Let's focus on something fun, positive, long lasting... If our community was given $450,000 a year for a period of 10 years, what would you like done with this money...Anything is possible....
Build a building over the howard pool/ball court and keep it open year round and add a weight room and walking track.
Would that be enough to get a rural water district up and operating?
I would like paved streets in town and good water to drink and improvements in water treatment plants.
I would use it as seed money to get a federally inspected beef/pork processing plant built in Elk County.
Catwomen, that is a good idea. Any kind of big company brought to Elk County would help!! Liz, that is a good idea!!!
Newspaper subscriptions for everyone!!
Let's see --- that should buy 14,066 subs to the Flint Hills Express.
Then I could take that money and sail around the world.
Yes, indeed, that's a grand idea.
Any kind of big company coming into Elk County would require more water than is availabe right now. The money should go first to get us more water. Would there be enough for that, Liz?
I assume "Community" being Elk County?
Better roads.. in the towns and especially in the country.
Some of these county roads are so full of pot holes that you can barely drive down them.
The meat processing plant is a great idea too. They are few and far between anymore.
And if we build the building over the pool and court.. we need to add an inside playground with all kinds of equipment for the little kids.. so that when mom and dad are walking the track.. and big brother and sister are shooting hoops or playing tennis.. the little ones can play on the park equipment.
( and I would love to have a bowling alley. :) I miss bowling on a league and I think that we could get lots of people interested if we had one here. *and maybe not too.. :-\ * ( But that is a selfish "want" on my part. )
Sedan sure has problems keeping theirs open and operating.
And I say build on the rodeo grounds that sets between Moline and Howard. For the love of the Lord I don't know why we can't all combine everything and have ONE BIG fair and rodeo and carnival etc.
But Howard won't give in to Longton and Longton won;'t give in to Howard..and Moline doesn't want it at Longton or Howard.. so they have Crazy Days there... and the silly "boring long gone past it's prime" sandbox feud goes on and on and on..
Can you imagine how cool it would be to have the 4H.. the Crazy Days.. the Howard Fair..the Longton Fair and Grenola Days events all combine? Oh my gosh.. We could actually maybe bring back the old time fair days and actually have something worth going to.
I say "Bring it on...I'd be in charge of it" :police:..
It IS kind of fun to to think what we could do if that money was at our disposal
If you knew that annual amount was solid for ten years, use it as collateral for a big enough loan to get your rural water, and improve the treatment plant (maybe apply for a grant also) and then use the water for yourselves and to attract the industry you want. Have the industries fix the pot holes. :laugh:
Diane I like your way of thinking.
Ohhh I like the idea of having a big Elk County fair all combined!!!! I have not been to the Longton fair in so long cause to be quite frank it sucks. I can remember when I was a kid and there were rides and it was so much fun!! I think have a big blow out at Moline rodeo area and be done with it. What Longton has is not my idea of a fair and fun!!
Use the money to improve things in the whole county, that will atract some type of business's to come to our great part of the state. Maybe then they could help pay taxes, so we can do more improvements in the county.
Just some toughts.
It is fun to dream... Wilma - not sure exactly how much is needed for the Elk Co RWD#2... and yes, Teresa for all of Elk County... one idea I would like see is a house building course offered at both HS that reside here in Elk County... build a house in each school dist and auction it off... could kill atleast 2 birds with one stone - housing shortage and help teach our kids a trade that they could use right out of high school or even during high school....
Liz, I would take that housing idea -- which is a good one! -- another step farther. I'd use the money to start a non-profit housing program that addresses neglected properties in each of the towns, salvages building materials, encourages first-time home buyers (and all buyers, for that matter!) with low-interest loans, and establishes a small business that would employ local people. I've actually done some research into this and (like Tobina, smart gal she is!) want to have all my facts and figures before I present the idea formally to Elk Konnected, county/city leadership, and the like. It's a symbiotic program, similar to but not the same as Habitat for Humanity, that could resolve several of our towns' problems, but before I go into much more detail, I want to be sure all the "links in the chain" are strong.
ahhhhh Diane... kinda like.. if you had 3 wishes.. make the 3rd wish for 3 more?? LOL
Well if it's all hypothetical anyway, why not? ;)
If Rudy gets papers to sailboat. ......That would be 1,125,000 ice cream cones at the home grown world renown soda fountain.....I would then move the construction project along at a much faster pace. Boating is for old retired people that want to go with the flo....w of the currents. But I do like how you tied the wind source of funding into your life long dream. I would buy a speed boat. Brother Phil says he could put a taco in every mouth in Elk County.
