Kansas Municipal News
Overland Park Approves Adding Toll Lanes To U.S. Highway 69. What Happens Next?
The Overland Park City Council on Monday night approved adding toll lanes to U.S. Highway 69, in a move aimed at easing congestion south of 103rd Street. Why it matters: City leaders say expanding U.S. 69 is long overdue. The highway serves as a major artery for residents in Overland Park’s growing southern half. But it’s also increasingly congested, creating daily headaches for commuters. The Kansas Department of Transportation lists U.S. 69 as the state’s busiest four-lane road with an estimated 80,000 vehicles passing through the corridor daily. What happens next: The toll lane proposal must now be approved by the Kansas Turnpike Authority and State Finance Council, a group which includes the governor and legislative leaders. If approved, work on constructing the toll lanes could begin as early as next year.
Source: KCUR News
Overland Park overwhelmingly approves adding toll lanes to highway despite opposition
In a near-midnight vote Monday, the Overland Park City Council agreed to move forward with a plan to add express toll lanes to U.S. 69 to help fund the expansion of the highway in Johnson County — a decision that has drawn opposition from many residents. The highway would be widened to six lanes from 103rd to 151st streets — paid for in part by making a lane in each direction a toll lane. Drivers could choose to pay a toll for a faster commute. The other lanes would remain free. The City Council voted 10-2 to enter into an agreement with the Kansas Department of Transportation to propose the plan to the Kansas Turnpike Authority board and State Finance Council for their approval. If they approve, KDOT would set the project as its top development priority, with construction expected next year.
Source: Joco 913 News
Wichita, Sedgwick County moving to merge parks and culture, facilitate privatization
The Wichita City Council and Sedgwick County Commission unveiled a plan Tuesday to merge their parks and cultural arts departments with an eye toward providing better services through public-private partnerships. The plan was presented to a joint session of the two groups by Misty Bruckner of Wichita State University’s Public Policy and Management Center, who said it would maximize efficiency and reduce bureaucracy. “It creates opportunity for collaboration,” Bruckner said. “It puts people in the same room having discussions about the community, the residents and the visitors that they are trying to serve.”
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Mission OK’s $2M in facilities upgrades, prompting debate about Sylvester Powell’s future
The Mission City Council has approved $2 million in upgrades at several city facilities, including the Sylvester Powell, Jr. Community Center, aimed at making city operations more environmentally friendly. As part of a conservation improvement program sponsored by the Kansas Corporation Commission, the city will be installing several new items like improved thermostat controls at all city buildings. Upon completion, the upgrades could result in an annual reduction of more than 950 metric tons of carbon dioxide, according to city documents. The planned changes will also eliminate the use of harmful refrigerants in city facilities. While most city councilmembers were in support of the improvements, Ward 2 Councilmember Nick Schlossmacher said investing in Sylvester Powell, in particular, seems “irresponsible.”
Source: Prairie Village Post
Governor Laura Kelly Announces 80 New Jobs in Tonganoxie
Governor Laura Kelly today applauded Hill’s Pet Nutrition’s plan to build a new pet food manufacturing plant in Tonganoxie. Hill’s will invest more than $250 million to construct a new 300,000-square-foot facility, bringing at least 80 new jobs to the community by 2025. “Hill’s Pet Nutrition’s decision to invest $250 million in Kansas and bring 80 new jobs to Tonganoxie is further proof that Kansas’ Animal Health Corridor can out-compete any region in the world for these industry investments and jobs,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “With our central location, talented workforce and reputation as a global leader in animal health and science, our partnership with Hill’s is a no-brainer.” According to Hill’s, Tonganoxie was selected for this investment based on the location’s industrial park, strong community partnerships, workforce strengths and proximity to distribution requirements for the facility. Hill’s also cited the major advantage of doing business in Kansas as part of the KC Animal Health Corridor, home to more than 300 animal health companies, representing the largest such concentration in the world. The KC Animal Health Corridor now accounts for 56 percent of total worldwide animal health, diagnostics and pet food sales.
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce
Williams says Fed’s rate liftoff still way off in the future
A discussion about raising interest rates is still quite a ways off as the Federal Reserve begins debating tapering its bond-buying program, New York Fed President John Williams said. “That’s still way off in the future,” Williams said of rate hikes during a Bloomberg Television interview on Tuesday. “Right now, really, I think the attention is on the taper.” The U.S. central bank’s policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, on which Williams sits, is debating when it will be appropriate to begin scaling back the bond-buying program it put in place last year at the outset of the pandemic. … At the conclusion of a two-day policy meeting on June 16, the FOMC published updated quarterly projections showing the majority of policy makers expected it would be appropriate to begin raising the central bank’s benchmark federal funds rate from its current near-zero level sometime in 2023. Seven of 18 on the committee expected it would be appropriate to begin raising the rate as soon as next year.
