Kansas Municipal News
Dreaming of a retro ‘aluminum tree’ holiday? Head to the Johnson County Museum
It was the space age: Sputnik had launched, the United States was trying to catch up, and the country was interested in futuristic decorations. That’s when aluminum Christmas trees took center stage at the holidays.
Sixty years later, a display at the Johnson County Museum’s 1950s all-electric house is bringing back those memories.
“Dreaming of a Retro Christmas” features 20 aluminum trees from the collection of Steve and Mary Pruitt of Overland Park. All are vintage items from the late ’50s and early to mid-’60s, but they showcase a variety of colors, sizes and other features.
(Read more: Joco 913 News)
Garden City Regional Airport expects increase in number of passengers this month, during a record-breaking year for TSA
Garden City Regional Airport officials expect to see 100-300 more outbound passengers this month than they do on average.
According to Rachelle Powell, director of aviation for the Garden City airport, the month of December — and specifically the week leading up to Christmas — is the airport’s peak travel period. During that time, flight capacities hit mid-90%. Outside of the peak period, flight capacities average about 80%.
“Typically in December, we range anywhere from 2,300 people departing to our peak, which was 2,500 people flying out of Garden City,” Powell said.
(Read more: News – The Garden City Telegram)
Fate of Century II lies with final decision on Wichita Riverfront plan
What will Wichita look like along the Arkansas River downtown? After weeks of public feedback, a committee is looking over all the input and soon will make a final recommendation on a design for the development.
Five plans range from about $970 million to $1.5 billion. With the overall plan, some worry about a tax increase as each idea varies in design and price.
(Read more: KWCH News)
Topeka seeks federal funding for viaduct, weir projects
Finding federal funding to help replace Topeka’s Polk-Quincy Viaduct and construct a downstream Kansas River weir was the focus of conversations Mayor Michelle De La Isla and city manager Brent Trout had last week with members of the Kansas congressional delegation in Washington, D.C., they said Tuesday.
Trout and De La Isla met with U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, U.S. Rep. Steve Watkins and staff members for U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran during a visit to the nation’s capital, which took place Dec. 4 and 5, Trout said at the monthly news conference he and De La Isla hold at City Hall.
“It was a worthwhile trip,” De La Isla said.
(Read more: Local – The Topeka Capital-Journal)
Wichita City Council could put term limit changes, pay raises on future ballot
Wichita’s City Council members decided not to vote Tuesday to increase their own term limits, citing a strong negative reaction from voters.
But that doesn’t mean the issue is dead. In February, the term-limit extension for the mayor and City Council members could come back to the bench, and it could likely include other historically unpopular proposed changes.
Like City Council pay raises.
(Read more: Local News |)
Building permits down due to nice weather
McPherson City Commissioners learned Monday building permits in the city are down markedly from 2018.
Ryan Rank, city building inspector, presented the November 2019 building inspection report to commissioners. His report highlighted the decrease in building permits issued in 2019 versus 2018. By November of 2018, there had been 704 building permits issued. This year only 524 building permits have been issued so far.
The decline in the number of building permits issued relates directly to the nice weather conditions McPherson has seen this year. In 2018, a large hail storm caused considerable property damage in town. As a result of the damage, building permits were issued for repairs to be completed to homes and businesses. No major storms have impacted the area this year.
(Read more: McPherson Weekly News » Feed)
Santa’s helpers — PSU students, Bone Creek 4H children make toys for tots
“Elves,” big and small, have spent the past few weeks creating and assembling wooden toys for tots.
For the second year in a row, Pittsburg State University students in Society of Architectural Woodworkers (SAW) club are creating wooden toys to send to Toys for Tots, which will then be used in the Crawford County Christmas Distribution next week. Last year’s toys were a “resounding success,” Toys for Tots Crawford County Coordinator Lynden Lawson said. The toys were quickly picked up.
The idea of creating wooden toys for children in the community was brought to PSU last year by Chris Wernimont. This year, Bone Creek 4H children helped make the toys, which Wernimont said he hopes “leaves a lasting impact” on the children.
(Read more: Pittsburg, KS – Morning Sun)
Sedgwick County Zoo Begins $10 Million Entry Complex Project
The Sedgwick County Zoo will soon demolish its original main entrance building to make way for a new updated entry plaza.
Construction fences block the entrance area and new signs are posted to direct visitors to a temporary entrance and exit north of the zoo’s Cargill Learning Center.
The $10 million entry and administration complex will be the first major project in the zoo’s updated master plan.
(Read more: RSS Feed)
JoCo Election Commissioner job is open again. And, again, JoCo residents have little authority over who gets hired
On Primary Election night 2018, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach spoke twice on the phone with Johnson County Election Commissioner Ronnie Metsker.
It’s not surprising that the Secretary of State was seeking an update on the status of the vote count. It was, after all, the second major election in a row in which Johnson County, the state’s most populous county, had been unable to post vote tallies in a timely manner. And as Secretary of State, Kobach was in charge of reporting the statewide vote total.
The software failure that led to the long delay in vote totals being reported has been well documented. But for some Johnson County voters, it was the political ties between Kobach and Metsker that raised the most concerns as uncertainty surrounded the outcome of such a close race. Kobach, a former chair of the state Republican party, had appointed Metsker, then the sitting chair of the Johnson County Republican Party, to the six-figure position in 2016, and then reappointed him just weeks after Kobach emerged with a narrow victory over Gov. Jeff Colyer in the primary.
