City approves continued reduced rates for licensed daycares

29 Friday, December 29

City approves continued reduced rates for licensed daycares

info2023-12-29T12:05:48-06:00December 29th, 2023|

A continuation of the reduced electrical demand charge program for licensed daycare facilities was approved by the Garden City Commission at their regular meeting on Dec. 19. Mike Muirhead, Garden City Public Utilities Director, said the program was initially approved on Sept. 20, 2022 for licensed childcare facilities within the city that are on the Church and School rate, but the minutes of that meeting did not specify if the program was to be a one-year credit or if it would be an ongoing program and if it was, when the commission would reevaluate its continuance. The program works by reducing $1 from [...]

29 Friday, December 29

Kansas Tops Nation in Economic Growth Over Fall 2023

info2023-12-29T12:04:52-06:00December 29th, 2023|

Governor Laura Kelly today celebrated that, according to data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the Kansas economy grew by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter of 2023 — the fastest rate in the nation. This improves on an already impressive record of economic growth; in the 2nd quarter of 2023, Kansas’ economy grew at the second-fastest rate in the nation at 7.4%. “This data shows that our efforts to support businesses, create a stable economy, and grow our workforce are paying off,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “Now, Kansas is outstripping the entire nation in economic growth and attracting business investment. [...]

29 Friday, December 29

New Downton Pavilion Is In the Works For Fort Scott

info2023-12-29T12:03:33-06:00December 29th, 2023|

The Fort Scott Downtown Pavilion is located between Old Fort Blvd. and Stanton Street on North National Avenue and construction is slated for completion in mid-January. A new 70-foot by 150-foot pavilion is in the works for downtown Fort Scott between Old Fort Blvd. and Stanton Street on North National Avenue. The Fort Scott Farmers Market Pavilion, or Fort Scott Downtown Pavilion is part of many additions in “The Gathering Square” in Fort Scott’s vibrant downtown district, according to Fort Scott Mayor Matthew Wells. ‘The farmers market pavilion would aim to be a dynamic community hub,” according to a press release [...]

29 Friday, December 29

E-scooters to cease operations in Manhattan after company announces U.S. shutdown

info2023-12-29T12:01:42-06:00December 29th, 2023|

E-scooters will no longer be a mode of transportation in Manhattan in the new year. City officials announced this week that effective Sunday, the LINK/Superpedestrian e-scooters will no longer be available throughout the community or on the Kansas State University campus. The company that oversees those e-scooters, Superpedestrian, will cease operations after the new year, due to financial challenges as reported by Tech Crunch earlier this month. E-scooters were introduced in Manhattan in August 2020 after the city contracted with Superpedestrian (formerly LINK) for a pilot program, deploying about 150 scooters into the city, at the request of Kansas State University. That fleet [...]

29 Friday, December 29

One of the two water tanks complete in Newton

info2023-12-29T11:50:49-06:00December 29th, 2023|

The City of Newton recently announced the completion of its First Street water tank. The city has been working since 2016 to replace a 3.1 million gallon water tank located nearby with two concrete 1.9 million gallon tanks. In 2021, the city purchased property to build the new tanks on from BNSF, due to the closeness of the location to existing infrastructure that serves the old tank. The project began in May of 2022 and then was put on hold for 10 months by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment due to new pollution being discovered on the property. Over that time period, [...]

29 Friday, December 29

Hillsboro moves forward with housing plans

info2023-12-29T11:48:27-06:00December 29th, 2023|

Housing was once again the main topic of discussion at Tuesday’s Hillsboro City Council meeting. In a follow-up from the Dec. 6 meeting, the group voted and agreed to transfer six acres of land to Mennonite Housing for a workforce housing project. Mennonite Housing will be applying for tax credits to pay for a 24-unit project that will be located near Dollar General and Carquest. The plan is for the housing to be made up of 12 Duplex buildings and would include a clubhouse maintenance garage. Duplexes would be two and three-bedroom units—each with a garage unit to fit within the requirements of [...]

29 Friday, December 29

UG approves new funding source for affordable housing, childcare

info2023-12-29T11:39:05-06:00December 29th, 2023|

Wyandotte County leaders will start 2024 with a new plan for funding community programs. Earlier this month, the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, approved an ordinance creating a Community Benefits Fund. Beginning in January, half of all administrative and issuance fees paid by developers receiving tax incentives through tools like industrial revenue bonds (IRBs) or tax increment financing (TIF) will be placed into the fund and used for community programs. The fund aims to leverage fees from developments in the western part of the county to support historically underserved or underdeveloped portions of the county. Funds will support the senior home repair [...]

29 Friday, December 29

Overland Park development defaults on bonds meant to help attract commerce to Kansas

info2023-12-29T11:37:56-06:00December 29th, 2023|

The Prairiefire development has defaulted on close to $65 million in outstanding bond debt, further substantiating concerns among Kansas lawmakers that the Overland Park project hasn't generated enough sales to make payments in a timely manner. Bondholders recently were notified that Prairiefire missed the Dec. 15 maturity date for $14.9 million in sales tax revenue (STAR) bonds, the balance of a $15 million tranche. That tranche was the first of three Overland Park issued in 2012, totaling $65 million, to build the 56-acre retail and entertainment complex south of 135th Street, between Lamar and Nall avenues. STAR bonds are a state [...]

29 Friday, December 29

Olathe reworks requirements for developers to get tax incentives

info2023-12-29T11:36:43-06:00December 29th, 2023|

Olathe is changing how developers can get tax incentives. Earlier in December, the Olathe City Council approved amendments to multiple economic incentive policies, updating the requirements for the use of tax abatements, Community Improvement Districts (CID), Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and the issuance of Industrial Revenue Bonds (IRB). The changes bar incentives for delinquent taxpayers and prevent tax breaks for developers threatening legal action against the city. Beginning Monday, incentives typically granted through a CID, TIF or the creation of a benefit district will not be approved if the developer has a financial interest in an existing development with delinquent taxes within the city. Applicants [...]

29 Friday, December 29

Call it ‘Swiftonomics’: How Taylor Swift brought a gold rush to Kansas City

info2023-12-29T11:31:18-06:00December 29th, 2023|

2023 was a big year for Kansas City. The Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl in February. Taylor Swift’s two-night Eras Tour performance in July included an additional song in her set and a new music video debut to accompany her release of "Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)." The city went all out for her stop, creating a lineup of Swift-themed events. But perhaps the most unexpected high for the city was when Swift showed up at a Chiefs game in September, making her relationship with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce public. Swelce — or Traylor, or Tayvis — brought renewed [...]