Kansas Municipal News
Topeka and FOP hope to mediate contract impasse, mediation will be July 14
The Fraternal Order Of Police and the city of Topeka are in a deadlock over contract negotiations, the union announced Tuesday. Monday the Fraternal Order Police released new information that mediation is scheduled for this Wednesday, July 14th, in hopes of reaching a final agreement. “TPD staffing levels continue to be critical and our force is currently 27 officers short with more anticipated departures from the department,” said Charles Wilson President of FOP Lodge #3, “The recruiting and retention crisis in policing is affecting departments across the country and Topeka is no different. Earlier the union said the two sides had started to meet in February and sessions were expected to end May 27. The union said it agreed to extend negotiations through June 9 at the city’s request, but issues couldn’t be resolved.
Source: KSNT News
Lawrence board gives initial green light to approve $1.2M in affordable housing projects this year
As part of federal COVID-19 relief packages passed in the last 18 months, Lawrence and Douglas County are poised to take in millions of dollars this year that can be used to address chronic homelessness and aid in affordable housing solutions. The city’s Affordable Housing Advisory Board on Monday gave an initial approval of the funding level it intends to allocate later this year to applicants focused on housing services — an increase of 175% over the funds that were available last year. In 2020, hampered by a tighter budget and uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic, AHAB had $450,000 available from the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund at its disposal. This year, though, the board projects it will have $1.236 million to dole out.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Overland Park could grow a bit more with proposed annexation of 29 acres near State Line and 183rd Street
Overland Park has taken the first step toward another annexation, albeit a small one involving only one property owner. Last Wednesday, the city council’s Community Development Committee unanimously voted to recommend that about 29 acres south of 183rd Street and east of Aberdeen Street near the state line be annexed for an eventual development of single family homes. The request was made by the property owner, Sundance Land and Cattle II. That company was formed in Kansas a year ago, with developer Brian Rodrock listed as agent, according to records with the Secretary of State’s office. Rodrock is CEO of Rodrock Development.
Source: Prairie Village Post
For States and Localities, a Sudden Rush of Federal Water and Sewer Funding
It may be easy to miss amid the persistent partisan clashes in Congress, but there is a growing concern among federal lawmakers of all stripes about the condition of the country’s water infrastructure. That concern has translated into millions of dollars in the American Rescue Plan Act that can be used for water improvements by states and localities, and more funding could be coming down the pipe in a bipartisan infrastructure bill. “We’re very happy that there’s this renewed focus on investing in water infrastructure at the congressional level,” says Tommy Holmes, the legislative director of the American Water Works Association, an industry group. The attention on shoring up systems that provide drinking water, sewer and stormwater services is the culmination of many crises, Holmes says.
Source: Route Fifty – All Content
Pott. County officials put a temporary pause on developing solar regulations
Pottawatomie County officials appear to be pumping the brakes on developing solar regulations, at least temporarily. Members of both the county commission and planning commission agreed during a joint meeting Thursday, to pause the development of regulations. County Planner Stephan Metzger tells KMAN there are several components to the draft plan which have caused hesitation among county officials. There are also concerns from ag producers on disrupting some of the natural elements of the region. Metzger explains what’s attracting solar companies to Pottawatomie County.
Source: 1350 KMAN
New USDA grant funds available for rural communities
This summer, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has begun accepting applications for two important programs for rural development. The first is the Rural Placemaking Innovation Challenge, which has seen a $2 million increase in funding after its initial set of grants met with a great deal of enthusiasm. This program is available to tribal entities, non-profits, local governments, universities, and small businesses for the purpose of rural placemaking, which is a collaborative process to strategically improve the social, cultural, and economic structure of a community. The second program, the Rural Innovation Stronger Economy grant, is available to nonprofit organizations, universities, tribal entities, and state and local governments. The goal is to support the growth of high-wage jobs through encouraging new business incubation, a high-skilled workforce, and opportunities for high-paying jobs. The grants can be from $500,000 to $2 million.
Source: Atchison Globe Now
Kansas and Missouri governments, constrained on pay, struggle to end worker shortages
Lenexa can’t fill entry-level maintenance jobs. Shawnee watched as firefighter applications fell by nearly half in two years. Kansas City, Kan., closed its only public swimming pool for the summer after struggling to staff it and lingering concerns about the pandemic. In Lawrence, city officials this spring began hunting for dozens of lifeguards, traditionally the domain of teens and college students. The applicants this time weren’t always who you’d expect. Marilyn Hull, a 64-year-old former program and communications officer at a local non-profit, applied for and accepted a position. Starting pay is listed at $10 an hour. “I felt bad for folks, especially kids, who might lose out on some pool time for the second year in a row,” Hull said. “I asked myself how I could help.” Across Kansas and Missouri, governments are straining to hire workers for an array of positions. Cities, counties, school districts and state agencies are all experiencing trouble filling openings. Low-paid and seasonal jobs— the often unglamorous but vital work that keeps roads repaired, lawns mowed and pools open — have been especially challenging.
