FEBRUARY 2012

REGIONAL NEWS

Clay County hires new county administrator — Dean Brookshier began his duties as county administrator for Clay County on Dec. 29. Brookshier is the former city administrator for the city of Chillicothe, Mo., and has also served as deputy chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Sam Graves.

Cities seeking administrators — The cities of Gardner and Tonganoxie, Kan., are seeking city administrators. Gardner has more information online. For more about the Tonganoxie position, email Art Davis.

Northeast Johnson County cities combine efforts to select waste collection services — The cities of Fairway, Roeland Park and Westwood, Kan., have asked MARC's Kansas City Regional Purchasing Cooperative to coordinate a formal bid process for waste collection services. The RFP has been posted on DemandStar. Contracts should be in place by April 2012.

Kansas City hosts national local government conference April 18-20 — After a year of planning by the host committee, the Alliance for Innovation's 2012 Transforming Local Government Conference is right around the corner. A strong showing of staff from metro jurisdictions is critical to the success of the conference. Register online by Feb. 15 for an early bird discount. This conference should be of interest to department heads as well as city/county administrators.

Park University hosts annual lecture series — Park University's 2012 Hauptmann Lecture will be held Wednesday, April 4, 2012 at the Kansas City Central Library. The featured speaker is Walter Broadnax. To register, contact Kecia Holland at the Hauptmann School, 816-559-5646.

Bike recycling project — The cities of Riverside, Liberty, Gladstone, Lee's Summit and Raytown are working with Revolve, a local nonprofit, to collect and recycle bicycles. The 2012 Revolve Bike Recycling Project is funded by the Solid Waste Management District and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. The used bikes will be refurbished and made available to anyone participating in Revolve’s Earn-a-Bike program.

City of Leavenworth raises funds for entrepreneurship — Leavenworth collected $166,667 in donations through Kansas Entrepreneurship Tax Credits awarded by NetWork Kansas. As an Entrepreneurship Community, Leavenworth will use the donations to loan to local businesses for startups and expansions, generating positive economic growth in the community.

Blue Springs implements paid-time-off program — In March, the city of Blue Springs will transition to a paid-time-off program for employee leave that will take the place of traditional sick, vacation and holiday leave.

MARC NEWS

Board of Directors — MARC's Board of Directors will meet Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012. The agenda will be online a week before the meeting.

Total Transportation Policy Committee seeks new members — MARC is currently accepting applications from organizations for voting membership on the TTPC, which provides policy-level input to the MARC Board of Directors on significant transportation issues, programs and projects. TTPC co-chairs will make appointments for two-year terms to expire Dec. 31, 2013. Interested parties are encouraged to submit an application by 4 p.m. on Feb. 15, 2012. For questions, contact Mell Henderson

Learn practical facilitations skills — MARC’s Government Training Institute will host its Successful Facilitation Certificate Program starting Friday, March 9. This 20-hour course is held over a five-week period, in weekly four-hour sessions. The program is designed to serve local government executives, department director, and other managers who deal with elected officials and/or seek public participation. More information is online, or contact John Staples.

GOVERNMENT INNOVATIONS FORUM/LOCAL GOVERNMENT SERVICES NEWS

Creating Sustainable Places introduces implementation guidebook — The highly anticipated Creating Sustainable Places implementation guide is available online, with chapters on the CSP guiding principles, understanding and planning for sustainable development, implementing sustainable development, tools, indicators, and best practices. Contact Dean Katerndahl or Jeff Hirt for more information.

KCRPC completes another successful year — The Kansas City Regional Purchasing Cooperative has generated more than $71.5 million in contracts during the last eight years. These contracts have documented savings of more than $1.6 million for local governments. In 2011, 63 agencies used the local KCRPC contracts and 64 local governments used the H-GACBuy contracts.

Next Managers Roundtable luncheon set for Friday, May 4 — The May event will be a true roundtable discussion, with a panel of four city managers discussing how to navigate local government services in an economic recession, touching on lessons learned and approaches for the future. Troy Schulte, Kansas City, Mo., city manager, and Eric Johnson, Blue Springs, Mo., city administrator, have agreed to be panelists. Additional 2012 dates for the Managers Roundtable luncheon are August 10, September 14 and November 9. Registration information can be found online.

STATE & NATIONAL NEWS

Innovative Smaller City initiatives — The National League of Cities is seeking nominations of small or mid-sized communities (population less than 100,000) that have developed innovative strategies to help children, youth and families succeed. Those selected will be featured in a YEF Institute report on small and mid-sized city leadership in the areas of early childhood development, education and after-school programs, family economic success, youth civic engagement, health and wellness, youth employment and improving outcomes for at-risk youth. The deadline for nominations is Feb. 29.

Planning Commissioners Journal to publish its last issue in March — The final issue of the Planning Commissioners Journal will include a special retrospective of the most important topics reported by PCJ over the years. Also at the end of March, PCJ will release an updated and expanded version of Welcome to the Commission! A Guide for New Members.

Changes in NIMS training requirements — Everyone involved in emergency management, regardless of discipline or level of government, should take the National Incident Management baseline curriculum courses (Independent Study-700 and ICS-100 online courses). Because incident command occurs in the field, the NIC recommends that only individuals with a command and general staff role need take advanced ICS courses. More information available is online.

The Rental Boost From Green Design — John K. McIlwain, Urban Land Institute fellow, writes that energy efficiency has become as compelling as "the new granite countertop" for home sales and rentals. He says homes with green, energy-efficient features are selling at higher prices. The article is available online.

Green energy primer for local governments — The National Association of Local Government Environmental Professionals recently released a primer that will help local governments evaluate the potential for developing renewable energy on brownfields and other contaminated sites. Cultivating Green Energy on Brownfields: A Nuts and Bolts Primer for Local Governments serves as a starting point for local governments considering renewable energy as part of redevelopment strategies.

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES

Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) funds available — FEMA has announced the availability of $380.7 million in SAFER grants. The grants provide financial assistance to help fire departments increase front-line firefighters, rehire firefighters who have been laid off, retain firefighters facing imminent layoffs, or fill positions that were vacated through attrition. Submission deadline is Feb. 24.

Funding for workforce innovations — The U.S. Dept. of Labor's Employment and Training Administration, has announced the availability of approximately $98.5 million in grants to support innovative approaches to the design and delivery of employment and training services. The deadline for submissions is March 22.

Grants for preservation and care of humanities collections — The National Endowment for the Humanities' Preservation Assistance Grants help small and mid-sized institutions (such as libraries, museums, historical societies, cultural organizations, and colleges and universities) improve their ability to preserve and care for significant humanities collections. Small and mid-sized institutions that have never received an NEH grant are especially encouraged to apply. The application deadline is May 1.