HUMBOLDT — Members of Humboldt’s Downtown Action Team want to place the town’s landmark bandstand placed on the state’s registry of historic sites. TYSON AND Bideau were taken on a tour of sites rich in Humboldt history, and also were shown improvements that have been made, such as Neosho River Park — in its final stages of development — and ball fields at Sweatt Park. BOTH SAID a concern of rural legislators was that urban areas have accumulated much power from population shifts.
There’s a catch.
State law restricts exterior improvements of any building within 500 feet of a structure so designated.
A DAT project is to have that part of the law stricken.
Members had receptive ears Friday afternoon when state Sen. Caryn Tyson and Rep. Ed Bideau came to town.
Bideau introduced legislation in the House to remove the restrictions for Humboldt and other communities that have an interest in preserving and recognizing historical sites.
The bill has passed out of the House and is in conference committee, Bideau said, with its next step, if it occurs this year, presentation on the Senate floor.
Tyson said she was unsure whether it would progress that far, was supportive if it did and assured, since the Legislature is in a two-year cycle, the effort would have a hearing next session if not this year.
Having the bandstand on the state registry has twofold advantage: It makes it more of an attraction for tourists and opens the door to grant opportunities reserved for historic sites.
Bideau has been involved in historic site designation in Chanute, where he is an attorney, and noted without the restriction more buildings likely would be put on the registry. Most communities aren’t comfortable making the effort when they know it would affect nearby private building owners, he said.
They then met constituents at Stacy Cakes.
Tyson said she is a champion of rural opportunity zones, which already are in place in 50 counties, mostly in the western half of Kansas. She wants Allen and another 22 counties included.
Inclusion means the state foregoes income tax for five years for new residents and through local-state cooperation a portion of college loans are paid for new residents, a concession meant to attract professionals such as doctors and dentists.
An outcome of last year’s income tax cut was that some small business owners apparently overlooked their inclusion and have continued to send estimates to the state, Tyson said.
“We need to keep money at home,” she said.
“You have a really good state senator” in Tyson, Bideau said. “She studies bills and has been behind the rural initiative. I thought it was dead but she gave it CPR.
“We give a lot of lip service to getting kids to come back home, and the rural opportunity zone does that,” said Bideau.
Tyson said her interest was in helping small towns — they dot her 12th District — and is convinced that smaller, smarter government works better for constituents.
“The more local government is, the better the decisions,” she said. “What fits Humboldt might not fit Dodge City (where she attended St. Mary’s of the Plains) — the fact is I know it wouldn’t.”
Tyson noted that 20 of the state’s 40 senators represent the five largest counties and 25 representatives are from Johnson County.
Many urban legislators don’t understand economics that impact rural counties, or that agriculture is as much a driver of the state’s economy as it is, she said.
Part of that is because many new legislators are young and have no rural ties, Bideau said.
“When I was in the legislature 20 years ago many of those representing the larger counties were older and grew up in rural areas,” he said. “Right now, (House) representatives from the three largest population counties could out-vote us (rural areas).”
Neither legislator is certain what will occur with the 6.3 percent statewide sales tax.
House members want it reduced to 5.7 percent, which was part of the proposal when it passed three years ago to fill revenue gaps, mainly for education. If that occurs, the remaining .4 percent would go to the Kansas Department of Transportation.
Most senators prefer to keep it at 6.3 percent, Tyson said, although she is a proponent of lower taxes.
“I’m for lower taxes, but we have to be smart about how it’s done,” she said, allowing that dependency on state revenue could be reduced substantially through trimming waste.
“We must have 1,000 Internet outlets in the Statehouse, each costing $42.50 a month, and we don’t need nearly that many,” she said. “At one state facility they serve shrimp and talapia. We could save $200,000” with less expensive fare.
Legislators pay visit
