? City administrator points to public and private investments of $57 million over past 10 years.
Hillsboro City Admini?strator Larry Paine wanted Chamber of Commerce members?and everyone else, for that matter?to know that reports of Hills?boro?s economic demise have been greatly exaggerated.
Speaking at the March 10 chamber luncheon, Paine said city administrators look for signs of life in a community much in the same way a doctor surmises the viability of a fetus in a pregnant woman.
?The doctor looks for a heartbeat,? Paine said. ?As long as there?s a heartbeat, there?s still life. As a city manager, I want to see a heartbeat that comes in the economic world.?
Using a presentation he prepared for USDA officials who are considering loans to build a new facility for Hills?boro Community Hos?pital, Paine reviewed the pattern of local private and public investment over the past 10 years.
?My key point: Hillsboro does have a heartbeat,? Paine said. ?My objective today is to prove that to you.
?Yes, we?re rural, but we?re thriving,? he said. ?Compare us to other communities with ?rural? attached to them. We?re doing every bit as well any of them and better than a lot of them.?
Paine categorized the investments in three categories: Tabor College, the city of Hillsboro, and the private-sector business community.
By Paine?s tabulation, the three entities have invested a total of $57.11 million over the past 10 years.
?I will submit that it would be hard for any of us to go to any other community of 3,000 people putting in $57 million worth of investments,? he said.
Tabor College
Paine estimated that Tabor College alone has invested $29.46 million in various campus improvement and expansion projects.
?There?s been a tremendous amount of beautification happening on campus within the last year or so,? he cited as an example.
Paine also highlighted the replacement of two streets within the campus, the townhouse student-housing project, the stadium project completed in partnership with USD 410, and the $9 million fine arts center nearing the start of construction.
?The money to build the (fine arts) building has been raised, and they?re raising money now for the endowment so they can do all things they want to do with that project,? Paine said.
He added that Tabor has acquired the local bowling alley, Bluejay Lanes, in partnership with a number of other organizations in town.
?They developed, of all things, a bowling team, so they have to have a place to bowl,? Paine said.
City projects
In regard to public investments, Paine said the city has invested $10.95 million in various infrastructure projects. Many were financed with the use of state and federal grants.
Among the projects Paine mentioned is $2.9 million for a new swimming pool, the ongoing improvements at the Sports Complex, and an upcoming investment of $178,000 to repair and restore the small water tower.
Paine said the city developed waste-water ponds east of town and upgraded the sewer system with an investment totaling $5.6 million.
He also mentioned several major street-replacement projects: the portion of North Ash that was replaced with funding assistance via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, plus the recent rebuilding of major portions of Adams and First streets and partial rebuilding on Date, Cedar and Birch streets.
Paine said since his arrival, the city has made numerous improvements at the municipal airport, all using 90-10 matching grants through the Kansas Depart?ment of Transportation.
Paine said two other significant grant-assisted projects are scheduled for this summer.
One is the addition of acceleration/deceleration lanes and a bypass lane at the junction of Adams Street and U.S. Highway 56.
The other is a Safe Routes to School project that will be completed with KDOT grant funds in partnership with the school district.
?We?re going to building sidewalks in a number of different places, particularly from the elementary school to Adams, and around, so kids have a safer way to walk to school,? Paine said. ?It will be 8-foot sidewalks so you can walk and ride a bicycle in the same proximity to one another.?
Paine also noted USD 410?s development of a new central office and bus barn as part of the stadium project as well as ongoing expansion projects at the elemen?tary school.
Private sector
Paine credited the private sector with investing $16.7 million in Hillsboro over the past decade.
Among the projects he noted were the Midway Motors dealership, the construction of a church following a fire and multiple expan?sion projects by Bark?man Honey, Container Services Inc., Cooperative Grain & Supply, Hillsboro Industries and Circle D.
Paine identified several existing businesses that have moved to town?most from their rural origins. His list included Elcon Electric, Jost Fabrication, Horseshoe Metal Works and Scully Partners from Marion.
The most recent newcomer to the city is the Wal-Mart Express currently under construction.
Setbacks and gains
Paine said bumps in the road are inevitable in the economic life of a community, noting the recent closures of Heartland Foods and Alco.
?When a community has a lot of things going for it, sometimes bad things happen,? he said. ?Right now, that?s another opportunity for us. We?re looking at trying to help in that process to get (the empty buildings) filled up.?
Despite some setbacks, positive things continue to happen in the business community, he added. Paine mentioned the transfer of the local veterinary clinic to younger owners, and the recent expansion of products and store hours at The Lumberyard.
He mentioned Hillsboro continues to have four car dealers in town, a welding school now operated by Hutchinson Community College, and new store for the auto parts and mowers constructed by Ag Service Inc.
During the meeting, a representative from United Suppliers, located in the industrial park, announced that the business is expanding the size of its warehouse and has plans to double it again in the future.
Fresh look
Paine said it?s usually strangers in town?such as he was in 2007?who notice the economic vibrancy of the community that so many longtime residents take for granted.
?People keep investing in Hillsboro because we are moving, we are thriving,? he said. ?Maybe we have a couple of warts, but we?re moving forward. And we?re continuing to do that.
?People are willing to invest in this community, and will be in the near future, because they know we are people who can take care of ourselves.
?That doesn?t happen in a dying community,? Paine said. ?Dead cities don?t invest in themselves. This place has got a heartbeat.?
