• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Salina, Kan.'s Economic Development Council Approves First Training Funding

Posted on: Friday, 3 March 2006, 00:00 CST

By Darrin Stineman, The Salina Journal, Kan.

Mar. 2--In its first official action, the Salina Economic Development Incentives Council approved up to $50,000 in training funds on Wednesday for a Kansas Army National Guard maintenance facility.

The Guard is planning to establish a Kansas Readiness Sustainment Maintenance Site in Salina, bringing about 50 jobs that pay, on average, $12.60 an hour plus benefits.

Immediate training is crucial for prompt development of the site, said Tim Rogers, executive director of the Salina Airport Authority.

"For the National Guard bureau, this is one of their highest priorities, due to the fact of the tempo of the unit deployments and the rotation of units to both Afghanistan and Iraq and other locations overseas," Rogers said.

Rogers, along with City Manager Jason Gage and Chamber of Commerce President Gerald Cook, has been assigned to provide staff support to the council.

"Governor Sebelius did make a statement about the need to support our Guard units and Guard troops as they come back to us," he said.

"They're really being deployed without their equipment, and if they are coming back, they're coming back with equipment that's been severely damaged."

The primary purpose of the Kansas Readiness Sustainment Maintenance Site is to expand operations for the rebuilding of 40-foot trailers that transport ammunition, food, water and other supplies, Rogers said.

By a 7-0 vote, the economic development incentives council recommended that the Salina City Commission approve the proposal. The council was set up to filter proposals to the city commission regarding the spending of the estimated $1.6 million in city sales tax funds that will available for economic development through 2010.

The Guard needed to come up with $1,000 a job for training to match federal funds it is eligible to receive through the Local Workforce Investment Board. The city share is not to exceed $50,000.

Cook said several local businesses could benefit from the maintenance center.

"As they get their operation up and running, they will continually look for industry vendors for parts or needs they may have in Salina or in this area," Cook said. "As the project rolls on, they will have additional outsourcing opportunities."

Turf proposal denied Barry Weis, who led the campaign to have synthetic turf installed at Salina Stadium last year, submitted a request for $25,000 to finish paying off the project and another $25,000 for a "turf replacement endowment fund" with the Greater Salina Community Foundation.

Council members said they were supportive of the project and its value as an economic development tool, but it didn't fit the city commission's original intention of applying the funds for work force training.

The council voted 7-0 to reject the request and to ask the city commission to consider other funding options for the project.

Council members are: Larry Britegam, Mayor Debbie Divine, her husband, John Divine, Randy Hassler, Ross Hoffhines, Sheldon Walle and County Commissioner Mike White.

-----

To see more of The Salina Journal, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.saljournal.com.

Copyright (c) 2006, The Salina Journal, Kan.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: The Salina Journal

More News in this Category