What if we turned around and invested the funds back in to wind power. If some of the largest engery companies a looking to Elk County to steal of our wind lets buy in.
8) No this idea blows!
Dr. KEP gave me these ideas to share -
* a indoor swimming pool
* a larger transportation bus for the entire county (to get people to the other activities in the county)
* a grant/scholarship program to help grow our own teachers, (I am going to add lawyers and drs) and then they would need to come back and repay the community with a certain amount of time - ie 4 yrs.etc...
The wind developer did mention some schools are putting up personal turbines to help with their energy needs...
Quote from: pepelect on July 18, 2008, 04:43:39 AM
for old retired people that want to go with the flo....w
Here we go again, all going with me. :P That's okay, we'll all go down and have one of those ice cream cones at the soda fountain. Hey, how many agree, isn't PEP just a breath of fresh air????
Quote from: pepelect on July 18, 2008, 04:47:04 AM... No this idea blows!
Quote from: flo on July 18, 2008, 07:54:01 AM... Hey, how many agree, isn't PEP just a breath of fresh air????
Speaks for himself doesn't he! :D ;) I do enjoy his posts! Keep it up PEP.
I think we've hit on most of the issues that would make this a better community. I believe that priorities are jobs, housing and water to build our population. More people would help our tax base (available budget) and we'd begin spiraling up instead of down. I'd spend the biggest portion of that $450K a year building or enticing a variety of new businesses (mostly the kind who will provide jobs). Those new employees/people and their families will add to our community; and without preconceived school/town rivalries ... there's no telling what would happen...
I love all the big ideas! My ideas are a little simpler...
Elk County Website; one that attracts traffic on the internet super highway and on the highway itself.
Billboards/signs to promote local businesses along Hwy 99 and Hwy 400. (P.S. I love that Severy repainted their sign on 400; it looks so good!)
Clean up/rejuvinate the downtown buildings that are unused (you know my obsession with the old Howard State Bank building)
Hire people to come and help everyone pick up their lots/homes, and paint them.
Hire a control officer to enforce mowing rules, picking up the lots, etc.
Wind farm that brings energy to the county (rather than taking it elsewhere).
Clean up all the junky oil fields around the county. There are people who have contaminated rural water because of leaking oil fields.
(This is more of a dream than reality...) Pay to re-route Hwy 99 through the downtown area in Howard.
Maybe you could make Howard a tourist destination. A tent camping experience, Dude ranch, ghost tours, horse wrangling, breakfast trail rides through the prairies, bison herd, oil well tours and museum or make the town an old Kansas cowboy's art colony with cowboy art, wrought iron work, tooled leather work, chuck wagon cooking, fudge, ice cream, pies, ...bring tourists in by the bus load. You've got the talent, use it to make your own town better. If Elk Falls gets people in for the out houses, and the pottery, (Have they moved to their new place yet?) Build on that. Become the poker capital of Kansas ....Maybe Teresa can create something for Howard in regard to her shooting friends and have a Howard sponsored shoot out. If Kansas has an economic development office like we have here, they might help. As Tobina says, advertise, but create something that will make the tour companies want to come to Howard.
Tobina -
Glad you like our newly painted sign at Severy. The SCA (Severy Community Activities Group) checked in to having it professionally repainted, but the cost was so overwhelming that some of the members pitched in and did it. Those doing the painting were Chris Hare, Larry Nusz, Larry Wilson, Lesa Schroeder and daughters, and me. Before too long we may attach a sign that reads "75th Year" and possibly another one with the dates of the three-day event. Of course the numbers on the attached signs would need to be changed every year.
kinda dense here, Marcia. 75th year for what?
