TEG
THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2016
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PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING
FAMILY OWNED SINCE 1895
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TIF DISCUSSION GETS HEATED
Developer cites city commissioner Steve Harmon’s
conflict of interest in blocking his project
Good Evening
VVV
To TIF
or not to TIF?
WWW.EMPORIAGAZETTE.COM
NRH
FOUNDATION
WELCOMES
PAUL QUIN
By Jessie Wagoner
STEVE HARMON
City Commissioner
By Cathryne Scharton
[email protected]
At Wednesday’s city commission meeting Jim Witt, assistant
city manager, presented a resolution for a public hearing on the
24th Avenue development project.
Following Witt’s presentation,
Spencer Thomson, a commercial
real estate attorney for Thomson
Walker, LLC, took the floor and
accused Commissioner Steve Harmon of voting down the development because Harmon owns properties in downtown Emporia.
“He made it clear he wouldn’t
vote for it under any circumstances,” said Thomson. “It’s been that
way from day one … He stated pub-
PRO
SPENCER THOMSON
commercial real estate attorney
for Thomson Walker LLC
DEV
“He and his wife apparently own
substantial real estate downtown.
He has stated preference for
development and investment
downtown and unfortunately
that’s not where the retailers and
the market are.”
PO
SED
“I don’t support tax incremental
financing for retail. Retail
is different than industrial
development.”
ELO
PM
E
NT
[email protected]
lic purpose is that he thinks it is not
wanted by the neighbors in that
area and that’s his stated reason. I
wanted to point out that there are
a lot more reasons for the commission to support it than there are to
not support it in the best interest
of the broader community. It’s not
about Commissioner Harmon. It’s
not about a few individuals who
may live near by; it’s about the entire community and what’s good
for the city of Emporia as a whole.”
“He and his wife apparently
own substantial real estate downtown. He has stated preference
for development and investment
downtown and, unfortunately,
that’s not where the retailers and
the market are. So, one could cer-
tainly argue that that presents a
conflict … ,” said Thomson.
When contacted for comment
after the meeting, Harmon clarified that it’s not retail development
or development outside of the
downtown area that he is against.
He is against the tax incremental
funding being used for retail development.
“They can start developing today if they want to; it’s just they
want to use tax money for it and
I am not in favor of the TIF,” said
Harmon. “I don’t support tax incremental financing for retail.
Retail is different than industrial
development. You’re not trying to
Please see City, Page 3
There is a new face and new
energy at the Newman Regional
Health Foundation — Paul Quin
has joined the foundation as executive director.
Quin has operated P.J. Quin
and Associates for 15 years. Prior to that Quin was involved in
health care foundation work. He
comes to the Foundation with
years of experience.
“I have been in this field for
30 years,” Quin said. “It’s not
my first rodeo, as they say.”
Quin has many goals for the
Foundation. Fostering community and board investment
in Newman Regional Health is
just one goal Quin is working
towards.
“It’s not the history of this
place,” Quin said. “I think the
opinion has been that the county owned it (the hospital), the
county governed it, the county
seated it and it kind of ran as a
government entity. It is a quasigovernment entity, a public-private partnership, if you will, as
a nonprofit corporation.”
That means, according to
Quin, that in order to provide
the quality and diversity of medical services the community desires, it will require help from
individuals, not just county dollars. Those individual efforts
have helped the hospital expand
services in regards to cardiac
care and cancer services; Quin
expects that to continue in the
future.
“If we want that diagnostic
piece of equipment so we don’t
have to get in our car and drive
up the road to a university hospital then we are going to have
to do it in our own interest,”
Please see Quin, Page 3
ROTARY AND KIWANIS CLUBS TEAM
UP FOR SALVATION ARMY RENNOVATIONS
By John Robinson
[email protected]
COURTESY PHOTO
Jack Atherton of the Rotary Club primes a wall in the Salvation
Army Annex building. The Rotary Club and Kiwanis Club joined
together for a project.
VOL. 124, NO. 209
When the Emporia Rotary Club
decided to renovate the Salvation
Army’s Annex building, President
Harvey Foyle reached out to the
Kiwanis Club, resulting in what he
believes is the first joint project between the two clubs.
“This is the first time anyone
can remember that two clubs came
together to work on one project,”
Foyle said.
The Rotary Club received a
“I knew (Kiwanis Club) knew clubs, with two different skill levtwo-for-one match grant from the
how
do woodwork and I know the els, to do this one project.”
Rotary District, and asked the KiThe Kiwanis Club constructed
wanis Club to lend a hand with Rotary group knows how to paint,”
a
12-by-7-foot
wooden cabinet,
Foyle
said.
“It’s
nice
with
the
two
construction.
while the Rotary Club plastered,
primed and painted the 40-by-40foot meeting room. The groups
also replaced the large window at
the front of the room and provided
a 10 foot steel serving table for the
kitchen.
“We believe that the Salvation
Army money that we give should
go towards the spiritual and leadership things for the people and
not for brick and mortar,” Foyle
said. “So we took care of the brick
and mortar.”
Lt. Lynn Lopez of the Salvation Army said the updates to the
building make it seem brand new.
“It’s a ‘night and day’ differCOURTESY PHOTO
ence,” Lopez said. “It