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" I have found no greater satisfaction than achieving success through honest dealing and strict adherence to the view that, for you to gain, those you deal with should gain as well."
Infrastructure
Development
Wamego Industrial Park: Contingency planning continues for a proposed access street from the southwest corner of Wamego Industrial Park to Balderson Boulevard. This would be a big traffic safety and convenience improvement for the public and for Caterpillar, New Dymax, Higgins Stone, R-Tech and Wilbert Vault. We have identified a low-interest USDA loan program the city or the county might be able to use to build the proposed street. An adjacent business outside the park might be willing to donate the land to the city or county necessary to build the proposed street. It would be best if this access street could be built before the planned upgrade of Balderson Boulevard, so heavy industrial traffic can be rerouted while the Balderson Boulevard upgrade is underway. Discussions with the city, county and affected businesses will continue. Green Valley Business Park: Due to recent sales, only four vacant finished lots remain in Green Valley Business Park. The corporation is about to have bids prepared for the build-out of infrastructure across the entire remaining north side of the park. It is estimated this will cost approximately $500,000. It is likely the corporation will borrow some of the money needed to complete this project. Completion of the build-out will add 14 additional finished lots to offer for sale, ranging in size from 1.4 to 2.8 acres each, with the capability of combining lots into larger parcels if necessary. In addition, the corporation and an adjoining landowner have agreed to donate right-of-way across a portion of Lot 20, and across the adjoining parcel, in order to construct a street connecting the east side of Green Valley Business Park to Excel Road. Financing for the actual construction of the planned street still must be determined. The street will add value to both parcels of land, due to the improvement in safety and convenience it will provide for access to the ever more busy 24 Highway. Sandy Hook Industrial Park: The corporation is in year four of its purchase of the undeveloped 30 acres in this park in St. Marys. We have no immediate plans for its development until it is paid for, but it will be available in the future as we are able to afford the infrastructure costs. The privately owned finished part of the park along the Highway 24 frontage has recently enjoyed two land sales. Highway 24/Blue Township: The county commission recently decided to contract with Manhattan for Blue Township sewer service. As we understand it, negotiations on cost, timing and pricing are currently underway between the county and Manhattan. In addition, new turnouts and at least one intersection with traffic lights on east Hwy 24 are in the planning stage. Business and especially residential growth continues in Blue Township at a rapid rate. Each new inhabited household has been reported to add $29,000 in direct and indirect value annually to the economy of Pottawatomie County. In addition, the mainly residential growth and resulting increased valuation in this township alone made up for about 25 percent of the lost valuation at Jeffrey Center this past year. Growth in St. George Township added more than $3 million of new valuation in the past year. Taken together, Blue and St.
George Townships alone made up almost 40 percent of the lost valuation
at Jeffrey Energy Center. Business
Start-ups, Retentions, Expansions
Ethanol: We have been approached by two additional proponents of building an ethanol plant in Pottawatomie County. One of these is a serious proposal that would build and operate the prospective plant in a way that would allow significant local ownership. Beginning in the middle of July, we will be hosting more detailed discussions between this investor group and a committee of local agricultural, financial and business interests in Pottawatomie County. More about this possible new enterprise as discussions continue. Business Incubator: We recently visited business incubators in Hutchinson and Topeka along with representatives from the Manhattan Chamber, the Washburn Small Business Development Center and National Institute for Strategic Technology Acquisition and Commercialization. Our trips to Topeka and Hutchinson were interesting, but the types of incubators they have are not particularly of interest. We have had a follow-up meeting and there may be potential for keeping the existing NISTAC building, which lies in both Manhattan and Pottawatomie County, as a high-tech incubator in a partnership arrangement between the university, NISTAC, the SBDC, the Manhattan Chamber and ourselves, with Manhattan still owning the building. Chad Jackson of the Washburn SBDC is putting together a "white paper" and prospective budget for further consideration. Hi-Tech Recruitment: The possibility exists that we might also be able to enter into a partnership with Kansas State University, the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce and NISTAC on another project. We are discussing the possibility of partnering to conduct a very targeted marketing campaign aimed at recruiting small, early-stage, high technology development companies to this area. We liken this to the work done 25 years ago that prompted the very powerful technology economic boom in the Bay Area of California and the Research Park area in North Carolina. Partnership possibilities are in the very early discussion stages at this point. Tax Abatements: Over the past few weeks we have been able to give some assistance to Custom Wood Products, Liberty Inc. and MGP Ingredients in finalizing their applications