HUMBOLDT — All at Monday evening’s Humboldt City Council agreed that ideally, Humboldt would grow and prosper with new businesses and residents.
That was about the end of the consensus, however, as talk turned to extraterritorial zoning — allowing Humboldt to zone and oversee areas outside its city limits — a topic currently in the discussion stages.
Area residents Joe Weiner and Layne Sterling spoke out to Humboldt councilmen against the zoning concept.
Weiner contended — despite comments voiced to the contrary at a recent Humboldt Planning Commission meeting — that the extraterritorial zoning would eventually lead to annexation and ultimately higher taxes for landowners such as himself outside Humboldt’s city limits.
Weiner envisioned a scenario in which development in areas outside the city limits but within the proposed extraterritorial zone would lead to a special benefits district, in which those affected landowners would be partly responsible for paying for the new infrastructure.
“The structure is being put in place to turn this plan into a monster,” Weiner said. “The city cannot take care of what it has now.”
Sterling noted his concerns as a farmer and whether the extraterritorial zoning would restrict agricultural use. He also pointed out that as president of the Allen County Farm Bureau, he and other landowners would have Farm Bureau’s backing if legal challenges to extraterritorial zoning would arise.
At the Jan. 5 Planning Commission meeting, Tucker noted that the extraterritorial zoning would have no effect on agricultural pursuits.
The comments drew an emotional response from Mayor Bob Sharp, who pointed out that annexation is not in the plans, but that the city must plan for future growth whenever it might occur.
Sharp referred to Humboldt’s city map, and its zig-zagging city limits along individual blocks, and at times, property lines.
Humboldt’s map, Sharp said, reveals just how disjointed the city’s planning process has been in the past.
The extraterritorial zoning, Sharp and City Administrator Larry Tucker said, would allow the city to better plan and prepare for future growth, if and when it occurs.
“The growth will come,” Sharp said. “It may not be in any of our times, but it will happen. You’ve got to look ahead for the next generation.”
“You can’t grow if you don’t have a plan,” Tucker added.
“It’s great to think about future growth,” Councilman Sam Murrow said. “But we still have problems within the boundaries we have now.”
THE CITY’S $1.4 million water line replacement project — in which roughly two-thirds of Humboldt’s century-old water lines and valves were replaced — is nearly complete, Tucker said.
Council members approved a $24,701.95 change order, necessary to pay for 39 additional water meters that needed replacing and were discovered by crews as the water lines were replaced.
The largest remaining item is determining how the city will seal off its abandoned water lines, Tucker said. Once that is complete, Humboldt should have a more efficient water distribution system that will not be as prone to leaks as the old one.
The city has about $40,000 remaining in contingency funds, “and we hope that’s about twice as much as we’ll need to close off the old system,” Tucker said.
COUNCIL MEMBERS agreed that while some questions remain, they would favor seeing a house built by Kansas Department of Corrections inmates and marketed by the Springfield, Mo., housing developer Carlson Gardner placed on the market in Humboldt.
Carlson Gardner hopes to market as many as 12 KDOC homes throughout southeast Kansas.
The homes would be priced at between $90,000 and $100,000, Tucker said, making them more appealing to those seeking more affordable housing.
The idea would likely bring only one house to Humboldt because the city owns only one lot that could accommodate such a home, council members noted. Two other lots were sold later in the meeting.
The housing developer would buy the house from the state, then pay for any site work. The city’s only cost would be the lot and utility hookup fees.
Under Carlson Gardner’s plan, if the house is not sold within six months it would be transferred to the city in exchange of payment of real estate taxes for five years or placement in a neighborhood revitalization district. The house could be rented to cover any costs to the city until it is sold.
Councilman Sean McReynolds said he would favor the concept as long as the city is not financially responsible for the house. He also feared saturating the housing market, which could adversely affect the Humboldt High School building trades program.
Those fears were allayed when he was told Humboldt would likely only get one house.
Councilman Wayne Carson wondered if the city should reach out to other housing developers.
Humboldt already has, Tucker said, through its neighborhood revitalization plan.
McReynolds agreed.
“We’ve had these (neighborhood revitalization) incentives for three years,” McReynolds said. “Nobody else has jumped at it. This guy has.”
Tucker said Humboldt would host a meeting with Carlson Gardner and other communities at 11 a.m. Friday at City Hall to further discuss the matter. The public is invited.
In a related matter, council members agreed to sell two parcels of land, a series of lots along South Sixth Street and 15 acres near the Neosho River on the west edge of town for a combined $13,800.
COUNCILMEN formally approved the general obligation bonds that will pay for a $200,000 loan from the United States Department of Agriculture, which was used to renovate the new City Hall.
The bonds will be paid off over the next 30 years at a cost of about $11,000 or $12,000 annually, Tucker said.
