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Officials looking to spur industrial growth
Published 9/4/2010 in Local News
By SHAJIA AHMAD
Local officials are considering entering into a $1.1 million loan agreement with ethanol plant operators to help the company expand its operations and allow the city and county to acquire property in a return they say is ideal for industrial growth.
The agreement under consideration would allow Bonanza BioEnergy to solicit state assistance for the construction of a rail project and allow the development of a 50-acre industrial park at the southwest corner of U.S. Highway 50 and Jennie Barker Road, a site that has long been of much interest to prospective industrial companies, according to City Manager Matt Allen.
Allen said the opportunity to acquire the property is unique and could have a significant and positive long-range impact on the city and county's economic future.
"My experience working on these projects is that we don't have much to offer at this point," Allen said, referring to cash or land incentives for prospective businesses looking to expand or relocate to the area. "This is a rare opportunity to get this tract of land at the market value price."
As part of the possible public-private partnership, Finney County and Garden City would agree to pay $1 million of a Kansas Department of Transportation loan at a 2 percent interest rate.
Bonanza BioEnergy, which is looking to build an additional railroad spur at its ethanol plant to take on larger trains and bolster its products market, would pay the rest of the loan and in exchange, has agreed to deed over the undeveloped property east of Jennie Barker Road and south of U.S. Highway 50.
The agreement also includes a $500,000 grant from the state of Kansas for the estimated $2.58 million rail project.
Allen said the site has long been attractive to prospective businesses as possible industrial locations because it meets several ideal selection criteria: access to a four-lane highway, utilities to the site, rail and access to a wastewater treatment facility in the area.
The energy company also has agreed to share the railroad spur with prospective companies at the site, according to a letter of intent which outlines the agreement and which local commissioners will consider at a joint meeting at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday as part of the city's regular meeting.
The city meets at 1 p.m. at the City Administrative Center, 301 N. Eighth St.
Download a copy of Tuesday's agenda.
Found 1 comment(s)!
ind growth
What a bunch of goof balls.
Posted by: larry skipton on 9/5/2010