Kansas Municipal News
First week on the job for Abilene’s new city manager
During a meeting in April, The Abilene City Commission and Mayor Brandon Rein approved the appointment of Ron Marsh as the new Abilene City Manager. Marsh started his new position June 1 with hopes to help the local community. “I came to the city management profession a little bit later in life,” Marsh said. Long before joining city services, Marsh spent five years in the Army and had several jobs inside the private sector. He started his career in city and county management in Sedgwick County as a public works administrative assistant. “I came to really like public service and really like working with the public,” Marsh said. “Granted, it can be frustrating at times, but it’s a lot more fulfilling than it ever is frustrating.”
Source: abilene-rc.com.
Salina airport to add daily flight to Houston
The Saline County board of commissioners accepted a grant request from the Salina Airport Authority Tuesday that could prove huge in helping the Salina economy surge out of the pandemic. The airport will sign a one-year agreement with SkyWest Airlines to schedule nonstop jet service to Houston, Texas, starting Sept. 1. With the commission’s approval, the county will award the airport authority $1.64 million to reimburse SkyWest for any revenue shortfalls from Sept. 1 to Aug. 31, 2022.
Source: Salina Journal.
Douglas County Commission to consider development of new rezoning standards to protect agricultural land
County leaders will soon consider moving forward with the creation of a new tool to evaluate rural rezoning requests and protect prime agricultural land. At its meeting Wednesday, the Douglas County Commission will decide whether to initiate the process to develop an amendment to the zoning and land use regulations for unincorporated or rural areas. The amendment, once developed and approved, would establish a system and standards to evaluate requests to rezone agricultural land to another use, according to a county planning memo.
Source: LJWorld.com.
Municipal Bond Trends for June 8, 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.
City of Lawrence would pay Catholic Charities $250 per approved application to utility assistance fund under proposed contract
The Lawrence City Commission on Tuesday will consider a contract that would pay Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas $250 for each application approved for a utility assistance program. That amount is roughly equivalent to two or three months’ worth of the average residence’s city utility bills, which include water, sewer, stormwater, and solid waste and recycling. According to the commission agenda item, the city can now allow residents to opt in to donate to a utility assistance program through their own bills. The city already has a special rate for residents ages 60 and up who earn 110% of the federal poverty level or less, but this program would expand assistance to other customers with low incomes. A previous agenda item states that “In following other Utilities, it is recommended that an outside charitable agency would administer the funds raised through a donation program.” The cities of Topeka, Salina and Kansas City, Kansas, use nonprofit agencies to administer similar programs, according to the July 7, 2020 meeting agenda. Other than those examples, though, it’s unclear from the agenda why city staff would not administer the program.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Wichita hopes to attract commercial interest in vacant land near ballpark with building height change
On what are now empty grass lawns just east of Riverfront Stadium, the city hopes to more easily attract new commercial development surrounding the ballpark with a change in building height requirements. On Thursday, the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission voted to approve a request to amend the maximum building heights that are allowed on two oddly shaped parcels within the existing Ballpark Village Planned Unit Development. The request still has to go in front of the District 4 Advisory Board and City Council, but the change is expected to increase the allowed building heights from 50 to 85 feet on the L-shaped property at the northwest corner of Maple and McLean, and from 50 to 95 feet on the vertical sliver of land at the northeast corner.
Source: Wichita Business Journal
Winfield Public Library offers Chromebooks, hotspots and e-readers for check-out
The Winfield Public Library is offering personal hotspots and Chromebooks for check-out, joining e-readers as electronic devices available from WPL. Hotspots can be taken home and checked out for two weeks. Chromebooks are for use on WPL’s campus and can be checked out for 90 minutes. Thanks to a grant from the American Library Association, personal hotspots are available at WPL to 67,156 residents to provide internet access to families and households that lack Wifi services.
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler
Deadline for submitting flood damage extended for Osborne County residents
The Kansas Division of Emergency Management has extended the deadline for collecting information on flood damages experienced by residents of Osborne County to Tuesday, June 15. Last month, Paradise Creek spilled out of its banks following heavy rain of up to six inches flooding Natoma. To report damages, residents should call 785-646-2522 or e-mail ng.ks.ksarng.list.kdem-damage-collection@mail.mil. Residents will be asked to complete an interview and will need to provide their insurance status; the estimated value of the home or personal property that was damaged; and photos that documents reported damages.
Source: KSN-TV
Municipal Bond Trends for June 7, 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.
The Fed is in early stages of tapering its asset purchases; change in the federal funds rate remains far in the future
The Federal Reserve is in the early stages of a campaign to ready markets for reducing its $120 billion in monthly asset purchases to stimulate the economy. … This time, the Fed is creating a long runway for tapering, making clear that rate increases only come after this process. It also has set a higher standard of economic improvement required for rate increases than it has for asset purchase reductions. [Fed Vice Chair for bank supervision Randal] Quarles late last month made that separation clear, saying: “It will become important for the FOMC to begin discussing our plans to adjust the pace of asset purchases at upcoming meetings.” But, he added, “in contrast, the time for discussing a change in the federal funds rate remains far in the future.”