Source: The Bond Buyer
Consumption zone coming to downtown GB
In an effort to rekindle downtown Great Bend and make the community more competitive, the City Council Monday night approved a resolution creating a common consumption area in the city’s center to be known as Great Bend Alive Plaza. The request for the designation came from Great Bend Economic Development Inc. for Forest Avenue from the west side of Main Street to the east side of Williams Street. Great Bend Alive Inc., a non-profit offshoot of GBED, will be licensed to operate the area. “This is an opportunity to provide another gathering spot and other area for people to come downtown, enjoy the company of their co-workers, their family and friends, and then go out and continue to enjoy Great Bend,” said GBED President Sara Hayden. “So we call it the gather and scatter.” … Although there has been a lot of talk about drinking, “it’s not just about alcohol,” she said “It’ll be about the entertainment factor.”
Source: Great Bend Tribune
As shootings ‘skyrocket,’ Wichita police want council approval for federal crackdown
Amid a surge in violent crime in Wichita, police are asking the City Council to approve a partnership with the U.S. Marshals for a federal crackdown. The request follows what Police Chief Gordon Ramsay called a “busy weekend” with seven shootings where nine total people were shot. One of the shootings hospitalized an officer, who was shot in the head and legs with what a police captain described as “an AR-15 style assault rifle.” “We have seen since a little over a year ago, we saw shooting numbers skyrocket,” Ramsay said Monday during a news conference where he provided an update on the injured officer. “I really feel, and chiefs all around the country are all saying the same thing, that something has happened societally that is causing people to immediately resort to solving conflict through the use of guns.”
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Federal Reserve Chairman notes economic improvement, but says the pandemic remains a risk
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said in testimony prepared for delivery to Congress this week that the economy is growing but faces continued threats from the coronavirus pandemic. The central bank leader also highlighted rising inflation pressures that he expects to lessen over time. As the economy recovers from the pandemic, he also pledged continued support from policies the Fed put into place in the early days of the Covid-19 threat…. The Fed has kept its benchmark short-term lending rate anchored near zero and is buying at least $120 billion of bonds each month. But last week’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting indicated that members are looking ahead to when they will start pulling back on policy accommodation.
Source: CNBC
Municipal Bond Trends for June 21, 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.
East-side Save A Lot closing as Wichita’s food desert grows
Northeast Wichita’s Save A Lot grocery store is closing and with it the only full-service supermarket serving a broad swath of the historically Black community in northeast Wichita. City Council member Brandon Johnson said he has confirmed the planned closure, which is tentatively scheduled for July 10. The closure of the store, at 2402 E 13th St., is a major blow to a large section of the city, Johnson said. “It’s going to make things worse,” Johnson said. “It’s already a food desert and this is the nearest store people over here have.” Other than Save A Lot, the closest grocery stores are Dillons markets at Douglas and Hillside, or two other Dillons on Rock Road, one at Central and one at 21st Street.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Riley County’s Fair and Impartial Policing Working Group works to address policing concerns
On Monday, the Fair and Impartial Policing (FIP) Working Group presented their findings to the Riley County Law Board on community policing recommendations. The FIP was created in conjunction with the Manhattan-Riley County Coalition for Equal Justice (CEJ). “We as a community look at this not as a combative stance but in a collaborative sense. And one of the first things we want to do is build a relationship with RCPD,” said CEJ representative Dr. Lorenza Lockett. In a report released to the public, the group detailed items like working to recruit more diverse staff to RCPD, continuing to advance department policies that prohibit biased policing and continuing to perform community outreach. The collaboration between CEJ and RCPD is something RCPD Director Dennis Butler welcomes.
Source: KSNT News
New gym opens up in downtown Hillsboro
A previously empty storefront on Hillsboro’s Main Street has been filled with a much needed business. Infinity Fitness is a gym that provides “local fitness at affordable prices” according to their website. “Fitness has always been a passion of mine and it was something I could bring to the community,” said owner Ryan Franz. Franz, who grew up in Hillsboro, said they had a soft opening on Saturday, June 5, and they are having a grand opening on June 19. “We are open 24/7. I’m here for sign-ups from 12-2 p.m. and 5-7 p.m. every weekday and then every Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.,” said Franz. The gym offers single, couple, family, student, teacher, senior and military memberships.
