The Unified Government Commission will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1, in the UG Commission Chambers, lobby level, City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kansas.
Many planning and zoning items are on the agenda, including a zoning change for a planned highrise apartment at 4601 Rainbow Blvd.; a zoning change and permit for the Margaritaville Resort Hotel at 9400 State Ave.; and approval of the Downtown KCK Commercial Historic District, among many other items.
The agenda is at https://civicclerk.blob.core.windows.net/stream/WYCOKCK/a719a5b0-e856-4806-b120-280ed1b3660d.pdf?sv=2015-12-11&sr=b&sig=bM1xu2PRFlqeoXMtROnEQ0U2BYrGryybhCCRCi%2Bmy34%3D&st=2022-12-01T16%3A19%3A40Z&se=2023-12-01T16%3A24%3A40Z&sp=r&rscc=no-cache&rsct=application%2Fpdf
For information about how to connect to the meeting, visit https://www.wycokck.org/Engage-With-Us/Calendar-of-Events/Meetings-Taskforces/Full-Commission-Meeting
Topeka — The Kansas Department of Transportation’s secretary will return to the private sector after presiding over a period of financial stability at the state agency and implementing a bipartisan 10-year program of investment in roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
Julie Lorenz, secretary of KDOT since confirmed in March 2019, also chaired a task force to coordinate federal infrastructure funding flowing into Kansas. Her final day will be Dec. 23.
Lorenz said she was proud of work on the Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program, or IKE, which earmarked a minimum of $8 million for all 105 counties in Kansas.
“Thanks to the bipartisan support for IKE, we have rebuilt our infrastructure and modernized how we deliver transportation allowing Kansas to better seize opportunities and meet challenges now and in the future,” she said.
Calvin Reed, KDOT’s director of the division of engineering and design, will serve as interim secretary of transportation.
Meanwhile, KDOT deputy secretary Burt Morey, who serves as state transportation engineer, plans to retire after 30 years in the profession.
“Thanks to our team, we’ve been able to increase highway construction and improve worker safety at the same time, and Kansas is better off because of it,” Morey said.
The administration of Gov. Laura Kelly also committed to completing transportation projects delayed due to state government budget problems under Govs. Sam Brownback and Jeff Colyer. For years, hundreds of millions of dollars annually in KDOT funding was diverted to other state priorities.
Kelly, who was reelected to another four-year term in November, said Lorenz was a “visionary” transportation secretary who viewed infrastructure as a way to bring people and communities together in a way beneficial to the economy. KDOT has more than 1,000 infrastructure projects in the works across Kansas.
“Her ability to envision what could be and her determination to build strong coalitions have been essential to our success in closing the ‘Bank of KDOT,’ passing a bipartisan 10-year infrastructure program and coordinating billions of dollars in infrastructure funding,” the governor said.
When nominated to be KDOT secretary in January 2019, Lorenz was at Burns and McDonnell specializing in strategic business consulting and policy development for the transportation industry. Previously, she was KDOT director of public affairs and a special assistant from 2003 to 2011.
Scott Anderson, president of the Kansas Contractors Association and central region president of Summit Materials, said Lorenz was an innovator who involved stakeholders at the state level and in local communities. He said new initiatives, including a program of cost sharing with communities, helped target local transportation needs.
Winds may gust up to 34 mph today. (National Weather Service graphic)Winds may gust up to 43 mph on Friday. (National Weather Service graphic)
Today’s weather will reach a high of 50, according to the National Weather Service, with winds gusting up to 34.
A warmer day on Friday will see temperatures of 65 before a drop occurs to 38 on Saturday, according to the forecast.
There may be elevated fire danger today with dormant fuels, relative humidity falling to near 39 percent and wind gusts up to 40 mph, the weather service said.
Today, it will be sunny, with a high near 50 and a south wind of 10 to 15 mph increasing to 16 to 21 in the afternoon, the weather service said. Winds may gust as high as 34 mph.
Tonight, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 40 and a south wind of 16 to 18 mph, gusting as high as 34 mph, according to the weather service.
Friday, it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 65 and a south southwest wnd of 20 to 25 mph, gusting as high as 43 mph, the weather service said.
Friday night, it will be mostly sunny, with a low of 24, according to the weather service. A west southwest wind of 14 to 24 mph will become north northwest after midnight, and winds may gust up to 38 mph.
Saturday, it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 38 and a north northwest wind of 8 to 13 mph becoming light and variable in the afternoon. Winds may gust as high as 20 mph.
Saturday night, it will be mostly cloudy, with a low of 28, according to the weather service.
Sunday, it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 48, the weather service said.
Sunday night, it will be mostly cloudy, with a low of 31, according to the weather service.
Monday, it will be partly sunny, with a high near 47, the weather service said.
Monday night, it will be mostly cloudy, with a low of 26, according to the weather service.
Tuesday, it will be partly sunny, with a high near 35, the weather service said.
Tuesday night, it will be partly cloudy, with a low of 21, according to the weather service.
Wednesday, it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 38, the weather service said.
