Utilities and Technology Vital

When it comes to business growth and new business attraction having up to date utilities, infrastructure and technology is a vital.

Sometimes rural communities are over looked because people think they aren't up to speed with the rest of the world. Well you might be surprised by what you can find in a rural community like ours.

For example, fiber optics is a MUST for many businesses today. But some might not think we have access to it here. I contacted Brent Cunningham with Cunningham Telephone and Cable and was impressed to find they have over 1,000 miles of fiber optics connecting homes, businesses and communities in Mitchell, Jewell, Cloud, Republic, Osborne and Ottawa counties. That is very significant to business sustainability and growth here in north central Kansas. Cunningham Telephone exchanges are built with "Fiber-to-the-Home" technology with dedicated fibers per customers and 100 Mbps capable connections.

This didn't happen overnight. Cunningham Telephone is a founding member of the Kansas Fiber Network connecting Kansas with advanced services. Cunningham Communications cable systems are built with fiber optic nodes and 1GHz technology. They have been providing broadband Internet service since 1997.

Another great asset for our community is the North Central Kansas Technical College. The college provides training and services that can be very beneficial for business. Some of these are on the cutting edge of technology. The NCK Tech College has a great GIS/GPS program and can provide training and services related to geographic information systems.

The college can also provide training in telecommunications, business, computer courses, welding and a wide variety of other programs.

The City of Beloit and Mitchell County are working together on gathering GIS data and creating new aerial maps and databases. This information can be important for business planning, infrastructure development and improvements.

Utilities are another important element when a business considers expanding or relocating in our area. On one recent site visit a business person asked me how many times a year we had power outages and how long they lasted. I contacted the Systems Operations department for the City of Beloit and they verified my answer. In 2009 the city of Beloit had 3 power outages. Two of those were during winter ice storms. The average time of the outages was only about 15 minutes. In most cases the outages are limited to one section of the city or another depending on what caused the outage and where it is located.

Beloit us unique in that the city still has a power plant and can generate their own power if needed during outages from their suppliers. Or in case of emergencies. In 2009 the City of Beloit generated their own power for a total of 761,780 kWh. They purchased over 47,000,000 kWh of electricity last year from KMEA, WAPA and GRDA.

Water is another vital resource for residents and businesses alike. The city of Beloit gets its water from the Solomon River/Waconda Lake. The City has total water rights of more than 227,102,673 gallons per year or approximately 622,199 gallons per day.

The capacity of the City Water Plant is 1.5 million gallons per day and the average annual consumption is 800,000 gallons per day.

The numbers, facts and figures concerning the utilities, infrastructure and technology available in our area goes on and on. But I think this summary give you a better idea on what we have to offer to businesses and the fact that we are up to speed with the latest technology that is so important in today's business world.

Solomon Valley Farmers Market Association

Farmers Markets are a great way to help individual producers and consumers who are looking for fresh items grown or produced locally. The Solomon Valley Farmers Market Association is planning to start a local market in Beloit, KS this summer. They plan to have the market every Saturday from June 19 to October 2nd at Guaranty State Bank, the intersection of Mill & Court Streets.

Vendors are will pay a $25 fee for their booth to participate in the full season.

More details on the market can be found on their Facebook Page.

Their next planning meeting will be March 25th, 7 PM at 1217 North Mill Street in Beloit, KS.

Beloit Recieves Deed to BJCF

Who says the wheels of government move slowly? The City of Beloit has received the deed for the former Beloit Juvenile Correctional Facility. And now the City and County are working together on working out the details for the first steps towards bringing new life to the buildings on the campus.

The Beloit City Council will discuss the new developments at their next meeting Tuesday night.

Several things are already in motion.

1) Plans are to keep the Mitchell County Partnership for Children and The Early Learning Center in the two buildings they currently occupy on the campus.

2) The City and County Lawenforcement would like to relocate to the Morning View building which is a hard cell, lock down, jail facility on the campus. This would give both local agencies more space and would incrase the county's jail capacity.

Several other groups have also expressed interest in various buildings on the campus and agreements will have to be worked out with each of them. This will of course take some time. But the wheels are moving and this project is definitely a "community" effort.

Governor Signs SB 357 to Transfer BJCF to Beloit

Govenror Parkinson has signed Senate Bill 357 to authorize the transfer of the former Beloit Juvenile Correctional Facility property to the City of Beloit.

The Govenror closed the facility last August due to severe budget cuts bringing an end to a facility that has served the state of Kansas for over 120 years.

The Governor's action today means the property which includes roughly 14 buildings on a 23 acre campus, along with 49 acres of agricultural land will be returned to the City of Beloit.

Local officials have been working on plans to reuse most of the buildings on the campus. Representatives from the City of Beloit, Mitchell County, USD 273, NCK Technical College and the community have been working together on this project.

The actual transfer of the property will take some time. It will be handled by the Kansas Department of Administration and Attorney General's office.

Pictures of the Administration Building and available property can be found on the Mitchell County Community Development Facebook Page and on LocationOne.