Kansas Municipal News
Harvey County Sheriff’s Office looking for good reads
For those being held in the Harvey County Detention Center, recreational outlets are limited. Inmates are allowed minimal time to play games, watch TV and exercise — so reading has become a big hobby for those being detained.
“They always want books. This is their big activity,” said Ray Nicodemus, detention center director of support services. “That library is a big boon to the inmates.”
Nicodemus noted inmates routinely look forward to their time in the library on Saturdays, so they can pick out what they’re going to read next. Limited to carrying paperback books, Nicodemus said wear and tear becomes an issue with the selection offered to inmates. To help, the Harvey County Sheriff’s Office recently launched a book drive to assist in restocking the library at the detention center.
(Read more: Newton Kansan)
Hays looks into nonprofit status of WaterPACK
Faced with one nagging enemy of its longtime effort to pipe water from Edwards County, the city of Hays is looking into the nonprofit status of the Water Protection Association of Central Kansas.
Known as WaterPACK for short, the group has been a thorn in the side of Hays and Russell for years. The group has tried to stop the cities from exercising their water rights on a 7,000-acre ranch the two bought in 1995 to ensure a future municipal water supply, according to City Manager Toby Dougherty.
“Throughout this whole process we have only had one active opponent of this project,” said Dougherty, speaking Thursday evening to the Hays City Commission at its regular meeting in City Hall.
(Read more: Newton Kansan)
If you could be mayor
And he loved every minute of it during his annual presentation to Scott City Middle School seventh graders as part of the “If I were mayor . . .” writing contest.
“This is one of the two things that I enjoy most as mayor,” said Green, who has met with SCMS students each of the past three years since taking office.
(Read more: Scott County Record RSS)
Lawrence’s marijuana experiment and the questions it creates
Plain and simple, the mayor of Lawrence wants marijuana to be legal.
In March, Lawrence city commissioners went about as far as they could go on that front. They lowered the fine for possessing 32 grams or less of marijuana to just $1 — not only for your first offense but also your second.
The penalty for marijuana possession was lowered after a lot of discussion about how justice wasn’t being equally served on this front. Studies have shown blacks, for instance, face more prosecution for marijuana than whites, even though use is higher among whites. There was a lot of discussion that the fine for the crime was impacting lives more than it should.
“Reasonable justice, equitable justice,” Mayor Lisa Larsen told me when we sat down together a few weeks after passage of the new Lawrence fines.
But that is a bit different than saying marijuana ought to be legal. Does Lawrence’s top elected official think the drug ought to be fair game in Lawrence? There was no hem-hawing from Larsen.
“For me, I think it should be legalized,” Larsen said. “Tax it just like any other product, and let folks make the decision from a health standpoint.”
Read more: LJWorld.com.
Petition aims to change the name of Wichita’s baseball team
Hours after Wichita learned the name of the city’s new Triple-A baseball team, someone has created a petition to change it.
Nearly 7,400 people have signed the online petition at Change.org as of 2:45 p.m. Thursday. The name, the Wichita Wind Surge, was revealed Monday evening in Old Town.
The petition, created under an account with the name ICT Radio, says the following:
“We love our city but when moves happen that we all question we all join together to do something about it! Wichita Wind Surge is a horrible name. The logo looks like Pegasus and the taxpayers had basically no say. At least let the taxpayers name the team. We paid for it after all. This petition is to change the name to anything else! We might as well be named the Wichita Mmmm mm mmm mudslides!!!!”
(Read more: KAKE – News)
Construction to begin next year on medical school in downtown Wichita
The city of Wichita has an agreement with a development group to convert four downtown buildings into a medical school, student housing, a culinary school and a hotel.
The city council has approved an agreement with Douglas Market Development, which owns the four buildings. The former State Office Building will be converted into the Kansas Health Science Center, and the former Sutton Place building will be remodeled to have 119 units for student housing.
