Kansas Municipal News
‘I’m scared to death’: KC area teachers worry if schools can be safe during COVID-19
Olathe teacher Amy Hillman said she was “given a gift” when Gov. Laura Kelly announced Kansas schools would stay closed until after Labor Day due to skyrocketing coronavirus cases. “These three weeks are giving us a leg up. It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s a lifetime for teachers,” said Hillman, a science teacher at Santa Fe Trail Middle School. Like other teachers, she has spent the summer taking online courses, learning how to use new technology and researching the virus — preparing to drastically transform her classroom for students returning during the worsening pandemic.
(Read more: Joco 913 News)
Facebook deletes Butler County Health Department’s page
With everything going on during the coronavirus pandemic, the importance of fast and easy communication with the public is at an all-time high. For this, most turn platforms like Facebook, but for now, that’s no longer an option for the Butler County Health Department. “We’re just stunned and with what’s going on right now that is, you know, Facebook is our main means of communicating with our citizens,” said Jamie Downs, Administrator of the Butler County Health Department. Downs was shocked Wednesday when she saw a notification from Facebook saying it unpublished the county’s official health department page because it violated the company’s community standards policy.
(Read more: KAKE – News)
Looming election challenge: Pandemic leads to influx of mail-in ballot requests
Widespread concern over catching coronavirus at polling places is setting the stage for a record-breaking election for votes by mail. To date, 272,794 advance ballots have been sent by mail compared to 3,046 in 2018. In Sedgwick County alone, the election office has received close to 50,000 requests for a ballot by mail for the primary compared to a total of 8,100 for the 2016 primary. With thousands more choosing to send in votes, Kansas counties are scrambling to bring in enough election workers to count the ballots by hand.
(Read more: KAKE – News)
Pandemic increasing substitute shortage in Kansas schools
School superintendents say substitute teachers are always hard to come by, but this year some districts say that problem is getting worse thanks to the pandemic. Retired teacher Brenda Groat enjoyed seeing the kids at school, especially during passing period at the middle school where she taught. “Generally, that’s a really good time and fun to watch,” Groat said. That’s why she became a substitute teacher, but she says with the pandemic, not this year.
(Read more: KAKE – News)
Send in the clowns
Along with exceptional athleticism, rodeos bring joy to onlookers. This year’s Kansas Largest Night Rodeo in Pretty Prairie is no exception. National rodeo stars John Harrison and Wacey Munsell, along with newcomer Jacob Welker of Pretty Prairie, helped bring joy and suspense to rodeo onlookers. Harrison, this year’s barrelman, taunted the bulls from his barrel, which was positioned close to the chutes. “He’s gone. You can stop now,” Harrison said as a bull took off past him, causing the pickup men — mounted cowboys — to spend several minutes trying to get the bull back to the pen. On his way, the bull, Rock ’em Sock ’em, gave Harrison’s barrel a little nudge.
(Read more: Kansas Agland – The Hutchinson News)
12 ways to celebrate Wichita’s 150th birthday
It’s not the sesquicentennial celebration many people and organizations envisioned, but even a global pandemic can’t stop the city of Wichita and Sedgwick County from turning 150 years old. Tuesday, July 21 is the city’s official birthday while the county first elected officials earlier in 1870. There is one toned-down event that survived restrictions on gatherings intended to slow the spread of COVID-19 along with several date-specific activities still on the calendar to celebrate the 150th. There also are other ways to commemorate the milestone when and how you’re comfortable.
(Read more: Local News | Wichita Eagle)
Parsons seeks more businesses to apply for COVID-19 grants
City officials hope that a deadline extension will spur more businesses to apply for COVID-19 relief grants. Labette County and the city of Parsons received $132,000 each in a special disbursement of Community Development Block Grant funding. The county also has about $67,000 left from a 1999 business loan program that will be added to the grants. The money is allocated for reimbursement of expenses to help businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 50 businesses expressed interest in receiving grant money, but only 18 qualified businesses had applied before the July 8 deadline, Laura Moore, community development director, said. Eleven others applied but either weren’t eligible to receive funding or decided against it. Fifty-one businesses that expressed interest hadn’t responded to inquiries from the city as of Tuesday morning.
