Topeka modernizes parking payments with launch of new app

The City of Topeka, Kansas will be introducing a new way to pay for parking with the Passport Parking mobile app. The app, which will be the first mobile pay solution for parking in the City, will offer drivers a contactless option for paying for and managing parking and can be used at over 1,200 metered spaces. With the Passport Parking app, users can pay to park quickly and remotely from their smartphones. Additionally, users can receive alerts when their parking sessions are ending, get email receipts and view their parking history from one place.
Source: Derby Informer | News

2020-10-16T08:42:28-05:00October 16, 2020|News|

Parsons adds Pocket Park to Main Street

It’s a tiny park between pre-existing buildings — a new way towns and cities around the country are adding life to their communities. This started off as inspiration from a group of friends. Rod Landrum, SEK Point of Pride, said they would go out and they would travel, they would bring ideas back and implement them in our town. Then, that inspiration hit Rod Landrum and his wife as they were traveling to the East coast. “We thought, here’s an idea.” Once they returned to Parsons, they introduced the idea to Southeast Kansas Point of Pride. The city of Parsons is getting — what they call a Pocket Park — on Main Street. It all started with just one donation.
Source: KSNF/KODE

2020-10-16T08:41:50-05:00October 16, 2020|News|

Public-private coalition financing $24 million KU bioscience, tech research expansion

Light shovel work and bipartisan speeches marked launch of a $24 million public and private partnership to significantly expand the bioscience and technology business innovation center at the University of Kansas that has been at maximum capacity for a couple years. The administrations of President Donald Trump and Gov. Laura Kelly celebrated awarding of a $7.8 million federal grant to reinforce city, county, state, university and private funding for the 66,000 square foot building that could eventually create 225 jobs and generate $140 million in private investment. The federal aid emerged from an economic development law adopted in 2019 in response to a series of natural disasters that included flooding, tornadoes, wildfires and hurricanes.
Source: Kansas Reflector

2020-10-16T08:40:33-05:00October 16, 2020|News|

Douglas County stands behind health order that’s facing legal challenges

Douglas County issued a statement Thursday in support of an embattled health order that, among other things, limits the hours that bars can be open amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. In addition, attorneys John Bullock and Bradley Finkeldei, of the law firm Stevens & Brand, filed a legal brief on the county’s behalf in response to one of two lawsuits that question the health order. The order mandates that any restaurants and bars that hold liquor licenses must stop serving at 11 p.m. and close at midnight; however, establishments that do not hold liquor licenses face no hour restrictions.
Source: LJWorld.com.

2020-10-16T07:44:15-05:00October 16, 2020|News|

Lawrence seeks input from residents regarding how pandemic affects long-term plan for downtown

Though obviously not planned when the process first began two years ago, the city’s master plan for the downtown will now account for how the COVID-19 pandemic and related changes affect the future of downtown. … So far, the consultants are on the sixth of seven steps in the process, which have included community input, a market and demographic analysis, and creation of goals and a vision for downtown. Consultants began the process of drafting the plan at the beginning of this year, but will now reopen community input due to the pandemic.
Source: LJWorld.com.

2020-10-16T07:44:10-05:00October 16, 2020|News|

Pittsburg school board approves new Wi-Fi network funding as some remote learners struggle

The Pittsburg Community Schools Board of Education approved funding for a private LTE network at their meeting on Tuesday. The network, funded by money from the Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK) taskforce, will provide a connection to students with unstable Wi-Fi connections or access, and allow them to connect to the school’s protected network.
Source: Education – Morning Sun

2020-10-16T07:33:14-05:00October 16, 2020|News|

Emporia renews contract with FEMA, discusses library reopening plan

City of Emporia Commissioners renewed a long-standing agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency during a combined study/action session Wednesday morning. Board members reviewed their obligations included as part of FEMA’s Regional Multi-Hazard Mitigation plan, which is traditionally completed every five years, incorporating each community in Lyon County along with the county itself. The plan includes a Threat Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment, or THIRA, which examines the likelihood of severe weather, flooding and wildfire events, identifying potential area projects and mitigation strategies to manage such threats.
Source: Emporia Gazette

2020-10-16T07:30:12-05:00October 15, 2020|News|

Reno County Planning Commission loosens regs on commercial wind in latest draft

The Reno County Planning Commission made more changes this week to proposed zoning regulations for commercial wind developments. While the new draft creates greater minimum distances that turbines must be from a home, they loosen restrictions on noise and shadow flicker that may be generated by the machines. The changes did not sit well with a group of residents who opposed the Pretty Prairie Wind development and have sought much stricter zoning regulations.
Source: Local – The Hutchinson News

2020-10-16T07:30:47-05:00October 15, 2020|News|

After years of dispute, OP committee recommends removing — and not replacing Westlinks golf course fence

The long-running dispute over the wrought iron Westlinks golf course fence may end with no fence at all, much to the chagrin of Overland Park neighbors whose homes abut the course. The city council’s Community Development Committee took up the controversy — which has been brewing since 2013 – once again Wednesday night and ended with a recommendation that the fence be torn out. Neighbors have been pushing to have the deteriorating fence replaced with a similar-looking, 5-foot black powder-coated steel fence. They have said that type of fence would maintain their property value and the looks of the course.
Source: Prairie Village Post

2020-10-16T07:31:25-05:00October 15, 2020|News|
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