Kansas Municipal News
New water meters to gauge usage more accurately in Marysville
The new water meter system gradually being installed by the city of Marysville will allow residents to more accurately gauge their water use. “The thing I like about this system is that if somebody’s got a problem in a business or house or something, flags are going up at city hall. You don’t have to wait your 30 days for them to go out and read the meter,” said council member Kevin Throm.
Source: The Marysville Advocate
Overland Park won’t limit recording of public comments, but may require speaker sign-ups
The cameras can stay on for now during the open mic time at Overland Park City Council meetings, but early next year the council may require speakers to sign up in advance. The council’s Finance, Administration and Economic Development committee revisited the rules for the public comment sessions and decided to actively pursue the advance sign-up in a resolution that would be considered by the council near the end of this year.
Source: Shawnee Mission Post
Olathe firefighters deliver hundreds of winter coats to children in need
Temperatures are dropping, and that means it may soon be time to pull on a winter coat. However, some families simply don’t have any, and they may not have the funds to get them. That’s why local firefighters dropped of boxes and boxes of warmth at the Olathe School District today. “A lot of people think, you know, Johnson County is so affluent that we don’t have the same social issues here as somewhere else, but it’s definitely there,” Kristopher Camp, with Olathe Professional Firefighters Outreach, said.
Source: fox4kc.com | FOX 4 – WDAF
Salina-area economics looking good despite COVID-19
When it comes to the Salina economy, there’s a little bad news.Overall, the city’s prospects are booming. The bad news is the coronavirus pandemic. "The 800-pound gorilla is the COVID," said Mitch Robinson, executive director of the Salina Community Economic Development Council. "We’re going to have to live with it, for how long we don’t know." Motels, hotels and restaurants have taken a real hit, said Robinson…
Source: News – Salina Journal
Meet Samantha Garrett, the new ‘face of Crawford County’
Samantha Garrett grew up in Crawford County, attending Southeast High School and Pittsburg State, where she graduated in December of 2018 before taking a job as marketing manager for Jock’s Nitch Sporting Goods. In the past couple of months, though, Garrett has taken on a set of responsibilities that are new not only to her, but also to her new employer — which is technically every citizen in the county. Since mid-August, Garrett has been Crawford County’s public information officer — a position that did not exist before she took the job, and which was created primarily in response to the COVID-19 pandemic as county officials saw a need to improve communication with the public.
Source: Pittsburg Morning Sun
Pittsburg consultant suggests building a conference center at Kansas Crossing
Pittsburg could benefit from building a $24 million, nearly 50,000 square foot conference center, a consulting firm hired by the city and Crawford County told the city commission this week ."You’ll recall back in April we talked a little bit about a big gap in our hospitality industry that has really become a big driving force of our local economy, and that gap is the lack of an adjoined hotel-conference space here in our community," …
Source: Pittsburg Morning Sun
Lawrence Community Police Review Board continues process to strengthen oversight of complaints, stresses need for outside investigation
The Lawrence Community Police Review Board is moving forward on changes to strengthen oversight of complaints against police and to ensure that more information about complaints is available to the public. As part of its meeting Wednesday, the board voted unanimously to advance the draft of a new ordinance laying out the board’s powers for a final legal review with city attorneys. A division of the police department, the Office of Professional Accountability, decides what constitutes a complaint and conducts the investigation, and board members agreed that it was critical for the board to be able to request an independent investigation if the board disagrees with the conclusion of the police department’s investigation.
Source: LJWorld.com.
City of Lawrence to soon begin providing utility assistance to those who have lost income due to the pandemic
City of Lawrence residents whose income has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic can soon apply for assistance in paying their city utility bill. The city has been awarded $500,000 from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES, for an assistance program to help utility customers with economic hardship due to COVID-19. The program will help residents cover utility bills incurred between March 1 and Dec. 10, and will begin accepting applications on Nov. 1, according to a city staff memo.
Source: LJWorld.com.
‘I am now cancer free.’ Grateful Merriam Police Cpl. Phil Lewis returns to work
After 22 months away, Merriam Police Cpl. Phil Lewis has returned to work following treatment for colon cancer. It was a long road back, because Lewis suffered a series of medical setbacks after being diagnosed in January 2019. “Unfortunately, nothing went as planned, and I experienced a lot of complications from the numerous surgeries and treatments I had,” the 17-year police veteran said in a news release. “Although my recovery was anything but routine, it was successful, and I am now cancer-free.”
Source: KC Star Local News
Lawrence City Commission approves incentives for pretzel facility that will add nearly 300 jobs
City leaders have approved tax breaks and other economic incentives for a project that will bring a pretzel production facility and close to 300 jobs to Lawrence. As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission voted unanimously to approve an approximately $4.4 million economic incentives package for VanTrust Real Estate for an approximately 150,000-square-foot production facility for Indiana-based Pretzels Inc., which is expanding its operations to Lawrence.
Source: LJWorld.com.
