ElevateEdgerton! has announced the creation of a new grant program for residents, property owners and small business owners within the City of Edgerton. The Encouraging Development and Growth in Edgerton (EDGE) Grants are designed to support residential and commercial improvements and small business growth within the City of Edgerton. The program offers two options: The Residential and Commerical Beautification Grant and the Small Business Attraction and Expansion Grant. The Residential and Commercial Beautification Grant provides financial assistance to homeowners, renters, small business owners and property owners located anywhere within Edgerton city limits. The reimbursable grants award 50% of the total project [...]

Council members passed the second amended and restated development agreement with the Grata Development February 21 at their council meeting. Grata Development received rezoning approval from the Gardner City Council for a $200 million mixed-use development located at the southeast corner of 175th St. and I-35 in Gardner in October, 2019. The first amendment to the agreement was passed Oct. 19, 2020. The second amendment changes include removing the developer’s de-annexation remedy, removing the issuance of CID bonds and the payment associated with the interest, increasing the common CID Cap to allow reimbursable expense in lieu of interest and clarifying the [...]

Last year was marked by many successes despite the impacts of the ongoing pandemic. Through the guidance of the governing body and the efforts of staff, the City of Gardner made significant strides in increasing our economy, improving citizen services and addressing the infrastructure needs of our growing community. Residential development continues to thrive, accommodating our increased population. According to the Census results last year, more than 23,000 people now call Gardner home- a nearly 18 percent increase from the previous Census, which speaks to the need for more housing options. Last year, 134 housing units were built or under construction, [...]

James Sutton will serve as the interim superintendent at USD 231 for the next four months. Mark Meyer had served as acting superintendent after the departure of Pam Stranathan last December. Sutton will serve as interim thru July while the board of education conducts an employment search for a permanent replacement. In a statement Sutton said, he is very excited about getting to know everyone in the district and communities as much as possible. He recently retired from Belle Plaine, Kan., after 40 years in education. Sutton was born and raised in Pennsylvania outside Pittsburgh, but his undergraduate degree in elementary [...]

Johnson County Board of Commissioners approved the City of DeSoto’s request for creating a TIF District on the former Sunflower Ammunition Plant property. The vote passed 5 to 2 with commissioners Michael Ashcraft and Charlotte O’Hara dissenting. Ashcraft said he was struggling with the proposed TIF district only containing 6,000 of the 9,000 acre property and wanted to know how it will impact future cleanup and regrowth of the site. Ed Eilert, county chairman, said the 6,000 acres of the property were in the city limits of DeSoto, but they didn’t have authority over the other 3,000 acres. “The Army is [...]

James A. Sutton was approved as the new interim superintendent for Gardner-Edgerton School District USD 231 at the February 7 school board meeting. Sutton will serve as the interim superintendent effective immediately until June 30, 2022. The unanimous decision by board members was made after over an hour of executive session. “I am nothing but excited about coming to USD 231 and assisting the rest of the fiscal year helping out to do what I can,” he said. Sutton said he had listened to quite a few different perspectives where the district was currently at and planning on going. “As mentioned [...]

Although municipal utilities – such as Gardner – are not subject to the Kansas Cold Weather rule, the city tries to work with those customers who are behind on their bills during the winter months. “We are working closely with customers to get them into contact with the agencies that offer assistance to help them with the hardships brought on by the COVID 19 Pandemic,” said Daneeka Marshall-Oquendo, public information officer. Although the Kansas governor suspended late fees and penalties during the pandemic, that order was lifted in Oct. 2021. At the end of the pandemic order, 1518 customers were delinquent, [...]

The Gardner City Council adopted an ordinance regulating mailed ballot solicitations during a 15 minute meeting Dec. 20. Sec. 7.5. Distribution of Unattributed Applications for Advance Voting Ballots regulates font size on mail labels, addressing and how much of an advance voting application may be completed prior to mailing. Those found to be in violation of the ordinance are found guilty of a class C nonperson violation. ... Questions regarding how Gardner officials would inspect mail, regulate label font size, organization’s executive officer or return addresses were not clear. Source: Gardner News

Johnson County Board of Commissioners agreed to a settlement to receive financial compensation from files claimed against pharmaceutical companies in 2019 for malpractice in the national opioid crisis. Fourteen counties and six other cities in the State of Kansas are also part of the settlement, Peg Trent, chief legal counsel, said at the Thursday December 16 meeting. Purdue, Johnson and Johnson, Cardinal, McKesson and Amerisource are the five pharmaceutical companies part of the settlement. Resolution 109-21 approves joining the Kansas Opioids Memorandum of Understanding between the Kansas Attorney General, the League of Kansas Municipalities and the Kansas Association of Counties. It [...]

A survey on downtown snow shoveling garnered a low response, Amy Nasta, deputy city manager, said the city had only received eight responses from the November 3 snow removal survey, and 50 percent wanted to keep the 48 hour time frame in place because of the timing of storms happening outside business hours throughout the winter season. 75 percent had not made snow removal arrangements, she said. Traditionally Gardner has kept downtown walkways clear to facilitate pedestrian traffic, but in 2016 a sidewalk ordinance was passed requiring all properties keep walkways clear. However, the city has continued to clear snow until [...]