Month: August 2015

UG Commission gives go-ahead to auto mall plaza, Turner Woods industrial development and 57th and State development

The Unified Government Commission tonight gave the go-ahead for funding for a new auto mall plaza at 98th and Parallel Parkway.

It is in a STAR bond district, and about $74 million in bonds are being issued for this part of the development. The project area was split from a former district.

Two of the existing auto dealers are being relocated from within Wyandotte County, according to UG officials.

The first series of STAR bonds include about $63 million including a UG reimbursement of $930,000 for a new traffic signal at 98th and State and improvements to the Marshall Creek sewer interceptor. The second series, about $10 million, would pay for the UG’s street costs.

Lew Levin, UG chief financial officer, said the UG is not backing the first series, but the backing is from incremental revenues from sales tax.

The second series of bonds will have an annual appropriation backing, Levin said. The state will pledge two-thirds of the revenue from the sales tax associated with a $15.5 million base, according to Levin, and the UG is pledging $844,000, to be held in escrow and released annually if incremental revenues are not sufficient.

The second part of the original auto mall district may come before the UG Commission at a later date for another bond issue.

Also moving forward Thursday night was a community improvement district for the new Turner Commerce Center project at the Turner Diagonal area, south of I-70 and Riverview. The area was known as the Turner Woods project previously.

The $69 million light industrial development and business park will be funded by industrial revenue bonds and the community improvement district fees.

About 1 million square feet of light industrial buildings are planned for the site, according to project developers.

While the project proposed 100 percent abatement for 10 years on the property tax, it has fees coming in through a community improvement district. The CID would be a 22-year term with $1.04 per square foot special assessment on the buildings.

There is a potential of 600 or more good-paying jobs, according to Brent Miles of NorthPoint Development.

Also approved was establishing a tax increment financing district for the 57th and State Avenue redevelopment project.

The area is being developed by 4101 Powell Ave. LLC., with Clifford Dale Sr., Clifford Dale Jr. and Travis Dale. They are proposing to make a commitment to prepare a hilly and rocky area, level it and prepare it for future development, according to Charles Brockman of the UG staff.

The TIF would be set up in a pay-as-you-go basis, with no bonds being issued. Brockman said the cost of preparing the ground and moving 250,000 yards of dirt and rock could reach as high as $5 million. After about five years, the Dales will present a plan for development, he said.

The Dale family purchased State Tractor and Equipment and started a fleet service repair company in 1984, and in 2006, formed State Tractor Trucking for heavy hauling.

All three projects were approved by a 9-0 commission vote.

For an earlier story on the Turner Woods project, see https://wyandotteonline.com/new-industrial-development-planned-for-turner-diagonal-area/.

For an earlier story on the auto mall project, see https://wyandotteonline.com/star-bond-issue-for-new-auto-mall-project-considered-by-ug-commission/.

Opinion column: Google continues to expand its market

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by Murrel Bland

About 1,000 persons were gathered in the Wyandotte High School auditorium the morning of March 29, 2012, for what public relations folks touted as a “very major announcement.” I wondered if they were going to tell of the second coming of the Messiah.

What those of us who attended found out was that Kansas City, Kan., was the first in the nation to get Google’s high-speed residential Internet service. It was a very highly sought designation with more than 1,000 cities in the running. Topeka even changed its name to “Google” for a day in an effort to attract the designation. Welcoming Google were Joe Reardon, then mayor; Cindy Cash, then president of the Chamber of Commerce; and Cindy Lane, the superintendent of schools for the Kansas City, Kan., School District.

Fast-forward to Friday, Aug. 7, at a meeting of the Kansas City, Kan., Area Chamber of Commerce at the Village West Apartments. Rachel Hack Merlo, the community impact manager for Google, talked to about 50 persons about Google’s new effort to bring its high-speed digital service to small business for $100 a month.

