Kansas Municipal News
Muni Yields Hit Lowest Since 1952 as Fiscal Crisis Tests a Haven
America’s municipal bondholders have never been paid so little for taking on so much risk. The yields on state and local government bonds have steadily dwindled over the past month, even as the resurgent coronavirus pandemic is threatening to prolong the deep recession that’s dealing a financial setback to borrowers in virtually every corner of the $3.9 trillion market. The oldest gauge of municipal yields, the Bond Buyer index of those on 20-year general-obligation bonds, now stands at 2.09%, the lowest since 1952. The Bloomberg 10-year benchmark slipped below 0.6% on Wednesday, the least since at least 2011. And MMD’s measure of 30-year yields has dropped to the lowest since it was started in 1982, according to Greg Saulnier, a managing analyst at Refinitiv. The disappearing yields aren’t unique to the municipal market. With the Federal Reserve injecting cash into the financial markets to stoke the economy, those on corporate bonds, mortgages and U.S. Treasuries have tumbled, too.
Read more: Bloomberg.
Wichita city council to discuss proposal regarding decisions on Century II
Wichita mayor Brandon Whipple says a proposal is being developed for the city council that would call for a vote of the people on the future of the Century II Convention Center. Speaking Thursday at his weekly city hall news conference, the mayor said language is being drafted for a proposal that would meet the intent of the 17,000 people who signed petitions that were recently circulated by a citizens group. The petitions submitted by the group Save Century II call for an ordinance that would require a public vote before the city council could demolish any building of historic importance. The city is challenging the legality of the petitions in district court, and the citizens group is asking the court to dismiss the challenge.
(Read more: KFDI 101.3)
Wichita hospital in need of plasma donations from recovered COVID-19 patients
A Wichita hospital is in need of donations that could help patients battling COVID-19. Ascension Via Christi said demand for convalescent plasma is outpacing supply and the needed plasma isn’t available. Angie Mooneyham has been in ICU at Via Christi since Monday. “It’s been a very unique battle,” said Mooneyham. Her battle started out as Pneumonia two weeks ago that landed her in the ER and that’s when she tested positive for Coronavirus. “It got to where it was so hard to breathe and a lot of body aches,” said Mooneyham. The virus has halted her health and her life. This mother of four is now having to miss sending her daughter off to college this week and unable to celebrate her son’s birthday who turned 22 on Wednesday.
(Read more: KSN-TV)
Sedgwick County turns to the state for help with contact tracing
State and local health officials said they need more contact tracers. KDHE is now stepping up to help Sedgwick County to meet the demand. “It is the backbone to finding cases, isolating, and quarantine,” said KDHE Secretary Dr. Lee Norman. With an increase in cases and very little staff, help is needed. “We’re so overwhelmed with the number of cases that we have and just having 18 active disease investigations that it’s a challenge enough,” said Sedgwick County Health Director Adrienne Byrne. Sedgwick County will be leaving it up to KDHE to contact trace each active case. “We’ve been looking a little bit in the rearview mirror and sometimes the data are 2-3 days older than we wanted,” said Dr. Norman. KDHE has hired about 50 contact tracers and plans to hire 50 more.
(Read more: KSN-TV)
Kansas State Fair seeks alternate fund avenues
The Kansas State Fair’s interim general manager, David Tobias, explained to the Kansas State Board on Wednesday how, due to canceling the fair, the fair is trying to secure money through a variety of city, state and federal avenues. The Kansas Department of Agriculture’s chief fiscal officer, Kellen Liebsch, explained to the board that expenses will be larger than income this year. “We’re about half a million dollars in the hole in what we have to pay,” Liebsch said. Because contracts were already issued and several, including utilities, must be honored, the fair is in a deficit. Liebsch noted the fair should use less electricity this year as it is only open for specific events. This will save the fair money.
(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)
Top drone manufacturer moves from Neodesha to Wichita
The American drone industry is exploding. Since COVID-19 came ashore, more and more consumers desire U.S. built products. One of the largest publicly-traded, U.S. drone manufactures began in a town of less than 2,500 residents in far-eastern Kansas. On Aug. 4, AgEagle Aerial Systems, who manufactures drones in Neodesha, Kansas, decided to move their manufacturing operations from Wilson County to Wichita. The 12,000 square foot facility is located near the Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport. This warehouse, which will be ready in September, will house AgEagle’s drone and sub-component manufacturing and assembly, custom design, engineering and testing operations.
