Members of the Regional Development Association of East-Central Kansas discussed the status of the Buxton retail development study at their meeting this morning at the Trusler Business Center.
Association President Kent Heermann said city leaders working with Buxton on the study were in the process of evaluating the trade areas of the three coordinates submitted for the study: Sixth Avenue and Commercial Street, 15th Avenue and Industrial Road, and Americus Road and U.S. Highway 50. Buxton will look at the retail viability of each site using 15- and 30-minute drive times.
“What we’re doing is... we’re contacting the few retailers we know,” Heermann said after the meeting. “We’re gonna be chatting with them about this trade area to validate what actually it is so we can get back to Buxton.
“We need to get back to them by middle to late next week so they can keep proceeding and stay on the timetable.”
After the city reports its findings to Buxton, the Fort Worth, Texas-based customer analytics group will respond with its findings on whether the trade areas are accurate. If Buxton believes the trade areas are not accurate, the group will provide reasons why.
The RDA board also elected its officers for 2008 at this morning’s meeting. Heermann was re-appointed president. Other officers include Jeff Longbine, chairman; Steve Sauder, vice chairman; Matt Zimmerman, treasurer; and Jeanine McKenna, secretary.
Election of officers usually happens at the association’s organizational meeting in December, but was deferred because a number of members weren’t present at that meeting.
Longbine, who has served on the association board before, was one of three new members the board welcomed on Friday morning for the 2008 year. The others were Ken Bazil and John Geitz.