Google is quite the success story. Larry Page and Sergey Brin met at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., in 1995; they started an Internet search engine called “BackRub” in 1997. Google was launched in 1998. Since then Google has acquired more than 170 companies including Motorola, Nest labs, DoubleClick and YouTube. Most of these acquired firms are complementary to Google.

Google is also in other areas besides media. Self-driven cars are being tested in California and Texas. Google claims such an effort could reduce accidents substantially.

Google makes most of its money selling advertising. And, according to analysts who understand Google, it is far ahead of its nearest competitor. It is estimated that it will have more than 15 percent of the $200 billion total media advertising market in 2016. Its gross earnings for 2014 were more than $45 billion.

Google isn’t without its critics. A very large portion of its revenue does come from advertising — money that has been diverted from traditional media such as newspapers.

Newspaper companies have suffered in recent years. The Kansas City Star, which is owned by McClatchy Company, continues to lose its share of advertising and subscription revenue as it tries to move to a digital model. McClatchy stock was trading for about 56 cents a share on Aug. 10. Google stock on the same day was trading for $332 a share. Those looking at the market explain that newspapers must change with market conditions if they are to survive.

Google’s other direct competitors, such as Time Warner and ATT, weren’t too happy with Google’s triumphant welcome into the community, although they wouldn’t admit it publicly. Privately, they pointed to their substantial investment in the communities and their track record of being good corporate citizens.

To Google’s credit, it has been involved in civic efforts, in cooperation with the Greater Kansas City Foundation, to offer digital fellowships. And Google works with community nonprofit organizations in an effort to bring its service to areas that would not otherwise be served. It also works with schools in encouraging students to go into science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Because Google is in the Kansas City market, it has caused other providers to sharpen their pencils and offer better deals to customers. Google provides the basic Internet service to residential customers for only a $300 installation fee; that is good for seven years.

According to a recent report in The Star, Google has attracted only about 30,000 residential subscribers. And, Merlo said that although the business service is available, she cautioned that it will take awhile for it to be installed.

Although Google has been very successful, it hasn’t been without its challenges. According to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, European Union regulators have alleged that Google, because of its strong presence, is being unfair to its customers.

And then there are those who criticize Google for moving its money to Bermuda and Ireland, according to an article in Bloomberg News. Google licensed the European rights to its search engine and advertising business to Google Ireland Holdings and has a management center in Bermuda. This is perfectly legal, and has saved Google considerable taxes. Google said it is no different than what other global companies do.

Locally, those who are familiar with installation efforts say that Google subcontractors are not always the most careful.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is executive director of Business West.

T-Bones offense silent in Lincoln

The Kansas City T-Bones out-hit the Saltdogs, but lost 4-1 Wednesday night at Haymarket Park in Lincoln, Neb.

The T-Bones lone run came in the first inning, when Starlin Rodriguez scored on a wild pitch from Lincoln starting pitcher Jesse Smith (3-6).

The T-Bones after the wild pitch had Nate Tenbrink at third base and Jake Blackwood at second base with no outs and a 1-0 lead, but failed to capitalize to add further damage.

The Saltdogs wasted no time taking their lead in the first inning, with two runs against T-Bones starting pitcher Bobby Doran (8-3), both scored with two outs in the inning. Lincoln added another run in the second inning to take a 3-1 lead.

The T-Bones had seven hits, all singles, compared to Lincoln’s six hits. Doran pitched six and two thirds innings, and allowed three earned runs on six hits. Nate Tenbrink led the offense for Kansas City, adding three hits. Tenbrink was the only T-Bones hitter with multiple hits.

Despite the loss, Joplin lost at home against Rockland, keeping Kansas City just half a game back of the wild card race.

The T-Bones (40-33) continue the seven-game road trip Thursday evening against the Lincoln Saltdogs (29-46), with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

The T-Bones return home to CommunityAmerica Ballpark on Aug. 18, and tickets are available by calling the box office at CommunityAmerica Ballpark at 913-328-5618.

– Story from T-Bones