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Municipal News & Jobs

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

Kansas Municipal News

Home ownership program fills slate of applications

All 10 requests have been filled for the Washington County Home Ownership Pilot Loan/ Grant Program. The final spot was filled Nov. 3 with a home in Clifton. Because all 10 spots will have loans that will be closed by the Dec. 31 deadline, there will not be a queue established in Washington. Washington County received $125,000 to be split among 10 homes purchased in the county this year. The first two homes received their $12,500 allocation on June 20.
Source: www.backroadsnews.com/rss.xml

County administrator search continues

The Unified Government continues to move ahead with a search for a county administrator. According to Bill Johnson, Board of Public Utilities manager, who is co-chair of the UG search task force, meetings were held last week with a new search firm, gv HR. The other task force chair is Bonner Springs Mayor Jeff Harrington. Johnson spoke at the UG Commission meeting Nov. 17. Cheryl Harrison-Lee was appointed the interim UG county administrator after former UG administrator Doug Bach retired Jan. 6. Bach had served as administrator since 2014 and was deputy county administrator from 2003 to 2014.
Source: Wyandotte Daily

Panasonic gives De Soto first look at site plan for $4B electric-vehicle battery plant

With site selection, incentives and more streamlined zoning lined up for its $4 billion electric-vehicle battery plant, Panasonic Energy Co. Ltd. soon will ask De Soto to approve a doozy of a development plan, one piece at a time. The company anticipates submitting its first of three phased pieces — a preliminary site and mass-grading plan — for the city’s Planning Commission to review in late December. The factory’s architectural elevations then could follow in January, culminating with final plans for grading, landscaping, signage and lighting in April.
Source: Kansas City Business Journal – The Business Journals

Topeka Metro set to launch on-demand transportation

The Topeka Metro is gearing up to launch a new microtransit on-demand service in the southeast area of Topeka early next year. The new service is called “Metro On-Demand.” MOD will let customers request curb-to-curb transportation in specific areas. Passengers will also be able to request a ride that would arrive in 15 minutes. “As we continue to look for new ways to improve, we believe the more personalized nature of microtransit will be a great addition to our service,” said Bob Nugent, Topeka Metro general manager. “Microtransit has been around for a while and has proven to be a more expedient and cost-effective way for folks to travel to where they need to go.”
Source: KSNT 27 News

County to move forward on sales tax direction

Since voters approved a measure to lower the countywide 1 cent sales to .75 percent to fund solid waste and joint communications, county leaders took action to clarify and ensure a solid path forward. Vice Chairman Casey Quinn brought the issue to the forefront Nov. 22 when she told fellow commissioner she thought it best to repeal Resolution 2014-1390 sooner than later in preparation the new sales tax rate becomes effective April 1, 2023. goes into effect. Quinn expressed her concern the document currently in effect would only be one be replaced by a new one without thought and communication with the public.
Source: Atchison Globe Now

Area eco devo agency staying busy for city

In an update to the Great Bend City Council Monday night, Bob Wetmore, co-director of Dodge City-based Great Plains Development Inc., said his agency continues to work for the community as he outlined the services GPD provides. This is a non-profit economic development agency that works with cities and counties by helping with loans to them as well as entrepreneurs.
Source: Great Bend Tribune

Speaker tells of historic preservation efforts

Randy Greeves, a recently appointed Historic Preservation Officer for the Unified Government, was the speaker at the annual meeting of the Wyandotte County Historical Society Sunday, Nov. 20, at the Wyandotte County Museum. About 40 persons attended. Greeves explained that the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 sets federal policy for the preservation of our heritage. The law allows federal, state and local governments to operate and cooperate in historic preservation efforts.
Source: Wyandotte Daily

City Manager Mitchell finds home in Hoisington

… As City Manager, Mitchell understands that being in charge doesn’t mean backing away from a project. “Just because something is hard doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing,” he said. … Mitchell got his first taste of community service when the United Way director asked him to be her intern. After graduation, he attended Kansas State University with a major in public relations, “because that was what she went to school for,” Mitchell recalled. Later as he was interning at United Way, he was approached by the Junction City city manager who asked what he thought about working with him. “I didn’t think that sounded that cool,” he said. “But I realized how much of a difference you can make working for the city.” He worked in the Junction City city office for four years, then followed up with his master’s degree in public administration “because that was what the city manager there had.”
Source: Great Bend Tribune

Democracy, Civility, and Rural America: An ICMA blog post by Russell city manager Jon Quinday

While often referred to as flyover states, rural America can be the calm and example for “of the people, by the people, for the people.” … We often hear of rural decline, which is true in some areas but not all in the rural Midwest. Listen to the conversations; some folks believe that rural decline is inevitable, with the belief that as older generations age and pass on, the younger generations are moving to big cities. In some instances, this is true. Take a closer look, and you see the younger generations returning to rural Kansas. Whatever their reason, it is a spark. Something or someone has drawn them back home, back to where their values and beliefs were formed, and are still alive and well today. So rather than talking about everything wrong with the community, rural life, or Kansas, let’s celebrate the progress our community and rural communities across Kansas have made despite being viewed as a relic of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Read the full post at ICMA.

