Municipal News & Jobs

Municipal News & Jobs2018-08-05T16:28:50-05:00

Kansas Municipal News

Peabody revitalizing downtown with help of a grant

While many small towns in Kansas have their downtown districts emptying out and buildings falling into decay, Peabody is working on fixing theirs up. This is all thanks to the Peabody Main Street Association ((PMSA), a Kansas registered 501(c)3 non-profit community development organization, that focuses on downtown preservation and revitalization. “All the buildings in our downtown business district are on the National Register of Historic Places because of their unique architecture. Only a few of those even exist in the entire country. Our group’s focus is on preserving that architecture and also assisting commerce in that district,” said Morgan Marler board member for PMSA.
Source: Hillsboro Free Press

Newton City Commission debates changing government

Newton will have to wait a bit longer to know what its commission will decide in terms of government structure. The Newton City Commission reviewed the results of a resident survey conducted by the company FlashVote, but the results were not very definitive to some commissioners. The survey is covered at length in another article in this issue of the paper. Basically, 47 percent of the 229 respondents favored the city directly electing a mayor. However, 45 percent of respondents favored options where the mayor was chosen by commissioners to serve as mayor.
Source: Harvey County Now

Kansas 3rd graders design inclusive playground so they can play with their classmates

Third graders at Lansing Elementary School have come up with a solution to a problem. With two of their classmates in wheelchairs and a third who needs a walker, all their friends can’t enjoy their playground at recess. “I’m really mad about it because it’s not fair that not everyone gets to play on the playground,” third grader Finley Kowalewski said. The students went to their teacher Christina Mills with a solution, a dream playground all their classmates could use. This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. “We just like playing with them because they’re part of the class, and they’re our friends,” third grader Braiden Ling said Mills and another teacher at the school helped the students design their accessible playground.
Source: KAKE – News

$2 mil. Rural Home Loan Guarantee program to make rural housing more accessible

Keeping small towns in Kansas alive. A new program is putting millions of dollars into rural areas of the state and it’s expected to benefit thousands of homeowners. This $2 million Rural Home Loan Guarantee program is through the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC). KHRC’s Executive Director said this will help small-town banks and families get into their dream homes. “There is a need for housing of all different qualities and sizes,” said Lyons City Administrator, Chad Buckley.
Source: KSN-TV

Topeka catalytic converter ordinance approved

Topeka city council unanimously approved a new ordinance Tuesday they hope will deter catalytic converter thefts. Just in the last couple weeks of 2022, Topeka saw more than 20 catalytic converter thefts. Tuesdays unanimous vote, which was taken just minutes after the issue was presented, shows just how much the city council wants to see this crime stopped in its tracks. It’s a costly crime, and the thieves work so fast, it’s almost impossible to catch one in the act.
Source: KSNT 27 News

‘The house shakes’: Residents sue Olathe, company over rock quarry near neighborhood

On a remote patch of land in the southwest corner of Olathe, an eruption breaks the silence. The explosion is a regular part of rock quarry Hamm Companies’ operations – blasts loosen the earth to allow for removal. But not everyone on a nearby residential street appreciates the activity taking place on the other side of a grassy berm. Residents Randy and Cynthia Kriesel are suing the City of Olathe and Hamm Companies for expanding the quarry’s property, which inches closer to a small neighborhood off West 167th Street near Interstate-35.
Source: KC Star Local News

Labette County hears about drug shortages

The Labette County Commission, meeting Monday as the Labette County Board of Health, heard from pharmacist-in-charge Tracy Gilmore that pharmacists and providers are seeing a lot of drug shortages and are hoping the Labette County Health Department does not see it in its daily work giving vaccines and antibiotics. For now, the Health Department reported no shortages. “It is kind of a scary situation in some aspects,” Gilmore said.
Source: Parsons Sun

Merriam reignites plan for old community center site

Merriam is relaunching efforts to transform the site of the former Irene B. French Community Center. A special committee previously charged with finding a use for the land at 5701 Merriam Drive is being reconstituted for the first time in four years and will work to finalize a design for the now-empty green space. Anna Slocum, parks and recreation director, told the city council on Monday that the committee, dubbed the 5701 Committee, would soon seek a landscape design architect for the project.
Source: Prairie Village Post

Manhattan city commissioners want to prevent members from holding 2 government positions

State Sen. Usha Reddi, D-Manhattan, said Tuesday she would “eventually” resign from the Manhattan City Commission as some suggested changing the rules to prevent a commissioner from holding another elected position. Last week, the Riley County Democratic party elected Reddi to fill in for the remainder of state Sen. Tom Hawk’s position after he announced his retirement. The Mercury previously reported that Reddi said she will resign a few days after she was elected, but on Tuesday, she didn’t commit to that timeline. But she said she doesn’t plan on staying on the commission for her entire term.
Source: themercury.com

Kansas officials pursue new megadeals with semiconductor makers

Kansas officials are pursuing megadeals for six new projects, including two companies that make semiconductors, by using the same tax incentives that landed Panasonic’s $4 billion investment last year. Paul Hughes, deputy secretary for business development at the Department of Commerce, briefed lawmakers Tuesday on the status of Panasonic’s operation and the potential to reach multibillion deals with more companies, providing thousands of jobs. Panasonic plans to start pouring concrete this month for its facility in DeSoto, where the company will make batteries for electric vehicles.
Source: www.joplinglobe.com

KHP outlines persistent recruiting, retention obstacles despite 30% salary bump for troopers

