Leawood to look at amending city code following complaints about pickleball noise

8 Wednesday, June 8

Leawood to look at amending city code following complaints about pickleball noise

info2022-06-08T01:12:51-05:00June 8th, 2022|

On Monday, the Leawood City Council unanimously voted to have city staff review the city’s sports court ordinance after receiving noise complaints about a backyard pickleball court. Background: Concerns about the ordinance were brought to the council’s attention by Councilmember Debra Filla, who said she had received complaints from residents in northern Leawood about a neighbor’s private backyard tennis court being used for pickleball. “This was approved for a tennis court,” Filla said. “The sound differential for pickleball is like having a ping pong ball on steroids. It is not a soft tennis ball.” She said there have also been issues with how [...]

8 Wednesday, June 8

Leawood names experienced interim manager following sudden death of city administrator

info2022-06-08T01:10:25-05:00June 8th, 2022|

Following the unexpected death of longtime city administrator Scott Lambers, the Leawood City Council on Monday unanimously voted to approve local business executive Patrick Geschwind as interim city administrator. Who is he? Geschwind served as an area manager for AT&T for 25 years before becoming a performance-based consultant with a specialty in interim management. He is the owner and senior consultant at Patrick Geschwind & Associates. Geschwind as served in prominent interim managerial roles before, including as interim city administrator for Roeland Park and interim CEO for Visit KC, Kansas City, Missouri’s visitors and tourism bureau. Source: Prairie Village Post

8 Wednesday, June 8

Johnson County approves looser solar farm regulations

info2022-06-08T08:09:44-05:00June 8th, 2022|

Johnson County commissioners overruled the county planning commission Monday, favoring a less-restrictive set of regulations for solar farms that solar power advocates say is more friendly to the farms’ future development. What was approved: After a three-hour discussion and 36 comments from the public, the county commissioners rejected proposed rules recommended by the planning commission that had been criticized as some of the most restrictive in the country. Source: Prairie Village Post

8 Wednesday, June 8

Leawood names interim city administrator after sudden death of previous official

info2022-06-08T08:12:31-05:00June 8th, 2022|

Leawood has named Patrick J. Geschwind as the interim city administrator after the sudden death of the previous administrator Scott Lambers in May. Lambers, 66, was found dead in his home May 31 after working for the city for over 20 years. The Leawood City Council unanimously voted to approve Geschwind on Monday, according to a statement. Geschwind worked for SBC, which is now AT&T, for over 25 years before starting his own business in management consulting, according to the statement. He previously was the interim city administrator for Roeland Park, interim CEO of VisitKC, superintendent of Blue Ridge Christian School [...]

8 Wednesday, June 8

Overland Park announces new city manager — a familiar face here from the early 2000s

info2022-06-08T08:13:06-05:00June 8th, 2022|

Lori Curtis Luther, who has been hired as Overland Park’s new city manager, might have a familiar look — she worked for the city in the early 2000s. Luther, most recently the city manager for Beloit, Wisconsin, is returning to Overland Park where she served as the assistant city manager from 2001 to 2005, the City Council and Mayor Curt Skoog announced in a news release on the city’s website. “Lori has a proven track record of local government leadership, and I’m excited about her passion and energy to move our organization forward,” Skoog said in the news release. Source: KC [...]

7 Tuesday, June 7

With funds dwindling, spending Kansas’ COVID relief funds has been marred by opacity, finger-pointing

info2022-06-07T08:17:25-05:00June 7th, 2022|

In March 2021, Kansas lawmakers got the news they had been waiting for: The state would be in line for $1.6 billion in direct aid from Washington, D.C., to help cope with the aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Officials soon learned, however, the problem with having over a billion dollars in funding: Everyone has a billion ideas for spending the windfall. The state initially was slow to spend the funds, with lawmakers instead intent on setting up a process to identify worthy projects outside the normal appropriations process controlled by the Legislature. In the months since, observers have complained of a [...]

7 Tuesday, June 7

Biking Across Kansas to return to southwest Kansas

info2022-06-07T08:16:12-05:00June 7th, 2022|

The longest-running bicycling event in Kansas history, a 512-mile ride across the State, begins Friday, June 10, after canceling the tour due to the pandemic in 2020 and hosting a three-day rally in 2021. Biking Across Kansas is an eight-day tour originating at the Kansas-Colorado line with an anticipated 600 bicyclists, including support staff. The bicyclists will start at the Kansas-Colorado line west of Syracuse and will stop overnight in Garden City, Spearville, St. John, Hutchinson, Hillsboro, Olpe, and Ottawa on the route. The cyclists’ final night together will be in Ottawa Friday, June 17. Source: GC Telegram

7 Tuesday, June 7

Salina’s new hotel is having success downtown

info2022-06-07T08:15:22-05:00June 7th, 2022|

Bringing a downtown hotel to Salina helps the city thrive. With a high occupancy rate, Homewood Suites on Santa Fe Avenue is serving as a focal point for organizations and driving visitors to downtown. High-end furnishings and friendly staff welcome visitors to Homewood Suites by Hilton Salina Downtown. This extended stay hotel is located blocks away from some of the city’s top attractions and dining options.... The company went to great lengths to make sure the hotel’s interior design reflected Salina. From brick and tile imprinted with the town’s name to framed photography and historical maps, references to Salina can be [...]

7 Tuesday, June 7

Municipal Bond Trends for June 6, 2022

info2022-06-07T08:13:39-05:00June 7th, 2022|

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.

7 Tuesday, June 7

Fed minutes point to more rate hikes that go further than the market anticipates

info2022-06-07T08:09:00-05:00June 7th, 2022|

Federal Reserve officials earlier this month stressed the need to raise interest rates quickly and possibly more than markets anticipate to tackle a burgeoning inflation problem, minutes from their meeting released Wednesday showed. Not only did policymakers see the need to increase benchmark borrowing rates by 50 points, but they also said similar hikes likely would be necessary at the next several meetings. They further noted that policy may have to move past a "neutral" stance in which it is neither supportive nor restrictive of growth, an important consideration for central bankers that could echo through the economy. Source: CNBC