In alignment with changes to the property maintenance code going into affect in 2022, the city of Derby is giving its Neighborhood Revitalization program a facelift – with the city council officially adopting the new Neighborhood Maintenance Grant program at its Feb. 8 meeting. Assistant to the City Manager Sarah Gooding reported the new program will look very similar to the old program – with some minor changes made to open up potential participation throughout the community. Additionally, she said the program was expanded to address some concerns about the potential financial impact brought up during discussion of the new property code.
Source: Derby Informer | News
A handful of Chase County communities were recently featured in a travel blog that seeks out the “hidden gems” of Kansas. John Wise posts videos of his explorations of Kansas ghost towns under “Travel with a Wiseguy” on YouTube. He told the Leader-News this week that he travels often through his job as a track and field coach at Wichita State University. When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down sports in 2020, he was left feeling pretty antsy. “We travel all the time, so it was kind of a strange deal,” he said, adding that his traveling started that summer. “I didn’t think it would become much of anything, except something for me and some friends.”
Source: Emporia Gazette
The largest police department in the state of Kansas is hiring. “We always like to remind individuals that nobody forces you to do this job. This truly is a job that you want to do. You feel, in your heart, you feel that it’s a calling that you want to help give back to the community,” Wichita Police Sgt. Jeremy Vogel said. The Wichita Police Department just raised its starting pay for a police recruit to $24 an hour. Once an applicant goes through the six-month Academy class, they become a police officer.
Source: KAKE – News
Kansas state broadband leaders say federal and state funding established last year to improve connectivity across the state helped support nearly 100 projects, and they are optimistic additional funds are on the way. During the pandemic, the SPARK task force earmarked $60 million in CARES Act funding for two broadband grant programs related to the pandemic response. Connectivity Emergency Response Grants totaling $50 million are funding a total of 65 projects across the state and 25 Broadband Partnership Adoption Grants totaling $10 million helped facilitate internet access for low-income households, defraying internet subscription costs, funded hot spots, and provided devices to eligible households. Stanley Adams, who leads the broadband development office at the Kansas Department of Commerce, said the programs are having a positive impact on communities.
Source: Kansas Reflector
It was the trees that settled it for Julie and Kevin Morris as they were choosing between homes in northern Overland Park and the Blue Valley area thirteen years ago. Shady streets under a canopy of big, beautiful trees. “We didn’t want to be out in the suburbs,” regardless of how competitive the school districts are, said Julie. Instead the couple chose their Monitor Square neighborhood — just north of 103rd Street between Nall and Roe avenues — “because we liked the feel of it. And a lot of that is the trees.” Overland Park inside the I-435 loop abounds in two things: mature trees and, according to city staff, streets that are pushing past the ends of their useful lives.
Source: Shawnee Mission Post
Plans for a fire station reconstruction in Overland Park took a step forward this week.mThe city council’s Public Safety Committee on Wednesday approved a supplemental agreement for the reconstruction of Overland Park Fire Station #41, which sits near the intersection of 75th Street and Conser, just west of Metcalf…. Project engineer Tony Rome said sustainability is a key factor of the project. Although plans aren’t finalized, he said some of the improvement possibilities include adding bifold doors, using LED lighting and removing part of the parking lot to incorporate more green space.
Source: Shawnee Mission Post
A proposal eliminating the state sales tax on food moved out of a Senate committee Thursday but was expanded to cover utilities, delivery charges and allow theaters to keep sales taxes on ticket sales. The bill would eliminate the state’s 6.5% sales tax on food – one of the highest rate rates nationally – starting Jan. 1, 2024. It would still allow local governments to collect food sales taxes although they would have the option to eliminate the tax if they choose.
Source: Sunflower State Journal
Governor Laura Kelly announced 40 rural Kansas communities will receive Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) totaling more than $17.6 million to help support critical community development projects. “These grants will help our communities improve public safety, revitalize vital infrastructure and maximize economic opportunity for our Kansas families,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “It’s further proof that investments like this are critical to positively impact lives of Kansans living in rural parts of the state.”
