Kansas Municipal News
How this artistic pole at Lenexa City Hall could ‘inspire peace’ in 2021
After a tumultuous year marked by a global pandemic, civil unrest and social upheaval, artists are crafting messages of peace through a new community art project in Lenexa. The city is launching the Peace Pole Community Art Project Exhibit this month and is calling on artists to design a “peace pole” to inspire hope this year. The city has partnered with local rotary clubs and the Lenexa Arts Council to launch the project. Susanne Neely, recreation supervisor, said the project first came about when the Lenexa Rotary Club and the Rotary Club of Western Johnson County approached the city with interest in erecting a peace pole somewhere in the city as part of the clubs’ mission.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Kansas Senate bill would limit local government’s ability to ban fossil fuels
Cities would not be able to ban natural gas as an energy source under a bill being considered in the Kansas Senate. Environmental organizations say the bill could slow a transition to renewable energy, while supporters say measure would help keep Kansas electric rates low. “I understand that cities that might want to go all-electric, but I think they should have a choice and I’m going to fight for that here,” said Senator Robert Olson, a Republican from Olathe. “I think natural gas is clean energy and I think we’ve gotten so wacko in this state. We are one of the greenest states in the country.” The bill is similar to proposed legislation in Missouri and Indiana, as more cities across the nation commit to green energy initiatives. The initiatives vary widely, from San Francisco which ruled that all new homes, offices and restaurants must be electric-powered to a coalition of Kansas City suburbs who committed to using clean energy for city services.
Source: Atchison Globe Now
Kansas House debates property tax transparency measure after Senate overwhelmingly approves it
A transparency bill that would hold local elected officials accountable for increasing property taxes is working its way through the Kansas House. The Kansas Senate voted 34-1 in favor of the “Truth in Taxation” bill, which would require local government bodies to inform the public about any property tax revenue increases regardless if the increase is a result of a millage hike. Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed a similar bill during the last session and because of COVID-19, lawmakers didn’t have time to attempt an override.
Source: Atchison Globe Now
City of Great Bend honored for generosity
It was a proud moment for the City of Great Bend during the City County meeting Monday night at the Events Center. Mackenzie Mitchell, development and communications coordinator with the Golden Belt Community Foundation, presented a sign and check to City Administrator Kendal Francis. This marked the city’s earning the Most Generous City Award from the foundation’s eighth-annual Giving Tuesday held Dec. 1. “This is very exciting,” Mitchell said. You guys do have a generous community.” This was the second year for the Most Generous City award, which was calculated with gift totals by zip code per capita. Great Bend received a grant of $1,000 to an organization or project in that community. Francis said they plan to use the funding for the Police Youth Academy.
Source: Great Bend Tribune
Johnson County expands Phase 2 of COVID-19 vaccination plan
Johnson County is moving forward with Phase 2 of its COVID-19 vaccination plan. “It’s about getting the vaccine into the arms into as many people as possible,” said Dr. Sanmi Areola, director of Johnson County Department of Health and Environment. The county will start vaccinating people 65 years and older, and K-12 special education teachers—who could get their shot this week. “Our special education teachers and students tend to be quarantined because of the students’ inability to mask and mask well,” said Elizabeth Holzschuh, director of epidemiology, at Johnson County Department of Health and Environment.
Source: KMBC.com
Regional conversations set new hospital model
The latest federal appropriations bill includes language that could enable some struggling rural Kansas hospitals to develop a new service delivery model that Kansas health experts say might save them. Adoption of the new model, however, will require both community buy-in and enabling state legislation. Several Kansas health care agencies have been working for more than five years on developing an approach similar to the proposed model, which would provide an emergency room, as well as outpatient and post-acute services, but no in-patient hospital care. …The recent federal legislation creates a new “Rural Emergency Hospital” designation, which closely aligns with the one that was being developed in Kansas called a Primary Health Center. It allows such facilities to begin operating in January 2023.
Source: Hutch News.