(Read more: Parsons Sun)
Erie moves to buy the town’s only grocery store
The city of Erie is moving forward with the purchase of the town’s only grocery store. … The city has been considering the possible acquisition of the store since last summer after the Mahurins introduced the proposal. The Mahurins haven’t been able to find a buyer for the store, and the council wants to prevent the store from closing. An economic development committee negotiated a deal with the Mahurins to pay the couple $300,000 for the building and fixtures, plus inventory value at the time of the sale and 0.5% of gross sales for 10 years.
(Read more: Parsons Sun)
Local Leaders Racing Against the Economic Impact of COVID
Like Mayor Panto’s municipality, 74% of municipalities in the United States have already been forced to make unavoidable cuts and adjustments. It has been more than six months since the COVID-19 pandemic hit our country. With the economy at risk, the National League of Cities (NLC) reached out to its members with an opportunity to share how the pandemic impacted the fiscal budgets of cities, towns, and villages. Many cities, towns, and villages’ fiscal budgets rely on tax revenues. But with closing businesses and social life adjusting to a new reality, local leaders face unprecedented challenges to protect the future of their local economies.
(Read more: CitiesSpeak)
Shawnee County sees uptick in advance ballots, hopes to recruit more election workers
With less than three weeks until the Aug. 4 primary election in Kansas, Shawnee County is seeing an uptick in the number of advanced ballots being requested locally. According to Shawnee County election commissioner Andrew Howell, his office had received more than 11,000 advance ballot requests as of Wednesday. He said that number is close to exceeding the volume of requests fielded by his office during the entire election season of 2018. “It’s early in the process, but it’s definitely up,” Howell said. He hasn’t yet heard many county residents voice concerns about in-person voting this year but said a few people have told him they requested advance ballots because they preferred not to go to the polls with COVID-19 cases on the rise.
(Read more: Local News | Topeka Capital-Journal)
Storm cleanup in Oswego could take a month
Oswego city crews and others continued the cleanup Monday in Oswego from Saturday’s storm that brought large hail and high, sustained winds that toppled trees and snapped others 20 feet in the air. No injuries were reported, but four to 10 homes may have been destroyed. That assessment is still in progress, according to Oswego Mayor Daniel Chapman. The high wind, estimated between 70 mph and 100 mph, came from a possible microburst, which is a large column of sinking air (a downdraft) from a thunderstorm.
(Read more: Parsons Sun)
County officials want better information on hospital capacity as part of COVID-19 reporting
As Johnson County’s cases of COVID-19 continue to increase, county commissioners expressed alarm that information on hospital bed capacity is inaccurate. Commissioners have been asking about a change in hospital data reporting procedures for weeks, but that took on a new urgency Thursday as Public Health Director Sanmi Areola, PhD, reported the positive test results have been increasing exponentially. The county had 920 new cases in the first ten days of July, compared with 848 for the entire month of June, Areola said. That increase cannot be attributed to more tests conducted, he said, noting that the percentage of tests that were positive is now 5.9%, compared with 2% during the shelter-in-place.
(Read more: Prairie Village Post)
Following council’s review of Lenexa police use-of-force policy, city staff to draft joint statement on racial justice
Following a review of the Lenexa Police Department’s use of force policy, the Lenexa City Council expressed interest in a city staff-drafted racial justice statement. As Johnson County cities have begun conversations about racism, City Manager Beccy Yocham asked the city council if it was interested in a joint statement on racial justice. Cities in northeast Johnson County — such as Fairway, Prairie Village, Mission and Roeland Park — have either passed or are in the middle of conversations about similar statements and actions. Councilmember Courtney Eiterich said as a mother to a black son, she wanted to discuss a potential statement and how the city council can include equity in all of its policy considerations. She asked the city council to commit to conversations about race, to stand up for injustices and to listen to people of color without making judgements.
