LEOTI -- Wichita County Road 23 is pretty easy to pass right now, unless it's someone who knows what they're looking for -- like a construction worker, resident or Wichita County Economic Development Director Sharla Krenzel.

For about the last month, Krenzel's been driving out to the site of the future 99-megawatt Central Plains Wind Farm, owned by Westar Energy and currently being developed by Renewable Energy Systems (RES).

The site is north of Kansas Highway 96, between Marienthal and the Scott County line, and it's good to finally see activity out there, Krenzel said.

"It's kind of confirmation," said Krenzel, who had just returned from the site Thursday afternoon.

The dream of seeing a wind farm in the county has been in the making for Krenzel and others involved with economic development in the county since about 2001, when she e-mailed 16 wind development companies, explaining to them the county had a strong wind resource, a transmission line available and would be interested in exploring the possibility of wind power. She got two replies, including one from RES.

It's that wind that Thomas Bode, site manager with RES, could hear blowing outside Thursday as he sat in one of the site's office trailers. Bode arrived more than a month ago to start working toward a completion date of the end of 2008 for the wind farm, but activity's really only started at the site within the last several weeks.

The trailers arrived within the last week. Powerlines went up Wednesday, and they're hoping to get power next week. Office furniture is still coming out of boxes, crews are working on installing phone/Internet service, and Sporer Land Development Inc., of Oakley, is handling dirt work.

"We're just really starting to get moving," Bode said. "We're kind of ramping up real fast."

The wind farm is part of an Oct. 1, 2007, announcement by Westar that it had reached tentative agreements -- later finalized -- with developers to construct three wind farms in Kansas, totalling about 300 megawatts. The Wichita County wind farm is set to have 33 turbines with a total generating capacity of 99 megawatts.

At the peak of construction, about a third of the way through the project, Westar and Bode estimate the county could see about 100 workers traveling through. Right now, there are about 20 workers associated with the project at the site off and on, he said.

Krenzel's ready for those workers to be in her county. Bruce Endorf, co-owner of Hi-Plains Motel & Restaurant, is ready, too.

"I'm anxiously awaiting it," he said.

Business has been tough recently, Endorf said, especially with no travelers because of higher gas prices. Traffic -- both out on the street and inside the restaurant and motel -- has been slow, he said.

Hi-Plains sits along K-96, which turns into Leoti's Broadway, and Endorf hopes workers make a right turn when leaving the wind farm site and travel west toward Leoti, stopping at the business he runs with his wife, as well as visiting other places in town.

Endorf said he's 100 percent for the wind farm and now, he's just waiting to see an impact from it, not knowing when that's going to happen.

The Hi-Plains is listed with other businesses in information Krenzel included in bid packets for the project. On the front page of the flyer, Krenzel writes, "Welcome to Leoti and Wichita County! We are excited to see the Central Plains Wind Farm come to fruition and want to see the project be beneficial not only to your company, but to our local businesses and community, as well."

Krenzel included information on Leoti, Marienthal and Wichita County, including utility providers, local government contacts, housing accommodations, contractors, recreation and a business directory.

For those successful in the bidding process, Krenzel is working on relocation guides to give to workers that include discount coupons to local businesses, and other information they might need when in town.

She hopes the books will help the visitors "become more acquainted with the community," which will, in turn, hopefully make it easier for them to stay, shop and spend money.

Krenzel is glad to see the activity, and she's ready for construction to kick into full swing.

That won't really happen until fall, Bode said. He expects to start on the foundations for the towers sometime in June, or shortly after, depending on the weather. The towers, blades and other material for the turbines won't start arriving until about September or October.

But when the towers start replacing the orange stakes currently marking their locations, Krenzel looks for excitement to build as passersby will start seeing the project from the highway.