Hutchinson escaped one bad list, but failed to produce another that would at least demonstrate that the time and considerable sums spent were not wasted.
What is particularly troubling is our absence among the 18 Kansas cities whose populations increased by at least 100 in the last statistical year.
If Hutchinson can’t prove it has grown by at least 100 residents, that’s not good news. And it’s surprising to see all the cries of success and admiration coming from the Chamber of Commerce, City Hall and elsewhere, considering how well we’re doing.
We thank the Hutchinson News, the Topeka Capital-Journal and the Hutchinson Tribune for their recent reporting on these 18 cities and 14 others that lost 100 or more residents during the state’s latest counting period.
This is thanks to officials who failed to reach the Salt City’s lost 100 residents – even though Hutchinson lost 37 residents, dropping its population to 39,662, while Reno County lost 19 residents, dropping its population to 61,497.
Cities in this area that have lost residents include:
- Great Bend down 117.
- Garden City, from 148.
- Salina lost 439.
Regional winners included:
- Corn, 397.
- Derby, 294.
- Bel-Aire, 715.
All of these are, of course, suburbs of Wichita, where Mulvane, Goddard and Park City also achieved good results.
We seem to be getting an impressive number of start-up companies, along with signs of growth, including the expansion of the Superior Boiler, a much-needed new Hilton hotel that is well underway, the impressive new office center replacing an eyesore at 30th and Plum, and several other areas of progress.
But all the incentives given to Siemens-Gamza to create jobs in wind energy have not produced the desired results as hoped, and those who are making a commendable effort to expand and create new industries seem to be making little progress.
Hutchinson has two of the state’s best tourist attractions, the Cosmosphere and Stratica, the underground salt museum. But our shortage of plentiful, well-maintained, affordable housing remains severe.
Work is being done to provide childcare, but it is still a long way from providing real help. Homelessness is increasing and becoming more and more visible.
Balancing government services and property tax issues is a nightmare, and no elected official, let alone a chief executive, seems willing to rein in excessive spending, including an out-of-control sheriff’s department shooting range, generous raises for teachers while burdening support staff, and endless assessments that generally go nowhere. Nor is there any hiring of new City Hall employees whose usefulness remains questionable.
Our local community foundation, which has achieved much in the past, continues to invest a lot of private money in projects and programs that will hopefully succeed, even if they sometimes seem more bright and wishful thinking than meaningful.
A pending STAR bond proposal, which may or may not prove financially viable, aims to expand the Cosmosphere’s STEM education capabilities, repurpose the decaying Landmark Hotel for apartments and put more taxpayer money into the severely underused Memorial Hall.
The oddly shaped district is touted as a potential savior of the population and progress, but whether it will result in true magic or a utopia will only become clear in a few years.
But something is wrong if we are not growing, if we are not creating new businesses that pay good wages, increasing our numbers by at least 100 a year, and taking advantage of a community with reasonably good schools, excellent water supplies, a high quality of life, and a city that is about a 10-minute drive from almost anywhere you want to go.
People are working on proposals and solutions, but the kind of dynamic community leadership that Hutchinson built in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s seems to be absent – with a few notable exceptions.
Let us hope that we will come up with some soon and that we will use common sense to find a solution instead of saying that we cannot do it because we are stuck in the past.
Dan Deming, former general manager of Hutchinson radio station KWBW and former Reno County commissioner, can be reached at 620-960-6733 or [email protected].
