Kansas Municipal News
Grand opening of M.T. Liggett Visitors Center set for October in Mullinville
Driving along Highway 54 in southwest Kansas, many residents and tourists come across an area of unique windmills and artwork as they approach the town of Mullinville. The artist M.T. Liggett was known in the area as an interesting and vocal individual in regards to all things southwest Kansas. Now the sculptor’s legacy is being honored.
Source: Dodge Globe
Trial basis: Prairie Village is willing to check out this e-scooter for a year
Bird electric scooters are coming to Prairie Village on a one-year trial basis, but only because Mayor Eric Mikkelson broke a 6-6 tie on the City Council earlier this month. On Sept. 7, Mikkelson cast the deciding vote to approve an agreement with Bird Rides Inc., whereby the company will deploy a minimum of 50 scooters that can be operated between 4 a.m. and midnight daily. Operators must be at least 18 years old, have a driver’s license and generally follow the traffic rules that apply to bicycles. Either the city or the company can end the agreement with 30 days’ notice.
Source: Joco 913 News
Olathe program shines light on various cultures
Music, food and dancing are things every culture has its own twist on doing. A new program series put those front and center recently, as it aimed to foster better cultural understanding between neighbors in Olathe. The Know Your Neighbor series, a partnership between the Indian Creek Library and the Olathe Human Relations Commission, kicked off its first program with a presentation about Indian culture. Although the library has hosted cultural presentations before, none has been as in-depth or sustained as this series.
Source: Joco 913 News
EPA conducting clean up project in Pittsburg
A clean-up project by the EPA is underway in Pittsburg. It’s taking place on a field on East 4th Street, across from the Mission Clay Products property. Crews are working to remove contaminated soil. City leaders say the land isn’t far from the old smelter sites, and they became concerned when the church that owns the property started allowing people to play soccer there.
Source: KSNF/KODE
Seely to retire as McPherson City Clerk
McPherson City Clerk and HR Officer Tammy Seely has announced her retirement. The city commission was notified of her plans to retire on Oct. 1, during their regularly scheduled meeting on Monday morning. “Last Tuesday, our city clerk, Tammy Seely, provided me her notice of retirement from the city of McPherson,” Nick Gregory, city administrator said. “Tammy has been a hard-working, tremendous asset to the city of McPherson over the 16½ years in many different capacities.” Seely began her work with the city in February 2005 as deputy city clerk.
Source: McPherson Weekly News » Feed
Johnson County school districts deal with ‘unprecedented’ classified staff shortages
The school year is underway, but many classified staff positions remain unfilled within the four public school districts serving northern Johnson County. The shortage of classified workers is hindering some district operations at the start of a school year already plagued by the spread of the Delta variant, contentious disagreements over school mask requirements and the challenge of catching up on educational ground lost through online learning. Officials in Blue Valley, Olathe, Shawnee Mission and USD 232 in De Soto all reported experiencing a higher number of classified staff vacancies in their district compared to recent years.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Douglas County Commission approves homelessness resources, discusses options for federal funds
The Douglas County Commission approved $125,ooo toward emergency local homelessness prevention at Wednesday’s meeting. This allocation comes from American Rescue Plan funding and will go toward rent and utility assistance. The request came from the Douglas County Housing Stabilization Collaborative, a community program originally formed by Family Promise of Lawrence. The DCHSC plans to allocate $100,000 toward rent and $25,000 toward utility assistance. Following this summer’s expiration of the eviction moratorium, Gabi Sprague of the DSHSC said the community is seeing the effects. Data has been hard to collect, they said, but at least 70 households between housing service providers in the county have been evicted since the expiration and some existing resources such as the Kansas Emergency Rent Assistance program often don’t release funds fast enough to stop them.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Municipal Bond Trends for September 15, 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.
For decades, this police helicopter was a familiar sight in Topeka skies
For 38 years, a police helicopter was a familiar sight in the skies above Topeka. … Patrol officers liked having the “eye in the sky,” saying its presence made them safer and aided them in finding lost children or people who were in danger. When it appeared in 1982 that a softball tournament at what is now Topeka’s Felker Park would have to be canceled because of wet field conditions, an officer flying the police copter hovered over the infields to blow them dry, enabling the games to go on.
Source: CJonline.com
Two Kansas counties are coming together to address teen suicides
They’re the two biggest counties in our state, and both are working to find a solution. It’s a campaign called #ZeroReasonsWhy. After seeing a dramatic rise in teen suicides in Johnson County, superintendents of the six school districts came together to work towards a solution and created the campaign. The message is that there are zero reasons why the community can’t empower, educate, and advocate for teen mental wellness. It is peer-led. Student ambassadors work to start the discussions in their high school and normalize mental health.
Source: KSN-TV
USDA Launches Resource Guide to Help Rural Communities Seeking Disaster Resiliency and Recovery Assistance
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Justin Maxson today unveiled a resource guide as part of National Preparedness Month to help rural communities seeking disaster resiliency and recovery assistance.
This guide follows the Biden-Harris Administration’s announcement of the American Jobs Plan, which targets investments to support infrastructure in communities that are most physically and financially vulnerable to climate-driven disasters….
The resource guide outlines USDA Rural Development (RD) programs and services that can help rural residents, businesses and communities impacted by disasters and support long-term planning and recovery efforts. A resource matrix categorizes RD programs that can support preparedness and recovery through four key assistance types:
- housing assistance, and community and economic development planning;
- infrastructure and equipment financing;
- industry, entrepreneurship and local business development; and
- education and training.
