Lawrence City Commission interested in $4.6M housing project but holds off on decisions for ARPA funds

8 Thursday, December 8

Lawrence City Commission interested in $4.6M housing project but holds off on decisions for ARPA funds

info2022-12-08T01:35:29-06:00December 8th, 2022|

Members of the City of Lawrence’s Housing Initiatives Division requested the city spend $8.29 million left from federal COVID-19 relief funds on housing solutions, but city commissioners stopped short of adopting that recommendation. Though commissioners showed an interest in plans to spend a little more than half of that total on a modular housing project, they are allowing other agencies to vie for some of the American Rescue Plan Act funds. “While I felt like a good portion of these funds should address our needs for affordable housing and … addressing issues of the unhoused, I did not anticipate us using [...]

8 Thursday, December 8

Kansas town’s library lease renewed after months of debate about LGBTQ content

info2022-12-08T01:34:00-06:00December 8th, 2022|

The Pottawatomie Wabaunsee Regional Library’s lease is safe for another year, following community uproar and legal pressure from the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas. The Saint Marys City Commission voted to extend the lease, without restrictions, during a meeting Tuesday night. The lease renewal was up for debate because the library had refused to accept a renewal clause asking for the removal of all LGBTQ and socially divisive books from the shelves. Source: The Lawrence Times

8 Thursday, December 8

Governor Laura Kelly Announces Groundbreaking of Sports Complex in Overland Park

info2022-12-08T08:31:55-06:00December 8th, 2022|

Governor Laura Kelly today announced the groundbreaking of the 420,000-square-foot multi-sport complex at the Bluhawk development in Overland Park. The facility is part of the $400 million-plus, 277-acre, mixed-use project funded partly by STAR Bonds. The Bluhawk Sports Facility will be built in two phases, anchored by a neighborhood shopping center, restaurants, and retail outlets. The multi-sport complex will drive a projected $3.8 million economic impact for Overland Park during its first year of operation. In addition to private funding, Overland Park has been authorized to use up to $46.5 million in STAR Bond funds for this phase. Source: Kansas Department of Commerce

8 Thursday, December 8

Treasurer, county want changes to tax statement mandates

info2022-12-08T08:33:41-06:00December 8th, 2022|

Barton County is a complex matrix of 56 overlapping taxing entities that either fall entirely within its borders or cover a portion of it. If just one of these is late getting their budget information to the Barton County Clerk’s Office, it delays the Treasurer’s Office from getting property tax statements out to taxpayers. ... Commissioners understood the complexity and that one entity can hold everyone at a standstill. “So, talking to you, how can it be improved?” asked District 1 Commissioner Kirby Krier. The issue is, Jordan said, the taxing bodies having to wait for the finalized November property values [...]

8 Thursday, December 8

“We’re not in Kansas anymore”

info2022-12-08T08:34:37-06:00December 8th, 2022|

Parrots, pink flamingos and pirates, oh my! My mother, Virginia, and I are part of a contingency of 95 Tampa, Kansas residents invited to enjoy Tampa, Florida, on that city’s and Southwest Airlines’s dime. Our group was up at 3 a.m. Monday to meet buses that would take us to Kansas City for our flights to the other Tampa. Source: Marion County RECORD

8 Thursday, December 8

Marion County commissioners set to vote on administrator

info2022-12-08T08:37:51-06:00December 8th, 2022|

Marion County commissioners are poised to vote Monday to create a county administrator position. At their meeting last week, commissioners heard from the public in support of the idea, reviewed a proposed resolution to create the position, and set the matter to be discussed Monday. Among those speaking in favor of hiring an administrator was retired judge Michael Powers. Source: Marion County RECORD

8 Thursday, December 8

Marion County underserved by lawyers

info2022-12-08T08:38:39-06:00December 8th, 2022|

With nine licensed lawyers in the county, several of them not actually practicing, and only two offices where a customer could hire a lawyer, Marion County is among the least-served counties for legal services. The Rural Justice Initiative, a committee to examine unmet legal needs in rural Kansas, will study the issue for 18 months and submit recommendations to the state Supreme Court. Although only half the state’s population lives in Douglas, Johnson, Leavenworth, Sedgwick, Shawnee, and Wyandotte counties, 80% of the state’s lawyers do. Source: Marion County RECORD

8 Thursday, December 8

Overland Park unveils new police transparency webpage

info2022-12-08T08:38:59-06:00December 8th, 2022|

An Overland Park mother is applauding the city’s efforts at bringing more transparency to its police department. The Overland Park Police Department last week unveiled a new “police transparency” webpage that includes information, links and policies that aim to more openly define the department’s processes and current measures in place to hold officers accountable. The page has earned the praise of Sheila Albers, a leading advocate for police transparency, whose son John was shot and killed by an Overland Park police officer in 2018. Source: Prairie Village Post

8 Thursday, December 8

Prairie Village to discuss attainable housing again in early 2023

info2022-12-08T08:39:25-06:00December 8th, 2022|

Prairie Village city leaders will meet early next year to again discuss the city’s controversial housing recommendations. The planning commission and city council will meet in a joint session sometime early in 2023, in part, to gauge the council’s support for potentially using public tax incentives to encourage the development of more attainable “missing middle” housing, like townhomes and duplexes, in parts of the city. Source: Prairie Village Post

8 Thursday, December 8

Wichita wants to incentivize landlords to provide low-income rentals

info2022-12-08T01:12:57-06:00December 8th, 2022|

The city of Wichita plans to incentivize landlords to rent units to low-income residents who receive rental assistance. On Tuesday, Wichita's City Council voted to support the new program with $250,000 from the city's allocation of American Rescue Plan Act funding. The program is in response to rising rental rates in Wichita, as well as several recent major sales to new out-of-state property owners who have decided not to accept housing choice vouchers, a form of rental assistance for low-income people and families, formerly Section 8. The city says it is often presumed that housing choice tenants are more likely to [...]