Kansas Municipal News
Wichita City Council approves $250,000 in HVAC, plumbing upgrades for Century II
Century II is getting some upgrades. The Wichita City Council on Tuesday voted 7-0 to spend $250,000 to install a new a heating, ventilation and air conditioning rooftop unit on Expo Hall, replace hot and cold water circulation pumps through the building, and fix other mechanical, electrical, plumbing and structural problems. The repairs — which are paid for using transient guest tax, or hotel “bed tax” funds — are part of maintenance backlog at the Century II complex. The city has earmarked $250,000 annually for the next 10 years to tackle the projects.
(Read more: Local News | Wichita Eagle)
Municipal Bond Trends for July 14, 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.
Wichita board endorses historic preservation status for Century II, former library
The Wichita Historic Preservation Board on Monday nominated the Century II Performing Arts building for state and national historic status, despite separate requests to delay the decision from the city manager and from local business interests that want to tear down and replace it. The board also nominated the former Central Wichita Public Library building for historic status, which could serve as a roadblock to tearing down the buildings and allow them to receive state and federal preservation grants. The action came three days after activists seeking to save the round, blue-roofed structure from demolition presented more than 17,000 signatures on an initiative petition that could force a public vote on the fate of the Century II and the nearby former library.
(Read more: Local News | Wichita Eagle)
Advocates call for group that investigates racial profiling complaints in OP to raise profile, improve transparency
The fact that there’s a culturally diverse citizen advisory board in Overland Park that looks into complaints of racial profiling by police came as news to Linnaia McKenzie this spring. A life-long city resident and co-founder of the Advocacy and Awareness Group of Johnson County, McKenzie, had been organizing an event in Downtown to raise awareness and support Black Lives Matter when she first heard the city had such a thing. She wouldn’t be alone. Even people heavily involved in city policing issues acknowledged that most people probably don’t know about the board.
(Read more: Prairie Village Post)
Integrated Roadways begins research phase with local businesses for smart technology showcase in Lenexa City Center
A project to deploy smart pavement in Lenexa City Center is moving forward as planned. Local company Integrated Roadways is working through design and research of smart infrastructure technology in and around Lenexa City Center, just west of I-435 at 87th Street Parkway and Renner Boulevard. The $8.5 million project is a public-private partnership that will result in real-time traffic monitoring of five intersections. Smart road technology includes precast concrete sections that have embedded fiber optics and digital technology. The installations allow vehicles to connect to the internet and provide real-time traffic monitoring as well as a full record of traffic history.
(Read more: ShawneeMission Post)
Johnson County Fair canceled due to COVID-19
The Johnson County Fair will have to wait until next year. The Executive Fair Board made the decision to cancel this year’s festivities, according to a post shared on the Johnson County Fair Facebook page. “After extensive planning, consultation and due to circumstances outside of our control, the Executive Fair Board regrets to report that the 2020 Johnson County Fair arena events, carnival, parade and public events are canceled,” the post reads. 4-H projects, youth livestock show and livestock auction will continue to take place with details released at a later date.
(Read more: fox4kc.com | FOX 4 – WDAF)
Textron Aviation reducing workforce by 800
Textron Aviation today announced its reducing its workforce by 800 employees, with the majority of the job losses happening in Wichita. A statement from Textron said the cuts include layoffs and additional periodic furloughs that will last through the remainder of 2020. Textron Aviation blames the cuts on existing market conditions and “evolving global economic uncertainty.” Textron Aviation has approximately 9,000 workers in Wichita.
(Read more: KAKE – News)
North Newton passes mask ordinance
North Newton will become the first community in Harvey County to mandate residents wear masks in public and within businesses. The council voted 5-0 Monday night to pass a mask mandate. “It is very similar to the one that was passed by the City of Wichita,” City Attorney Greg Nye said. The ordinance is also similar to the one the Newton City Council did not pass. The ordinance requires people to wear masks in public spaces when they are unable to consistently space more than six feet from others. That ordinance would be extended to Bethel campus but not private homes, offices, or churches. People are also required to wear masks indoors in businesses. Businesses are required to have employees wear masks in the presence of customers, food, or in areas they cannot space by more than six feet.
(Read more: Harvey County Now)
Competitive Bidding Leads to Better Pricing on Municipal Bonds
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) today published research findings on the pricing benefits of increased competitive bidding activity in the municipal securities market. …
“Given the scant research on this matter to date, we aimed to explore if higher numbers of competitive bids lead to better pricing terms for issuers,” said Wu. “Our findings confirmed our expectations. We found that as competitive bidding activity increased, the primary offering spread of the winning bidder declined. In other words, the more competitive bids an issuer received during the primary offering process, the more favorable their selling price and yield cost tended to be.” The MSRB examined the competitive bidding activity in the municipal securities market during the primary offering process over the 10-year period from 2009 through the first half of 2019. The MSRB found that the average number of competitive bids received gradually increased over the past 10 years, from an average of 4.4 competitive bids per issuance in 2009 to an average of 5.7 competitive bids per issuance in the first half of 2019, and that the winning bidder’s primary offering spread was negatively correlated with number of bids received.
Read the details at MSRB.
Contact our Municipal Bond Advisors at Ranson Financial Group to seek competitive rates on your next bond issue.
Wichita hospitals could hit capacity this month with COVID-19 patients, mayor says
Wichita hospitals could hit their capacities this month as the number of COVID-19 patients surge, the mayor said Monday. Mayor Brandon Whipple’s warning comes as the Sedgwick County Health Department reports that “both hospitals,” presumably Wesley Healthcare and Ascension Via Christi, are converting rooms to intensive care units. But that action reduces the capacity for other patients.