Source: KC Star.
Governor, Wichita activists celebrate bill to reform traffic fines and court costs
Wichita legislators, Black community activists and Gov. Laura Kelly took a victory lap Friday on a new law to make it easier to get back on the road for people whose driver’s licenses are suspended over unpaid traffic tickets. The measure, Senate Bill 127, is expected to have a substantial positive effect for tens of thousands of low-income Kansans who’ve been hit with traffic fines, court costs and late fees they can never realistically be expected to pay, the governor said. “What have we got, 205,000 people with suspended licenses in the state of Kansas?” Kelly said. “We know that 60% of those are still suspended because they can’t afford the fees, not because the punishment is that much. They just can’t pay the court fees.” …SB 127 allows courts to waive traffic fines and court fees if a judge finds that “payment of the amount due will impose manifest hardship on the person or the person’s immediate family.”
Source: Wichita Eagle
Municipal Bond Trends for July 9, 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.
Clay Center and other Kansas communities are turning their skylines into tourism draws, one mural at a time
Communities across Kansas are embracing mural movements and sharing their unique history in artistic ways. One north-central Kansas community is painting its way as a top mural destination in the Great Plains. A Mural Movement of Clay Center, Kan., is elevating public art to new heights. “Bucolic America,” on a Key Feeds grain elevator, is Clay Center’s newest and largest mural, paying tribute to farmers and rural America. In the mural, a bright red barn stands proudly in the background and a windmill stands tall in a big blue sky, while a calf stands close to its mother in a lush green field. The Key Feeds mural stands out in Clay Center’s skyline and draws in visitors and passersby alike. In the last year, A Mural Movement of Clay Center has supported 12 works of art, bringing the total number of murals to 14 and counting. Each colorful mural tells a different story, showcasing the talent and dedication of the 13 artists who have contributed to the movement: from the iconic “Greetings from Clay Center” mural, to the heartfelt depiction of Joe Rosenthal’s famous photo of the flag being raised during the battle of Iwo Jima on Clay Center’s Veteran’s Mural.
Source: Farm Progress.
Shawnee commission OKs plans for ‘desperately needed’ senior housing development
Shawnee has advanced plans for a new senior housing development in the central part of the city. Located on about eight acres on the northeast corner of West 63rd Street and Maurer Road, Shawnee Senior Villas comprises 42 multi-family units in a single three-story building. The site, near Swarner State Park and the Shawnee Mission School District Softball Complex, is currently vacant and surrounded by other mixed residential developments. Andrew Danner with North Star Housing LLC, a developer based in Grain Valley, Mo., said they hope to fill a gap in Shawnee’s housing market, particularly for adults 55 and older who are looking for no-maintenance housing options where they can age in place and stay in their community. “It’s our position in looking at these developments and communities that we prefer and feel that the senior housing opens up more opportunities for the community in general,” Danner said. “We think overall, housing in general is desperately needed. We just feel that senior housing is a two-fold thing.”
Source: Prairie Village Post
The two most important charts in the bond market, according to traders
It’s been a rocky week for stocks as falling yields raised fears the global economic recovery from the pandemic will come in fits and starts. On Thursday, the 10-year yield touched 1.25%, its lowest level since February. The S&P 500 is set to close out the week barely positive. CNBC’s “Trading Nation” asked two technicians to cut through the noise and share the chart that explains the market dynamics in play right now. Bill Baruch, president of Blue Line Capital, is watching the Federal Reserve. “It’s most important to highlight the Fed’s balance sheet, not the massive expansion we’ve seen over the last decade, but really the Fed’s balance sheet over just this year,” Baruch said Thursday. “They’re buying debt, and ultimately, what you’re seeing is as you’re underpinning the Treasury complex you’re suppressing yields.”
Source: CNBC – Bonds
Governor Laura Kelly Announces $4 Million in Community Development Block Grants to Promote Job Retention for Small Businesses
Governor Laura Kelly announced today the third round of Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus Response Supplement (CDBG-CV) awards, distributing nearly $4 million to 25 Kansas communities to promote business retention for small businesses affected by the pandemic. “Kansas continues to experience record economic success, bringing in jobs and business investment at historic levels,” Governor Kelly said. “These grant funds will support that momentum by ensuring small Kansas businesses can maintain their workforce. We’ll continue to focus strategic investments that will create a stronger, more resilient economy to help Kansas businesses and families succeed.” CDBG-CV is administered by the Kansas Department of Commerce. The two previous grant rounds in this category awarded cities and counties with projects pertaining to economic development and meal programs. However, unlike previous rounds, these grants are available specifically to ensure job retention for Kansas businesses with under 50 employees.
