Kansas Municipal News
Dodge City sticking with phase one plan, for now
The City of Dodge City will remain in Phase 1 of the plan to reopen city-owned facilities and operation for an additional two weeks, beginning Monday, May 18th, 2020. This decision was made in response to Governor Kelly’s announcement that she had revised her Ad Astra: A Plan to Reopen Kansas, to include a Phase 1.5. “I want to reiterate that the City’s plan only applies to the city-owned facilities and operations,” said City Manager Cherise Tieben. “While we do have the authority to be open as an essential operation, we feel it is in the best interest of our employees and our community to follow the intent and spirit of the Governor’s orders. We continue provide almost all of our services that were offered previously; we are simply doing the work in a different fashion.”
(Read more: KAKE – News)
Uniontown City Hall has plans for re-opening
Uniontown City Hall will re-open to the public on May 18. People are asked to used the south door in the alley to enter the office. Wearing a mask and social distancing will be maintained. City Clerk Sally Johson says the community center and library will remain closed until phase three of the reopening of the state. The playground on the square will re-open as soon as disinfectant arrives and as soon as the signage is posted.
(Read more: KSNF/KODE – FourStatesHomepage.com)
The Cherokee County food fight competition is wrapping up and organizers say food is piling up at the donation sites
Hundreds of food donations are coming in to support food pantries in Cherokee County. The Cherokee County food fight competition is wrapping up and organizers say food is piling up at the donation sites. The friendly competition between local towns is heating up as each one puts all their efforts into filling up their local food pantry and earning bragging rights. Some of the most popular donation items are canned goods, juice, canned and powdered milk, and even baby formula. Susan Archer, After School Coordinator, The Soda Fountain, said, “The bigger picture is to help support our community. With all of the COVID shutdown, so many people are struggling, even before the shutdown in our area. This just intensified the concerns and more people will benefit from this temporary setback for our community.”
(Read more: KSNF/KODE – FourStatesHomepage.com)
Reno County Planning board to take up wind regulation process
The Reno County Planning Commission is scheduled Thursday to consider adopting a procedure to follow for amending the county’s regulations on commercial wind development. The process may include two public hearings. The first, proposed for June 18, will take public comment on what should go into the regulations. The second will follow the planning board’s drafting of regulations, if they decide to do so, before forwarding them to the Reno County Commission for adoption.
(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)
Reno County Farmers Market opens
Amy Gray and Brandon Wolf recently moved to Hutchinson from Denver. They looked forward to the opening of the Reno County Farmers Market, knowing they could experience more of a feel for the city they have grown to enjoy. “It’s really cute,” Gray said. “We were excited to come today.” Gray and Wolf were amongst the dozens of customers who filtered through the market on Saturday morning – the official opening day of the Farmers Market. Unlike other years, because of the coronavirus, this year there were no official speeches, no large crowds and no ribbons.
(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)
Shawnee County releases details of Phase 1.5 of reopening
Shawnee County officials on Friday afternoon released Phase 1.5 of their plan for reopening the county. In Phase 1.5, mass gatherings of more than 10 people will continue to be prohibited. Hair salons, nail salons, barber shops, tanning salons and tattoo parlors will be allowed to reopen by appointment only. Fitness centers and health clubs may also reopen, but group fitness classes and use of locker rooms remain prohibited. Phase 1.5 of the county’s plan — which strikes a balance between remaining in the first phase and advancing to Phase 2 — largely follows Gov. Laura Kelly’s phase 1.5 plan, which she introduced Thursday.
(Read more: Local – The Topeka Capital-Journal)
Covid-19 puts museum reopenings on hold. Online tours, virtual workshops continue
If you were planning to do an in-person tour of two new exhibits that were recently installed at Mark Arts in Wichita, you’re going to have to wait a bit longer. Mark Arts was one of at least four area attractions that had planned to reopen over the next several days under the original Phase II of Kansas’ reopening plan that was set to begin no sooner than May 18. But on Thursday afternoon, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said the state would be taking a smaller step forward in the plan, calling it Phase 1.5. Museums and other indoor leisure activities are among those activities that will remain closed during Phase 1.5. In the updated directive, Phase II now will begin no sooner than June 1.
(Read more: Local News |)
Wichita Airport traffic down 94% due to COVID-19; what will it be like to fly again?
Wichita Eisenhower National Airport is flying less than one tenth as many passengers as a year ago because of the coronavirus pandemic. And when people do return to flying, things will be different in the airport and on planes. That was the message delivered Friday in a news conference by airport officials at the nearly deserted terminal.
(Read more: Local News |)
Ellinwood library offering curbside service
Ellinwood School/Community Library’s curbside services have begun! We surprised our first four patrons with some of our local businesses’ gift certificates. We plan to award two more certificates by drawing the names of patrons who utilize our new checkout procedure in the next couple weeks. We are happy with this process we have implemented during this time, to keep our community and staff safe.
(Read more: Great Bend Tribune)
Harvey County enters into new phase of reopening plan
The Board of Harvey County Commissioners followed Gov. Kelly’s lead Friday afternoon and officially took action that moved the county into phase 1.5 of the reopening plan. Kelly’s action on Thursday rescinded the first phase of Ad Astra: A Plan to Reopen Kansas. What that means is mass gatherings of more than 10 people continue to be prohibited. Hair salons are allowed to reopen but only pre-scheduled appointments. Fitness centers can reopen, but group classes cannot occur.
