HUTCHINSON, Kan. – It’s yet to be determined whether the Reno County Commission will approve vacating a portion of Mohawk Road between Blanchard and Blanchard Southwest so a company who owns property on both sides of the road can expand its business.
Commissioners Dan Deming and Brad Dillon seem opposed at this point, while Commission Chair James Schlickau is in favor. The commission in the end decided to wait 60 days to see if the company and the township can work something out where the road can stay open.
The question is whether it would be safe to have a rail spur for Enterprise Products near two other rail crossings. The company, after a long evaluation to look at all options, believes it wouldn’t be safe to place it there, but also leave the road open.
Representatives with the Reno Township and area farmers are opposed to closing the road, saying Mohawk is a valuable road for them and a direct link from U.S. 50 to the Reno County Landfill. They also didn’t like the idea of putting large farm equipment on county blacktops, saying that also isn’t safe for them and drivers on those roads.
The company is planning a $34 million expansion that would add four additional jobs to the 14 who currently work at the facility.
The company apparently stores liquid hydrocarbons at that facility.
They say that during construction, they would pay $2.4 million in a use tax or sales tax and the county’s portion of that would be around $500,000. Plus, if the county closed the rail crossings, the railroad companies would also provide the county some incentive for that as well.
Schlickau says that after all the study, he believes those improvements will provide increased tax revenues to the county in the coming years. He says, after looking at all sides, he’s in favor. Deming says this isn’t like other areas of the county where they closed roads. He says most of those were roads to nowhere. He says that isn’t the case here. Dillon said he doesn’t like the idea that county roads are for sale.
Again, no decision was made Tuesday, but that could come in January, if not sooner.