Source: CNBC
Overland Park sees trifecta of hotel-to-apartment conversions
When it comes to multifamily conversions, a growing number of extended-stay hotel properties in Overland Park have whet out-of-state developers’ appetites. Ruttenberg Gordon Investments (RGI), a Chicago-based real estate investor, looks to rezone the La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Overland Park at 10610 Marty St. so its 143 rooms can become 143 apartments. The existing three-story hotel building could be retrofitted to house 121 studios and 22 one-bedroom units, with 194 combined existing and new parking spaces. All amenities, including a pool, will remain within an interior courtyard, site plans show.
Source: Kansas City Business Journal
Kansas town is using big catches to reel big dollars into the community
There’s something fishy going on in Eureka. The town is using a big catch to put some big dollars back into the community. From the biggest fish at 42.5 pounds nor the smallest ones, the flathead catfish tournament makes a splash in Greenwood County. The Shakin’ ShoDown is fun for the kids and even worth winning a few trophies, but the weight of this event carries heavier than some of these large fish. The reason why is because all of the funds go back into the community to help those in need.
Source: KSN-TV
Kansas’ longest-running golf tournament tees off its 41st year
The longest-running professional golf tournament in the state of Kansas is teeing off its 41st year Monday after being canceled last year due to COVID. The Southwest Kansas Pro-Am golf tournament is known for bringing in elite play, but for many, what makes it special is that every swing, drive, and putt helps babies in need. For the past four decades, 100% of the tournament’s proceeds have benefitted the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at St. Catherine Hospital in Garden City.
Source: KSN-TV
Fastest-growing counties in Kansas
From 2018 to 2019, the U.S. population grew by .48%, its slowest rate in 100 years. Declining births, increasing deaths largely due to the graying Baby Boomer population, and a crackdown on immigration have contributed to many states seeing net population losses in recent years. But in other pockets of the country, populations are growing. These shifts can be due to job opportunities, high quality of life, easy commutability to job centers, low rents, or any combination of these or other factors. Stacker compiled a list of the fastest-growing counties in Kansas using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by the highest population growth from 2010 to 2019, based on 5-year estimates.
Source: KSN-TV
KDOL partners with several law enforcement agencies to reduce fraud backlog
Thousands of Kansans have had unemployment benefits put on hold due to fraudulent claims. A new partnership between the Department of Labor and several law enforcement agencies across the state aims to fix that. Monday was the first day of the program in Sedgwick County … The process to be verified is simple, you just bring some legal form of identification, like a passport or driver’s license and social security card to the records office at the county jail. There, they verify your identity and send that information on to KDOL, with the goal of speeding up the process.
Source: KAKE – News
Topekan Bill Randall is promoting urban agriculture through this decades-old community garden
If you have driven down S.W. Huntoon Street past S.W. Warren, you might have looked to your left and noticed a community garden overflowing with produce and plants. Bill Randall wants Topekans to consider the nutritional benefits of a vegetable garden and the importance of urban agriculture. … According to Randall, the garden was first created in 1938 by William Cawker, a former Topeka fire chief. Cawker purchased the land with the intention of building a home but instead built a victory garden as World War II caused food shortages.
Source: CJonline.com.
Municipal Bond Trends for June 4, 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.
Manhattan city manager excited about Museum of Art and Light
Manhattan city manager Ron Fehr told Riley County commissioners Thursday that he is “certainly excited about the opportunity” for the proposed Museum of Art and Light. “It would be a world-class facility,” Fehr said. On Tuesday, Manhattan city commissioners approved the use of sales tax and revenue (STAR) bonds for the creation of the museum next to the Flint Hills Discovery Center. Officials expect the Kansas secretary of commerce to decide in the next few weeks whether the project is an appropriate use of STAR bonds. Officials estimate the total project cost at $43.6 million plus the cost of the land. Half of that would be generated by state sales tax revenue and the other half would come from private donations.
Source: themercury.com
Dodge City shares a glimpse into what its $10 million downtown renovation will look like
It’s been in the works for years and now Dodge City’s Downtown Streetscape Project is nearing the end of its design phase — boosting its potential is a grant from the Kansas Department of Transportation. KDOT awarded a max amount of $2 million to support Dodge City’s nearly $10 million, primarily STAR Bond-funded, endeavor in renovating its downtown. “This is tremendously exciting. This is the heart of Dodge City, this is the core of our community,” said Melissa McCoy, Dodge City Assistant City Manager…. Dodge city leaders say the project is an investment in their community. “We want to be able to capture more visitors through welcoming experience of our downtown, but also create some great quality of life amenities that our locals and folks in the region will be able to enjoy as well,” said McCoy.
Source: KSN-TV
Pittsburg’s economy makes progress recovering from pandemic
Pittsburg City Manager Daron Hall says there are many indicators that the city’s economy is recovering from the pandemic, but the most tangible one might be Pittsburg’s tax revenue when compared to a year ago. “We just got the latest (numbers) and they’re actually about 13% now for the year, so they’re way up which is obviously a good problem to have if you’re in the business of running a city,” said Hall. Hall also says the city’s numerous job offerings and strong economy are bringing more people to town.
Source: KOAMKOAM