Missouri
Buchanan County
Western Institute Gets NASA Help
Dr. Donna Shirley, former manager of NASA’s Mars exploration program, will serve as a volunteer advisor for the Western Institute at Missouri Western State College. Dr. Shirley’s role will be to advise on how to evolve the research enterprise.
Cass County
Economic Council to Form
Business leaders and mayors from area communities have agreed to form the Cass County Corporation for Economic Development. Articles of incorporation have been established. The goal is to begin meeting by the end of June. The primary focus will be the creation of the North Cass Parkway, which will connect U.S. 71 to U.S. 69 in Kansas, and the possible conversion of 71 into Interstate 49.
Clay County
Gladstone to Develop Vacant Property
The Gladstone City Council voted to allow developers to build two strip center buildings and three retail sites on the undeveloped land at 64th Street and N. Prospect Ave. The original proposal to develop the area was created in 1978 but never had been approved. Area residents still opposed the development, but enough conditions were added to gain the approval of the city council.
New School Has to pay Road Costs
The Liberty City Council voted unanimously to require the Liberty School District to pay for a 750-foot connection to Highway A and Camille Street. The street will provide access to the new elementary school in Place Liberty. The cost of the connection is $560.000.
Jackson County
AFL to be first in Sprint Center
An Arena Football League franchise appears to be in place as the first tenant in the new Sprint Center. Tyler Prochnow has reached an agreement with the city to have his team, tentatively approved by the AFL, play in Kemper Arena in 2006 and part of 2007 season until the Sprint Center is completed. The team will be owned by Prochnow’s K.C. Arena Sports and Entertainment, includes former Kansas City Chief Neil Smith in its investment group.
Best Tool Gets Defense Contract
Best Tool & Manufacturing Co. Inc. received a contract for more than $840,000 from the U.S. Department of Defense to provide support stands and related parts for machine guns for the U.S. Army. The company is expected to complete the work by the end of 2009.
Joint Venture to Cost 150 KC Jobs
A joint venture between KC-based AMC Entertainment and Regal Enter-tainment Group will create a new company, called National CineMedia LLC, to be headquartered in Denver. AMC’s cinema advertising subsidiary employs about 150 people, 70 of whom will be laid off, while the rest will be offered opportunities with the new company.
DST to Buy Health Plan Business
DST Systems will purchase Health Plans Solutions, a software developer and application services provider for the commercial healthcare industry from Computer Sciences Corporation for around 7.1 million shares, valued at nearly $325 million. Health Plans Solutions has been in business since the 1960s and will expand DST’s presence in the healthcare processing services industry.
Hotel Changes Hands...Again
The Doubletree Hotel at 1301 Wyandotte will become a Radisson hotel, the fifth different name in the hotel’s 35-year history. The hotel open-ed in 1970 as a Holiday Inn and has been called Americana and Omni before converting to Doubletree.
Johnson County
CMSU to Host Workshops for Middle School Teachers
Central Missouri State University will host 30 teachers from Missouri middle schools in each of the next three years for two-week workshops on science. The workshops will provide teachers with strategies and information needed to address state requirements for mid-dle school science students. The univer-sity received a $376,596 grant from the Missouri Department of Higher Education to help fund the program.
Lafayette County
Airport Improvements in Higginsville
The Missouri Department of Transportation has awarded the city of Higginsville $1.35 million in federal block grants and $150,000 from the ‘05 non-primary entitlement program for an improvement project for the Higginsville Municipal Airport. The federal funding will cover 95 percent of the eligible project costs with a 5 percent local match.
Platte County
American to Cut 500 Jobs
American Airlines will cut more than 500 jobs from its Kansas City overhaul base in June in a further move to rejuvenate its bottom line. It is the second large cut in six months, as 400 jobs were eliminated in December through layoffs and early retirements. After the cuts, American will employ roughly 900 employees at the base, down from 4,500 as recently as 1990.
A Second Coal Plant in the Works
Kansas City Power & Light could build a second coal-fed power plant if the Missouri Public Service Commission approves a new proposal. KCP&L would build the second plant in Weston. The commission staff and the state Office of Public Counsel recommended the pro-posal, which awaits final approval by the five commissioners later this month.
