Kansas Municipal News
Hill’s Pet Nutrition Plans to Build New Factory in Tonganoxie to Help Meet Growing Demand for its Pet Food
Hill’s Pet Nutrition announced their intent to invest more than $250 million to build a new factory in Leavenworth County in their home state of Kansas to help meet the growing demand for their #1 vet recommended Hill’s pet nutrition. “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 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.” “Hill’s Pet Nutrition is excited to be growing our roots in. We’ve been part of the community for almost 80 years and this new facility will help us to meet our mission of enriching and lengthening the special relationships between people and their pets by providing our high quality nutrition,” said Jesper Nordengaard, President of Hill’s Pet Nutrition…
Source: Atchison Globe Now
Riley County clerk: More budget announcements published equals more money spent
The Riley County clerk says a new state law intended to help people understand where their tax dollars go will in turn cost taxpayers more money to implement. Riley County and Manhattan city government officials met for a joint meeting Thursday to discuss the potential “unintended consequences” of the passage of Senate Bill 13. The bill, approved by Kansas lawmakers this past session, establishes new requirements for public notices and hearings to alert residents if a municipal entity’s budget might surpass what’s called the “revenue neutral rate” for a local property tax levy. Riley County clerk Rich Vargo said the new legislation, which takes effect next year, is meant to inform people of how their tax dollars will be used, and to spur them to attend budget hearings for local agencies to “express their opinions on what they want funded and what they don’t want funded.”
Source: themercury.com
National arts grant will give downtown Wichita businesses some creative curb appeal
A new placemaking initiative in Wichita funded by a national grant will help give a few downtown businesses a little more curb appeal. In a partnership with the city, Downtown Wichita was one of 63 recipients of a $75,000 Our Town Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. The funding will support a new initiative called the Front Porch Project, which will pair local artists with business owners to come up with a creative outdoor extension of their storefronts.
Source: Wichita Business Journal
Kansas officer critically hurt, suspect dead after shootout
A Kansas police officer is in critical condition and the person who fired at officers is dead after a shootout in Wichita, authorities said. Two police officers were checking on the welfare of a 32-year-old woman and her 13-year-old daughter at a home in south Wichita around 10:15 p.m. Saturday when the shooting began. Police said the woman reported having a physical fight with her boyfriend before officers arrived, but she thought the man had left. Wichita Deputy Police Chief Jose Salcido said officers found the man, 28-year-old Tyler Hodge, hiding in a shed in the backyard with a rifle. Body camera footage released Sunday showed Hodge ignoring officers’ commands to put the gun down before he stood up and opened fire. One of the officers was hit several times and was rushed to a hospital. He remained in critical but stable condition Sunday.
Source: KOAMKOAM
Lecompton has a long and rich history. A new mural titled ‘Resilience’ depicts the town’s story and significance.
The town of Lecompton is known for its rich history. Founded in 1854, the town was originally named Bald Eagle and became Kansas’ territorial capital 11 years later. The small town is known as being “the birthplace of the Civil War, where slavery began to die.” Lecompton’s history is now represented through a new mural painted on the south wall of the former Lecompton High School gym. The mural, created by artist Rick Wright, depicts a landscape with a bald eagle emerging from the clouds. On each side of the eagle are buildings and wagons and below is the phrase “Populi Voce Nata,” which means “Born by the voice of the people.” The mural, which has been named “Resilience,” was a project funded by Lecompton Community Pride. Paul Bahnmaier, president of the Lecompton Historical Society, said the group raised more than $13,000 for the project through donations.
Source: CJonline.com.
Housing crisis threatens to stifle rural Kansas towns hoping to grow
On the east edge of town, an empty sidewalk flanked by dirt and gravel curls around a bend into the shape of a cul-de-sac. Soon, it will lead to the front doors of three dozen new homes — the first houses in Hays built to sell for $225,000 or less in the past several years. Doug Williams, who heads the local housing and economic development coalition Grow Hays, expects the first homebuyers to move in by the end of this year. And in his view, it’s not a moment too soon. Nor is it enough. “We have what I would deem an extreme undersupply of housing,” Williams said. “And we’ve been fighting that for going on nine to 10 months now.” In the space of one year from late 2019 to late 2020, Grow Hays’ housing report found that the number of homes for sale in the northwest Kansas town plummeted from 101 to 50. And it keeps dropping. “I checked this morning,” he said, “and it was 41.”