(Read more: Local News | Wichita Eagle)
Municipal Bond Trends for July 13, 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 State Fair canceled amid virus concerns
There will be no Kansas State Fair in 2020. The state fair board voted to cancel this year’s event amid concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. The reversal comes just a week after the board had initially voted to continue with the fair. However, concerns from vendors and the community led them to adjust plans, with nearly half of the vendors cancelling amid worries about delays with travel quarantines, difficulties in putting crews together and the cancellations of other fairs, including Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska. The board says it is still interested in finding a way to safely hold its livestock and 4H event. Riley County Extension Director Gary Fike announced last week that most activities at the Riley County Fair had been switched to a come and go format, including the cancellation of its 4H exhibit in addition to the cancellation of the carnival and Kaw Valley Rodeo.
(Read more: 1350 KMAN)
Tax revenue increases despite pandemic
Despite dire predictions regarding tax collections due to the COVID-19 lockdown, both Edgerton and Gardner have seen an increase in sales tax revenues year to date. “After all the doom and gloom that was predicted, it’s a pleasant surprise to see sales tax collections coming in above last year’s numbers,” said Karen Kindle, Edgerton finance director. “As essential businesses, LPKC played a significant role as the largest contributor of city sales and keeping the Edgerton economy running. We’re in good financial shape, but we will continue to monitor these revenue sources and make changes if needed.” Gardner has also seen an increase in sales tax revenue. “Gardner’s two largest sales tax generators are Walmart and Price Chopper,” said Matt Wolff, Gardner finance director. “Most grocery stores have seen an increase in sales during the pandemic. …”
(Read more: Gardner News)
K-State Announces Budget Cuts, Furloughs
Multiple Kansas State University colleges and units will implement administrative furloughs as one of several ways the university is addressing financial challenges for the upcoming fiscal year. The financial challenges are the direct result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. K-State President Richard Myers outlined steps the university is taking to reduce nearly $37 million in costs, including the administrative furloughs, terminating and eliminating positions, voluntary salary reductions, using cash reserves, and cutting operating expenses. Coupled with the emergency furloughs the university administered in May and June, 1,868 employees will be affected. The furloughs will provide the university with $8.65 million in short-term cost reductions.
(Read more: WIBW News Now)
Draft of School COVID-19 Regulations for Fall Released
Draft safety guidelines for school this fall from the Kansas State Department of Education say students, teachers, and staff should wear masks, but that students up to fifth or sixth grade shouldn’t be required to wear them unless local officials mandate it, the Kansas City Star and Wichita Eagle are reporting. The draft guidelines about how to reopen schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic were shared with superintendents, and are expected to be formally presented to the State Board of Education this week. The guidelines say everyone should wash their hands when arriving at school and every hour afterward. Space should be made in classrooms to allow social social distancing. Locker use is discouraged, and staggered transition time between classes is recommended for those schools that choose to use them.
(Read more: WIBW News Now)
A final farewell: Celebration says goodbye to Garden City’s Big Pool
The Big Pool did not open for a 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but local officials felt the need to celebrate the end of an era and to help people say goodbye, so a farewell celebration was held Saturday. Jennifer Cunningham, Garden City assistant city manager, said it was disappointing that a 2020 season couldn’t be held, but the city hopes the farewell celebration helped soothe the sting. “It’s been such a place that held memories for so many different ages and we knew since we couldn’t open that we wanted people to be able to get in here one last time, to go through the bath house, to stand in the deep end to get their picture taken, whatever they might want or need to do to celebrate the last days of this facility,” she said.
(Read more: News – The Garden City Telegram)
GCCC Awarded Over $130,000 in State Tax Credits
Garden City Community College has been selected by the Kansas Department of Commerce to receive Community Service Tax Credits in the amount of $130,708. The program will allow the GCCC Endowment Association to sell 70% tax credits towards the purchase of two mobile anatomage tables that the college will share with about a dozen local western Kansas high schools, according to GCCC President Dr. Ryan Ruda. “We are grateful to the state of Kansas for their support of this worthy project,” said Dr. Ruda said. “This program ensures that we can help provide cutting edge biological health science education with state-of-the-art tools to the students in our region.” Anatomage tables provide three-dimensional, high-resolution mapping of both human bodies and select animal cadavers. They are generally more precise than traditional cadaver labs.
(Read more: Western Kansas News)
Municipal Bond Trends for July 10, 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.
Harvey County’s Old Settlers scaled back to just fireworks
There won’t be a Grand Parade at Old Settlers this year. There won’t be a Great Race or Little Great Race, or a community picnic on Sunday afternoon. At this point, the 133rd annual Old Settlers Festival will only consist of a fireworks show on Saturday, Aug. 8. “We plan, unless something drastically changes due to an outbreak, to only have fireworks,” Old Settlers committee member Cory Harrington said. As recently as late June, the Old Settlers Committee had still been planning on holding a nearly normal schedule of events, but then the county began seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases. They made the difficult decision to scale back the festival on Thursday. “We all have a passion for the festival,” Harrington said. “Many of us committee members grew up attending it. It’s gut-wrenching to cancel something like this.” Harrington said the Old Settlers committee would meet again in two weeks to reassess where Harvey County is at with COVID-19.
(Read more: Harvey County Now)
GRDA, City of Coffeyville recognizing hometown heroes
“Heroes work here.” That is the message the Grand River Dam Authority and City of Coffeyville are sharing to recognize the essential employees who have continued to meet critical needs in their hometowns throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Critical needs for any community include electricity, water and sewer as well as other municipal services. GRDA has been the wholesale electricity supplier for City of Coffeyville since 1999. “Each time we turn on a water tap or flip a light switch, we automatically expect it to work,” said GRDA Chief Executive Officer Dan Sullivan.
(Read more: Coffeyville, KS – News Flash)