Wichita and Sedgwick County are applying for FEMA grant to help Calfskin flooding issues

6 Tuesday, December 6

Wichita and Sedgwick County are applying for FEMA grant to help Calfskin flooding issues

info2022-12-06T06:55:27-06:00December 6th, 2022|

It’s been a dry year in Kansas with very little rainfall, which has kept Bob Powell from needing to deal with a problem his home just south of calfskin creek has had for decades. He is referring to the Halloween flood of 1998. which caused him thousands of dollars of damage. Powell says the situation has improved over the last decade but as of now, his home still sits on a floodplain. “It's hard to sell the house because of you have to buy flood insurance and people just don't want to be bothered.” Over time the city of Wichita and [...]

6 Tuesday, December 6

Kansas community colleges reaching a crossroads

info2022-12-06T07:13:51-06:00December 6th, 2022|

A cost model created in the early 2000s calls for the Legislature to pay roughly one-third of the cost of instruction and related services for community colleges. The remaining two-thirds is to come about equally from student tuition payments and local property taxes. But the state hasn’t paid its share for years. In the 2020 fiscal year, state appropriations amounted to less than 20% of revenues for the community college system. That leaves locally elected boards with the difficult choice of either raising tuition, increasing local mill levies or both. ... Each college is governed by an independent board of trustees. [...]

6 Tuesday, December 6

Johnson County to consider funds for new homeless shelter

info2022-12-06T07:14:11-06:00December 6th, 2022|

The Johnson County Commission is poised to consider plans to create a new year-round shelter for people experiencing homelessness. According to a county news release, the commission at its Dec. 8 meeting will consider an agreement that would put $4 million in federal funding towards a new shelter. The shelter would be a non-congregate hotel-style shelter — meaning guests would each have their own private spaces — and it would be open all year, a service currently unavailable in Kansas’ most affluent county. Source: Prairie Village Post

6 Tuesday, December 6

Mayor Garner calls for community-wide effort to address key issues in Wyandotte County

info2022-12-06T01:23:26-06:00December 6th, 2022|

Mayor Tyrone Garner, in his annual message about the Unified Government, called for a community-wide effort to address key issues in Wyandotte County. Garner delivered the annual message at the Thursday, Dec. 1, UG Commission meeting. Often in the past, similar speeches have been delivered at a “State of the UG” address at the Reardon Convention Center. According to the mayor, an annual message is required by the UG charter. Source: Wyandotte Daily

6 Tuesday, December 6

Indianapolis developer plans $49M affordable housing in east Wichita

info2022-12-06T01:21:22-06:00December 6th, 2022|

The Annex Group, an Indianapolis-based multifamily developer, plans to build a 240-unit affordable housing complex in east Wichita, and will seek tax-exempt bonds from the city to help fund the project. Called Union at Purple Heart Trail, the complex will have two, four-story buildings near the southeast corner of Douglas Avenue and 127th Street, near the interchange for the Kansas Turnpike, K-96 and Kellogg. Source: Wichita Business Journal

6 Tuesday, December 6

Kansas coalition of cities flex muscle at Capitol to influence tax, water, housing reform

info2022-12-06T01:16:38-06:00December 6th, 2022|

The Kansas League of Municipalities is a proponent of eliminating the state’s 6.5% sales tax on food purchases, but an unexpected wrinkle complicates that policy position. The 2022 Legislature and Gov. Laura Kelly approved a law dropping the statewide sales tax on groceries to 4% on Jan. 1. It would fall to 2% on Jan. 1, 2024 and vaporize one year later. The Republican-dominated 2023 Legislature, which convenes Jan. 9 in Topeka, will have an opportunity to address Kelly’s plea to immediately strike the state’s share of the food sales tax. High inflation has bolstered political support for the move. Source: [...]

6 Tuesday, December 6

Multi-million dollar hotel project potentially coming to Hutchinson in 2024

info2022-12-06T01:15:19-06:00December 6th, 2022|

A new $18 Million Hotel and Conference Center could be coming to Hutchinson. City leaders say it would make up for a lack of hotel rooms when Hutch hosts big events. "That would be good. I think they'd like that. If they were coming from out of state. I have some family in Ohio. I think they'd like to stay there,” said Caleb Penrose, of Buhler Kansas. “For the last few years, we've been a little short on beds for hotels. We have some good hotels, but with the events we have and some of the businesses in town, we find [...]

5 Monday, December 5

What if dialing 911 doesn’t bring an ambulance? Some Kansas communities fear that reality

info2022-12-05T09:48:17-06:00December 5th, 2022|

It is a promise that most residents are used to and rely on: Dial 911, and an ambulance staffed with paramedics and EMTs will be there in a flash to help with an emergency. In Doniphan County, however, a service that many take for granted almost stopped. After years of staffing difficulties, the two entities providing emergency medical services in the county — the city of Troy and a rural fire district based in Highland — found themselves on the brink of closure earlier this year. "We were to the point where we felt that if we didn't do something, we [...]

5 Monday, December 5

Municipal Bond Trends for December 2, 2022

Henry Schmidt2022-12-05T09:04:54-06:00December 5th, 2022|

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS "investment grade" yields. Every issuer's credit is different. For rates that may be applicable to your municipality, contact our Municipal Bond Advisors, Larry Kleeman and Beth Warren.

5 Monday, December 5

WSU’s CEDBR shares insights on labor market troubles in Kansas

info2022-12-05T08:54:06-06:00December 5th, 2022|

The Center was approached by Wallet Hub last week to answer a few questions about the labor market troubles. We thought that the interaction would be of value to the business and community leadership within Kansas. Why do employers have difficulties in filling employment positions? The three driving forces behind employers experiencing a lack of qualified candidates are demographics, an overly heated economy, and friction within the labor market. First, U.S. population growth, along with immigration, has restricted the labor supply. Within the demographic shift, which has been well published, are Baby Boomer exits, leaving behind a labor gap. The second [...]