(MANHATTAN, KS – December 21, 2022) — City-operated buildings will be closed Thursday, December 22 due to inclement winter weather.
This includes City Hall, Municipal Court, Flint Hills Discovery Center, Sunset Zoo, all three recreation centers, the Ice Rink, and the Animal Shelter. Snow, possibly mixed with freezing drizzle, is expected to begin around 8 p.m. Wednesday. A Winter Storm Warning is currently in effect through Dec. 23.
Additional snowfall of 1 to 3 inches and extremely cold wind chills of up to -30 degrees are possible through Friday, December 23. These dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes.
City-operated facilities were already scheduled to be closed Friday, December 23 and Monday, December 26 for the holidays. Thus, City Hall and most other City-operated buildings will not reopen until 8 a.m. Tuesday, December 27.
Municipal Court will be closed Thursday and any cases have been rescheduled to a future date. Payments may be made by deposit in the payment box outside the Courthouse or online.
For details about flight information out of Manhattan Regional Airport (MHK), please check the American Airlines website.
Essential operations staff, including street and utility crews, park and forestry crews, and the Manhattan Fire Department, will remain available to respond for snow removal efforts and emergencies.
Online Utility Payments
City services will still be available online and by telephone. Please visit cityofmhk.com to find contact information. In order to make utility bill payments during City Hall closures, dial (785) 587-2480 and choose option #1 to use the automated system.
Customers also can dial this system directly by calling (833) 277-8694, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Payments also can be made online at any time through the City’s online payment system, Paymentus. Customers may contact Paymentus Customer Care at customercare@paymentus.com or by calling (800) 420-1663 for help during this closure or outside of business hours.
Winter Weather Response
The Public Works Department is starting its 24-hour snow operation schedule today. Crews will be working 24 hours, split into 12-hour shifts each, for the duration of this winter storm. They will begin de-icing operations as soon as the snow begins to cover the road surfaces. The City will not pretreat roads for this storm because the extremely low temperatures and the prediction of dry, blowing snow will make any pretreatment ineffective.
Crews will continue to monitor streets and perform de-icing operations as long as there is precipitation falling and until all roads are safe and passable. The City will be treating and plowing major roadways first. As temperatures drop sharply through tonight and winds gust up to 45 mph or higher, blizzard conditions and low visibility are expected. Please reduce speed and use extra caution if needing to travel Thursday or Friday.
Find links to road condition information, including local traffic camera images, on the City website.