The guide also includes information on technical assistance providers and other federal agencies that work with USDA to support rural communities in disaster planning and recovery efforts. It features examples of how customers have used USDA programs to support their recovery efforts.
Additional resources to support rural communities seeking disaster assistance are available at https://www.rd.usda.gov/page/rural-development-disaster-assistance.
To learn more about investment resources for rural areas, contact the nearest USDA Rural Development state office.
Lawrence City Commission approves design for public art piece at police headquarters
The Lawrence Police Department headquarters will soon feature a new piece of public art. The commission’s design concept approval Tuesday follows the approval of the Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission, which discussed the design for the art piece at a meeting in July. The pavilion will be made of stainless steel, with a circle of several glass pairs of eyes around its top, and it will sit north of the facility, near the trails where officers and residents sometimes run. Joe O’Connell, the city-selected artist for the project, told commissioners the design is inspired by compassion and understanding of others.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Wichita looks to install two dams, remove nearly 500 acres from flood plain
In a move intended to remove 212 homes and nearly 500 acres from a flood plain in west Wichita, the city council unanimously voted Tuesday to seek federal funding to install two dams. The area in question starts at Calfskin Creek west of Maize Road and extends for four to five miles east and three to four miles north and south of Kellogg. When the dams were in place, the homes would no longer be in the flood plain and residents would no longer have to buy flood insurance, said Don Henry, assistant director in public works and utilities.
Source: Wichita Eagle
Wichita hires consultant to research proposed nondiscrimination ordinance
Stymied by nearly 11 hours of contentious public comment about a proposed nondiscrimination ordinance this summer, city officials have hired a consulting group for almost $18,000 to research the topic more. The ordinance is designed to prevent discrimination within city limits on the basis of “age, color, disability, familial status, gender identity, genetic information, national origin or ancestry, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status or any other factor protected by law.” It bans discrimination in employment, housing and businesses that serve the general public.
Source: Wichita Eagle
Municipal Bond Trends for September 14, 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.
Rent Backlog Tied to Coronavirus Estimated at $9M for Flint Hills Counties
The coronavirus pandemic and the federal foreclosure moratorium have resulted in what one study says is nine million dollars in outstanding rent being built up in Flint Hills counties. The Manhattan Housing Authority is urging those facing issues tied to rental arrears that the Kansas Emergency Rental Assistance program is sending aid to 500 households statewide each week to help ease the backlog. MHA commissioner Brad Claussen tells KMAN the aid availability covers both ends of rental transactions. The Assistant Executive Director of the Manhattan Housing Authority, Mandy Thomas, tells KMAN that applications can be submitted to the agency online. Riley, Geary and Pottawatomie County renters account of 7% of the state’s overall total.
Source: 1350 KMAN
AG: winter gas pricing spikes appear to violate law
The Kansas Attorney General’s Office is seeking outside legal help to investigate huge spikes in natural gas prices this winter, signaling the state could consider suing over the disaster. Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s office announced in a news release Monday that it planned to hire a law firm with expertise in the natural gas market to help with the remainder of the investigation and “any potential civil litigation.” The office has been working since February to determine whether the high prices violated Kansas’ anti-profiteering law. “State law prohibits ‘unjustified’ price increases for ‘necessary’ goods and services during a declared state of disaster emergency, and on their face these increases appear to violate Kansas law,” Schmidt said. “Our investigation has reached a point where additional resources and expertise in the complicated natural gas marketplace are required.”
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler
Walnut Valley Festival returns in 2021
After having to be canceled a year ago, the Walnut Valley Festival is back in 2021, going from Sept. 15 to 19 at the Winfield Fairgrounds. The five-day festival that has been going on for nearly half a century features more than 30 musical acts and eight contests – including the national flatpicking championships and international fingerstyle championships – that draw participants from all 50 states and several foreign countries.
Source: Derby Informer | Area
Governor Laura Kelly announces Kansas receives national economic development recognition
Governor Laura Kelly today announced Kansas has received Area Development’s Top 20 States for Doing Business recognition for 2021 – the first time in Kansas history the state has made the Top 20 list. “Our state’s positive economic development momentum is undeniable, and the rest of the country is taking notice,” Governor Kelly said. “This designation – in addition to our record-breaking economic success, our receipt of Area Development Magazine’s Gold Shovel Award, and being named as the top business climate in the West North Central region of the United States – is further proof our efforts are paying off in a big way. “My administration will continue rebuilding our economic development tools, fully funding our schools, investing in much-needed infrastructure projects, and expanding high speed internet access to build on the qualities that make Kansas the best state to live and to do business.”
Source: Great Bend Tribune
100-year-old theatre brings new life to Kingman
A century-old theatre is bringing new life and new people to a Kansas town. “It doesn’t matter how young or how old you are. You still get that excitement and that nostalgic feeling when you walk in the door. You realize this is a place of value, history, and fun and excitement,” said Kingman Historic Theatre General Manager Deena Lampe. The Kingman Historic Theatre was built in 1920 as a silent movie and vaudeville house. Today, it’s a movie and live events venue boasting much of the original art deco and historic charm. “There is so much history here. The ticket office used to be a cigar bar for the men. They used to serve peanuts on a cart out in the lobby as concessions,” explained Lampe. Deena Lampe got her career start with the theatre about seven years ago. However, it was decades before that when she first experienced the space and all of its wonder. Her grandmother grew up going to the theatre.
Source: KSN-TV