16 November 2016
Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau
RDA Happenings
Hurray Warren Way is paved! Back in 2013, Simmons Pet Food announced a
significant expansion. Then in 2014 they announced another significant expansion.
These were multi-million dollar expansions of the addition of more production
equipment, building additions, and the creation of over a hundred quality full-time
jobs.
Park III, which is the industrial/business park located south of East South
Avenue, north of East Logan Avenue, and west of Road MS. The businesses located
Kent Heermann
President, Regional
Development Association
of East Central Kansas
in Park III are Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Norfolk Iron &Metal, CAMSO, and Simmons
Pet Food.
Warren Way is an internal street in Park III located on the west side of the
Simmons pond, east of the Simmons west building. From the intersection of East
Logan Avenue and Warren Way the street heads north, then turns east underneath
the Westar 115 KV transmission lines, bears to the east to where the street
REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOC. of EAST CENTRAL KANSAS
The Regional Development
Association of East Central
Kansas (RDA) is the lead
economic development
organization for Lyon
County and the Emporia
area. The four members
of the RDA are the
Emporia Area Chamber
of Commerce, Emporia
Enterprises, the City
of Emporia, and Lyon
County. The RDA is located
with the Emporia Area
Chamber of Commerce
and the Convention and
Visitors Bureau at the
Trusler Business Center,
719 Commercial, Emporia,
KS 66801. Kent Heerman
RDA President, can be
contacted at 620-342-1600
ext. 16, or heermann@
emporiakschamber.org.
intersects with Penny Lane.
With the expansion at Simmons in 2013, the Regional Development Association
of East Central Kansas staff submitted an application to the Kansas Department of
Transportation (KDOT) in August 2013 for an Economic Development matching
grant to fund 50% of the street paving and improvement costs.
The benefits of the grant application were, first, the grant would assist in the
future development of Park III. Approximately 72.5 acres of property in Park III
had no direct paved access.
Secondly, Simmons Pet Food was transporting unfinished and finished goods
from the west to east building and vice-versa, at the time, annually, nearly 3,000
trips. The former route was Penny Lane east to Weaver Street, then south on
Weaver to East Logan Avenue, then west on East Logan Avenue to Warren Way,
then north on Warren Way to the Simmons west building. By utilizing Penny Lane
and Warren Way from Simmons east to west buildings, the route are all internal
streets, which increase the safety. Next it is 2,250 feet less per trip, utilizing the
Penny Lane/Warren Way route, thus reducing the annual mileage by 1,279 miles.
Since the KDOT grant funding utilizes federal funds, anytime the carbon footprint
of less miles and less diesel fuel used, it’s a positive in the awarding process.
The benefits to the existing and future businesses in Park III are numerous in
cost savings and leveraging state grant money to assist in the improvements of
Park III for existing and future businesses.