The former Henry’s building at 124 South Broadway will be converted into a commercial kitchen and culinary school, and the former Broadway Plaza Building at 109 South Broadway will be remodeled into a 119-room hotel that will be operated as a Marriott hotel.
(Read more: KFDI 101.3)
Wichita State sophomore ready to step up as mayor of Geuda Springs
A Wichita State University sophomore is managing more than just class and responsibilities as the team manager for the Shocker women’s basketball team.
Starting in January, 19, soon-to-be 20-year-old Neil Terry will juggle mayoral duties, as well, leading the small community of Geuda Springs in Cowley and Sumner counties. The town of less than 200 people holds a special place in Terry’s heart.
When voters in Geuda springs elected Terry last Tuesday (Nov. 6), they chose what will be one of the youngest mayors in the state.
“I am so excited,but at the same time, I’m nervous because I want to be successful,” Terry says.
(Read more: KWCH News)
Downtown Streetscape Project ribbon-cutting ceremony planned
The Downtown Streetscape Project on Santa Fe Avenue will be substantially complete on Nov. 15. The final completion of Campbell Plaza, the Walnut Street intersection and various landscaping items will be complete in early 2020.
To celebrate the conclusion of this important project, the city manager, city commission, Salina 2020, Salina Downtown Inc., the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce and Smoky Hill Construction, LLC, (contractor) will host a plaque dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony at Philips Plaza, (between Iron Street and Ash Street on Santa Fe Avenue), at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23.
(Read more: News – Salina Journal)
Kansas tax council deluged with pleas for tax cuts, fiscal austerity
Gov. Laura Kelly’s tax reform council got an earful Thursday from influential business lobbying groups yearning for hefty tax breaks, while individuals pleaded for a lower state sales tax on groceries and preservation of a tax credit for low-income Kansans.
Woven into the discussion were warnings from the state budget director and a K-12 education advocate about avoiding tax overhaul that compromised the budget and gave traction to factions eager to abandon pledges to spend more on education, highways and other priorities.
The bipartisan panel created by Kelly is expected to deliver recommendations before start of the 2020 legislative session in January.
(Read more: News – Salina Journal)
McPherson mural inspires book about 1936 U.S basketball team
When Andrew Maraniss, a New York Times bestselling author, first came to McPherson for the first time, he couldn’t help but notice a giant mural painted outside of the McPherson Library. It was the ” McPherson Global Refiners” with the caption that says”1st Ever Olympic Basketball Champions—1936.” Once he saw the mural, he began working on his new book, “Games of Deception.”
“I thought that was something really cool to see something that happened in 1936 is still being celebrated in town,” Maraniss said. “It’s a pretty cool thing for a small town in the middle of Kansas mean so much to the history of basketball. It is where the Olympic basketball, the Dream Team, current players like Lebron James, Kevin Durant. They wouldn’t have the opportunity if not the guys from McPherson first.”
(Read more: News – Butler County Times Gazette)
Garden City names new fire chief
The City of Garden City announced Monday the appointment of William “Bill” Beaty as the City’s new fire chief. Beaty will fill the position vacated by former Chief Allen Shelton, who retired earlier this year.
“Bill’s enthusiasm for the fire service and his commitment to education and training, both for himself and those who work for him, stood out during the process,” said City Manager Matt Allen in a press release. “Bill showed an appreciation for what has been done so far in Garden City by fire department leadership and staff but will undoubtedly contribute in new ways to the department and the city organization.”
Beaty currently serves as captain for the Springfield Fire Department in Springfield, Illinois, and has 32 years of experience in the fire service. Beaty has a master’s of public administration and has received various fire certifications throughout his career. He actively participates in numerous boards and organizations.
(Read more: News – The Garden City Telegram)
Grow Hays project aims to build starter homes
Grow Hays, the nonprofit economic development agency for Ellis County, is working on a project to build 18 affordably priced houses in town over the next 24 to 36 months.
The homes would ease what Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams says is a serious shortage of starter homes in Hays.