Source: Hillsboro Free Press
Municipal Bond Trends for June 18, 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.
Fed’s Jim Bullard sees first interest rate hike coming as soon as 2022
St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard told CNBC on Friday that he sees an initial interest rate increase happening in 2022 as inflation picks up faster than previous forecasts had anticipated. That estimate is even quicker than the outlook the broader Federal Open Market Committee released Wednesday that caused a hit to financial markets. The committee’s median outlook was for up to two hikes in 2023, after indicating in March that saw no increases on the horizon. Bullard at several points described the Fed’s moves this week as “hawkish,” or in favor of tighter monetary policy than what has prevailed since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. “We’re expecting a good year, a good reopening. But this is a bigger year than we were expecting, more inflation than we were expecting,” the central bank official said …
Source: CNBC
Northwest Bypass Could Energize West Wichita, If It’s Ever Built
A massive highway project has the potential to transform much of west Wichita. The Northwest Bypass would extend K-96 from near 45th and Maize Road to Kellogg, just east of Goddard. The question is: Will it ever be built? The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) has been buying property for the project since 2006 but only has acquired a third of the needed right-of-way. The problem so far? It’s pretty obvious. “The biggest thing right now is funding,” said Sedgwick County Commissioner David Dennis, who represents west Wichita and west Sedgwick County.
Source: KMUW
Wheat harvest in Kansas looking terrific
Farmers across Kansas have something to be thankful for: initial reports show that the wheat harvest may be the best in recent years. A much-needed yield and factors such as sunshine, well-timed rains and great growing temperatures have helped farmers put food on your table and theirs. The weather, while almost unbearable to many, lately, has been perfect for this year’s Kansas wheat harvest. Instead of a harvest taking weeks, it’s taking half the time. Shawn Becker is a third-generation farmer from Wellington who is smiling bright this harvest season. “(The weather) is ideal with cutting wheat,” he said. “The ground is dry, your machines have to fight less when you’re not fighting mud. (I’m) day three into it, and a little over halfway done.”
Source: KAKE – News
KC, OKC got Topgolf for nothing but Wichita offered millions; project study had flaws
The city of Wichita is moving forward with a $10.2 million subsidy for a Topgolf sports attraction and neighboring development — but other cities in the region didn’t pay anything to land the golf-themed business and there’s a glaring error in the economic study that justified the project. Oklahoma City and Overland Park officials told The Eagle they didn’t spend any public money to get Topgolf, a popular sports entertainment company owned by publicly traded golfing behemoth Callaway Golf Co., a company currently valued at $5.9 billion. “We gave them no incentives, no reimbursement,” said Sean Reilly, a spokesman for Overland Park city government. “Topgolf did not receive any incentives from the city,” said Joanna McSpadden, Oklahoma City’s economic development program manager. “That’s the idea, right? We don’t have to incentivize everything, we can have some growth on the private dime, too.”
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Grant helps to fund Winfield ambulance
The City of Winfield approved the $151,000 purchase of a new ambulance at its regular meeting, which was held in special session on Thursday. The ambulance will be funded in part through a matching USDA Rural Development grant award of $125,000. Smaller in design, the ambulance approved is a customized Ford 350 Transit. “This will be our first van-based ambulance,” City Manager Taggart Wall said. “It is a great way to test the waters and determine what type of vehicle works best for the patient and our staff in different situations.” Wall said that the investment represents the continued goal to update the fleet of ambulances that the city acquired from the former hospital-based Winfield Area EMS.
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler
Plan would restore rail service to big swath of the Midwest
Proponents of expanding passenger rail service through Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas hope an anticipated influx of federal infrastructure funding will get the the long-discussed route off the ground. The project, which is among 39 new routes that Amtrak has proposed, calls for extending the Heartland Flyer. The train now travels south from Oklahoma City in the morning and returns in the evening, with an afternoon layover in Fort Worth, Texas. With the expansion, one daily trip would start and end farther north in Newton in the early morning, traveling over tracks owned by BNSF, the largest U.S. railroad. From Newton, travelers could catch Amtrak’s Southwest Chief, which travels between Chicago and Los Angeles, passing through Kansas City, Mo., along the way.
Source: Derby Informer | Area