Posted April 03, 2017 05:41am
(KAIR)--The City of Atchison remains on track in the goal to utilize STAR bonds to support the planned Muriel Museum at the Amelia Earhart Memorial Airport.
Muriel is a 1935 Lockheed Electra L-10E, which is a match to the airplane flown by Atchison native Amelia Earhart. The plane was brought to Atchison from California last summer, with the goal of the Amelia Earhart Foundation to create a museum to house the plane.
According to a Commission Action Report document from City Manager Trey Cocking, the City would petition the State of Kansas to issue the bonds needed to make that plan a reality. “It's a program through the state of Kansas where if there is an increase in sales tax revenue generated by a project or in conjunction with a project that both the increase
in state sales tax and local sales tax generated by that project can go back in and be used for improvements around the project and associated with the project,” Cocking told MSC News in a January interview about the issue.
Cocking, in the document included with the agenda for Monday's meeting of the City Commission, says the first step of the STAR bond process is the creation of a STAR Bond District, and adoption of a resolution scheduling the district for a public hearing.
The public hearing would be held Friday, May 5, at noon, pending action of the Commission on Monday.
According to Cocking, by creating a district at the current time, the City may be able to proceed with the project even if the State does not renew the current STAR Bond law, which is set to expire June 30.
An exact price tag for the museum is not yet known, but Cocking says preliminary numbers indicate that between $1.5 million and $2.5 million is available for use on the project.
Past plans had included the use of STAR Bonds for the possible expansion of the athletic field at Benedictine College. However, in his report, Cocking notes that the bonds would currently be pursued for the museum only, as City Staff continues to work on the college project, which will “require additional time for due diligence.”