Source: KAKE – News
Tenants to Homeowners to hold open house for solar-powered small home; project is first to use Lawrence’s density bonus
An open house for the project, Solar Prairie, will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday at 1443 Prairie Ave. The two-bedroom, 925-square-foot home is Tenants to Homeowners’ third small home, and the second small home built on the lot, making it the first project to use the city’s density bonus. The Lawrence City Commission voted in 2019 to approve the density bonus, which allows two homes to be built on lots of a certain size as long as both homes remain permanently affordable. Like other Tenants to Homeowners projects, the solar-powered small home will be sold at an affordable price to a qualifying owner and remain in a permanently affordable community land trust into the future.
Source: LJWorld.com.
Pittsburg Festival of the Arts returns with new elements, live performances
Crawford County residents eager to get out of the house can enjoy a free weeklong event that will showcase area talent including music, art and theater in venues at Pittsburg State University and at Block22 in downtown Pittsburg. Now in its ninth year, the annual Pittsburg Festival of the Arts is slated from Sunday to Saturday, June 19. It brings together local artists by giving them a public platform to exhibit their work during the summer months. Last year’s event was held virtually due to the pandemic but will resume in person this year. In collaboration with the PSU music department and the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts, the festival will feature a mix of outdoor and indoor concerts featuring jazz, brass, Latin, country, classic rock, gospel, bluegrass and chamber music.
Source: www.joplinglobe.com
Economic development projects in WYCO received boost from state
Wyandotte County has been a big beneficiary of economic development efforts in Kansas, according to Gov. Laura Kelly. The state intensified economic development efforts in the past few years, moving up in state rankings for its efforts and recently receiving the Gold Shovel Award from Area Development magazine, she said on Tuesday. Only eight states received the award, and Kansas was the only small state that received this economic development award this year, she said. “We set a record for new capital investment in 2020,” Gov. Kelly said. “We brought in over $2.5 billion in capital investment, more than ever before. And we are on target to beat that record in 2021.”
Source: Wyandotte Daily
Lacking lifeguards: Local pools making due, but hope to hire more
The heat has hundreds rushing to their local pools and splash pads. Nationwide, there is a shortage of lifeguards. “We started the year kind of strong. We’ve already lost six lifeguards since the summer has begun,” said Ted Nelson, the superintendent of aquatics for Hutchinson Recreation. Day by day, Hutchinson is keeping their splash aquatic center open, but they are still feeling the heat to hire more lifeguards this summer. “Just the shortage of applicants, and not a lot of our returners coming back,” said Nelson. There were concerns across Kansas that some pools might have to cut back on hours due to the lack of lifeguards, but fortunately, that has not been the case in Wichita and the surrounding communities.
Source: KSN-TV
Explaining the volatile stock and bond market moves this week following the Fed’s update
Strategists say the the Fed’s slight step toward tightening policy didn’t shock markets Wednesday, but it will likely make them volatile going forward. The Fed, in essence, is acknowledging the door is now open to future rate hikes. … The yields of shorter-duration Treasurys, like the 2-year note, rose, while longer duration yields, such as the benchmark 10-year fell. That so-called “flattening” is a go-to trade when interest rates rise. The logic is that longer yields fall since the economy may not do as well in the future with higher interest rates, and short-end yields rise to reflect expectations of the Fed raising rates. U.S. longer-dated Treasurys, like the 10-year, have been lower than many strategists had expected lately. In part, that’s because they are highly attractive to foreign buyers due to negative rates in other parts of the world and liquidity in the U.S. markets. The 10-year yield shot to 1.59% after the Fed news, but was back down at 1.5% Thursday afternoon.
Source: CNBC – Bonds
Treasury yields ebb lower as investors shake off Fed policy update
U.S. Treasury yields ebbed lower on Friday morning, as investors continued to shake off the Federal Reserve’s hawkish turn in its latest policy update. … Yields drifted lower despite the Fed having raised its inflation expectations, following its two-day meeting which concluded on Wednesday. The Fed also indicated that an interest rate hike could come as soon as 2023, after saying in March that it saw no increases until at least 2024. In a note sent to CNBC Thursday, Kleinwort Hambros Chief Investment Officer Fahad Kamal said that … he sees inflation as transitory in the short term, and expects it to move lower in 2022 as an ageing population, supply-chain efficiency and technology-driven productivity gains “exert lasting disinflationary pressures.”
