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Port Authority awards bids for construction at Urban Hess center

By Joel Walsh - | Dec 5, 2007

Work on the Urban Hess Business Center in Tonganoxie could begin before the end of the year as members of the Leavenworth County Port Authority on Wednesday unanimously approved a bid for construction for the 25.33-acre site located at County Road 5 and Laming Road.

The construction bid, received from Oskaloosa-based King’s Construction, was the lowest of six bids, coming in at approximately $313,000.

The Urban Hess Center, a property owned directly by the LCPA, is to have sewer lines reconstructed and Commercial Drive, the street running through the business center, improved.

Lots in the center eventually will be suited for light industrial companies, said Christy Isaacs, of the Leavenworth County Development Corp. She added, “We don’t have any specific prospects at this time.”

King’s Construction has been involved in construction projects in Tonganoxie and Lansing prior to being awarded the contract.

“Based upon my review of the bids, based upon the comments I’ve heard about work in Lansing and Tonganoxie and after talking with folks in Oskaloosa, I recommend that we accept their (King’s) bid,” Port Authority treasurer Charlie Hill said.

The $313,000 expenditure will be paid for out of the Port Authority’s annual budget.

In other business:

  • Port Authority chairman Terry Andrews reported back from a Nov. 14 meeting held to determine the future of a combined business park and airport somewhere in Leavenworth County.

After a meeting with the Federal Aviation Administration on Oct. 24, the airpark committee determined that the Leavenworth County Commission would be asked to sponsor a justification study used to determine the need for an airport in the area.

“We’re very hopeful, after meetings with the FAA and local authorities, that this is a distinct possibility,” Andrews said, noting that creating an airport would be a four- to five-year-long process.

  • Andrews also reported that the Port Authority’s Land Search Committee authorized its chairman, Dan Gutshall, to form a new group to meet with city and county officials in selecting a location, approving plans and purchasing land for a new commercial site somewhere in the county.

With only about 15 acres left in the Port Authority’s Carlson Business Park at the intersection of 13th Street and Eisenhower Road in Leavenworth and 30 acres remaining once Urban Hess construction is complete, Andrews said, “We (the LCPA) are going to need more ground.”

  • Leavenworth County Development Corp. president Tony Kramer reminded Port Authority members of LCDC’s annual meeting from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7, at the University of St. Mary

In municipal reports:

  • Basehor City Administrator Carl Slaugh the city was moving ahead with design for a $3.9 million wastewater treatment plant.
  • Mike Yanez, Tonganoxie city administrator, said work on a new city swimming pool and a $2 million public works facility is progressing. He said he is hoping for ribbon cuttings for both projects in May 2008.
  • Lansing Mayor Kenneth Bernard said dirt work was well under way on Lansing’s Towne Center, west of Kansas Highway 7, and said city-sponsored roadwork on “147th Street is coming right along.”