numbers is mandated to adopt 10-digit dialing. That includes Kansas area codes 785 and 620, which cover the majority of the state. In total, 82 area codes in 36 states will make the change.
Source: KSNT News
Hutchinson Siemens plant implementing rolling furloughs
Welch also said that with the additional deterioration in the global supply chain, especially the unprecedented congestion at the West Coast ports, the company has been forced to cut some full weeks of production this month. Welch also said that the company will be under reduced work hours through December (as originally planned) but will need to adjust week to week based on the supply chain.
Source: KAKE – News
New restaurant in Maize run entirely by high school students
There’s a new restaurant in Maize that is preparing a recipe for success for high school students eager to learn more about the business world. It opened just last week and will close on Friday, even though it’s been a huge win for the teens. The restaurant is called Blue House Burgers, located on Academy Avenue in Maize. It’s a pop-up restaurant run by students in the Culinary Applications Class at the Maize Career Academy. Cara Poole is the teacher. She says she just stands back and lets the teens do their thing. “They developed the recipes, they costed them, (and) they are in charge of marketing and serving and orders, and it’s student run. I’m here for support,” she remarked.
Source: KAKE – News
Unified Greeley County completes Sunflower’s site certification
Unified Greeley County completed the site certification process for a light industrial property in Tribune, Kan. Unified Greeley County, in conjunction with Greeley County Community Development, submitted the necessary information to qualify it for certification through Sunflower Electric Power Corporation’s Certified Sites Program. “We’re excited to have Unified Greeley County’s first certified site through the Sunflower Certified Sites Program. This 24-acre tract of land is conveniently located adjacent to the city of Tribune and provides an excellent opportunity for development,” said Christy Hopkins, director for Greeley County Community Development. “Unified Greeley County welcomes development and has ample space to facilitate growth. The certification of this site sends a message that our community is open for business and invites new opportunities to our area.”
Source: Sunflower Electric
Murals becoming a trend across rural Kansas
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…. The mural movement Murals in rural Kansas go back at least 100 years, to companies like Coca-Cola commissioning artists to hand-paint advertisements on brick walls. But Marci Penner, executive director of the Kansas Sampler Foundation, said the idea of outdoor art as a means for boosting a small town’s bottom line and staving off population loss has now become, well, trendy. “The trend to utilize (murals) as an economic development tool … to bring people in, to improve quality of life,” she said, “that’s on the rise.” And Penner credits Clay Center, a north-central Kansas town with just under 4,000 residents, as the place that launched a thousand paintbrushes.
Source: Garden City Telegram
Municipal Bond Trends for October 20, 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.
$800,000 in grants going to support law enforcement
U.S. Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall announced $839,491 in Department of Justice grants to support Kansas law enforcement. These grants will be dispersed to 10 communities, including Sedgwick County – which is slated to receive $443,481 through the grant funding. The grants are intended to help departments purchase new equipment, develop outreach programs, update outdated technology and more.
Source: Derby Informer | Area
Sedgwick County Commissioners to vote on regulating firearms being discharged across property lines
Community members of a newer development in north Derby are demanding action after many of them say their properties have been damaged by others firing guns outside city limits. Sedgwick County commissioners are now looking to crack down on the issue, with up to a 500 dollar fine. Some of the community members say they would have never expected to be worried about their children getting shot when they moved into the neighborhood. They said this resolution needs to pass to ensure the safety of their community. “That’s the dirt pile I hid behind to make sure I wasn’t going to get hit,” said Bryan Greene, who lives in the area.
Source: KSN-TV
Bridge dedicated to Ark City fallen solider
A special ceremony dedicating a bridge on U.S. 166 east of Arkansas City as the Sgt. Tyler A. Juden Memorial Bridge was held Saturday in the Wright Room at Cowley College. The 23-year-old Juden was was killed when enemy forces attacked his unit with rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire near Turan, Afghanistan on Sept. 12, 2009, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. He was on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan as a sniper for the US Army’s 82nd Airborne division.
Source: The Arkansas City Traveler
Overland Park Police create new mental health crisis unit — here’s how its response could be different
The new mental health unit of the Overland Park Police Department will make its debut next year with toned-down uniforms, plain black vehicles and a therapy dog — all intended to keep anxiety levels down when responders go on a mental health call. Earlier this month, Police Chief Frank Donchez gave the city council’s public safety committee an early look at what to expect when operations begin. The new section of the police department is being created partly with funds from a one-mill property tax increase approved this year. Another $232,000 will come from a federal Community Oriented Policing grant to be used for crisis intervention training.
Source: Prairie Village Post
South Wichita food desert getting another Dollar Tree in place of former grocery store
Hamid Bakhtiari is the newest owner of the former Save-A-Lot building at Pawnee and George Washington Boulevard in south Wichita. He thought Save-A-Lot would be there for at least five more years when he first signed the deal. “We thought, you know, it’s a national company. It’s got to be a good tenant,” said Bakhtiari. In December 2020, the store decided to abruptly close. In an area that’s already part of Wichita’s 44-plus square miles of food desert, Bakhtiari knew it was important to try to get another grocery store in its place.
Source: KAKE – News
City officials vent about issues with KDOT
Repaving is on the way to parts of Madison. But that doesn’t mean everyone in town wants it. “They have raised the highway up so high that they’re higher than our curbs,” city employee James Paugh told Monday night’s Madison City Council meeting. Paugh, who manages the city’s water treatment plant, said he’s been informed by the Kansas Department of Transportation that state repaving is planned either in 2022 or 2023, beginning from Southwest Boulevard or K-249. “We don’t have that drainage,” Paugh said. He promised to talk with KDOT staff members in Topeka about cutting down the pavement.
Source: Emporia Gazette
Commissioners accept offers for city-owned Lake Fort Scott lots
After months of discussing how to dispose of city-owned lots at Lake Fort Scott, the city commissioners on Monday voted to accept offers for three of the four lots they agreed to sell.
Source: Fort Scott Tribune
Atchison approves emergency pump as water supply ‘insurance’
City Commissioners unanimously approved the purchase of a Raw Water Intake pump during Monday’s regular meeting in case water levels drop in the Missouri River this winter to levels that would otherwise interrupt the city’s water supply. The pump, which was quoted to cost $101,900, with installation costs estimated up to an additional $50,000, would allow the Raw Water Intake (RWI) – which is where water is taken from the river for use by city residents, businesses, and industries – to function even if water levels recede below the current input location. Currently the RWI can function with river levels as low as about 5 feet.
Source: Atchison Globe Now