Municipal News & Jobs

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

Kansas Municipal News

Shawnee County trails increasingly used as a transportation network

Shawnee County maintains 60 miles of trails, with 31.64 miles being paved, said Mike McLaughlin, communications and public information supervisor for Shawnee County Parks and Recreation. While the county’s trails are used mostly for recreation, they’re increasingly becoming a transportation network in recent years, due largely to the creation of extensions that connect them with each other, said parks and recreation director Tim Laurent.
Source: CJonline

More in county going hungry

Most banks store money, but the Food Bank of Reno County is stocked with canned goods and pantry items instead. Particularly amid current rising economic costs, however, food is money. Penny Taapken, the director of the food bank for the last 18 years, said the need is increasing for services. “We serve emergency food to those in need so that no one should go hungry,” she said.
Source: Hutch News

Seeking new ways to boost workforce: Kansas office could expand state’s use of apprenticeships

As Kansas prepares for technology giant Panasonic to break ground on a multibillion dollar factory, Gov. Laura Kelly announced a new office designed to boost apprenticeships and help better bolster the state’s workforce. Under an executive order signed Tuesday, Kelly’s administration will create the Office of Registered Apprenticeships, a move designed to expand the tool, which allows workers to get paid while receiving job training in a specialized field. Currently, nearly 3,400 Kansans participate in one of 212 apprenticeship programs statewide.
Source: CJonline

Fed Chair Powell vows to raise rates to fight inflation ‘until the job is done’

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in an appearance Thursday emphasized the importance of getting inflation down now before the public gets too used to higher prices and comes to expect them as the norm. In his latest comments underlining his commitment to the inflation fight, Powell said expectations play an important role and were critical to why inflation was so persistent in the 1970s and ’80s. “History cautions strongly against prematurely loosening policy,” the central bank leader said in a Q&A presented by the Cato Institute, a libertarian think-tank based in Washington, D.C. “I can assure you that my colleagues and I are strongly committed to this project and we will keep at it until the job is done.
Source: CNBC

New City Administrator comes to Spring Hill

The City of Spring Hill welcomes Lane Massey as the new City Administrator. Massey joins the City with a Masters of Public Administration and more than 20 years of city government experience. He worked for the City of Wichita and Arkansas City before becoming the City Manager in Larned for six years. He spent the last five years as the Assistant City Manager in Emporia. He says his experience working in small to mid-size cities will help him navigate Spring Hill through growth and the challenges that come with it. 
Source: City of Spring Hill news

The bridges of Jefferson County 50 years after a failed bond election

When bridge inspections were first mandated by Congress over 50 years ago, 72% of the Jefferson County bridges were found to be incapable of carrying the legal weight limit. That is 129 of the county’s 180 bridges. Five of those bridges were closed immediately and low-weight limits were placed on the others. The disruption to the traffic flow on the county’s 900 miles of roads was tremendous. Marketing grain and livestock was a problem in an agricultural county as well as school buses and mail routes had to be rerouted and emergency vehicles, including fire trucks, could not cross many of the bridges. There were 7,000 fewer residents in the county at that time, but nevertheless a high percentage were daily commuters to jobs in neighboring towns and cities.
Source: JeffCountyNews

Kansas wants to plug abandoned oil wells that belch methane and swallow groundwater

Last summer, a utility worker stumbled across a well — one of thousands of abandoned, unplugged oil and gas wells scattered across Kansas — just 15 feet from a stream in La Cygne, an hour south of Kansas City. Such sites bear witness to the state’s history of fossil fuel production — and they can leak pollutants into the air and water generations after they’ve been forgotten. Tens of millions of federal tax dollars will help the state seal thousands of openings over the next several years, though many will remain unaddressed. Old wells in Kansas can date back to the start of oil and gas drilling in the region in the mid-1800s.
Source: KCUR News

Housing study adopted to help guide Derby’s growth opportunities

As part of the Vision Derby 2040 comprehensive plan, housing diversity – to meet the needs of a variety of age groups and income ranges – was outlined as a key tool for Derby’s future success. In line with meeting those needs, and securing resources to help do so, the planning commission received and filed an updated housing study at its Sept. 1 meeting. The new study will serve as the current housing needs analysis for Derby. Like the previous analysis done based off the 2017 census, the new housing study indicates that Derby still has a shortage of affordable housing.
Source: Derby Informer | News

‘I don’t want anybody to go through what we did’: Sedgwick County and partners launch new fentanyl awareness campaign

Law enforcement, along with Sedgwick County and City of Wichita leaders, launched a new fentanyl awareness campaign Thursday. “One Pill Can Kill” aims to educate teens and parents about the dangers of fentanyl. Sedgwick County released a series of videos about the drug, secret emoji codes used in drug trafficking and how to spot an overdose. “We need people to be able to speak up and address the issues that are taking place, because it’s about saving souls,” Interim Chief of the Wichita Police Department Lem Moore said. In 2018, 98 people died from a fentanyl overdose in Sedgwick County, and 242 died in 2021, according to Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter. This year, he said the county is on track to see over 300 people to die of the same cause.
Source: KAKE – News

