County Commission to acknowledge letter requesting comment on Menard Inc. incentives

This composite image from promotional materials shows a logo and rendering of Lawrence Venture Park.

At their meeting Wednesday, Douglas County commissioners will acknowledge receipt of a letter inviting county comments at a Jan. 19 city of Lawrence public hearing on the requested incentive package for Menard Inc.

The $2.3 million in incentives Menard Inc. requested to construct a production and warehouse facility in Lawrence’s VenturePark includes a grant of nearly $500,000 from the city, a $200,000 grant from the county, use of an existing bulk warehouse and a 50 percent, 10-year tax abatement.

The acknowledgement will be on the commission’s consent agenda, a reflection that the commission has already given its preliminary approval of the incentive package. That action came last month when the commission approved the $200,000 grant through annual payments of $20,000 for 10 years.

Menard Inc. representatives have indicated the company will spend $24 million in the facility and create at least 100 full-time jobs at the facility to be built on 90 acres of the old Farmland fertilizer plant on Kansas Highway 10.

Should the Lawrence City Commission approve the incentive package, Menard Inc., the city and county will complete a three-way agreement nailing down such things as the number of jobs created and their wage rates. The County Commission must approve that agreement.

Also Wednesday, county sustainability coordinator Eileen Horn will update commissioners on the upgrades made through the county sustainability and energy savings fund, which was created in 2011. In a report to commissioners, Horn states the fund has made 15 projects possible in the past four years. She proposes the $23,560 saved through those improvements in the last year be transferred into the fund’s equipment reserve.

Commissioners will also consider a recommendation from purchasing director Jackie Waggoner to extend for five years the current food contract with U.S. Communities, Premier, to provide food for the correctional facility and youth services.

A full agenda is available online at douglascountyks.org.

The Douglas County Commission meets at 4 p.m. each Wednesday at the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St. Meetings are open to the public.