for property tax abatements to the state Board of Tax Appeals, through the county appraiser. Local Expansions: First Trust of Onaga broke ground on their new building in Onaga June 8. The Coop expansion in Onaga is underway. RWA Construction is building their new building in Green Valley Business Park. MacDonald Construction is building their new building in Green Valley Business Park. Bissen Concrete has their building materials on site at the Westmoreland Business Park. Equine Center: We continue to meet with representatives from Geary and Riley County to raise funds for the feasibility study for the proposed Regional Equine Center to be located on ground owned by K-State in north Manhattan. The Equine Center might be a major regional draw with strong regional "multiplier" effects for existing locally owned businesses, such as suppliers of feed, apparel, saddles and tack, equipment, etc. as well as motels, restaurants, service stations, stables, riding schools, large animal veterinarians, breeders, producers of hay and other feed, etc. It might also prompt even more local participation in owning and riding horses than already exists. About half the funds, $32,000, needed to contract for the feasibility study have now been raised. The partnership working on raising money for the feasibility study includes Kansas State University, the Pottawatomie County Economic Development Corporation, the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce and CVB and private individuals. Other public and private entities and individuals in the three-county region have indicated an interest and probable willingness to become financial partners as well. A very well-known and respected consultant with a national reputation in recreation planning has been selected to perform the feasibility study once the money has been secured. The study will determine: 1) The size and composition of the market for a major equine show and competition arena in this area; 2) The combination of event offerings that would cash flow the facility; 3) Whether the proposed facility and event offerings will "pencil out" financially; 4) How best to organize, finance and manage such a facility; and 5) The multiplier effects on an array of businesses in the three-county region. Assuming all of the answers to the questions noted are affirmative -- which is not certain -- we would then move ahead with the formation of recommended management and financing.
We continue to refer
new business clients to our contracted partner, Washburn University
Small Business Development Center. Chad Jackson is our contracted
SBDC business consultant. Chad has most recently been working
with new small business prospects from St. Marys and St. George.
He has helped many others in Pottawatomie County with their
start-up and expansion plans. If you'd like to avail yourself
of Chad's considerable expertise in business planning, market
research and financial analysis, please contact our office.
Chad's services are confidential and no fee is charged.
RKG Associates presented their draft Chapter Four on Education, Health and Social Services to the various committees. Big problems loom throughout the tri-county region with child care and health care. It is not clear how these problems will easily be resolved. Some problems and opportunities for us loom with education, especially for Wamego and Rock Creek school districts. The final reports will be completed and presented in September. The OEA grant has been awarded to Manhattan, which is acting
on behalf of all three counties most affected. The various
parties to the grant are now making their cash match decisions.
A draft RFP has been prepared and will be reviewed and issued
soon, in order to select a consulting firm to do the initial
work. This will result in a "Growth Management Plan" for the
region, including infrastructure, transportation, land use,
housing, education, heatlh and social services, law enforcement,
etc. Geary, Riley and Pottawatomie Counties and the cities
of Junction City, Manhattan and Wamego are parties to this
effort.
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Tourism
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Wamego River Landing: The Corps of Engineers has granted a permit to Wamego for the river landing. The city is preparing a more detailed site plan and the additional permit applications that are required. Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks has set aside $20,000 to help with this project, assuming we can get it underway soon. New landings have recently been completed upstream at the K-177 bridge south of Manhattan and downstream at DeSoto and Edwardsville. A new landing is also being planned in Junction City and one is planned for the future near Ogden. The Fort Riley recreation office has begun marketing river float trips as a recreational opportunity for troops. Other organizations continue to promote floating the river for recreation. If you haven't floated the river, we encourage you to do so. WAM-SAG-MAN (Wamego-St George-Manhattan) Recreational Trail: The Wamego Chamber Design Committee designed and ordered "Share the Road" signs for the Old Military Road between Wamego and St George, as an interim step in trail development. The corporation paid for these signs, and the county engineer installed them along the roadway. Bicyclists and motorists have already noticed these attractive signs and have expressed appreciation for them, as they are a visible safety measure. The Pottawatomie County Outdoor Recreation Council also recently received the CDs and tapes with all the design and scoping work completed by LaBarbara Wigfall and her KSU student design team earlier this year. The council is now working on the next fund-raising ride, the Yellow Brick Road Ride Oct. 21, and on financing for a more detailed engineering and cost study and a possible grant to construct the first two-mile stretch of the proposed trail. 