(Read more: News – Cherokee County News Advocate)
Lawrence to keep program in place into fall that allows downtown businesses to use parking stalls for seating and sales
City leaders have agreed to keep rule changes in place through October that allow downtown businesses to use city sidewalks and parking spaces to operate outdoors amid the coronavirus pandemic. As part of their meeting Tuesday, Lawrence city commissioners said they were supportive of the downtown right-of-way program in its current form and would like to stick with the city resolution that keeps the program in place until Oct. 31. The program was scaled back a few weeks ago to include more parking, and commissioners agreed those changes had addressed issues with the program.
Read more: LJWorld.com.
Lawrence City Commission to consider creating review process for evaluation of historic markers
City leaders will soon consider setting up a new process for reevaluating historic markers and creating new ones. As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will consider designating the Historic Resources Commission as the recommending body for reevaluation and consideration of historic markers. The topic is before the commission as cities across the U.S. have removed statues of historic figures that enslaved people or otherwise supported racist ideas, and the city itself is in receipt of its third request in the past year regarding a historic marker.
Read more: LJWorld.com.
Global ag manufacturer anchored in rural Kansas
Tucked away off what used to be the main highway in a town of less than 1,200 residents is a global agricultural manufacturing plant. Kincaid Equipment Manufacturing is one of a handful of manufacturers of test seed combines. Last year, they developed a new consumer line for hemp growers. Half a century ago, Haven farmer and mechanic Delmar Kincaid was intrigued by a neighbor’s broken combine. After lots of tinkering, he got it working and soon went on to invent his own machines – eventually starting a new brand and painting them all Kincaid red. Last year, Delmar Kincaid sold the company to his daughter and son-in-law, Kimberley Kincaid-Warner and Todd Warner, who now run the business. By keeping the business family-owned, Delmar was assured that his small-town Kansas values will not leave the company. “We are continuing dad’s legacy,” Kimberley said. “We’re continuing to be a family-owned company that values its customers and employees.”
(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)
Wichita OKs legal challenge to Save Century II petition
The city of Wichita is working to throw out a citizens’ petition and craft its own version of a ballot question about the future of Century II and the former downtown library, a move the petition organizers say could spoil months of work. City leaders said it’s a compromise that assures the public gets a say in the future of the buildings without limiting what can be done with other city-owned buildings. But Save Century II group leader Celeste Racette said the move threatens to undermine the democratic process.
(Read more: Politics & Government News |)
Prairie Village Homes Association deed restrictions could scuttle ordinance to allow backyard chickens
The Prairie Village Planning Commission moved this week toward allowing residents to keep backyard hens, though a homes association’s deed restrictions prohibiting chickens would override a city ordinance. The commission voted unanimously Tuesday night to amend the city’s zoning ordinance that had prohibited homeowners from keeping poultry on their residential properties. … to allow residents to keep backyard hens. The council could implement the new ordinance but only if the planning commission amends the zoning ordinance.
(Read more: Prairie Village Post)
Urban Outfitters to bring 2K jobs to Kansas
Upward of 2,000 new jobs are on the way to Kansas, with Urban Outfitters announcing Wednesday they would be building a new e-commerce distribution center in Wyandotte County. Gov. Laura Kelly framed the move as a coup for the state’s economic development in light of COVID-19 and the resulting rise in unemployment, with the 880,000-square-foot facility set to be built near the Kansas Speedway. “We didn’t know when we first started this that we would be facing the worst public health crisis in a century,” Kelly said at a news conference announcing the move. “But despite COVID-19, today’s announcement has furthered our resolve that Kansas is on the right path. This is a transformational project for our state.”
(Read more: News – The Topeka Capital-Journal)
Municipal Bond Trends for August 5, 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.
Learning at home difficult for kids with no internet access. Olathe offers solution
The Olathe School District is purchasing 1,500 Wi-Fi hotspot devices that families can check out for free if they don’t have internet access at home. Bridging the so-called digital divide, in which some students can easily plug in to internet resources while others cannot, has become even more important during the coronavirus pandemic. Gov. Laura Kelly’s school shutdown order forced districts to switch quickly to online learning last spring, and schools have been preparing for all kinds of contingencies before reopening this fall. In general, Johnson County parents can choose a remote-learning option this fall if they deem it unsafe for their children to be around others at school. Schools also have planned for in-person learning and a hybrid system with students alternating between home and school. Much will depend on the prevalence of the virus and government orders related to the pandemic.