Source: CNBC – Bonds
Municipal Bond Trends for June 17, 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.
Wichita City Council gives initial approval to anti-discrimination ordinance
After a couple hours of discussion, which became heated at times, Wichita’s City Council gave initial approval on an a proposed anti-discrimination ordinance. The 4-3 vote approved what is called a first-reading, and changes can still be made before the ordinance is put into effect. A second-reading of the proposed ordinance is set for July 6. Some council members expressed concern regarding transparency, saying the public did not have much of a chance to look at the proposed ordinance before the vote. There was also concern that ordinance did not go through advisory boards that the city has set up. The ordinance being proposed creates a locally enforceable ordinance to take action against landlords and employers who are accused of discriminating practices, though council members also expressed concern that the ordinance being proposed did not appear to include due process for those accused. Under the proposed ordinance, someone found guilty of discrimination would be fined, though it’s not clear where the fine money would go.
Source: Country 101.3 KFDI
Kansas awards $900K to healthcare providers to boost COVID-19 vaccinations
In a new push to increase vaccinations in the state, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly announced $900,000 in grants going to healthcare providers to support vaccination efforts on Wednesday. “We’ve got to work with the primary care provider groups to make sure that they have the resources they need to get them all barred in to this concept of get to your doctor and get vaccinated,” Gov. Kelly said. The money will be used across the state to hire dedicated staff members to promote and administer vaccines. The governor held a roundtable discussion with primary care providers, joined by Dr. Marci Nielsen, the state’s Chief Advisor of Vaccine Distribution, to talk about the challenges providers face getting coronavirus shots to Kansans.
Source: KSNT News
Overland Park commission OKs rezoning for proposal to turn former Sears building into 164K square foot office
The Overland Park Planning Commission on Monday unanimously advanced a rezoning request for the former Sears site on Metcalf that marks a significant departure from the mixed-use concept initially pitched back in 2018. Klover Architects first unveiled the updated plan, which eliminates the multi-story apartment building that had drawn some protest from area homeowners, in a neighborhood meeting earlier this month. The re-envisioned development now centers on accommodating the interests of a company that plans to transform the former Sears building into a new center for its operations. Klover Architects President Henry Klover, who brought the rezoning request before the city Monday, told the planning commission the company would have approximately 700 employees on site each day.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Pendergast adapting quickly to role as Scott City administrator
Brad Pendergast doesn’t have the luxury of easing into his position as the new administrator for the City of Scott City. Just seven days into his new job, Pendergast and the council held a 2022 budget workshop to decide spending priorities for the upcoming year. … “It’s good to be kept busy,” says Pendergast. “It’s good to be in a community that’s addressing its needs in a proactive way.” His first order of business when stepping into City Hall on June 8 was to meet with each of the department heads and get a better understanding of their job responsibilities. Pendergast, 33, said it was also important to share that he understands this is an adjustment for everyone since the city hasn’t had someone in the administrator position since 1996.
Source: Scott County Record.
The Fed moves up its timeline for rate hikes as inflation rises
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday considerably raised its expectations for inflation this year and brought forward the time frame on when it will next raise interest rates. … As expected, the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee unanimously left its benchmark short-term borrowing rate anchored near zero. But officials indicated that rate hikes could come as soon as 2023, after saying in March that it saw no increases until at least 2024. The so-called dot plot of individual member expectations pointed to two hikes in 2023.
Source: CNBC.
Municipal Bond Trends for June 16, 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.
Excitement renews for possible train stop in Ark City
Top Amtrak officials have endorsed a plan that would bring back passenger rail service to Cowley County. The plan is to extend the existing Heartland Flyer route linking Fort Worth and Oklahoma City to the north, to Wichita and Newton, with a stop in Arkansas City. The expanded line would include stops in Edmond, Guthrie, Perry and Ponca City in Oklahoma; and Arkansas City and Wichita in Kansas. “There is a lot of excitement surrounding passenger rail and its impact on our community,” Ark City Mayor Scott Rogers said in an email on Monday. “Our community and citizens would have direct connections to bigger metropolitan areas such as Dallas, Oklahoma City, and up north to KC.” Randy Frazer, city manager of Ark City, said that expansion of the Heartland Flyer would “provide a convenient optional mode of travel to the north, south, east and west of the country.” Amtrak service to Wichita and Cowley County was discontinued in 1979.
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler