Kansas Municipal News
Big Brutus attraction reopens to the public
After being closed since March 17, 2020 because of coronavirus shutdowns, the Big Brutus, Inc. museum at West Mineral, Kansas is open again for visitors. Face masks are required in the museum and social distancing recommended on the complex, but the monstrous mine tool attraction in Southeast Kansas is viewable, as of August 1, 2020, seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Big Brutus is a mining excavator, Bucyrus Erie model 1850B, with the largest electric shovel in the world. It stands 16 stories tall (160 feet), weighs 11 million pounds and has boom 150 feet long.
(Read more: News – Cherokee County News Advocate)
Municipal Bond Trends for July 31, 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.
Planning board lauds wind regulation proposal
Limits on noise and shadow flicker would determine how close a turbine could be to a home — rather than set distances — in a draft of proposed commercial wind energy regulations reviewed by the Reno County Planning Commission last week. The sound and flicker limits proposed are a compromise between more stringent requirements sought by homeowners who have weighed in on the debate and those developers have proposed. Planning commissioners praised the work of a subcommittee that drafted the regulations, suggesting only several minor changes during a nearly three-hour meeting when the document was reviewed a paragraph at a time.
(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)
‘Culture of innovation’: Topeka looks to capitalize on Plug and Play partnership
In coming weeks and months, Topeka’s Plug and Play accelerator program, which was announced last year, is expected to gain serious momentum. Additional founding partners are set to be announced throughout August. Then, those founding partners will help select the first group of startup companies to participate in the accelerator. And this fall, they’ll begin a three-month program aimed at helping the startups make connections, perfect their products and form partnerships with area corporations. Then, at some point this year, results of a viability study to determine the future home of an innovation campus will be revealed, leading to the creation of a space that will serve as Topeka’s hub for creative endeavors and collaborations stemming from the accelerator program.
(Read more: Local News | Topeka Capital-Journal)
Revisiting Rice County during the 1950s
For Rice County native, Larry Meredith, growing up during the 1950s in rural Kansas was special – no internet, lots of friends and lots of room to roam.In his newest book, "Real, Rural: Growing Up Rural in the 1950s," Meredith tells tales about Bushton, the 1950s and his graduating class of 12."Nobody worried about the competition between the two grocery stores on Main St. and they drove to Lyons or Great Bend to do their serious shopping," Meredith wrote.
(Read more: State News – Morning Sun)
“Keeping residents and businesses healthy”: City of Wichita hopes to clarify owners’ concerns
Bars, night clubs, and some restaurant just wrapped up another weekend of shutdowns and early closures under a county health order. Monday, the city of Wichita will host a meeting to talk with owners to find ways to get them some help. KSN news spoke with Mayor Brandon Whipple about bar owners concerns. With that meeting, the city says it wants to make sure it’s helping bar and restaurant owners the best that it can. The owner of Quincy’s bar and grill says dealing with shutdowns and early closures has been tough. The same amount of people are out and about, and now they have fewer places to go.
(Read more: KSN-TV)
City of Hutchinson and Reno County both mark record July sales tax receipts
Federal stimulus checks and continuing stay-at-home orders are credited with helping the City of Hutchinson and Reno County both experience record sales tax receipts for July. It was a second consecutive month that receipts exceeded collections compared to the same month last year, at a time when local government officials had been expecting shortfalls due to layoffs and closures forced by the novel coronavirus. “It looks like vehicle sales were up and home improvement-type store sales as well,” said Angela Richard, Hutchinson’s finance director. Also experiencing increase sales, she said, were grocery, sporting goods and hobby stores.
(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)
New micro-hospital in Topeka offers alternative to traditional hospital setting
A lead physician at the recently opened Topeka ER & Hospital says the facility offers an alternative to traditional hospital settings where some people may not feel comfortable. Topeka ER & Hospital, which officially opened July 27, is the first independently owned “micro-hospital” in Kansas, according to Jared Schreiner, chief medical officer and emergency medicine physician. “The whole design of the micro-hospital started maybe a decade ago,” he said, “and the purpose was to build hospitals in communities, because we found that patients were avoiding care because they didn’t want to drive to the city, to fight parking, to fight traffic, to get on an elevator, to follow signs, to get lost, to wait in a waiting room.”
(Read more: Local News | Topeka Capital-Journal)
Fairway approves removal of diseased feature tree in right-of-way on Suwanee Road
The Fairway City Council on Tuesday morning unanimously approved the removal of a feature tree in the right-of-way along Suwanee Road. City staff had KC Arborist, the city’s long-time arborist, evaluate a 43-inch round tree with a large cavity about 20-feet off the ground. The arborist determined the tree to be structurally compromised as the result of a disease, and recommended its removal as soon as possible.
(Read more: Shawnee Mission Post)
Treasury Department: States, local governments spend only 25 percent of CARES Act subsidies
As deliberations continue in Congress over how to allocate another $1 trillion worth of stimulus money, governors and mayors say they need more than the $139 billion already allocated to their states in March to cover revenue shortfalls. A total of $150 billion was allocated to help state, local and tribal governments with specific COVID-19 response programs. But according to a new report published by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Inspector General, states have spent only 25 percent, or roughly $34 billion of $139 billion allocated to states through the CARES Act.
(Read more: The Chanute Tribune)
COVID-19 sapped councilman’s energy during 12-day fight
Tony Emerson’s first three days with COVID-19 weren’t so bad, he says. The local contractor and Topeka city councilman felt some soreness and had a mild fever. Still, he could talk on the phone and work on his computer. “I was like, ‘This is nothing. This is just a walk in the park. My gosh, what’s the big deal?’ ” he recalled. But Emerson, 51, said he then felt horrible for about a week, including being nauseous for all his waking hours. “You think it’s never going to end,” he said.
(Read more: Local News | Topeka Capital-Journal)
Kansas hopes sewage will provide advance warning of future COVID-19 surges
Want to know if the novel coronavirus is in your town? The answer might be in the sewers. Researchers at the University of Kansas are teaming up with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to track the coronavirus pandemic by measuring virus particles in wastewater. The technique, called wastewater surveillance, may provide an early warning system to give Kansas communities advance notice of future COVID-19 surges. Wastewater surveillance also helps fill in gaps in COVID-19 clinical testing, which can be limited, costly, and plagued by slow turnaround times. “The amount of positive cases that are reported understate the actual extent of infection within a city or county population,” said Tom Stiles, the director of the KDHE Bureau of Water.
(Read more: Wichita Eagle)
Leavenworth County vs. Copeland: Analysis of Length of Municipal Contracts
In 2016, the Leavenworth County Board of Commissioners approved a five-year employment contract with … the county’s human resources director. After a change in commissioners, the board filed an action in the Leavenworth County District Court to have the contract declared void. The board later terminated the HR director, and she counterclaimed to enforce the contract’s exceptionally generous severance package. The district court found the contract to be unenforceable as a legally impermissible attempt by one elected composition of the board to bind a later composition of that board. Copeland has appealed. The district court correctly applied settled Kansas law to undisputed material facts in granting the board’s motion for summary judgment. We, therefore, affirm the decision.
Read the Kansas Court of Appeals opinion.
Wyandotte County to continue in Phase 3 of reopening plan
Wyandotte County will continue in Phase 3 of the Ad Astra reopening plan, according to Dr. Allen Greiner, chief health officer of Wyandotte County. Dr. Greiner made his remarks at the 5 p.m. July 30 meeting of the Unified Government, a remote meeting held on Zoom. “The 7-day positive rolling average has come down in the past week,” Juliann Van Liew, Unified Government Health Department director, said about the COVID-19 positive rate. The trend is very encouraging, she said. Jackson and Johnson counties are seeing different trends, with their rates not coming down like Wyandotte County’s has in the past few weeks, she said.
(Read more: Wyandotte Daily)
Municipal Bond Trends for July 30, 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.
Kansas allocates $254M in federal virus relief funds
The Kansas State Finance Council has allocated more than $254 million of federal coronavirus relief funds mostly toward efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 and boost the state’s economy. The group’s unanimous approval on Wednesday slated the federal funds for public health, education and economic development proposals as recommended by the executive committee of the Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas task force. More than $100.9 million is going toward public health. Economic development proposals will get $78.6 million, and education will receive about $74.9 million.
Read more: LJWorld.com.
Parsons discusses disregard for mask ordinance
“Blatant noncompliance” has been the only problem with an ordinance that requires most people to wear face masks in buildings open to the public in Parsons. The city commission approved the ordinance in a July 6 meeting to help fight the spread of COVID-19, and it took effect on July 9. The ordinance included a two-week education period when it wasn’t enforced, but since July 23 individuals not wearing masks in indoor places of public access can face a fine. Violators at first will be warned, followed by a ticket that could be forgiven by paying a $15 processing fee. Upon the third violation, individuals could be fined $50.
(Read more: Parsons Sun)
Roeland Park to host socially-distant family bingo night
Roeland Park and the Johnson County Park and Recreation District are hosting a socially distant family fun bingo night on July 31 at 6 p.m. The event, normally held inside the Roeland Park Community Center at 4850 Rosewood Drive, will be held on the front lawn and families are to bring their own lawn chairs and blankets. Masks are required for the event, and dinner is to be served at 6 p.m.
(Read more: Shawnee Mission Post)
Lawrence sanitation workers file petition to unionize
Citing concerns about pay and working conditions, City of Lawrence sanitation workers have taken a step toward unionization, and other employee groups may follow. Teamsters Local 696 recently filed a petition with the City of Lawrence on behalf of the sanitation workers, whose duties include handling trash, recycling and yard waste collection, asking that the city conduct a union election. Matt Hall, secretary-treasurer and business agent for the Teamsters, told the Journal-World that more than 90% of the 70 sanitation workers supported the petition. Hall said the sanitation workers have multiple concerns, including pay and working conditions, such as work rules about routes, safety and equipment.
Read more: LJWorld.com.
Manhattan to highlight businesses pledging to follow health, safety guidelines
A new local campaign aims to promote health and safety conscious behavior in Manhattan and the Flint Hills region. The safe and open campaign highlights businesses, organizations and individuals who have pledged to abide by recommended public health practices such as physical distancing, frequent hand washing and wearing face coverings in order to stop the spread of COVID-19. Officially launched as of Thursday, July 30, eight businesses have already signed the pledge committing to follow federal, state and local guidelines. Those that have pledged will receive a badge and other marketing materials that can be displayed on windows or inside their place of business. They’ll also be added to lists at MHKsafeandopen.org or FlintHillssafeandopen.org for those in the region outside of Manhattan. “When people see the Safe & Open logo, they will know those businesses and organizations have made a commitment to help protect the community,” reads a City of Manhattan press release.
(Read more: 1350 KMAN)