Editors note: Walter Wulf, CEO of Monarch Cement, sent this letter to members of the Joint Legislative Transportation Vision Task Force and gave verbal testimony at their meeting held Sept. 20, at Pittsburg State University. The state task force is holding meetings throughout the state and hearing testimony from concerned citizens regarding their thoughts on Kansas transportation needs.
Dear Chairman Proehl and Members of the Transportation Vision Task Force:
Im Walter Wulf, Jr., chief executive officer and chairman of the board of The Monarch Cement Company, a manufacturer of Portland and masonry cements. Monarch is vertically integrated and operates a number of ready-mix concrete plants, concrete products operations and has made a significant investment in East Kansas Agri-Energy in Garnett. An important fuel source for operation of our cement production comes from Coffeyville Resources. U.S. 169 highway is a lifeline for our economic survival.
Monarch employs 519 people, of which 381 are residents of Kansas. Of that total, over 160 are employed in Humboldt. First and foremost is the safety of our employees. While the standard commute of our Chanute and Iola employees is 20 miles or 30 minutes round trip to Humboldt, we have some employees that have a 90-mile round trip each day. Our concern that we want every employee to return home safely to their families every day doesnt begin or end when they drive through the plant entrance. A safe commute on U.S. highway 169 is paramount to making that happen.
The second point is economic viability not only for Monarch and Southeast Kansas, but for all manufacturers and service providers in our state. We have customers who must drive past our competitors to pick up our products. Not just Ash Grove, in Chanute, but Buzzi Unicem in Pryor, Okla., and Central Plains with plants in both Sugar Creek, Mo., and Tulsa, Okla. Its not unusual for the owner of one of our small ready mix accounts to jump in a truck and pick up a load personally. Its important that we make the trip as safe, expeditious, and stress- free as possible.
Finally, the most obvious reason we support improvements to U.S. Highway 169 is that we manufacture Portland Cement which is an important construction material used to build roads and bridges. Yes, its a self-serving reason, but Kansas road and bridge improvements provide good jobs for construction workers and employees of material suppliers. Infrastructure spending not only results in jobs for Kansans; taxpayers actually get something tangible for tax dollars spent, while the state benefits from tax revenue from workers wages and the profits of the contractors and companies providing construction materials. Local motels and restaurants also benefit when construction workers frequent their establishments.
In closing, let me re-emphasize that safety is our number one objective for our support of the U.S. Highway 169 coalition. Our highest priority is improvement of U.S. 169 Highway from Welda to Garnett. Years ago, when my wife was teaching school, her principal, his wife and special needs child drowned after being trapped in their car on that section of the highway. I dont drive by that pond without thinking of them. To this day, the barrier separating travelers on U.S. 169 from that pond has neither been replaced nor reinforced.
On a spring day in 2001, an employee and his wife were headed north on U.S. 169 on their motorcycle. They were struck by a vehicle at the junction of U.S. 169 and 59 just south of Garnett. He spent the remainder of his life in a wheelchair due to paralysis of his lower extremities. A much needed roundabout was constructed at that location. Lets do something to improve safety and eliminate life- threatening hazards on U.S. 169. There are many other benefits to improving infrastructure, but for me, safety is now and will always be my number one goal.
Sincerely,
Walter H. Wulf, Jr.
The Monarch Cement
Company,