Saline County signs mental health responders program into action

A new program will go into effect after final county approval Tuesday, allowing for mental health co-responders to assist local law enforcement on calls which involve or potentially involve subjects in need of mental health services. The move comes at a time where similar programs are gaining popularity nationwide, and as policing methods adapt to those trends. … “Saline County has been looking at this program for a while and when the ARPA funding became available, this is one of the things that we wanted to target,” County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes said.
Source: Salina Journal

Fixed cameras that read license plates are coming to Salina

Nearly two dozen cameras with the ability to scan license plates will soon be installed across the city after the Salina City Commission approved a request from the police department. The unanimous action by the commission means that the city will enter into a three-year agreement with Flock Safety for the installation and leasing of 22 fixed automatic license plate readers (ALPR). Sean Morton, interim chief for the Salina Police Department, said ALPRs, which can alert law enforcement to vehicles of interest, are not a new technology for the department, which bought two mobile readers in 2015.
Source: Salina Journal

Hidden History: Superior townsite fades away with founder’s Kansas dreams

The very first attempt at a settlement in what is now Osage County was called Council City. But Council City had a problem. The settlement company that funded and planned it was disorganized, and no one could quite decide where the best location should be – or even if it should be called Council City! After multiple attempts at establishing a location, in an area that covered nearly half a township between Switzler and Dragoon creeks, principal settlement seemed to find a resting place at approximately where Burlingame is today. At the head of the Council City enterprise in the earliest days was James Winchell.
Source: Osage County News

Andover tornado recovery drags on amid supply chain, labor issues

Supply chain delays and labor shortages have dragged out recovery in Andover after an EF-3 tornado tore through the area on April 29. “It was about the worst time in terms of lead times,” said Justin Smith of Smith Builders, who’s in the process of rebuilding 11 homes in the Reflection Lakes neighborhood. On the ground for 21 minutes, the tornado damaged roughly 300 to 400 structures in portions of Sedgwick and Butler counties and injured four people, officials have said. But recent headwinds in the construction industry have posed challenges for homeowners and businesses wanting to rebuild.
Source: Wichita Business Journal

Douglas County invites community to discuss process to move to 5 commission districts

Douglas County leaders will hold a community meeting to discuss the process of moving to five commissioner districts. Voters in the Nov. 8 election voted roughly 61% to 39% to add two additional commissioner districts to the current three. During the meeting, “County Clerk Jamie Shew will provide an overview of the process for moving to five districts. There will be an opportunity for the public to weigh in on the districts during roundtable discussions at the meeting,” according to information from the county. “The Board of County Commissioners will adopt a resolution outlining the new districts before or on Jan. 1, 2023. All of the districts need to be contiguous and have the same population size.” … What happens after the resolution is adopted will be determined by Gov. Laura Kelly, according to the county. Kelly — with advice from the county commission — will either declare election for new districts at the next general election, which will be in November 2024, or call for a special election to be held between 75 and 90 days from the date of the board resolution, according to the county.
Source: The Lawrence Times

City of Lawrence reveals new logo as part of brand update process

he City of Lawrence has revealed its new logo as part of an ongoing update to the city’s brand and marketing strategies. The logo continues to use a symbol that represents both a flame and a phoenix, a reference to the city’s abolitionist roots and struggles against pro-slavery factions leading up to the Civil War, but with some updates. City spokesperson Maureen Brady said that public input sessions showed that the community had a strong connection to the flame and phoenix logo, so the design was refreshed rather than created anew.
Source: LJWorld

Fed’s Mester wants more progress on inflation before ending interest rate hikes

Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester said Monday inflation will need to show more signs of progress before she’s ready to stop advocating for interest rate increases. While acknowledging that recent data has been encouraging, the central bank official told CNBC that the progress is only a start. “We’re going to have more work to do, because we need to see inflation really on a sustainable downward path back to 2%,” she said in a live “Closing Bell” interview with Sara Eisen. “We’ve had some good news on the inflation front, but we need to see more good news and sustained good news to make sure that we are returning to price stability as soon as we can.”
Source: CNBC – Bonds

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