The Joplin engineering firm Algier Martin will give Allen County commissioners the skinny on what needs to be done with utilities if an industrial park were established adjacent to the county airport southeast of Iola.
Situating a complex near the airport would add an arrow to the county’s economic development quiver, and could make the difference during a recruitment process, commissioners said. Some industries are eager for easy access to air travel.
Water, gas and electricity are nearby, but sewer service is the outlier.
On advice of Counselor Alan Weber, commissioners agreed to ask Algier Martin to determine what upgrades or extensions would entail.
OVERHAULING Ninth Street in Humboldt with a mill and overlay would cost considerably less than previous estimates, said Cole Herder, Humboldt administrator.
The more intensive road work could be done for about $265,000, Herder said, about one-third of the cost previously bantered about.
Herder said the lower estimate could be accomplished with a half-inch leveling course and an inch of overlay.
Humboldt council members and Herder have lobbied for Ninth Street’s overlay for two reasons: It will carry more and heavier traffic once Monarch Cement starts hauling dirt from a site north of town and the road has been neglected for about 10 years due to a previous disagreement among Humboldt officials regarding the county’s maintenance.
As for Bridge Street, Herder suggested it undergo thorough crack-seal, in which cracks are blown free of dirt and then have hot oil applied to seal where water flows, freezes and otherwise damages the surface.
Herder said Ninth Street work could be put off until 2017 so officials can better determine Monarch traffic patterns.
IN OTHER NEWS commissioners dealt with two garden issues.
They agreed to give access to the east side of the courthouse square along Jefferson Avenue to accommodate the Allen County Farmers Market, from April 14 to sometime in October. The market will be moved to the east side to take advantage of its shade.
They also gave their blessings to the Southwind Extension District to have a spring garden fair on the square May 21. Krista Harding, an Extension horticulture agent, said several sessions would be held concurrently. More details will be reported later.
Scotwood Industries, Overland Park, was the only company to bid on magnesium and calcium chlorides for dust control on county roads. The company will apply the mix after the county makes arrangements with rural homeowners. Cost will be $1.50 a running foot.
