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WBJ - 5 takeaways from the Wichita chamber's 2023 legislative agenda
A couple of focus areas that should interest at least some on the board.
If there is another APEX project approved this year, it really needs to be one of the projects around here. If they award another win the NE KS I would guess getting the program extended might get complicated if the rest of the state thinks they don't even get a chance. Though I also wouldn't object if some other area of KS won something, as long as it wasn't in the KC area again. No matter where a major project lands, there will most likely be benefits to other parts of the state, just not as impactful as the region that gets it.
This will be something to keep an eye on as I believe the Governor said a while back that there were something like nine other potential projects eyeing Kansas with this program. They may not all be quite Panasonic big, but a big win of any kind is a good one.
Then I believe we've discussed the biomedical campus here and in the WSU growth thread. The potential it would bring to downtown Wichita is massive, and as we've seen in other areas where similar projects have taken place, it's a massive economic benefit and creates a lot of new businesses and jobs in the area, as well as living spaces. I would hope that once this gets finalized and construction begins, or is at least committed, that we'll see more apartment options pop up in the area and that will only help fuel others aspects. I read somewhere that these students generally want to live near the school and hospital(s) as that's where they're going to spend the bulk of their time over a few year period. They need easy access to food and retail in those areas and everything should grow.
Promote and expand critical tax/economic development incentive programs that result in more jobs and investment, including an extension of the APEX program
Among the state's economic incentive toolbox, the legislature approved the landmark APEX (Attracting Powerful Economic Expansion) bill in February to attract a company to invest $1 billion in Kansas. State officials say the program was crucial in luring Panasonic's $4 billion electric-vehicle battery plant to De Soto.
The APEX program, though, will expire at the end of 2023, and Watkins said it will be a priority for the chamber to advocate for an extension.
"We think that's a program that should continue," he said. "That's not us saying that there shouldn't be appropriate oversight. ... We have to make sure that there is a good return on investment, that these monies are being invested wisely."
While he couldn't provide details, Watkins said there are megaprojects in the pipeline for the Wichita and South Central Kansas area, but "it will require a program like APEX being renewed in order for those programs to come to fruition," he said.
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Support funding for the Wichita biomedical campus, and encourage investments in mental health and substance abuse, including a state mental health hospital in Wichita
Last month, the state approved the use of $15 million to begin planning for a new 50-bed adult psychiatric facility in Wichita, and Watkins said more money has been requested from the state's allocation of federal Covid-19 relief funds.
The project is "in a good place," he said.
Watkins said support for the downtown biomedical campus — a planned $302-million education center shared by the the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, Wichita State University and WSU Tech — will be crucial to training the medical workforce of the future.
"That will create great synergy for both the hospital and for the campus, and we're just very excited to see all of this get started and get to the point of completion," he said. "Those two things coming together, I think this is a generational opportunity for Wichita and South Central Kansas. It will change what this community is and how it operates."
Among the state's economic incentive toolbox, the legislature approved the landmark APEX (Attracting Powerful Economic Expansion) bill in February to attract a company to invest $1 billion in Kansas. State officials say the program was crucial in luring Panasonic's $4 billion electric-vehicle battery plant to De Soto.
The APEX program, though, will expire at the end of 2023, and Watkins said it will be a priority for the chamber to advocate for an extension.
"We think that's a program that should continue," he said. "That's not us saying that there shouldn't be appropriate oversight. ... We have to make sure that there is a good return on investment, that these monies are being invested wisely."
While he couldn't provide details, Watkins said there are megaprojects in the pipeline for the Wichita and South Central Kansas area, but "it will require a program like APEX being renewed in order for those programs to come to fruition," he said.
.....
Support funding for the Wichita biomedical campus, and encourage investments in mental health and substance abuse, including a state mental health hospital in Wichita
Last month, the state approved the use of $15 million to begin planning for a new 50-bed adult psychiatric facility in Wichita, and Watkins said more money has been requested from the state's allocation of federal Covid-19 relief funds.
The project is "in a good place," he said.
Watkins said support for the downtown biomedical campus — a planned $302-million education center shared by the the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, Wichita State University and WSU Tech — will be crucial to training the medical workforce of the future.
"That will create great synergy for both the hospital and for the campus, and we're just very excited to see all of this get started and get to the point of completion," he said. "Those two things coming together, I think this is a generational opportunity for Wichita and South Central Kansas. It will change what this community is and how it operates."
If there is another APEX project approved this year, it really needs to be one of the projects around here. If they award another win the NE KS I would guess getting the program extended might get complicated if the rest of the state thinks they don't even get a chance. Though I also wouldn't object if some other area of KS won something, as long as it wasn't in the KC area again. No matter where a major project lands, there will most likely be benefits to other parts of the state, just not as impactful as the region that gets it.
This will be something to keep an eye on as I believe the Governor said a while back that there were something like nine other potential projects eyeing Kansas with this program. They may not all be quite Panasonic big, but a big win of any kind is a good one.
Then I believe we've discussed the biomedical campus here and in the WSU growth thread. The potential it would bring to downtown Wichita is massive, and as we've seen in other areas where similar projects have taken place, it's a massive economic benefit and creates a lot of new businesses and jobs in the area, as well as living spaces. I would hope that once this gets finalized and construction begins, or is at least committed, that we'll see more apartment options pop up in the area and that will only help fuel others aspects. I read somewhere that these students generally want to live near the school and hospital(s) as that's where they're going to spend the bulk of their time over a few year period. They need easy access to food and retail in those areas and everything should grow.
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