There was spirited debate at the Gardner City Council Aug. 21 as councilmembers grappled with what to do about the deteriorating buildings at the Gardner Municipal Airport. The councilmembers heard presentations from Michael Kramer, public works director, who pleaded with the council to give staff time to complete evaluations and develop options before deciding what to do with the airport. Kramer outlined what the staff has already done and the next steps needed before a decision can be made. He said the city had conducted inspections to the buildings at the airport, developed cost estimates, conducted a survey of city residents [...]

Apparently newspapers aren’t dead. At least according to a survey commissioned by the Johnson County government. Johnson County residents were surveyed on ways to improve the quality of county communication with the public. The survey, administered by ETC Institute in Olathe, is conducted by phone with a random sample of 408 county residents. Ninety-two percent (92 percent) of those surveyed indicated they depend on traditional media either “frequently” or “occasionally” to stay informed about the county. The report did not appear to differentiate between online newspapers (website), traditional hard copy news print and a presence on social media. (Read more: Gardner [...]

During the July 19 city council emergency meeting, the amended water restrictions that had been imposed July 17. The amended restrictions went into effect on July 20. Outdoor water use will now be determined according to geographical location and applies to all homes, businesses and government agencies. (Map available at www.gardnerkansas.gov) North of Main St. – Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday South of Main St. – Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. No watering on Friday. Any outdoor water use, including lawn watering and car washing, will be allowed before 10 a.m. and after 9 p.m. on the assigned days. Refilling of swimming pools [...]

The dog park at the new Veterans Park has received a name: Melvin Murry Dog Park. At their May meeting, the Spring Hill Parks Advisory Board approved the design of the new dog park and its name. The dog park is planned to feature fire-themed items to honor the former, longtime Spring Hill fire chief, who died in 2014. The Murry family was present at the meeting in support of renaming the park. Currently, in a different city park is named after Murry — Melvin Murry is located in the Woodland Ridge subdivision. The Parks Advisory Board agreed to move the [...]

At the June 28 city Council meeting, the Governing Body approved Mayor Steven Ellis’ appointment of Jim Hendershot to city administrator, a position left vacant in 2017 with Jonathan Roberts’ resignation. Hendershot was selected from a pool of more than 50 applicants and nine top candidates, who were ultimately refined to four finalists. Other finalists included Darrin Tangeman, Kiel Mangus and Fred Sherman. Eager to get to work, Hendershot already has a first project in mind, he said. “I’d like to set up individual meetings with every staff person so that I can get to know them better,” he said. “I [...]