Kansas
Atchison County
Annexation On Hold
After previously voting in favor of annexing several pockets of land sur-rounding the city, the Atchison City Commission delayed the action and came back with a plan to offer incentives to individual property owners. Talks between the city and Cancel Annexation Now (CAN) representatives will determine the next step.
Douglas County
Pearson Plans to Expand
Pearson Government Solutions extended its lease on its Lawrence facility and announced plans to expand operations. Pearson expects to add up to 100 jobs at the facility over the next year. Pearson provides customer contact management solutions for more than 30 governmental programs and commercial businesses. The company is based in Arlington, Va.
Lawrence Gets Wastewater Plant
The Lawrence City Commission is expected to issue a request for proposals to engineering firms interested in designing a new wastewater treatment plant. It is expected to be one of the biggest projects in the city’s history at around $80 million.
Johnson County
Olathe Breaks Ground on Overpass
The first shovels full of dirt were turned for the overpass that will carry 127th Street over I-35. The project is expected to cost $27.5 million, $11.72 million of which comes from federal funds. It should be completed in fall 2007. It is expected to reduce traffic on the 119th Street interchange by 32 percent and by as much as 13 percent on the Santa Fe Street interchange by 2020.
No STAR Bonds for Retail Center
The Kansas Department of Commerce announced that conditional approval of $50 million in STAR Bonds revenue for a 625,000-square-foot retail center in Olathe. The center is expected to be anchored by a Bass Pro Shops store and will cost approximately $265 million. The original request was for $165 million in STAR Bonds, but was reduced to $50 million when it excluded a 9,000-seat arena.
Great Mall Lands Anchor Tenant
Steve & Barry’s University Sportwear, a Port Washington, N.Y.-based retailer, will replace Oshman’s Sporting Goods as an anchor tenant in Olathe’s Great Mall of the Great Plains. Steve & Barry’s sells sporting apparel, headgear, footwear and outerwear, in addition to licensed collegiate wear for more than 100 universities.
Overland Park Postpones Application
Overland Park has withdrawn its application for STAR Bonds revenue from the state for a proposed arena and retail-entertainment district near 115th and Metcalf Ave. The city could not meet an April 28 deadline for meeting certain contingencies because its feasibility study will not be completed until mid-May. The city is expected to re-apply at a later date.
Leavenworth County
Sales Tax to Support Infrastructure
A one-cent sales tax approved by voters will be allocated to the four largest communities in the county (Leavenworth, Lansing, Basehor and Tonganoxie), plus the county, over the next 10 years. The money will be used for infrastructure purposes, including roads and facilities improvement.
Miami County
Development Plan Approved
The Osawatomie City Council approved a plan for developing about 7.5 square miles northeast of Osawatomie. The council also approved sending rep-resentatives to Topeka to request the state to allow development of about 460 acres of surplus property, including 80 acres around the 343rd Street interchange on U.S. Highway 169.
Shawnee County
Governor Signs Bill to Help Innovia
Governor Kathleen Sebelius signed a bill that would allow Innovia Films to keep up to $1 million in withholding taxes in an effort to save the Tecumseh plant. Innovia has said that it would close one of its three plants—the other two are in England. The bill will be combined with another million dollars in tax incentives.
Wyandotte County
Consolidated Container Plant to Close
Atlanta-based Consolidated Container Company will close the doors of its Kansas City, Kansas plant at the end of this month, eliminating the jobs of 72 employees. However, a competitive company, Graham Packaging Company, will take over the facility and hire all of Consolidated’s hourly employees and possibly some salaried employees.
Area Mayors Oppose Freeway Plan
Bonner Springs Mayor Clausie Smith, Edwardsville Mayor Stephanie Eickhoff, Basehor Mayor Joseph Scherer and former Unified Government Mayor/CEO Carol Marinovich all spoke out against a proposal to transform Kansas Highway 7 into a freeway. The principal complaint is a perceived reduction in economic development of the plan, proposed by a group of HNTB Corp. consultants. The plan would not be realized for 20 or 30 years.
