ERIN MCDANIEL
City of Newton
NEWTON, Kan. — At Tuesday night’s meeting, the Newton City Commission awarded a contract for a water line extension to serve a new McDonald’s planned for the northwest corner of South Kansas and Quail Creek Avenue.
A development agreement with Occidental Management was approved in May 2019 for the first phase of the development, a strip of small commercial lots fronting South Kansas. Progress on the development slowed down when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and so far the only construction has been for People’s Bank & Trust at South Kansas and Wheatridge.
The water line contract was awarded to Mies Construction for $115,732. Per the development agreement, the City will pay for the water line improvements.
The agreement also included a waiver of up to $25,000 in City fees, including zoning, platting, permitting, inspection, etc., and on Tuesday the City Commission approved using Economic Development Fund sales tax dollars to cover those waivers.
The McDonald’s project will also require an extension of Quail Creek Avenue to the west of South Kansas.