No decision made on new county admin

The Barton County Commission emerged after a day-long special meeting Wednesday dominated by hours of closed-door meetings without selecting a new county administrator. It is anticipated a decision will come when commissioners meet for their regular weekly meeting this coming Tuesday morning. The Wednesday meeting was called to conduct interviews with administrator candidates. These were conducted in executive session over the course of Wednesday morning and afternoon. Commissioners reconvened in open session at 3:15 p.m. following the final interview only to go back into closed session to discuss the results of the discussions. They ruled out making a selection Wednesday because they didn’t want to rush to a conclusion.
Source: Great Bend Tribune

Ranson Financial2021-12-16T00:39:38-06:00December 16, 2021|News|

Johnson County advances some of the country’s most restrictive solar farm rules, leaving few happy

The Johnson County Planning Commission on Tuesday approved regulations that have been dubbed some of the most restrictive in the country for solar-generated electricity farms, pleasing just about none of the spectators at the two-hour meeting. Supporters of the proposed solar farm said the rules were a disappointment and “not our desired result,” while opponents expressed anger that any arrays of the photovoltaic panels would be allowed at all in the unincorporated western part of the county. “Have a good night as you destroy our rural part of our county,” said Sharmen McCollum of Gardner after being told the commission would not accept more comments on the solar farm regulations.
Source: KCUR News

Ranson Financial2021-12-16T00:31:12-06:00December 16, 2021|News|

Osawatomie establishes Healthy Rental Homes program

The Osawatomie community now has a licensing and regulation program to cover residential rental dwellings within the city. The City Council on Thursday, Dec. 9, approved an ordinance establishing the Healthy Rental Homes program. A Committee of Landlords and city staff collaborated on the initiative that has been more than a year in the making. City officials and landlord committee members agreed a licensing and external inspection program was a way the city can safeguard its interests in protecting the “life, safety, general welfare and health,” as well as help landlords protect residential properties and their appraised values.
Source: Local News | republic-online.com

Ranson Financial2021-12-16T08:15:01-06:00December 16, 2021|News|

More Kellogg construction on the horizon? Here’s where state plans to spend $166M on it

Gov. Laura Kelly’s new $750 million highway improvement plan calls for $166 million in upgrades to Kellogg freeway in east Wichita. Kelly announced the highway modernization and expansion Wednesday, less than a month after Kellogg construction ceased for the first time in 30 years. The next phase of Kellogg construction will address a bottleneck from the K-96 interchange to 159th Street east. At a press conference in Topeka, Kelly singled out the Kellogg improvements in her comments. “This is a pressing issue because by addressing the congestion at the north junction interchange, a significant bottleneck has been shifted to the new area,” she said.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle

Ranson Financial2021-12-16T08:15:09-06:00December 16, 2021|News|

Parsons planning commission talks tiny homes

Parsons is looking at integrating regulations relating to tiny homes in the city. Members of the Parsons Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals discussed tiny homes during their Tuesday meeting. The city does not have formal regulations on tiny homes. “Right now, I don’t have like a district for tiny homes,” said Laura Moore, community development director. “Right now, you can put one tiny home on a normal, traditional city lot.” “That’s an awful big lot for a tiny home,” she added. Verdunity Inc., based in Dallas, recently answered a question from Moore about the smaller structures. Moore asked Verdunity, the group that created the city’s new comprehensive plan, what Parsons could do regarding tiny homes and regulations.
Source: Parsons Sun

Ranson Financial2021-12-16T08:15:28-06:00December 16, 2021|News|

Derby’s housing concerns similar to others

Putting together a housing outlook for Kansas is a bit like placing jigsaw puzzle pieces together – and is sometimes the case, a few pieces are missing to make a successful picture. That was one of the points from a presentation by the Topeka-based Kansas Housing Resources Corporation’s statewide housing needs assessment study on Dec. 9 at the Derby Public Library. About 35 people attended the hour-long event, including several city officials. An aging housing stock, especially in rural areas, and affordable housing, especially for the senior market, were some of those needs cited by the study.
Source: The Miami County Republic

Ranson Financial2021-12-16T00:19:42-06:00December 16, 2021|News|

Former police chief, current city Chief of Staff Cochran to become Topeka’s interim city manager

A divided mayor and city council on Tuesday evening elected former police chief and current city Chief of Staff Bill Cochran to become Topeka’s interim city manager. … The measure approved Tuesday calls for Cochran to become interim city manager effective at 5:01 p.m. Dec. 31. He will oversee Topeka’s city government as the mayor and council conduct a search for a permanent city manager.
Source: CJonline

Ranson Financial2021-12-15T07:13:26-06:00December 15, 2021|News|

Reno County formally bans industrial wind in zoned areas

Reno County Commission voted unanimously to ban commercial wind development in all zoned areas of the county. A plan to create a new zoning overlay district that would regulate wind for the remaining unzoned areas of the county, however, was tabled until Jan. 11. A countywide moratorium on commercial wind development remains in place through mid-March. Tuesday’s vote prohibiting wind energy conversion systems or WECS in certain parts of the county came more than three years after a pair of residents first appeared before the Reno County Commission seeking a moratorium on wind development. That after NextEra Energy began buying up land leases for a proposed wind farm in the southeast quadrant of the county, near their homes.
Source: Hutch News

Ranson Financial2021-12-15T07:11:24-06:00December 15, 2021|News|

Kansas going big on broadband

With an influx of federal funding for broadband development, the governor’s office is championing a goal to have Kansas among the leaders in highspeed internet access by the end of the decade. “We’re being bold,” said Lt. Gov. and Commerce Secretary David Toland. “We’re being ambitious. We’re being aggressive. Because we understand how high the stakes are. We are in a race as a state against other states, and we want to win that race so that we can win new residents, we can win new businesses and we can retain the ones that we have.”
Source: Hutch News

Ranson Financial2021-12-15T07:10:14-06:00December 15, 2021|News|

Salina moves step closer to possible esports arena

After hearing in October about an opportunity to transform an older building into something new, the Salina City Commission voted to support a potential esports arena in the city. The commission voted 5-0 in favor of an expression of support to redevelop Memorial Hall into an arena and multipurpose facility…
Source: Salina Journal

Ranson Financial2021-12-15T07:09:13-06:00December 15, 2021|News|