Category: Business

Groundbreaking held for new bank building on Leavenworth Road

Security Bank officers, Unified Government Commissioners Gayle Townsend and Jane Philbrook, with Lou Braswell, executive director of the Leavenworth Road Association, participated in the groundbreaking for a new Security Bank facility at 55th and Leavenworth Road, Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Deniese Davis, treasurer and co-director of Leavenworth Road Association)

by Lou Braswell, Leavenworth Road Association

The groundbreaking for a new Security Bank facility was held at noon Thursday, April 22, at 55th and Leavenworth Road, Kansas City, Kansas.

Formerly the site of a car wash, the location is between a Church’s chicken and a new gas station on Leavenworth Road.

It will replace the bank building at the shopping center at 60th and Leavenworth Road. The bank has been at Sunset Plaza – Westgate Center for decades.

Expected opening of the new building is in fall 2021.

On hand for the groundbreaking were Security Bank officers and Unified Government commissioners, with the Leavenworth Road Association.

Governor signs bill providing low-cost loans to families, businesses experiencing high utility bills

Gov. Laura Kelly has signed a bill to provide low-cost loans to Kansans experiencing increased utility bills because of the extreme cold temperatures in February.

“Since extremely cold temperatures hit our state in February, my administration has worked with local and national partners to find solutions to provide relief to Kansas families and businesses experiencing surging utility costs,” Gov. Kelly said. “This legislation is a critical step in our continued response – and I thank the Legislature and State Treasurer Lynn Rogers for their collaborative effort to get this bill to my desk.”

Senate Bill 86 establishes the Kansas extraordinary utility costs loan deposit program.

The loan program will be administered by the Kansas State Treasurer.
“I want to thank Governor Kelly for signing this bipartisan legislation into law today. This is critical and necessary for Kansas communities and businesses to fully recover from the extraordinary weather event in February as well as the pandemic we continue to endure,” State Treasurer Lynn Rogers said. “My staff and I are ready to move forward with rolling out the low-cost loan programs the first week of May.”

Senate Bill 86 is online at http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/documents/sb86_enrolled.pdf.

Financial help available for natural gas customers

Customers who need assistance with paying their natural gas bills have payment options and financial help available, according to the Kansas Gas Service company.

The company has been notifying customers with past due balances ethrough mail, recorded calls and email, according to a spokesman.

“We want customers to know that if they’re unable to make a payment, we are here to help,” said Abbey Frye, Kansas Gas Service director of customer service. “In normal times, you may not need or qualify for assistance, but this year has been challenging. Fortunately, due to federal funding, there are resources available.”

Frye encouraged customers to pay what they could now to avid building up a large balance that would be harder to pay off later.

The company has a webpage at KansasGasService.com/Cares that identifies numerous programs and agencies that provide utility assistance. The programs include:

• Low-Income Energy Assistance Program, a federally funded program that helps households pay a portion of their home energy costs by providing a one-time per year benefit, see https://www.kansasgasservice.com/special-services/lieap.

• Kansas Emergency Rental Assistance, which serves Kansas residents who have had difficulty paying or collecting rent, utility or internet payments due to the COVID-19 pandemic, see https://kshousingcorp.org/emergency-rental-assistance.

• Share the Warmth, a partnership between Kansas Gas Service and The Salvation Army to provide energy assistance to those whose immediate financial resources cannot cover their home-heating expenses, see https://www.kansasgasservice.com/special-services/share-the-warmth.

• The 211 telephone number connects with United Way and provides information and referrals for utility, food, housing and health assistance.

For a list of other resources, see https://www.kansasgasservice.com/Cares.

Kansas Gas Service suspended disconnects for nonpayment for several months and plans to resume normal collection activities this month, according to a spokesman. In addition to regular past due notifications, customers with accounts subject to disconnection who have opted into text messages will receive an alert with a link to the Kansas Gas Service website for payment access to prevent discontinuation of service.

A spokesman also stated that a legitimate call from Kansas Gas Service will never include a demand for immediate payment.

Customers may call Kansas Gas Service at 800-794-4780 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday to speak about payment options. Those who have online accounts can log into their account and click on “Make a payment arrangement” under the “Make payment” button.