Chigger Chariot Races? I'd come see that! ;D Sorry, couldn't help myself. I'll go away now.
This year is Severy's 75th annual Labor Day Celebration.
okay, but on the "Severy" sign, wouldn't it sound like Severy was 75 yrs. old? May not, . . . ::) what I get for thinking out loud. :-\
No, because the sign now advertises Severy's annual Labor Day Celebration.
OH, shows you how observant I am. Going to Eureka after bit and I shall pay special attention. Thanks
Buy a Cat 9H with a ripper blade and doze in the fairgrounds. We could do it twice.
Down, Patrick, down!...Man, who sugared up your Post Toasties this morning??? ;D
If water is what is holding Elk Co. back, then that should be the wish and lots of good things could be possible!
Is there a lack of water in Elk County or is the problem a lack of distribution capability?
Unlike the rest of the free world, the north part of Elk county has never put in rural water. We have water systems at all of the citys that source from lakes or river. The problem is the state constantly adds new regs and the expense of meeting those regs. We are trying to establish a second water district between the greenwood system and Elk county RWD#1 which is sourced from the new moline lake and serves most of Southern elk county and part of Chautauqua county RWD.
Every 50 years or so you should think about infastrusture.
I think I have said before that good well water does not exist in Elk County. There are wells, but the water is not of the best and the wells go dry. Most of them anyway. Most rural people have cisterns to hold the water that they haul from town. I see a bunch of water tanks go by here everyday as the water dispenser is 2 blocks north of me.
As for a water district that would provide piped in water, the expense of developing one goes up every day. The population of north Elk County is kind of skimpy making it even more expensive. But on the other hand, if there were a good supply of good water available, more people would build in the rural areas making it less expensive. Kind of a which comes first situation.
I think that before any development of Elk County can be done, a good source of water needs to be established.
Update on water district.
My brother out in northwest Union Center now has a meter and water.
Yeah, Uncle Dale. Now, if we just had a house there. LOL
By the way, if our communities were give $450,000, I would like to see all the roads that go to all the cemeteries paved or something. It is embarrassing to have a funeral procession go to a cemetery and have to hit all the dips and potholes. How about that for the use of that money?
Now that's interesting .Some time back when we talked about rural water someone said the water company wouldn't do anything because there weren't enough people willing to have meters to make it worthwhile to install the pipes. What changed? That's a really positive turn around.
I don't know what changed, but someone has really been working on this one.
Been a lot of ordinary Elk County citizens working on this issue for a very long time.
That is fantastic. Whoever has been working on this deserves a huge thank you.
Let build anew pool saw 7 kids there today 4 were girls getting a tan
I really question your motives. ;)
Fantasy's are such fun.
Use it as seed money for an amusement park with Roller Coasters, Thrill Rides, Family Rides, Kids' Rides, Water Rides.
Think of all the jobs for local citizens. People would come from miles and mile around.
It could be an Elk County Government project and all the proceeds would replace property taxes.
I love fantasy's. Don't you?
Yes, this is all fantastic... public input and all.
How was the public input that was to influence elected officials derived?
Here's how: http://www.cascity.com/howard/forum/index.php/topic,11780.msg164819.html#new (http://www.cascity.com/howard/forum/index.php/topic,11780.msg164819.html#new)
Build a Golf Course.... no golf-carts allowed.... everyone carries their golf clubs... great exercise!
i would pave the road from longton to fredonia and get Elk connected.There is a beautiful drive from sedan to chanute,if people could go cruising they'ld spend there money then leave! We moved here to get away from the feedlots and slaughter houses,very few hometown people work there, only foreigners
This must be Elk Konnected fantasy island.
If you tire of fantasy try visiting for real conversation and intrigue and controversity:
http://www.cascity.com/howard/forum/index.php/topic,11780.msg165101.html
Who steers the steering committee?