(Read more: Prairie Village Post)
County ups ante in wind farm road dispute
Who’s responsible for the weather is a key element of what’s likely to be a major lawsuit between the county and its northern wind farm. County commissioners contend Diamond Vista is obligated to make $473,020 worth of road repairs. The wind farm contends some of the damage was caused by weather and not their responsibility. Commissioners consider storm damage to be an expected part of Kansas weather and the wind farm’s responsibility. After nearly an hour in executive session with lawyers, commissioners voted unanimously Monday to have staff prepare documents seeking to collect road repair money from Diamond Vista wind farm.
(Read more: PEABODY Gazette-Bulletin)
Municipal Bond Trends for July 16, 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.
Sheriff Brian Hill receives Administrator of the Year award
Sheriff Brian Hill walked into the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office lobby Thursday morning surprised to see the room filled with friends and family who were all there to celebrate him becoming Administrator of the Year. Hill was chosen by the Kansas State Lodge Fraternal Order of Police as the recipient of this year’s award, and to say he was surprised would be an understatement. “I’m really at a loss for words,” Hill said. “I wasn’t expecting this.” Even as Hill received his award, he gave credit to the members of his staff, both civilian and law enforcement.
(Read more: Local News | Topeka Capital-Journal)
Governor Kelly Announces More Than $6 Million in Federal Funding to Respond to Coronavirus
Governor Laura Kelly has announced $6,202,603 in grant awards to state and local jurisdictions in preventing, preparing for and responding to the coronavirus, as well as funds to support families impacted by domestic violence. “My administration continues to work to ensure Kansans and the communities impacted by COVID-19 have the resources they need to fight the spread of the virus,” Governor Kelly said. “These grants are thorough and purposeful examples of how we can direct funds across the state, especially to some of our possibly overlooked areas in need. We know domestic violence is an issue that has been amplified by the pandemic, and this funding will provide support services to those who need them the most.”
(Read more: KRSL Russell Radio)
Three possible learning options for Wichita students come Fall
The Wichita School Board said today nothing is final, but revealed more about their current learning opportunities available for students and parents. Each family will get to decide what works best for them. There are three options. On-site learning: this is in-person classes, but with a few changes…like social distancing, and mask-wearing. My SCHOOL remote: students will take the same hour to hour classes but online. Board officials said some classes may require in-person attendance. Education Imagine Academy: a fully virtual school that provides flexibility in school hours. Depending on what you choose, you likely won’t get the chance to switch until the semester ends. After speaking with parents, they said they are concerned about the teachers who will be in the front lines
(Read more: KSN-TV)
Layoffs confirmed at Kansas Star Casino
The Kansas Star Casino confirmed Tuesday it is moving forward with permanent layoffs. Boyd gaming would not say how many employees are affected, but in May it issued a Warn Act saying it could range from 25-percent to 60-percent of staff. Kansas Star Casino files plans for possible layoffs The company said the layoffs are at the lower end of the range they announced in May. In an email Tuesday, Boyd Gaming stated, “Given these ongoing challenges and continued uncertainty, we are moving forward with permanent layoffs of team members who were still on furlough and had not been recalled to work. These layoffs are at the lower end of the range outlined in the WARN Act letters issued in May. We are notifying affected team members as expeditiously as we can.”
(Read more: KSN-TV)
Cities to receive $18.5 million for road improvement projects
Thirty-six projects that will improve intersections and roads in Kansas cities have been selected for funding through the Kansas Department of Transportation’s City Connecting Link Improvement Program (CCLIP), which funds improvements to state highways that extend through cities. The cities will receive a combined total of approximately $18.5 million in funding under the CCLIP for these 36 projects. This total includes $8.9 million in state fiscal year 2022 and $9.6 million in state fiscal year 2023. Under the CCLIP, a city is required to contribute up to 25 percent of the project cost based on its population, though some cities contribute significantly more. Cities under 2,500 in population aren’t required to provide a match. Projects in this program may fall into one of three different categories including Surface Preservation (SP), Pavement Restoration (PR) or Geometric Improvement (GI).
(Read more: Western Kansas News)