2007 Commemoration: 2007 is the 150th anniversary of the formal organization of Pottawatomie County. In preparation, we are working with a professional historian, Dale Nimz, people from the chambers in St. Marys and Westmoreland, as well as representatives of the county Historic Preservation Committee and the Oregon California Trail Association to develop self-guided walking tours in St. Marys and Westmoreland. These would be linked with a self-guided driving tour along the Oregon Trail route connecting the two communities. Results of this effort may include signage, commemorative plaques, statuary, panoramic displays, Web pages, brochures, etc., to dramatize the unique events and personalities that form the history of these two towns and our county, in order to market our uniquely interesting heritage to tourists. This effort fits very well with the efforts of both the Bleeding Kansas Heritage Area and the Flint Hills Tourism Coalition. Also included may be a new protective structure for the remnant of the old Elm and other features at the Louis Vieux crossing site on the Vermillion River. We are not, however, advocating "spending $60,000 to protect a stump," as some have worried. Time is running very short for completing the initial conceptual work on this project and translating ideas into brochures, signage, etc. We hope to begin the next phase of the work by August. St Marys Brochures: In the meantime, Erin has been working with a group of people in St. Marys to design and unveil a new "Visitor's Brochure" and a "Relocation/Business Brochure". These brochures are more colorful than the previous ones and include more information about the rich history of St. Marys, as well as the many unique local businesses and services available in the community. Bleeding Kansas Heritage Area: Erin attended the monthly Bleeding Kansas Heritage Area meeting in Baldwin City. Sue Pridemore, the National Heritage Partnerships coordinator, spoke with the group about managing the enhancement and marketing of the unique cultural and historical assets within our 27 county "Bleeding Kansas" region and working on the "missing pieces." Three committees were formed: Natural Resources/Landscapes, Missouri Bridges, and Civic Engagement, the last of which Erin joined. The Civic Engagement committee will be a public relations group that will develop a "reach out to residents" plan with public forums to introduce the development and marketing process. All committees will define success for their respective areas of responsibility. Five "Rebel" counties in Western Missouri are now included in order to tell the whole story. Erin thinks these are great committees and is excited to see the project taking on detailed projects and tasks. Flint Hills Tourism Coalition: The Flint Hills Tourism Coalition is a 22-county partnership dedicated to developing and marketing authentic local agricultural, heritage, cultural, outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism opportunities throughout the Flint Hills. Each participating county has one voting member. We are the voting member for Pottawatomie County. Erin recently attended the monthly meeting of the coalition in Barnes at Our Daily Bread Bake Shoppe and Bistro. The formal logo for the oalition was adopted, as was the tagline of "The Grassroots of America." Ted Eubanks of FERMATA, Inc. recommended a workshop in August or September at which elected officials, chamber boards and economic development boards throughout the region can be briefed, to make sure everyone involved understands what this effort means to the region and how local projects can benefit in each specific county. A specific date for this has yet to be decided. Also, in Aug. or Sept., TravelTalk will pay half the cost, ($1,500 of a $3,000 fee), for professionals to do intense site assessments in our area. The coalition also secured three Web site domain names: ksflinthills.org, ksflinthills.net, and ksflinthills.com and will use these as work continues on the regional Web site and marketing materials. Flint Hills Tourism Coalition/Kansas Lottery Partnership: The first major cooperative marketing effort of the Flint Hills Tourism Coalition will begin this fall in partnership with the Kansas Lottery. The Coalition is teaming with the Kansas Lottery to offer five regional tour prizes: "Working Ranch and Horseback Riding;" "Golf;" "Arts and Cultural;" "Fishing;" and "Heritage." Each prize is for a three-day, two-night package for two people worth $10,000. The five winners will get to pick which package they want. The packages will feature various attractions, lodging, restaurants, museums, golf courses and much more right here in the Flint Hills. Winners can spend three days flying to various golf courses in Onaga, Manhattan, Cottonwood Falls and Winfield with the Golf Package. They can tour the Eisenhower Center, The Columbian Theatre and Oz Museum, and stay at Grand Central Hotel in Cottonwood Falls -- just to name a few -- for the Heritage Tour Package. The exposure this effort will bring to the Flint Hills Region will be enormous. Through statewide radio and television promotion, Pottawatomie County and our partner Flint Hills counties will be highlighted as great places to visit and stay. The beauty of the Flint Hills is worthy of being showcased, just as our communities are worthy of being promoted. The chance to enter the Lottery contest will start this fall and the winners announced shortly after. Winners will then have one year to take advantage of their package of choice. Some of the participating attractions and businesses in our own county include: Cool Springs Golf Course, Victory Inn, Columbian Theatre and Oz Museum.
