NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson City Council approved asking the Board of County Commissioners to look at the idea of an island annexation for the parcels of land that would make up a new industrial park south of South Hutchinson along K-96.
"Because it is not adjacent to the city limits, the first thing that has to happen, if you want to move forward with the annexation, is to pass the resolution that's been provided to you, asking the Board of County Commissioners of Reno County to find that there is no hindrance to development in the area because of this annexation," said City Attorney Paul Brown.
The purpose of the annexation would be to allow for water infrastructure to be run to the new industrial park.
"We started seeing larger projects going back about two to three years ago that really guided us that without a large site like this, we wouldn't be in the game on so many projects that we were just having to pass over," said Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce CEO Debra Teufel. "We didn't have a contiguous three to five hundred acre parcel."
Teufel told the council Tuesday that the total parcel being asked for in annexation is 487 acres.
"We've had discussions in regard to perfecting our water rights," said Mayor Jon Richardson. "I'm not an expert on this, but going back to the 1980s, a lot of the water usage predictions were set at a certain limit back in the 1980s and we're not quite matching what we requested. If you don't perfect those water rights, we could lose them. The other aspect, we have some water rights that are grandfathered in that are older water rights that are industrial based and we can utilize some of those for these industrial uses."
Water access could be a real competitive advantage for Hutchinson and Reno County in the coming decades.
"We see an opportunity for large industrial users that would use water," Richardson said. "Why not try to differentiate ourselves? McPherson has cheap power. Salina has a big intersection. The Reno County community has high water availability for industrial users."
The city has done its first part, now it is in the County Commission's court to decide whether or not the annexation can go forward.
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