If all the parts of the project come together, the houses, on the east side of town, would be priced from $175,000 to $225,000, Williams said, using a program launched by the state of Kansas in 2014 called Rural Housing Incentive Districts.
(Read more: News – The Hays Daily News)
League of Kansas Municipalities honors Merriam for grant programs aimed at economic development
The Kansas League of Municipalities last month gave the city of Merriam its Inspire-Create-Innovate Community Award in recognition of efforts to engage residents through three specific programs.
Merriam undertook three grant programs aimed at improving economic development: the exterior home improvement grant, the block party grant and the neighborhood island grant.
“Our residents have really taken advantage of the three grant programs we started last year to help spur economic development in Merriam,” said Mayor Ken Sissom. “It’s exciting and an honor to see these grant programs recognized at the state level.”
(Read more: Shawnee Mission Post – Community news and events for northeast Johnson County)
Voters strongly endorse county sales tax renewal
Miami County Commissioner Rob Roberts called the five-year renewal of the county’s quarter-cent sales tax a great success.
It’s easy to see why.
Not only did the county have the support of the Paola, Osawatomie, Louisburg, and Spring Hill city governments, it also had the support of 70.4 percent of the voters who went to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 5, to cast ballots in the general election. The renewal received 2,259 “yes” votes and 947 “no” votes.
(Read more: The Miami County Republic)
Wichita to operate the first electric buses in Kansas
Wichita will add the state’s first electric buses to its public transit fleet in hopes of saving hundreds of thousands of dollars and reducing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.
The first bus is expected to hit the road this month, while an additional 10 should come into service next year, KCUR reported. The city’s transit director, Mike Tann, won a $2 million grant and purchased four new electric buses from ProTerra.
(Read more: Area | derbyinformer.com)
Local foundation awards more than $209K in grants to nonprofits
The Hutchinson Community Foundation announced and handed out the 2019 Fund for Hutchinson grant awards Thursday morning. The event was held at the Crystal Ballroom at The Burt.
Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber President Debra Teufel accepts an award Thursday morning.
Established in 1990, the foundation’s founding board of directors wanted a permanent resource for the changing needs of Reno County. $3.7 million has been awarded to more than 170 area organizations and agencies from this fund.
This year, 25 organizations providing a wide variety of services and programs in Reno County will collectively receive $209,985.
“We’re really excited to have the opportunity to hand out over $205,000 in grants to help make this community greater,” Sarah Blake, program associate, said. “It’s been a wonderful experience to get to do it here in the Crystal Ballroom, to get to show the community members how we can invest in our community and make it an even more special place.”
(Read more: Hutch Post)
Douglas County Commission approves permit for rural event space
A rural Douglas County family now has the authority to build and operate an event center on their land, despite some neighbors voicing opposition to their plans.
The Douglas County Commission unanimously approved issuing a conditional use permit to Eugene George and his family to build the event center on the family’s 80-acre property on 1500 Road, about half a mile north of North 900 Road.
Once built, the 7,920-square-foot event center would be operated from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 8 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. It would allow for a total occupancy of 375 guests.
The commission previously considered awarding the permit in August, but voted to defer the request until a later date after several neighbors of the property voiced concerns, such as that the event space would create noise in the rural setting. Some neighbors again spoke out against the family’s plans during the commission’s meeting on Wednesday.
(Read more: LJWorld.com.)
With assurance Overland Park won’t turn into Las Vegas, city OKs huge light display
Putting fears aside about Overland Park losing its suburban feel, the planning commission this week greenlighted massive, moving digital displays on top of four office buildings, the first such permanent project to come to the city.
Developer Kenneth Block wants to permanently display artwork on digital boards that wrap around the top of buildings at CityPlace, near U.S. 69 and College Boulevard. The art would be animated in multicolored LED lights.
But getting approval to do so has been a lengthy process. Over the past few months, city officials have debated the differences between art and advertising. Some have been concerned that bright, moving lights would drastically change the look of the Kansas City suburb. That fear continues to pop up as the city considers more requests for electronic signs.
(Read more: Joco 913 News)