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| Community
Development |
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A few of the allowable types of potential "Stay Home/Come Home" community improvement funds include community marketing programs, low-interest "bridge" revolving loans for low and moderate income small business proponents, scholarship and training funds for teachers and young technicians or business people, public infrastructure projects, research, planning, as well as education, health, social services, etc. The corporation has joined with others to help organize the Kansas Rural Communities Foundation in order to provide a tax-exempt, non-profit vehicle within which local communities can create eligible community improvement funds without having to go to the cost and trouble of creating new 501©(3) organizations. Founding board members are: Allen Schaper, Wamego; Jim Mees, St. Marys; Tom Nelson, Olsburg; Jim Moore, Westmoreland; Doug Springer, Wamego; Lois Hellebust, Olsburg; Chris Flattery, Onaga; and Gary Conklin, Westmoreland. Community advisors are Bob Cole and Mike Rice. Donors to local community improvement funds held by the foundation can be granted tax deductions for their donations. The foundation can maximize returns to endowed funds by pooling funds for more leverage in the investment marketplace. The foundation will maintain financial records, disburse funds to affiliated projects according to each fund agreement, prepare and submit necessary IRS reports, and ultimately help local communities and funds with donor education and marketing. The corporation has dedicated $25,000 to the administrative fund of this newly formed Kansas Rural Communities Foundation. It is matched in 2006 with $3,500 from the members of the founding board of directors. It will be matched with $20,000 from the Wamego Community Foundation administrative fund as WCF becomes the first affiliate. Pledges of additional funds from some of our five locally-owned banks have also been made. The goal is to create an administrative fund of at least $170,000 in order to provide the capital necessary for the board to hire a full-time director for two to three years in order to help local communities and causes throughout the county develop local "Come Home/Stay Home" funds such as those noted above. For more detailed information about this new foundation, call our office. In the meantime, the first local fund to be created within the foundation will be the playground fund in Onaga-Wheaton-Havensville. More about this fund and others in the next issue. Community Improvement Seed Funds: The corporation has offered to leverage the creation of local community improvement funds within the structure of the Kansas Rural Communities Foundation in several of our communities. Each has been challenged to identify a local project of their choice and to raise at least $1,100 dollars in local donations to create their fund. One-hundred dollars will be used to establish the fund. One-thousand dollars in local donations will be matched with $1,000 from our corporation. In this way, we can help communities and individuals get familiar with how this foundation will work and the ways communities and donors can use it to their benefit. St. Marys Preliminary Vision: A member of the board of directors of the St. Marys Chamber has developed a very thoughtful and visionary conceptual design paper on a possible future for the downtown core of St. Marys that would be elegant and attractive for residents and visitors alike. If the community comes to agreement on the vision, we will try to help implement it. Onaga Partnership: Our partnership with the Onaga Chamber of Commerce, the bank, the hospital, the city and downtown businesses has resulted in us collectively raising $22,000 and placing a local person on "volunteer stipend" to manage the implementation of the first priority projects identified last year in the Tri-Cities (Onaga, Havensville and Wheaton) "2010 Goals." The money is being held by the chamber. Day-to-day supervision is provided by the mayor. Our partnership committee will monitor progress on a frequent basis. Westmoreland Comprehensive Plan: Thanks to the initiative of Jim Moore, Gary Conklin and John Keller, John's KSU student planning team recently completed the Westmoreland Comprehensive Plan Update. It may be that Westmoreland is now the only governmental entity in the county in possession of a truly comprehensive plan for its future. The city and the Chamber of Commerce are now reviewing this document, and will hopefully soon prioritize its many findings and recommendations. Land use, water availability, community assets, appearance, business opportunity, infrastructure and much more are included in this document. If you'd like to review a copy, please call our office. We have offered to assist the community with several immediately "do-able" projects identified in the plan, in community and business development. More discussion about these possibilities will occur at the Aug. Westmoreland Chamber meeting. St George: Some have predicted the population of St. George will grow from 500 to more than 2,000 within the next five years! We have been in contact with the mayor and area landowners who have an interest in developing commercial properties. St. George needs a tax and employment base. Others have previously expressed interest in doing something in St. George to help it become a sustainable city. We will be working with the mayor and others in coming months to try to turn ideas into do-able projects. St. Marys: The National Guard is leaving St. Marys as part of their overall consolidation plan, which will deprive the them of reliable rent income for the facility, but open the facility to alternative uses in the future. It might make a good regional heritage attraction, or be rented for another use. More on this as discussions continue in St. Marys about its future uses. Plan Development: Our own plan has to be updated to satisfy federal and state requirements by the end of the year. A little later this year, we will be systematically asking many people within our county two questions about our own direction and operation: "Are We Doing the Right Things?" and "Are We Doing Things Right?" Data from the Fort Riley Expansion Impact Study will be completed by Sept. Additional planning data will be updated by a local contract consultant. We will have at least one, and maybe two, workshops with our own residents within the county later this year to collect ideas and opinions on our future direction. Our plan document will be completed and submitted by the end of the year. |
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