Kansas Municipal News
Hays energy company protects customers from skyrocketing bills
The recent arctic blast led to skyrocketing energy demands across the midwest and now many customers are fearing skyrocketing bills. Midwest Energy, Inc. is a company that provides gas and electric services to a large portion of western Kansas. Following the recent weeks’ weather and events, the company had hundreds of concerned customers reach out to ask if they too could expect higher bills in the coming months and if they needed to prepare for a financial hit. In response to the calls, company CEO Patrick Parke said, “We will stand with our customers.”
Source: KSN-TV
Shawnee uses eminent domain to expand sidewalk and build trail along 75th Street
Shawnee is claiming eminent domain to acquire private property for construction improvements along the 75th Street corridor. Located along a section of 75th between Quivira and Switzer Roads, the project involves the widening of a sidewalk on the north side of 75th as well as building a new 8-foot multipurpose trail along the south side. Paul Lindstrom, senior project engineer with the city, said nearly all of the permanent and temporary easements are required to make room for the sidewalk expansion and new trail.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Municipal Bond Trends for February 23, 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.
New casino in Park City opens for business next week
The new Crosswinds Casino in Park City will open at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 2, according to a news release from Wyandotte Nation. The casino will be 20,000 square feet and is located at 777 N Jackpot Way. The casino will have 500 slot machines and 200 VGT machines with Red Spins. The casino will also have a bar and cafe. … “Park City has worked hard and has been successful over the years with their redevelopment plans and have welcomed us as partners,” Wyandotte Nation Chief Billy Friend said. “The great thing about this project is it will not only create jobs for the area, but will bring in increased revenues through tourism, and create new opportunities for additional development.”
Source: KSN-TV
Municipal yields rose for the sixth day in a row
Municipal yields rose for the sixth day in a row Tuesday, pushing the 10-year above 1%, a level not seen since May 2020. High-grade deals priced and secondary trading showed bonds exchanging hands at yields higher than triple-A benchmarks in some cases, but a healthy two-way flow was evident, even if there are signals that yields have not yet found a ceiling. U.S. Treasuries held steady for most of Tuesday as Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell testified before Congress that the bond buying would continue and the economic recovery was far from complete.
Source: The Bond Buyer
Grant Opportunity for Businesses in Historic Downtown Merriam
The City of Merriam is reimbursing up to $5,000 to eligible property owners in the downtown area to make exterior improvements to their businesses. The Historic Downtown Exterior Improvement Grant is for business and property owners to make outdoor enhancements for items, including new: Painting, Siding, Awnings, Building additions, Landscaping, Door/Window replacements, Foundation repair and Floodproofing (must meet FEMA standards).
Source: Merriam, KS news
Rolling blackouts in Kansas helped regional power grid avoid ‘cascading failures’
Managers of the Southwest Power Pool delivered a series of emergency warnings from their office in Little Rock, commanding utilities across a 14-state region to begin shutting off power for rotating blocks of customers. For Evergy, serving eastern Kansas and western Missouri, that had meant imposing a temporary blackout for 170,000 customers in the Kansas City region, and 60,000 customers elsewhere. “What happens is that if they don’t take any corrective action, then an unplanned event happens, and it could lead to cascading failures — and that would be a disaster because it takes days to recover from,” said Anil Pahwa, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Kansas State University, where he has taught and conducted research since 1983.
Source: Kansas Reflector
After vaccine distribution in Kansas favored rural areas, some big counties get boost
After a distribution formula tended to give rural counties in Kansas more COVID-19 vaccines per capita than more heavily-populated areas, a new plan underway this week offered substantially more doses to some larger counties. New data from the Kansas Department of Health & Environment showed Johnson County was due to receive 14,040 vaccine doses this week, more than twice what was allocated to the state’s largest county two weeks ago. Sedgwick County was due to receive 15,530. Wyandotte County, however, received only 2,340. That’s fewer than it received two weeks ago.
Source: KC Star Local News
Wichita considers plan to encourage urban farming and reduce food insecurity
If there are three things Kansans like to do, it’s raise food, eat and make money. And the Wichita City Council was given an outline on Tuesday of a plan to make it easier for residents of the city to do all of the above. The need is profound, said council member Becky Tuttle, who presented the plan to the council Tuesday and has been working on it since before she got in office two years ago.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Gas spikes slam Humboldt
City leaders officially declared an “extraordinary financial emergency” for Humboldt Monday night in response to recent spikes in natural gas prices. Residents and businesses can expect an 80% increase in their per unit usage charges in statements issued later this week, Cole Herder, city administrator, told council members… Humboldt is on the hook for an immediate $49,022 payment to KMGA to go toward a $1 million advance payment that one of the consortium’s suppliers demanded during the crisis. KMGA uses about 20 suppliers. Herder said one of those suppliers told KMGA that in order to reserve $30 million worth of gas for the weekend, it must pay $1 million in advance.