(Read more: Shawnee Mission Post – Community news and events for northeast Johnson County)
Local Teamsters union leader to meet with Lawrence City Commission, says some city employees want to unionize
City leaders will soon hear from an area union that would like the city to make changes to its local resolution governing employee unions.
Read more: LJWorld.com.
Wichita city council will study potential of extending term limits.
Wichita city council members will look at potentially adding a third term for council members on Tuesday.
In 1991 voters agreed to limit city council members to two terms.
Some this week say it’s a good idea while others are not sold.
“I’m still considering my vote on this, if it comes to a vote,” said council member James Clendenin.
Another term would mean another four years.
(Read more: KSN-TV)
Leavenworth may adopt new burning restrictions
Regulations that allow burning inside the city of Leavenworth could change.
As part of an update of city fire codes, Leavenworth Fire Chief Gary Birch is recommending amending the city’s open burning regulation.
Currently, people can burn tree branches and brush piles on their properties if they obtain permits through the Leavenworth Fire Department. And people can burn in screen-covered barrels without obtaining permits.
Birch said allowing people to burn in barrels inside a city is “really kind of unheard of” today.
(Read more: Leavenworth Times)
USD 450 seeks candidates for policy and community task force
Unified School District 450 has released an application for its new policy and community task force, and is encouraging Shawnee Heights community members to apply.
The application, which will close at 5 p.m. Friday, comes after a Dec. 2 board meeting where members voted to create the task force in light of recent violence at Shawnee Heights High School.
Those applying are asked to identify which position they are applying for, if they are currently involved with the district in another capacity and why they want to serve on the task force.
(Read more: Local – The Topeka Capital-Journal)
Proposal would ban panhandling at specific intersections
Banning panhandling at 23 of Topeka’s most dangerous intersections — but not at any others — is the focus of a proposal recommended for approval Monday by a special committee of city officials and community leaders.
Committee members voted 5-0 to recommend the mayor and city council adopt restrictions that would generally prohibit pedestrian interaction with people in vehicles at 23 specific intersections.
Such interaction would continue to be allowed at all other crossings, said assistant Topeka city attorney Luther Ganieany.
(Read more: Local Government – The Topeka Capital-Journal)
Study: Eliminating most flooding on Buhler Road could cost $4.5 million
A study by a Wichita engineering firm tasked with looking at how to reduce flooding on Buhler Road from the Little Arkansas River pegged the cost at nearly $4.5 million.
That figure includes both raising the roadway by several feet over nearly half a mile in length and rebuilding the river bridge just south of Buhler.
Just raising the road itself would prevent floodwater from a “100-year-storm” overtopping the road, but without replacing the bridge it would also cause floodwaters to back up and potentially impact residences upstream of the bridge, the study by WSP found.
(Read more: News – The Hutchinson News)
Louisburg considers concept for downtown pavilion
The community might be getting a new downtown public venue.
The Louisburg City Council voted 5-0 on Nov. 18 to move forward with the design of a downtown pavilion that would be built on the empty lot next to the water tower downtown.
The move would advance the proposed steel-topped structure from the conceptual phase to an engineered plan which could be put out for construction bid if the council opts to do so. If the project moves forward, it would be budgeted for 2021.
(Read more: The Miami County Republic)
Affordable Housing board asks whether portion of sales tax revenue should fund housing vouchers, other social services
The city’s Affordable Housing Advisory Board is asking whether part of the money from the city’s affordable housing sales tax should be earmarked for social services such as housing vouchers.
Read more: LJWorld.com.
Hutch buys 3 properties for flood control
The city of Hutchinson is buying two houses and one vacant lot in an area east of South Plum Street as part of its strategy to reduce flooding.
The Hutchinson City Council approved negotiated contracts to buy:
• A three-room house in the area of South Plum Street and East Avenue D, owned by Joe and Melinda Richardson. The land and building were appraised by the Reno County Appraiser at $12,430 for 2019. The city agreed to pay $15,000. The house will be demolished.
(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)
Topeka group opposes reducing stretch of S.W. 12th to one lane
By planning to rebuild the two-lane S.W. 12th Street as a one-lane street between S.W. Topeka and Gage boulevards, Topeka’s city government is clearly going against the will of most people who would be affected, members of a recently formed grassroots organization said Saturday afternoon.
The 12th Street Reality Coalition revealed at a news conference that among those who responded to a recent unscientific poll conducted on the “Nextdoor” neighborhood social network website, 123 said they opposed that move while only 16 supported it.
“Arrogance and hubris are driving the City’s bulldozer down S.W. 12th and over the wishes of residents and voters,” the coalition said in a news release.
(Read more: Local Government – The Topeka Capital-Journal)
Wichita proposes longer term limits for mayor and city council
Wichita’s mayor and city council members could decide Tuesday whether they should be able to serve an extra four years.
Under a city law passed by voters in 1991, Wichita’s mayor and council members are limited to two consecutive four-year terms.
The City Council can put the question on the ballot again, if they so choose. But a proposed chartered ordinance on Tuesday’s city council agenda would allow the mayor and city council members themselves to vote on whether to extend that to three terms.
(Read more: Local News |)