(Read more: Joco 913 News)
With new school year coming up, Micro school presents alternative.
Sherry Stavig runs the Kansas Learning Academy and Daycare. She got the idea to turn it into a Micro school after hearing from concerned parents about what in person schooling would look like this year. For those who don’t know what Micro-schooling is, Stavig describes it as “a hybrid between a home school and private school setting. It’s kinda your modern day one room school house.” Stavig will take in about 12 students from elementary and middle school age at the academy and depending on response, a second set of twelve at a separate location closer to Wichita. Each student will be enrolled in their school district’s online learning curriculum and will be taught by an academy staff member.
(Read more: KAKE – News)
Wind farm discussion includes tax issues
…a Blue Rapids farmer and rancher and former county commissioner told commissioners Monday that he estimated the proposed 110-turbine wind farm would pay the county $109 million over 40 years if they did not receive a 10-year property tax break granted by the state. He also estimated that NextEra would pay more than $6 million per year if the wind farm were taxed at the same rate that farmers are taxed. NextEra project manager Dan Scheffler has said previously that the company is willing to pay up to $40 million to the county in taxes and payments-in-lieu-of-taxes over 30 years. Commissioners are currently in the process of negotiations with NextEra.
(Read more: The Marysville Advocate)
Russell City Council Approves Agreements to Accept Grant Funding for Airport Rehabilitation
The Russell City Council met Tuesday and approved agreements to accept grant funding for an airport runway, taxiway and apron rehabilitation project and the purchase of a new city transit bus. The city maintains a five-year Airport Capital Improvement Plan (ACIP) on file with the FAA and KDOT. Items on the approved ACIP are eligible for FAA and KDOT grant funding as funds are available. The city received notice from the FAA they approved the project as part of the Airport Improvement Program. Project bids were solicited and one bid from GDS, LLC was received in the amount of $537,284.80.
(Read more: KRSL Russell Radio)
Deciding how to distribute coronavirus aid
Nobody didn’t like Kansas getting about $1.2 billion – that’s billion, not just those pesky millions – to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, to rebuild the damaged economy, to finance health care and the exceptional new expenditures that will be required to safely operate schools, colleges and public offices, and to get ready for the next time a pandemic explodes across the state. Practically, there’s not a Kansan who hasn’t felt the effects of the pandemic, even in western Kansas’ Rawlins and Wallace counties, the two in the state which have apparently had no known cases of the disease. But that $1.2 billion to meet the state’s costs and prepare for the future is proving to be pretty tricky for members of the State Finance Council to deal with. It’s just a whole different way to do business than the legislators who make up that panel have ever dealt with.
(Read more: Derby Informer | News)
How converting a downtown Wichita street from one-way to two-way can spur development
The city of Wichita is preparing to convert another downtown street from a one-way road to two-way with a goal of improving traffic flow and driving future development along the street front. It’s a big win for advocates of downtown Wichita. The City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to approve the design concept and funding to reconfigure a half-mile section of Emporia Street from Second Street south to Waterman. With the vote, the city plans to spend $300,000 on the project, which includes the installation of signal poles, signage and pavement markings. If funding allows, the city is exploring the option to extend the two-way configuration even further, from Central Avenue south to Dewey Street, or just before Kellogg — a one-mile stretch.
(Read more: Wichita Business Journal)
Walmart sets dates for temporary drive-in theater
Topekans will get have two chances to see a movie at the parking lot of south Topeka Walmart, the site of a former drive-in theater, and free tickets will be available Wednesday afternoon. As part of its national pop-up theater campaign, Walmart announced it will show drive-in movies at 160 of its stores nationwide, with the Topeka location’s dates set for Tuesday, Aug. 25, and Wednesday, Aug. 26. Gates will open at 6 p.m., with movies starting at 7:30 p.m. Movies will vary by location, but Walmart lists “Wonder Woman,” “Spy Kids,” “Space Jam,” “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” “Ghostbusters,” “The Wizard of Oz,” “Black Panther,” “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” and “Friday Night Lights” as potential options.
(Read more: Local News | Topeka Capital-Journal)