TEG
Thursday, April 21, 2016
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PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING
FAMILY OWNED SINCE 1895
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Good Evening
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More shopping
for us!
WWW.EMPORIAGAZETTE.COM
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PAVILIONS PASS, TIF APPROVED
“I believe in protecting
Emporia in this instance.
We take on zero debt obligation,
we give up zero tax dollars ... .”
ROB GILLIGAN,
Mayor
By Cathryne Scharton
[email protected]
Wednesday evening the Emporia City Commission saw a packed
room as citizens came to hear the
outcome regarding tax incremental
financing.
After hearing from four citizens
opposed to the project, the city
commission voted four to one to approve about $3 million in TIF funding for the project.
The main concerns of citizens
opposed to the project included the
income level of the jobs produced
by retail and the damage “big box”
retailers could cause to small businesses. It was pointed out that there
are many empty storefronts along
Industrial Road.One citizen questioned, what happens if the new
development fails, the buildings become vacant and no taxes are paid?
“The note holder on the devel-
LOOKS
AHEAD
DURING
ANNUAL
MEETING
By John Robinson
[email protected]
CrossWinds Counseling
and Wellness held their annual
meeting on Wednesday as staff
looked ahead to 2016.
CrossWinds rebranded from
Mental Health Center for East
Central Kansas on April 12, and
CEO Rob Runquist said 2016 is
shaping up to be one of the best
years for the center.
“2014 was kind of a rough
year for us,” Runquist said. “The
first three months of the year we
did 62,000 services ... this year,
the first three months, we’ve already done 85,537 services for
clients.”
During the April 12 ribbon
cutting, Runquist said the center is also looking to be more involved in the community during
the upcoming year.
“We are the only comprehensive mental health provider …
in all our seven counties,” he
said on April 12. “With the new
name, we’re going to put ourselves back out in the community more.”
Runquist also stressed the
importance of alternative funding in keeping the center runPlease see CrossWinds, Page 8
VOL. 124, NO. 251
CATHRYNE SCHARTON/GAZETTE
opment project, since this is a payas-you-go, would be liable for those
taxes and follow the typical tax process outlined by the county, etc., in
terms of defaulted taxes, in terms of
collections, etc.,” said Jim Witt, assistant city manager. “So would the
city be hung with the taxes? No, but
there might be a time period where
no taxes were collected, but that’s
talking about the worst case scenario there where the project would
default.”
Prior to voting, each city commissioner gave reasoning behind
his or her vote.
“To me this has been one of
the most difficult decisions we
have been faced with,” said Bobbi
Mlynar.
Mlynar voted “yes” because of
the benefits the development project will have for the Becker Addition Drainage project, citizens’
continued requests for more retail,
and research that showed full-time
positions at Hobby Lobby (a potential retailer) start at $15.35 an hour,
which is more than manufacturers
pay to get an incentive compliance
agreement.
“I believe in protecting Emporia
in this instance,” said Rob Gilligan.
“We take on zero debt obligation,
we give up zero tax dollars that we
are currently collecting other than
offset dollars that will shift from
current retailers to others and we
required a study to give us that information.
“There is a small risk, there is
certainly a risk of competition in
the community and I recognize
that, that it’s a risk to small businesses,” he said. “But I also know
that our goal as a community is to
grow and thrive and that ultimately
by attracting more people to our
community for opportunity, which
retail can do, hopefully our other
businesses will benefit by that. At
the end of the day this is still just
the beginning of the project … at the
end of the day they (the developers)
still have to put $36 million on the
line and make that investment in
our community. They are the ones
who will sign that note; they are the
ones who will draw those funds out
of their accounts.”
Danny Giefer agreed with
Mlynar that public feedback has
shown a great deal of favoritism
from the community toward the
project. A poll found that out of
more than 1,600 people, about 75
Please see City, Page 8
MAUD’S TATTOO COMPANY
CELEBRATES A LOCAL LEGEND
By Jessie Wagoner
[email protected]
Big Tobacco’s House of Ink is
hosting a grand re-opening. The reopening celebration and customer
appreciation day is scheduled for
April 29. The company will also be
debuting its new name — Maud’s
Tattoo Company.
Over the last nine years John and
April Armstrong, owners of Big Tobacco’s House of Ink, have worked
to foster a family-friendly, community-oriented business that is more
than just a tattoo parlor. With that
in mind, the couple, joined by Joel
Smith, have decided to rename
their business to pay homage to a
local legend from Lyon County —
Maud Wagner.
Wagner, was born in Lyon County in February of 1877. She was
the first female tattoo artist in the
United States. Wagner was an aerialist and contortionist who worked
in numerous traveling circuses. She
met Gus Wagner, a tattoo artist who
described himself as “the most artistically marked up man in America” while traveling with the circuses
and sideshows.
She exchanged a romantic date
with him for a lesson in tattooing and several years later they
were married. Together they had a
daughter, Lotteva, who started tattooing at the age of nine and went
on to become a tattoo artist herself.
As an apprentice of her husband,
Wagner learned how to give traditional “hand-poked” tattoos, despite
the invention of the tattoo machine
and became a tattooist herself. Tog WF