County commission votes to oppose pipeline
By PAIGE CARSWELL
Published: Wednesday, December 23, 2009 1:39 PM CST
Cowley County commissioners passed a resolution during their Tuesday morning meeting in support of denying a property tax exemption to TransCanada Keystone Pipeline.
The resolution states several reasons the exemption should not be granted, including that businesses operating within the lines of a county should “pay their fair share” and that the pipeline has not been given a tax exemption in any other state.
The county would lose an estimated $400,000 per year in property taxes if the tax break is given to the pipeline.
“We did talk about this at Cowley First and came to an agreement among all the governing bodies,” said Dick Bonfy, commission chairman. “They’re huge. TransCanada is huge, and they are cruising.”
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The commissioners raced through the rest of their agenda at their meeting at the Cowley County Courthouse.
They authorized submission of a grant application by the Arkansas City and Winfield police departments, or Public Safety Answering Points, for upgraded software. The grant the PSAP submitted to the Kansas Governor’s Grant Office earlier this year was rejected because it was too broad for funding. The resubmission includes only a request for computer-aided dispatch.
In other business, the commissioners:
•Authorized the Cowley County Emergency Management to submit a grant application to the Kansas Division of Emergency Management for the health department’s Medical Reserve Corps.
•Reappointed David Schmeidler, Jacque Arnett and Carmelita Clarkson to three-year terms on the City-Cowley County Joint Board of Health.
•Granted a cereal malt beverage license to Donna Kahrs for the Little Hooker Bait Shop, dependent upon a background check that Kahrs was completing.
•Approved a right-of-way work permit for an AT&T contractor to provide a service line to 6973 252nd Road.
The meeting began at 9 a.m. and adjourned at 9:30.
http://www.winfieldcourier.com/articles/2009/12/23/news/news/doc4b3270e8...