The Kansas Highway Patrol said Wednesday the state agency continued to struggle with recruitment and retention of qualified law enforcement officers despite the 30% raise in base salary for newer troopers implemented last year by the Legislature and Gov. Laura Kelly. Capt. Mitch Clark told state senators the KHP was competing with police and sheriff departments in urban centers in Kansas and law enforcement agencies in neighboring states. Nationally, he said, the applicant pool was diminished, training classes where smaller, and retention of young troopers and people eligible for retirement persisted. The economy, COVID-19, the “great resignation” and negative news coverage contributed to staffing woes, he said. “We are all fishing out of the same pond that’s drying up, that’s more shallow,” Clark said. “This is a national crisis.”
Source: Kansas Reflector

Lawrence city leaders express support for hybrid form of government with members elected by districts, at-large and a directly elected mayor

City leaders have expressed support for asking Lawrence voters about changing the city’s form of government to a hybrid system that includes some commissioners elected by districts, other commissioners elected at large and a directly elected mayor. The Lawrence City Commission discussed the potential changes as part of its meeting Tuesday. The commission considered a task force recommendation for potential changes last year but did not come to a clear consensus on how to proceed and directed city staff to defer the discussion until this year. Commissioner Brad Finkeldei said he continued to be in favor of the task force’s recommendation, which called for six commissioners elected by districts and a directly elected mayor, but since there had not been enough support on the commission for that option, he was proposing the hybrid format as an alternative. “For all the reasons I support six (districts), I think that setup would be better than the system we have now,” Finkeldei said.
Source: LJWorld

Lawrence city leaders express support for moving forward with a ban on single-use plastic bags

Lawrence city leaders have expressed support for moving forward with a ban on single-use plastic bags in the community. As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission directed city staff to bring back an ordinance for future consideration that would ban certain single-use plastic bags. The commissioners also discussed the possibility of charging a fee at checkout or creating an educational campaign, but they agreed that a ban was the best option. “This has been discussed for a long time, since I’ve been on the commission, and I do believe that it’s time to initiate an ordinance on a ban on plastic bags,” Mayor Lisa Larsen said. “The idea of a fee, I think, complicates it way too much.”
Source: LJWorld

$400 million STAR bonds district could be coming to former golf course in Park City

Park City on Tuesday took the first step in the possible creation of a new STAR bonds district at the former Echo Hills Golf Course. The City Council voted to approve a resolution to hold a Feb. 14 hearing about the sales tax and revenue bonds, which would create a potentially $400 million district that could include an aquarium and other museum and entertainment venues, restaurants, hotels, athletic complexes and residential uses. “To me, it’s a win for Sedgwick County and south-central Kansas,” said city administrator Sean Fox. “We’re talking millions of folks who will be coming to south-central Kansas on a regular basis.”
Source: Wichita Eagle

Municipal Bond Trends for January 10, 2023

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, Beth Warren and Henry Schmidt.

Fed’s Bowman says there’s ‘a lot more work to do’ to bring down inflation

Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman said Tuesday she expects more interest rate increases ahead, with higher rates to prevail for a while until inflation is subdued. “I am committed to taking further actions to bring inflation back down to our goal,” the central bank official said in remarks prepared for a speech in Florida. “In recent months, we’ve seen a decline in some measures of inflation but we have a lot more work to do, so I expect the [Federal Open Market Committee] will continue raising interest rates to tighten monetary policy.”
Source: CNBC

SEC, market need to hammer out uncertainties in muni disclosure law

A controversial new law requiring cities and states to standardize their disclosure raises a bevy of questions that market participants and regulators will need to answer to pave the way for implementation. That’s the message from Ernesto Lanza of Ballard Spahr, who wrote a white paper on the newly passed Financial Disclosures Transparency Act along with the firm’s Teri Guarnaccia and Kimberly Magrini. “The ability to collect data in a structured way makes a lot of sense, but it’s going to be an interesting journey to get to something that works,” Lanza said. “There’s a lot of uncertainties to be dealt with and decisions to be made by regulators, hopefully along with people who understand the market.”
Source: The Bond Buyer

Iola weighs merits of development costs

Iola City Council members will mull over a request for an incentives package to entice a developer to build a series of duplexes at the north edge of town. The request from Gabriel Woodman of Merak Development, Springfield, Mo., comes with a stiff price tag, Council members acknowledged Monday.  Woodman has requested the city extend at least two blocks of streets into the undeveloped land at what was once Cedarbrook Golf Course, at an expected cost of $1 million. Woodman is also asking the city to donate the land for what will be 10 duplexes.
Source: The Iola Register

Lawrence and Douglas County seek public’s feedback on draft wind regulations

Lawrence and Douglas County community members are invited to a meeting Thursday and an open house on Jan. 30 to discuss a new draft of wind energy regulations. The Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission directed city staff members to review Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS) regulations “in order to better align the wind regulations with recently adopted solar regulations,” according to a news release from the city. The draft regulations are now available for public comment… According to the release, “A WECS is a system of wind-driven generators that convert wind energy into electrical power. An individual machine is also referred to as a turbine, wind tower, windmill, or wind pump. A WECS may be for personal or commercial use, these two varying uses are referred to as P-WECS and C-WECS, respectively.”
Source: The Lawrence Times

Kansas House leadership lay out united plan for 2023 session

There are eight major areas that Republicans are calling their “a better way” platform. It covers almost everything impacting Kansas today, from taxes and workforce development to education and healthcare. “Yesterday was pretty much a ceremonial today, [now] we get to work and we all are ready to get to work,” said Representative Dan Hawkins. For the Republican leadership of the Kansas House and Senate, getting back to work Tuesday meant laying out their plans for this year’s legislative session, releasing its platform called “a better way.” “The senate president and I started talking four months ago,” Hawkins said. “And the one thing that we wanted to do is we wanted to have a legislative session that was keyed in on what was important to our members.”
Source: KAKE – News

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