A new business is coming to Emporia, however, residents will have to wait a while longer to learn who it will be.
During their recent action session, Emporia City Commissioners approved Emporia Enterprise to sell the former Dynamic Distribution facility at 3601 W. 6th Ave for $575,000. According to Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas President Kent Heerman, the buyer of the facility is a brand new business that will be coming to the community.
Heerman says due to nondisclosure agreements, there is very little information he is able to reveal about the new business at this time.
Though he could not divulge many details, Heerman says this is still an exciting venture for the community.
The sale of the facility comes as Dynamic Discs moved its distribution services to its new home at 840 Overlander earlier this year. The move has allowed Dynamic Discs to expand both its workspace and workforce with roughly 70 individuals now employed by the company according to Heerman.
Heerman says the sale of the 3601 W. 6th facility should be finalized on or before Jun. 14 at which time more information will be made available.
Also during the action session, commissioners approved a stage sponsorship request of $10,000 for the Halfway to Everywhere Music and Arts festival set to take place on Labor Day weekend.
Following the adjournment of their action session, commissioners moved directly into their regularly scheduled study session. One of the major items on the agenda was a continued discussion of a new water tap fee structure after a previous proposal to raise the fee from $126 to $1,100 failed during the commission’s May 5th action session.
Based off Wednesday’s conversations a fee increase may be coming as soon as next week, however, it may well be half the size of the previous proposal following a suggestion by commissioner Jon Geitz. Geitz suggested cutting the proposed increase for a 5/8 inch meter and one-inch tap from $1,100 to $500 and the proposed increase for a 3/4 inch meter and one-inch tap from $1,200 to $550.
Geitz believes the new proposal is a fair compromise for both the city and its residents.
Per the proposal, any tap for a meter large than one inch will be priced based on a survey conducted back in 2016 according to City Treasurer Janet Harouff. The proposed increase will be placed on the commission’s action session agenda next Wednesday and may see potential approval.
In other business, commissioners continued their recent discussions on updates to city code to bring electric-assisted scooters to town, following last week’s decision to sign a memorandum of understanding with Bird Bikes in that regard.
The code updates essentially help ensure the safety of riders and, among other inclusions, prohibits the riding of scooters on any state or federal highway within the Emporia community.
The update will allow for the scooters, as well as bicycles, to be operated on sidewalks in the downtown area which was previously prohibited. City Attorney Christina Montgomery says the code updates did not solely pertain to electric-assisted scooters as commissioners felt it pertinent for continuity purposes to address the use of other “wheeled devices” as they are all connected from a regulatory standpoint.
The Emporia City Commission will hold an action session next Wednesday at 1:30 pm inside the Municipal Courtroom at White Auditorium.