As it did with the first phase, Harvey County’s plan for phase 1.5 included additional restrictions by prohibiting visits to long-term care and correctional facilities. It also listed in the definition of high-risk individuals as those ages 65 and older, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
(Read more: Harvey County Now)
Newton Public Library to resume no-contact borrowing on May 18
Newton Public Library is pleased to announce that NPL will enter Phase 1 of its reopening plan on Monday, May 18. Books, DVDs and other physical library items will start circulating again, with a no-contact pickup procedure in place. Patrons are understandably ready to bring back the more than 6,500 books and DVDs they have been storing at home since NPL’s closure on March 24. In order to avoid an unmanageable flood of returns, special hours and procedures will be in place from May 18 to 23, and due dates for items borrowed after Feb. 29 have been extended through July 4.
(Read more: Harvey County Now)
Johnson County Library plans phased re-opening
As part of a phased approach to reintroduction of services after Stay at Home orders are relaxed, Johnson County Library is excited to announce the resumption of drive-thru holds pickups at the Blue Valley, Lenexa City Center, and Monticello branches. Beginning Monday, May 18, patrons may return their materials to the Blue Valley, Lenexa City Center and Monticello book drops only, and can also begin placing new holds at jocolibrary.org for pickup at these locations.
(Read more: Prairie Village Post)
JoCo launches curbside food drive program to help those in need during COVID-19
A Johnson County partnership has launched a new program to address the additional food insecurity experienced across the region following COVID-19. The Johnson County Food Policy Council, Department of Health and Environment and the K-State Research and Extension are partnering for a curbside food drive to benefit local food pantries, which have reported a 30 to 40% increase in need. JCDHE Public Information Officer Barbara Mitchell said the curbside food drive addresses the misconception that food insecurity isn’t an issue in Johnson County, where nearly 60,000 residents were food insecure prior to the pandemic.
(Read more: Prairie Village Post)
Arkansas City Hall begins limited reopening Tuesday as part of Phase 1.5
The City of Arkansas City will begin a very limited reopening of City Hall on Tuesday as part of Phase 1.5 of Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s Ad Astra state reopening plan. To maintain the health of its employees and help to limit the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) locally, the city closed city hall to the public in late March. However, city staff has continued to provide public services during this time through a variety of measures, including by telephone, video conferences, in-person appointments, and online, drive-through and drop-off methods. Starting Tuesday, Arkansas City Municipal Court will resume weekly sessions with strict social distancing and other safeguards in place to protect everyone’s health.
(Read more: The Arkansas City Traveler)
Health care relief funds pour into Cowley County
Area health care providers have received federal HHS Provider Relief Funds to help offset losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The recipients cover a variety of providers, from hospitals to medical supply companies to pharmacies. The CARES Act and the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act provided $175 billion in relief funds to hospitals and other healthcare providers on the frontlines of the coronavirus response. This money was further divided into different funds, including $50 billion for general distribution, $12 billion for high impact areas and $10 billion for rural providers.
(Read more: The Arkansas City Traveler)
County, cities applying for grants in response to COVID-19
Gov. Laura Kelly announced May 11 that more than $9 million in federal funding is being made available in CDBG grants to support community responses to the COVID-19 crisis. Applications for the grants are to be submitted by counties or cities on behalf of their local businesses. The Miami County Economic Development Department is gathering information to submit an application on behalf of businesses located outside of any city limits but within Miami County, as well as businesses within the cities of Paola, Fontana, and the Miami County portion of Spring Hill.
(Read more: The Miami County Republic)
Walnut River in Winfield one of worst spots for flooding
This past week’s heavy rainfall caused rivers and creeks to rise sharply in parts of South-Central and Southeastern Kansas leading to flooding and flash flooding. The worst flooding was at Winfied where the Walnut River was 6 feet above flood stage, Sunday (5/17). However, the water level was falling fast and should drop below flood stage on Monday. Officials urge drivers to avoid crossing any flooded roads.
(Read more: KFDI 101.3)
Finney Co. healthcare workers come together, distribute supplies to people in need
As coronavirus cases continue to increase in Finney County, organizations are stepping up to help provide supplies to the area. Finney county currently has the second highest number of confirmed cases. Healthcare workers from Centura Health, St. Catherine Hospital in Garden City, and a group from LiveWell Finney County distributed supplies Saturday including masks, hand sanitizer and information. Centura health was able to round up 25,000 masks and 2,000 bottles of hand sanitizer to hand out to neighborhoods in need. Dr. Toni Greene,group vice-president and physician executive at Centura Health, says the groups did all this out of a mobile site serving a few hundred people.
(Read more: KWCH News)
Ark City’s Nick Hernandez leaves trail of accomplishments
Nick Hernandez is ready to saddle up and head west to Dodge City to become city manager there. His last official day as city manager for the City of Arkansas City is May 22. Reflecting on his nine years steering municipal government here, Hernandez said that some of the major accomplishments include the new water treatment facility and helping Creekstone Farms to recover from a fire and supporting its expansion. He is also pleased with improvements made to recreational facilities and streets. A hike-bike trail around the southwest part of the city is expanding, and more Wilson Park Master Plan improvements are pending. “The numerous grant opportunities we have received for trails, parks and roadways have certainly been bright spots over the past eight years,” he said.
Read more: Cowley Courier-Traveler.
Municipal Bond Trends for May 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.