The awards are administered by the Kansas Department of Commerce and granted from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Small Cities CDBG program. Eligible CDBG public improvement projects help fund water and wastewater projects, housing rehabilitation and other community facilities and services. “Community Development Block Grants strike at the core of what we all want to achieve for Kansas: strong communities, healthy families and a high quality of life,” Lieutenant Governor and Commerce Secretary David Toland said. “The investments announced today will create better living conditions for Kansans, which in turn drives new economic opportunities and promotes new growth across our state.”
Cities and counties, their award amount and project type are as follows:
City of Atchison
$370,000
Sidewalk improvements
City of Arkansas City
$300,000
Housing rehabilitation
City of Auburn
$330,765
Stormwater street improvements
City of Augusta
$260,000
Purchase fire engine
City of Burr Oak
$330,000
Water system improvements
City of Bushton
$530,000
Water system improvements
City of Caldwell
$300,000
Housing rehabilitation and demolition
City of Cawker City
$454,250
New water tower
City of Cedar Vale
$300,000
Housing rehabilitation and demolition
City of Concordia
$560,000
Purchase of a fire ladder truck
City of Dodge City
$300,000
Housing rehabilitation
City of Douglass
$99,000
New playground equipment
City of Emporia
$750,000
Street replacement with curbs and gutters
City of Fort Scott
$700,000
Water system improvements
City of Fulton
$270,000
Water system improvements
City of Girard
$600,000
New lift stations and improvements to the sanitary sewer system
City of Glasco
$323,530
Improvements to the lift station and sanitary sewer system
City of Hiawatha
$600,000
Improvements to the lift station and sanitary sewer system
City of Highland
$600,000
Street improvements
City of Humboldt
$492,086
Street improvements
City of Leon
$616,000
Water system Improvements
City of Lincoln Center
$300,000
Housing rehabilitation and demolition
City of Linwood
$499,586
Replacement of remaining cast-iron water lines throughout town
City of Lucas
$600,000
New water tower and water supply improvements
City of Lyndon
$501,111
Construction of a new community center
City of Lyons
$300,000
Housing rehabilitation and demolition
City of Mankato
$600,000
Wastewater collection system repairs and improvements
City of Marysville
$600,000
Sanitary sewer treatment facility improvements
McPherson County
$250,000
Water system improvements
City of McPherson
$500,000
Housing rehabilitation and street improvements
City of Medicine Lodge
$480,000
Rehabilitate/re-purpose existing building for a non-profit daycare
City of Miltonvale
$383,000
Wastewater collection system and treatment facility improvements
City of Moran
$450,000
Water supply improvements
City of Oberlin
$466,598
Sanitary sewer treatment facility improvements
Osage County
$260,000
Sanitary sewer systems improvements
City of Russell
$360,300
Street improvements
City of Saint Francis
$600,000
Street improvements
City of Timken
$170,000
Water system improvements
City of Valley Falls
$600,000
Sanitary sewer systems improvements
City of Wellington
$634,706
Water system improvements
The CDBG program, administered by the Community Development Division, provides federal funds to local governments for the development of viable communities by addressing their housing, public facilities, and economic development needs. To receive funds, the local government units must meet at least one of three national program objectives:
The grant will benefit low- and moderate-income persons
The grant will prevent or eliminate slums and blight
The grant will resolve an urgent need where local resources are not available
The Small Cities CDBG program is one of the Community Development Division’s primary tools in supporting the state’s small, predominantly rural communities.
Photos and video from the CDBG Awards Ceremony are available here.
Budgeting is a topic that can make one’s eyes roll. And when a city budget is in question, forget it. Lights out. Topeka is trying to change that perception by adopting an outcome- based budget for FY23. Following in the footsteps of Redmond, Wash., and Baltimore, Md., outcome- based budgeting can open a direct line of dialogue between the city and those who live in it. To date, Topeka has held four virtual workshops that have focused on neighborhoods, quality of life, infrastructure and public safety.
Source: CJonline
U.S. Treasury yields climbed on Thursday, with the benchmark 10-year rate breaching the 2% level, after key inflation data showed hotter-than-expected price pressures. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note jumped 12 basis points to about 2.05%, the first time that the benchmark rate reached 2% since August 2019. … The yield on the 2-year Treasury bond, the most sensitive duration to interest rates, surged 26 basis points to top 1.6%. The surge marked the 2-year’s biggest single day move since 2009.
Source: CNBC
