The Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas will have its eyes on several pieces of legislation as the 2022 Legislative Session continues.
RDA Board of Directors Chairman Jamie Sauder in his recent report to the board Friday stated the legislature has introduced a pair of bills that deal with both RHID development and moderate-income housing grants to help bolster housing development across the state. Sauder says this is a great development for Kansas as a whole and the city of Emporia needs to “be at the forefront” of any potential opportunities.
Sauder believes the city is “ahead of the game” in some regards, however, he says if development does not begin soon the community could quickly fall behind larger metropolitan communities that have larger job markets already available. At this time, Sauder says the city’s best option for development at this time is the Kretsinger tract, which was recently designated a housing opportunity overlay district and may be designated a rural housing incentive district following a public hearing next month.
In other business Friday morning, RDA President Chuck Scott stated the RDA has a “robust” pipeline of potential capital investment projects the organization needs to look to capitalize on. Scott tells KVOE News the pipeline includes an equal mix of existing industries looking to expand operations as well as new industries interested in relocating to the local area.
Scott says that if the RDA were to capitalize on each opportunity there is the potential for the creation of 600 new jobs and $500 to $600 million in capital investment. Scott added that he is a “realist” and understands the community will not be able to close on 100 percent of the opportunities, however:
The RDA Board will reconvene for its monthly meeting in March at the Trusler Business Center.
