On behalf of Iola Industries, I would like to thank the City of Iola for their support of the project we have proposed to the Department of Wildlife and Parks and the Kansas legislature.
I would also like to address some of the issues that have been raised by members of the community.
Iola Industries is in fact chartered as a for profit corporation. Having clarified that, I must also say that we have never declared a dividend nor hired an employee to my knowledge.
The board of Iola Industries is now and always has been populated by volunteers. Over the years we have contracted with firms and individuals to perform necessary tasks, such as accounting, mowing, farming, energy production and economic development.
We don’t ask for reimbursement for our endeavors. We don’t divvy up any of our profits, we pour them back into projects that we feel will help attract and maintain jobs for our friends and neighbors.
Iola Industries chose the for-profit over the not-for -profit corporate structure for good reasons. The organization is not subject to open meetings or open records laws. We can move quickly when necessary without being burdened by the constraints that not-for-profits and governing bodies face.
For example, we decided to make available the ground that Russell Stover occupies on a moment’s notice for the grand sum of $1.
We file appropriate reports to the State of Kansas and pay significant income and property taxes to maintain that flexibility. Our board is responsible only to our shareholders and the laws of the land.
It was mentioned that Thrive Allen County is a not- for-profit and Iola Industries is a for-profit corporation as if that is somehow sinister. Along with the City and County we contract with Thrive to provide economic development services and have been pleased with the results of their efforts.
However, the Lehigh Portland State Park is an Iola Industries project. We expected our contractor to honor our decision to maintain confidentiality.
Last week, we met with our state representative, Dr. Fred Gardner, to ask him to introduce the bill. We asked him to keep our proposal in confidence and he asked me why. I told him that I personally didn’t want to have egg on my face if legislators first heard of the proposal from a newspaper article or a disgruntled citizen.
We were hopeful that Dr. Gardner would agree to introduce the bill but had no way of knowing until we asked him. Thankfully, he graciously agreed to sponsor the legislation. It was then and only then that disclosure of our project was appropriate.
Finally, the board of Iola Industries’ motivation for the pursuit of a State Park for Allen County has been a long time coming. For over 40 years we have leased it to the Elks for $1 annually. They’ve had a pretty sweet deal for decades. I’d guess that many, if not the majority of Allen Countians had no idea that the property belonged to Iola Industries. The arrangement was never intended to be in perpetuity, rather it was a matter of convenience for both parties until a more beneficial use of the property was determined.
The success of the trails north of the lake was an unexpected surprise for most of our board. The extensive use opened our eyes to the potential benefit our property could present to the public at large. The lake was a beautiful setting but off limits to all but the Elks. The Iola Industries board decided that the best use of our property going forward is the proposal we are presenting to the legislature this week.
About the author: John McRae is a former mayor of Iola and serves as president of Iola Industries, Inc.
