Plant owner Eugene Meier has 11 other concrete plants, nine of which are located inside city limits.
Several area residents, some of whom live outside the city limits, are expected to attend the hearing to protest the request. A letter to the editor from Don Huebner, whose property borders the city limits and is across the road from the site, appears in this issue of The Mirror. Huebner told The Mirror he would be at the meeting.

Meier has not responded to calls from The Mirror with requests for information about his plans.
Linda Zacher, Tonganoxie city planner, said Meier had originally looked at a location west of Tonganoxie in Leavenworth County, but eventually decided he wanted to be closer to the areas where construction was booming.

The site, at the intersection of Leavenworth County Road central position, easily accessible to many construction areas, she added.

At this point, Meier has placed a deposit on the site contingent upon his receiving approval for a special use permit there. The land has been zoned I-2 for industrial use since 1990 but the concrete plant would require an I-3 zoning. I-3 zoning requires provisions for heavier industrial uses, she said.

The zoning change is necessary to take into account the use of large, heavy trucks, which could require that Laming Road be improved. In that case, Zacher said, Meier could be required to help pay for the improvements. Additionally, she said, the road might have to be widened, or the roadbed deepened to deal with the heavier load. Those matters will be addressed at the public hearing, she said.

The city was required to notify all property owners within 200 feet of the edges of the property being considered for rezoning of the special hearing. Because part of the property borders the Urban Hess Industrial Park, that number was limited to about 10 people, Zacher said. On that side of the property which is outside the city, all property owners within 1,000 feet had to be notified.