USDA Invests $31,900 in Community Infrastructure in Glasco, Kansas
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development State Director for Kansas Lynne Hinrichsen today announced that USDA is investing $31,900 toward a new backhoe for the city of Glasco…. The city of Glasco will use the $31,900 grant to assist with purchasing a John Deere backhoe for the Glasco Public Works Department. This project will allow the city to have reliable equipment to continue providing maintenance services for its nearly 500 residents, including fixing the streets, water line leaks, moving rocks and snow, among other projects. This community partnership is made possible by the additional contribution by the applicant of $26,100.
Bond Insurance Returns to the Muni Market in a Big Way
The decimated municipal-bond insurance industry is having a renaissance. Weakened by Covid-19, state and local borrowers are using insurance at their highest rates in more than a decade. This type of upfront protection offers a promise from insurance companies to pay investors if the municipality defaults. Overall, the share of newly issued muni debt carrying insurance reached 7.13% in the second quarter and was 6.8% in the third quarter, up from an average of 4.72% in the decade before the pandemic, according to Municipal Market Analytics data. Fueling the trend is a drop in local government creditworthiness that has left public officials looking for ways to keep down borrowing costs.
Source: WSJ.
Housing incentive sweetened in Ark City
Arkansas City commissioners approved a special tax incentive Tuesday in hopes of luring builders to the new Compass Point housing development. A proposal presented to the commission called for a 90-percent tax rebate on the first $150,000 property value for 10 years. That is an increase over the city’s current tax rebate program, which allows 75 percent for seven years. After a brief discussion, elected officials approved the resolution, but also raised the property value cap to $250,000.
Source: The Arkansas City Traveler
Squirrel population sparks power outages in Winfield
An increased squirrel population, combined with older infrastructure, has led to a spate of power outages and interruptions in Winfield. City employees have been dealing with problems caused by the critters on a main electrical circuit, which covers an area roughly from Ninth to 19th avenues and from Andrews to Mound streets, according to a post Friday on the city’s Facebook page. The city is trying to alleviate the problem by identifying areas of the circuit that are having the most issues with squirrels so they can make changes to the infrastructure.
Source: The Arkansas City Traveler
Municipal Bond Trends for October 21, 2020
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 bond market is starting to wake up with interest rates headed higher
The bond market appears to be waking up. After trading in a close range since June, Treasury yields are starting to break out of their range and look set to edge higher. The 10-year yield reached a high of 0.834% early Wednesday morning and was hovering just at the 0.80% level in afternoon trading. “This is an inflection point in the sense that stimulus is coming. It’s not if, it’s when, and we’re getting closer to the point of I think no matter who wins the presidency you’re going to get fiscal stimulus,” said Jim Caron, head of global macro strategies at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. “It’s just a matter of how much and what the process is.”
Source: CNBC – Bonds
Allen County celebrates SPARKS check
Allen County gets $192,500 from funding allocated to Kansas counties. About 20 businesses and 20 nonprofits will receive the money. Allen County commissioners received a check for $192,500 to represent CARES/SPARK funding allocated to Kansas counties, at their meeting Tuesday. About 20 local businesses and 20 local nonprofits will receive the funds. Thrive Allen County CEO Lisse Regehr also discussed with commissioners using additional SPARK funds to install touchless faucets and other amenities at public buildings connected to the landfill office, noxious weed building and three senior center buildings.
Source: The Iola Register
Norton’s COVID-19 infection rate highest ever recorded in Kansas
A severe and deadly outbreak of COVID-19 that has ravaged the Norton community is by far the worst recorded in Kansas since the start of the pandemic, health officials said Wednesday. Gov. Laura Kelly called the outbreak a “stark reminder” that the threat of COVID-19 is real, even in rural areas. She said she was directing state resources to assist with the outbreak. “Outbreaks are not isolated incidents,” Kelly said. “For months, many have mistakenly shared the idea that this virus would never reach our rural and lower-population communities. Now, it is worse in those towns and counties than it is in our cities.”
Source: Kansas Reflector
Wichita’s Bike Share Program Resuming Under New Operator
After shutting down this spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Wichita’s bike share program will resume later this year under a new operator. Michigan-based Tandem Mobility will take over the Bike Share ICT program from Zagster. The company filed for bankruptcy in March, leaving the bike docks scattered around Wichita empty for months. Tandem will provide 200 bikes, maintain the bike stations and provide customer support, including a mobile app for riders.
Source: KMUW
Wichita mask ordinance expires, county mask ordinance still in effect
Wichita’s mask ordinance expires at midnight. However, the city will continue to follow Sedgwick County’s Emergency Public Health Order which requires residents to continue to use masks in all public places, including all City of Wichita facilities. Learn more about Sedgwick County’s mask requirements and health exceptions on their website. As the city no longer has a mask ordinance in effect, the city will close its mask hotline and email service this week. Questions regarding the mask order and other health and safety orders should be directed to the county.
Source: KSN-TV