On Thursday, July 30th I had the privilege to be invited to Whitewater to view the new cell phone communication tower erected by AT&T for the purpose of providing cell phone service in the Whitewater area.
This project has been going on for many years and I had contacted all of the cell phone providers trying to encourage them to provide the service. Of all those contacted only AT&T stepped up and made the more than $250,000 investment. The service is greatly improved and although there are still some spots where service is not available, by and large AT&T is there.
Our town-hall type meeting took place at Mom’s Café on Main Street and this venue allowed for about 15 citizens and members of the chamber of commerce to hear from the Chamber president Brandon Patry, Les Depperschmidt from AT&T, Bruce Harris Butler County Commissioner, and myself. Most notable was the level of cooperation between all the interested parties.
AT&T has over 43,000 such towers located in Kansas. The cost can be considerable depending on the location and the required infrastructure enhancements. FYI currently there are more people in the US that have cell phones in place of landline communication. Anyone remember live operators and party lines?
The latest revenue estimate for the State of Kansas shows we were only about $5 million below the estimate for the month of July. While this is pretty good news we must remember June is a month where another quarterly tax payment is due so that money may show up on July books.
Let there be no mistake the State of Kansas is broke and has a huge debt and unfunded commitments in many areas; the KPERS retirement obligation being the largest, if we even show a small uptick in revenue it is already spent, many times over. The next session of the legislature will be a battle trying to balance a budget with an insufficient cash flow. Let me hear your suggestions.
I am impressed with the comments I have received from many of our constituents and the wide range of diverse interests. I do appreciate hearing from you and like the majority of you; I am optimistic that things will turn around however it will take some time to declare us over the recession.
History tells us that in hard times the private sector investor, entrepreneurs, or businessman will find a way to work out of the difficult situation and provide jobs, competitively priced products, or even develop a new much needed widget. Necessity is the mother of invention!
Many of my colleagues have reported more severe cases of spending cuts locally and that many government agencies are making serious concessions on their programs and projects. This would be a great time to review operations and see where efficiencies can be achieved.
In the private sector the business owner or board of directors make those tough decisions to remain competitive. The government normally is not so inclined as they usually have no competition for the services they provide.
Many suggestions I have received include consolidation of services that may be provided by both the State of Kansas, Butler County, Townships, school districts or one of our many cities. I have always thought we could offer for bid jobs that could be completed by private contractors such as county road maintenance, vehicle maintenance, or mowing. I would like to hear your suggestions both sides are welcome.
I received several calls on the condition of the property occupied by several businesses located along Industrial Road, west of El Dorado. Seems like the re-cycle businesses have more intake than outgo and the piles of recycled material are quite unsightly. I spoke with county officials; they reported the businesses are out of compliance with special use permits and the county has taken steps to address the issue.
It would seem the situation got a little out of hand and because of its remote location; the problem became very bad, quickly. Other than the environmental impact, my concern is that when we try to market our offerings to out of area developers when they see this area as being unsightly areas, we lose.
That also can happen with those that might just drive through the area unannounced. This happens quite often when area relocation recruiter’s are dispatched to help with site selection. It benefits us all to keep a good impression available all the time.
I am available to talk with your group or organization. I continue to work on many constitutent issues during the interim between sessions. If I can help you please contact me directly.
I consider it an honor and privilege to be your representative in Topeka and I want to know what you think.
Please contact me at: home, 1115 Rim Rock Road, El Dorado 67042, 316-321-2087. My e-mail is johng@carlisleinc.net; previous updates and links are available at www.johngrange.net. My Topeka office will not be operational until January 11th, 2010.
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