City of Olathe News Briefs

City of Olathe News BriefsDecember 5, 2005
Olathe Housing Authority Receives Family Self Sufficiency Grant from HUD
Olathe Named Among Top Ten Digitally-Savvy Cities in Nation
Dispose of Household Chemicals Safely Saturday
Still Time to Enter the MLK Jr. Essay Contest

Olathe Housing Authority Receives Family Self Sufficiency Grant from HUDThe Olathe Housing Authority is a recipient of a $47,500 grant from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to enhance their Family Self Sufficiency Program. Nationally HUD is awarding $45.5 million dollars in grants to help low income families become employable, self-sufficient and first-time homeowners. This is the second year in a row that Olathe Housing Authority has applied for and received this national HUD grant. Olathe Housing Authority is one of only six Housing Authority's in Kansas receiving this grant.

The Olathe Housing Authority?s Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program provides Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher tenants an opportunity to become self-sufficient within five years by entering into a contract with the housing authority. The five year plan outlines major goals and accomplishments that will need to be met in order to meet the self-sufficiency goal.

To become self-sufficient the head of household and/or other adult will explore job training or placement programs, continuing educational classes, counseling, parenting and childcare, transportation, money management and homeownership opportunities.

Tenants who participate in the program will not only be improving their family?s financial situation but will also learn the value of savings and investment accounts. As the family?s income goes up the housing authority will place funds in an interest-bearing escrow account. This savings account could be used by the tenants to help them accomplish their goals such as paying educational expenses or a down payment on a home purchase. Once the family successfully completes their contract, any funds in the escrow account are given to the graduate of the FSS program.

This grant will be administered by Olathe Housing Authority staff with some of the services and classes offered through an inter-agency agreement between the City of Olathe Housing Authority and Catholic Community Services.


Olathe Named Among Top Ten Digitally-Savvy Cities in NationThe City of Olathe has been named one of the most digitally-savvy, cutting-edge cities in the nation, according to the 2005 Digital Cities Survey, an annual study conducted by the Center for Digital Government, a national research and advisory institute on information technology in government and education. The City of Olathe was ranked seventh of cities with a population of 75,000-124,999. Olathe ranked eighth in the 2004 survey.

The annual study examines how city governments are utilizing digital technologies to better serve their citizens and streamline operations. Mayors, city managers and chief information officers in more than 300 cities across the nation were invited to participate in the survey.

The Center and the National League of Cities (NLC) developed the survey and annually invites more than 600 city mayors, managers and chief information officers to participate. Survey questions focused on implementation and adoption of online service delivery; planning and governance; and the infrastructure and architecture that make the transformation to digital government possible. Open-ended questions allowed cities to discuss their initiatives on collaboration, enterprise activities, spatial data, policy priorities, and structure data.

For more information visit www.centerdigitalgov.com/center/05digitalcities.php


Dispose of Household Chemicals Safely SaturdayOlathe residents are asked to safely dispose of household products at Olathe?s Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) drop-off site, located south of the Olathe Municipal Services Center, 1385 S. Robinson, this Saturday, December 10. The HHW collection site is open the second Saturday of the month year-round from 8 a.m. to noon. HHW also can be disposed of at other times by appointment. Call 913-971-9311 to schedule an appointment.

Household chemicals such as motor oil, antifreeze, paint, batteries and pesticides can be harmful to the environment and should not be thrown away with trash or dumped down the sink. Disposal of these types of chemicals at a HHW facility ensures proper disposal of the chemicals and helps protect the environment.

For more information, please call the Olathe Municipal Services Center at 913-971-9311.


Still Time to Enter the MLK Jr. Essay ContestOlathe junior and senior high students are invited to submit essays in the Martin Luther King Jr. essay contest sponsored by Olathe District Schools, the City of Olathe, the Olathe Human Relations Commission and the Olathe Branch of the NAACP. The essay contest is open to junior and senior high students in the Olathe school district or Kansas School for the Deaf (KSD) who are sponsored by their Students Achieving Social Harmony (SASH) organization. KSD students are sponsored by the Olathe North SASH group.

This year?s theme, "If you look at schools today, what would Dr. Martin Luther King say about his dream of diversity," is taken from King?s ?I Have A Dream? speech delivered in Washington, D.C. in 1963.
Students are to submit an essay of no more than 450 words in length to their language arts or activity advisor at their respective schools. Schools must have their student essay entries collected and submitted to the school district by 4 p.m. on December 9, 2005.

Junior high school entries will be judged on theme, originality, organization and grammar. Senior high entries will be judged on the same criteria with the addition of oral presentation.
Cash prizes in the amounts of $200, $100 and $50 will be awarded to the top three senior high finalists while junior high winners will receive savings bonds in the amounts of $200, $100 and $50.

Top entries will be presented and winners will be announced at the City of Olathe?s Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration at noon January 13, 2006 in the Council Chamber of City Hall, 100 E. Santa Fe. The senior and junior high winners will read their presentations at the Olathe Branch of the NAACP celebration at 7 p.m. on January 16, 2006 at the Double Tree Hotel in Overland Park.

The goal of the Olathe Human Relations Commission annual essay contest is to increase positive awareness, foster greater understanding, and celebrate the diverse groups which make up our community.
For more information contact George Dunmore, Olathe Human Relations Commission, 913-390-0078.
For more up-to-date City of Olathe info. including Construction Areas and Job Opportunities, visit the City website at www.olatheks.org.