Changing Topeka’s story

Topeka is remaking itself. It’s been a long road, but the Capital City has improved its quality of life and its image the past several years, spurred by downtown revitalization and increasing community-wide collaboration. One community leader says Topeka has “fallen in love with itself again.” And it’s better off than many residents might think, despite persistent problems. But optimism still battles pessimism in Topeka.
Source: KLC Journal

Augusta to reconsider ban on some dog breeds

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Sept. 7, the City of Augusta announced that it will reconsider its dog breed ban at its next meeting that is scheduled for later this month. “The City Council will begin considering a preliminary first draft of a revised animal control ordinance at their next regular meeting on September 19th, overturning the existing dog breed ban in the City of Augusta,” said the Facebook post. The city says the current draft of the revised city ordinance will continue to address dangerous animals but that the provisions will no longer be breed-specific or prohibit certain breeds from existing within the community.
Source: KSN-TV

Mayor Padilla receives second wave of art as the Topeka’s art initiative continues

You may have seen some of the art in City Hall, but now it has a new home. The Mayor’s Art Initiative in Topeka wrapped up its first showing on Wednesday. Art that was displayed in Mayor Mike Padilla’s office is now on display at 785 Arts on 6th Avenue. Some of the artists attended to receive recognition and engage with the public. “It’s a good way to get exposure for many artists who don’t have an opportunity to be in a gallery otherwise,” 785 Arts Gallerist Lisa LaRue-Baker. “This might give them a break into the art world in Topeka.”
Source: KSNT 27 News

Leawood Foundation raising funds for permanent restrooms on city trails

The Leawood Foundation, an organization that funds city amenities that might not be funded by tax dollars, is working to add public restrooms along the city’s trail system. Project details: As one of the organization’s 2022 initiatives, the foundation has begun raising funds to build permanent restrooms along city trails. The foundation appears to focus specifically on adding restrooms along the Tomahawk Creek Trail first, with plans for a permanent restroom adjacent to the north lake.
Source: Prairie Village Post

Labor Day Bash: Atlanta community hosts three-day celebration

The 137th annual Labor Day Celebration, “Sweet Home Atlanta,” was last weekend, and visitors to Atlanta on Monday started lining up on Main Street about 9 a.m. to get a good spot for watching the annual parade scheduled to begin at 10:30, just after the kiddie parade. … The main parade began at the baseball field at 10:30 and lasted until about 11:15. There were 32 entries that signed up for judging plus the Central High School band, along with assorted fire engines and others who arrived too late to be judged. Eight classic and antique trucks and cars were also in the parade. Some were later exhibited in the car show.
Source: The Arkansas City Traveler

Scott City looks at reducing fee for produce vendors

How many watermelon or ears of corn must one sell to cover the City of Scott City’s vendor fee? City council members are in general agreement the answer is “too many,” which is why they are looking at the prospect of waiving that fee for individuals selling farm and garden produce. Police Chief David Post expressed concern during Tuesday’s council meeting that the current vendor fee seems excessive.” Those who sell produce are currently required to pay a $25 fee, plus $50 for a background check. He agreed that vendor permits should be required in certain situations, but said, “Since this is an agricultural community, maybe we should exempt agricultural products.”
Source: Scott County Record

South Hutchinson residents might see their water rates increase soon

South Hutchinson residents may see a rise in their water rates next year after the city council agreed to review the city’s ordinance establishing monthly rates. City Administrator Joseph Turner contends language in the ordinance has been misinterpreted since at least May 2017, when the city adopted its current rate schedule, and perhaps going back as far as 20 years. Turner argues the ordinance sets both a monthly service fee and a per gallon user fee with a minimum charge but that residents have been only paying the user fee.
Source: Hutch News

Topeka temporarily repeals residency requirement it’s had since the early 1980s

Topeka’s city government is rescinding, at least for the next five years, the residency requirement it’s had in place since the early 1980s.The Topeka City Council voted 7-2 Tuesday evening to approve an ordinance taking that step, which is aimed at increasing the city’s pool of potential workers at a time when high-quality employees have been hard to find. The ordinance OK’d Tuesday arranges for the repeal to expire on Dec. 31, 2027, unless the mayor and council vote to extend it beyond then.
Source: CJonline

Sedgwick’s Historical Society to be a major hub for Fall Festival

As could be expected, with this year’s Fall Festival (Sept. 17-18) celebrating Sedgwick’s 150th anniversary, the historical society will be even more involved than normal.
From dancing showgirls to old-time photos, to horseshoe and blacksmithing demonstrations, the northeastern edge of the activity center for the Fall Festival will host a lot of events and all of them will be kid-friendly, according to historical society president Nancy Stahl.
Source: Harvey County Now

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