Office of Rural Prosperity Announces Successful 2020 Initiatives in Annual Report
Today Governor Laura Kelly, Lt. Governor David Toland, and Treasurer Lynn Rogers announced the release of the Office of Rural Prosperity’s (ORP) 2020 Annual Report. The report outlines ORP’s policy priorities and the office’s ongoing projects, including rural infrastructure and broadband, childcare and early education, housing, and community and workforce development. “The Office of Rural Prosperity has been an important tool to address economic issues facing rural communities, businesses, and Kansans,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “We know that more work must be done to encourage community and economic development across our state, and this report provides a roadmap to continue investing in and supporting rural Kansans.”
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce
Lincoln County to host mass vaccination event
The Lincoln County Health Department will administer about 2,000 doses of Pfizer coronavirus vaccine Friday at a mass vaccination event. Appointments are required to attend the event, and they will be offered only to qualified individuals who are already on the county’s pre-registration list. The health department will contact qualified individuals on the list to make an appointment and provide information about the event location; residents do not need to contact the health department. Qualified individuals are those in Phases 1A, Phase 1B-Tier 1 and Phase 1B-Tier 2. Click here to see when you are eligible to receive the vaccine.
Source: The Chanute Tribune
Kansas electric rates are the highest in the Midwest — and it’s about to get worse
Kansas has been in an electric rate crisis since at least 2018. And it is about to get much worse, as our already sky-high regional electric rates are headed much higher. Evergy electric rates are the highest in the Midwest region. Multiple professional studies have shown this to be the case, and Evergy even briefed its board of directors about it in December 2019. In Wichita and every other Kansas community served by Evergy, electric rates are 20% to 40% higher for residential and industrial users than in the metropolitan areas of Oklahoma, Arkansas and Iowa.
Source: Wichita News
Wichita police, Broadway motel owner work to cut crime in area by 73%
Crime is noticeably down around a South Broadway motel where multiple people were shot and a successful drug raid occurred in 2020 after officials and the owner worked to make changes to the property and its tenants. Since a month-long injunction in Fall 2020, aggravated assault cases near Afton Motel, 855 S. Broadway, are down 73% compared to the same time period before the injunction, Officer Charley Davidson said in a news release Thursday. Davidson said there were 76 criminal cases and 200 calls at the motel over a period of roughly seven and half months.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Winfield park upgrade would include pickleball courts
New pickleball courts and other features could be coming to Albright Park in Winfield, if construction contracts are approved by the Winfield City Commission at its Monday meeting. The three contracts on the agenda are for construction of pickleball courts, restroom facilities and playground facilities as part of continuing improvements to the city’s park system. Park improvements were one of the priorities identified by residents in a citywide planning survey conducted in late 2019, with survey results used to help create the city’s 2020 Master Parks and Trails Plan. The park, at 15th Avenue and John Street, is in a residential neighborhood with a school and senior care facility nearby. Taking these elements into consideration, redevelopment will focus on intergenerational play in the community, according to Taggart Wall, Winfield city manager.
Source: The Arkansas City Traveler
Pittsburg PD working to help families
A Southeast Kansas Police Department comes together to help families in need. The Pittsburg Police Department is hosting a diaper drive for Crawford County DiaperStock. Over the next week the department will be collecting diapers and wipes to help families in need. Originally this was meant to help the Pittsburg community. Thanks to assistance from the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, donations will be going to the entire county. Diann Gambill, Family Response Advocate, said, “A lot of families are struggling right now, not just because of the pandemic but because of the extenuating circumstances. Diapers and wipes are an added cost that does add a lot of stress to the families, so if we can alleviate that stress, then we are helping the families in a way.”
Source: KSNF/KODE
Pittsburg Library offering Wi-Fi hotspots
Internet is about to become more accessible for one Southeast Kansas town. The Pittsburg Public Library is now offering mobile Wi-Fi hotspots for check out. This was made possible thanks to a grant from the Southeast Kansas Library System. The library wants to use these hotspots to help provide internet access to those in rural areas. Bev Clarkson, Pittsburg Public Library Director, said, “Considering how much virtual learning we’re doing, how many people are working from home, people having access to library resources remotely or health resources, just about everything you do now requires a computer and access to the internet.” Hotspots are available to check out for those 18 and older. All you need is a valid card from the Pittsburg Public Library and a photo ID.