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce
Townhome project in western Shawnee aimed at ‘renters by choice’ narrowly wins planning commission approval
By a narrow vote this week, the Shawnee Planning Commission advanced plans for Creekside Ridge, a townhome-style residential project near K-7 Highway on the western side of the city that developers say will help ease the area’s dearth of affordable housing stock. But some single-family homeowners near the proposed site close to Mill Valley High School pushed back against the plan, raising concerns about the development’s impact on their property values and traffic, among other issues. Stark Enterprises, a real estate development company based in Cleveland, Oh., is planning to build 146 residential units in 36 attached townhome-style buildings on about 33 acres in the 6300 block of Silverheel Street.
Source: Prairie Village Post
A glimpse at 24 new highway projects
The Kansas Transportation Department is launching work on new major highway projects for the first time in about six years after the state ran out of money to modernize and expand the state’s road network. This week, Gov. Laura Kelly and Transportation Secretary Julie Lorenz have been crisscrossing the state announcing new highway projects that will be constructed as part of the state’s new $10 billion multiyear transportation program approved last year. While state lawmakers didn’t raise taxes to fund the program, the money for new construction will largely come from highway revenues that will no longer be shifted to the state’s general fund to cover general operating expenses. The state has reduced transfers from highways to the state general fund from $223.1 million in fiscal 2019 to $66.9 million in 2022.
Source: Sunflower State Journal
The long road to Humboldt’s new grocery store
Our Market grocery store and butcher shop celebrates its grand opening today in Humboldt. Yet amidst all the fanfare, it’s easy to forget how long a road it was in getting here. In what follows, then, we take a look back over the past two-and-a-half years in order to construct a timeline of events that ultimately made Our Market a reality. We’ll begin on the last day of the year, Dec. 31, 2018, when Register veteran reporter Bob Johnson wrote the Moon’s Hometown Market building in Humboldt had been purchased by Monarch Cement. Owner Mike Moon of Osawatomie had been facing a number of challenges, including low inventory, flat sales and competing businesses, so Monarch stepped in to relieve some of the pressure.
Source: The Iola Register
Great Bend mural project continues
The artist known as ARCY began work Friday on a mural at the corner of Forest and Williams in Great Bend. The work will be a “salute to Barton County’s rich history tied to the B-29 airfield here in Great Bend, and all the brave men and women who were based here during World War II,” said Rachel Mawhirter with the Barton Arts Movement (#BAM), the local volunteer initiative that is raising funds for the project.
Source: Great Bend Tribune
Sunday morning liquor run? Guide to which Johnson, Wyandotte county cities allow it
It’ll soon be legal in several Kansas cities in the metro area to purchase alcohol from a liquor store on Sunday mornings — something long prohibited in a state with some of the strictest alcohol laws. In May, Gov. Laura Kelly signed a bill allowing the sale of beer and alcohol to begin at 9 a.m. on Sundays. Before, Kansas law prohibited Sunday sales until noon — a remaining vestige of Kansas’ alcohol regulations dating back to the 1880s, when it became the first state in the country to write prohibition into its constitution. The law requires that cities and counties modify their existing ordinances to authorize the Sunday morning sales, if they wish.
Source: Joco 913 News
Things got a little festive this weekend in Southeast Kansas
Things got a little festive this weekend in Southeast Kansas. Businesses throughout Girard decked the halls for the city’s first Christmas in July. Some small businesses often notice a decrease in sales during the summer months due to people often traveling out of town. So businesses in Girard decided to work with the Girard Area Chamber of Commerce, and host their own Christmas in July, to promote local business. Jessica Riper, Girard Area Chamber of Commerce Exec. Director, says, “It get’s people out and about, obviously with Covid there was a slowdown with a lot of our retail businesses and people are just starting to get out and about, they’re really excited to come to any kind of event.”
Source: KSNF/KODE
Prairie Village poised to give 8 weeks paid parental leave to city employees, surpassing other cities’ policies
The city of Prairie Village will consider amending its employee handbook to include eight weeks of paid parental leave within the first 12 months of a new birth or adoption. Why it matters: If approved, Prairie Village would join Mission, Roeland Park and Shawnee as other Johnson County cities with paid parental leave policies on the books. County employees also currently receive paid parental leave. But Prairie Village’s proposed policy appears to be the most generous in the county. Mission and Roeland Park currently both offer six weeks for both parents, and Shawnee offers six weeks for the birthing parent and three weeks for a parent who doesn’t give birth, according to city documents.
Source: Prairie Village Post