Source: The Iola Register
Johnson County Park board rejects plan to mine underneath Big Bull Creek Park
A proposal to mine limestone from beneath Big Bull Creek Park, Johnson County’s biggest public park, has been turned down by the Johnson County Park and Recreation District’s governing board. The eight-member park commission concluded the leasing proposal by Topeka-based Mid-States Materials would likely have a negative impact on Big Bull Creek Park in Edgerton, and it unanimously rejected the plan at its meeting Wednesday, Feb. 17. But the commission went further and approved a policy prohibiting surface or subsurface mining on any county park land.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Michelle Hubbard named next superintendent for the Shawnee Mission School District
Michelle Hubbard will be the next superintendent of the Shawnee Mission School District. The Board of Education unanimously approved the appointment of Hubbard Monday night. Hubbard is currently the district’s Deputy Superintendent and will take over for outgoing Superintendent Mike Fulton, who is retiring, in July. The board unanimously approved a three-year contract for Hubbard that will last through June 2024. No other terms of the contract were immediately released.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Pittsburg’s February Storm Response
The City of Pittsburg employees are part of a large network of local public employees who work diligently to provide many services. At the City, the majority of our resources are focused on public safety, including police, fire, water, wastewater, stormwater and streets. Last week was an unprecedented time for so many of us. Harsh temperatures, snow and ice, coupled with a loss of power, caused a strain on our families, businesses and our community. The stories of hardship across the country served as a reminder to me how fortunate we are to have such dedicated public servants working on our behalf. Our crews did what they always do – they worked hard to make sure essential services continued. They kept the water flowing to our homes, they battled the snow, ice and below zero temperatures to keep the roads passable, the police and fire department responded to calls for emergency service, and our customer service team kept taking calls, a lot of times from their homes when they couldn’t get to the office.
Source: City of Pittsburg
Neighborhoods come together to rescue chicken on the lam
It all started Feb. 12 when a Riverside friend who sometimes helps with my pet chickens alerted me to a Facebook post. Lisa Aguilera, a hospice worker whose 96-year-old client, Betty Jane Qualls, lives in the Country Overlook neighborhood near College Hill, wrote a post about a chicken on the loose. The little black chicken with iridescent green feathers had been roaming a stretch of Belmont near Betty’s house for weeks. Betty, who asked Lisa about the chicken daily, was quite concerned with frigid temperatures and snow on the way.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
State and federal government weighing options as residents brace for higher energy bills
State and federal lawmakers are weighing their options to help residents who may see their electric bills increase sharply after energy shortages slammed the region last week during a historic cold front. A dramatic uptick in demand for energy throughout the Midwest and South saw utility companies institute rolling blackouts, with thousands of Kansans affected. The problem was most acute in Texas, where millions were without power and services were disrupted due to the severe cold.
Source: Topeka Capital-Journal
Municipal Bond Trends for February 22, 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.
Johnson County needs more affordable housing. Is converting these hotels an answer?
Developers in Johnson County have long said the costs of land and construction are too high for them to make much of a profit off more affordable apartments — a housing market the area sorely needs. But now a Utah-based firm has a solution, using existing buildings that are very similar to apartment buildings. The developer plans to convert two Overland Park hotels into apartments — with rental prices more attainable for middle-income workers who can’t afford most Johnson County housing. It’s not a new idea, but it is one that has grown in popularity across the country in recent years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic as more hotels closed amid a damaged tourism industry.
Source: Joco 913 News
Lenexa works to create more walkable, bikeable connections within residential areas
After more than an hour of discussion, the Lenexa City Council last week unanimously approved city code changes that call for wider sidewalks as well as trail connections between homes every 800 feet. The changes are a prompt from city staff to improve connectivity, ease of access and safety issues for bicyclists and pedestrians, as recommended by the city’s Complete Streets plan. The plan, which the city accepted in December 2019, is intended to guide development of pedestrian and cycling transportation channels through the city.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Municipal bond yields increase as correction continues
Municipal bonds sold off by as much as 10 basis points outside of five years but triple-A benchmarks were cut across the curve as customer selling pressure increased again and investors are demanding more yield as economic data shows an improving economy and federal stimulus more likely. Trading to higher yields was swift out of the gates. Large blocks of high grades, such as Maryland, Georgia and Washington, traded as much as 20 basis points higher than prints from last week and double-digit higher than benchmark yields Monday.
Source: The Bond Buyer
Coronavirus positivity rate in Sedgwick County still dropping
Good news. The positivity rate for COVID-19 is still declining. The rate is now down to below five-percent. Those numbers had been in the high teens. “Our trajectory is good,” said the top doctor in the state, Dr. Lee Norman. “Cautiously optimistic we are really on the right path forward.” In Sedgwick County on Monday the county manager said they will consider loosening restriction. County health leaders will take a look at that possibility. “But based on these numbers and based on how fast we’re beginning to roll the vaccine,” said Sedgwick County Manager Tom Stolz, “I think he (Dr. Garold Minns) will visit about that and will probably visit the commission some time within the next week or so.” Commissioners have the ability to drop restrictions or make changes.
Source: KSN-TV