Source: KSNF/KODE
Municipal Bond Trends for January 28, 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.
Federal Reserve leaves interest rates and asset purchases unchanged, sees growth slowing
The Federal Reserve kept its foot to the floor Wednesday in terms of the help it is providing for an economy that central bank officials say has slowed down. Consistent with market expectations, the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee said it was keeping its benchmark short-term borrowing rate anchored near zero and maintaining an asset purchasing program that is seeing the Fed buy at least $120 billion a month. “The economy is a long way from our monetary policy and inflation goals, and it’s likely to take some time for substantial further progress to be achieved,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said at his post-meeting news conference. Policy will remain “highly accommodative as the recovery progresses,” he added. At the core of the move to keep policy historically accommodative was an economy in which the sectors most vulnerable to the pandemic are taking the hardest hit.
Source: Economy
Derby schools to stay in person through first half of February
Derby students will remain in classrooms for at least the first half of February. The gating committee for Derby Public Schools voted Wednesday to keep the district in the “yellow” column of its criteria chart, keeping students in person instead of a hybrid or online format. The gating committee’s latest decision lasts from Feb. 1 to Feb. 12. Committee members will meet again via Zoom at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10 to determine operations for Feb. 16 to Feb. 26.
Source: Derby Informer | News
Kansas 911 administrator blames three-hour outage on ‘technological anomaly’
Rep. John Carmichael questioned the reliability of the state’s 911 call handling system during a hearing Thursday on why the system went down for 3 hours and 20 minutes on Nov. 29. The Wichita Democrat said the outage demonstrates the failure of a backup system that was flagged as a risk by state auditors in 2018. “The bottom line is my constituent standing on the street with her husband dying as a result of a traffic accident — she couldn’t get through to anybody,” Carmichael said. “So the system we have right now doesn’t work, does it?” Scott Ekberg, an administrator for the 911 system, briefed lawmakers in a House panel about the Nov. 29 outage, which lasted from 1:30 to 4 p.m. He blamed the problem on equipment and software provided by AT&T but for security reasons declined to provide a copy of the analysis report conducted by AT&T of the root cause.
Source: Kansas Reflector
Divided Johnson County commission extends COVID rules on restaurants and gatherings
The Johnson County Board of Commissioners on Thursday extended limits on public gatherings and a midnight curfew on bars and restaurants through the end of March. The order, which was previously set to expire Jan. 31, limits public gatherings to 50 people, or 50% capacity of a venue, whichever is less. The gathering limit exempts shops, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, fitness centers, health care facilities, churches and funeral homes, as well as private gatherings. Commissioners voted 5-2 to extend the order through March 31, with the hope that the number of new COVID-19 cases will drop in the coming months while the vaccine becomes more widely available. The public health order was first approved in November, after commissioners agreed to add broad exemptions and weaken some of the rules recommended by health officials.
Source: Joco 913 News
Park City looks up as it plans to build a downtown
Park City wants to build something it doesn’t have, a downtown district. The 40-year-old city was built as an improvement district. It accommodates those who get off of the highway, but since becoming an official city, assistant city administrator Dana Walden said a group of dreamers wanted a downtown district. “We don’t have a downtown district, we’ve always wanted a downtown district,” said Dana Walden. While Covid slowed down the process, it did not stop the city leaders from moving forward on the plan.
Source: KSN-TV
Wichita Police Department to start up “Second Chance Thursdays” again
The Wichita Police Department is starting up “Second Chance Thursdays” again. Patrol West community police officers at 5803 W. Central will host the next event on Thursday, February 11th from 3pm to 10pm. If you have a traffic warrant that needs a new court date, this event is for you. They will also be helping with Notice to Appear warrants for anything, Probation Violation Warrants We are also helping with Notice to Appear warrants for anything, Probation Violation Warrants for anything, however UCC ( Uniform Criminal Complaint Warrants) and all other city bench warrants for criminal arrests are still bookable. These need to take place in person as you will need to sign new paperwork.
Source: KAKE – News