Ark Valley News - Sales tax to determine fate of 61st and Oliver

Sales tax to determine fate of 61st and Oliver
By Taylor Messick
Last Updated: February 02, 2023

On Feb. 7, Kechi residents will have an opportunity to vote for or against a 1 percent sales tax increase to fund projects associated with the Kechi Arts & Business District Master Plan. The poll will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Community Room at Kechi City Hall.

The city has been awarded $1.5 million in federal grant money from the Wichita Area Metropolitan Planning Organization for the project to reconstruct the intersection of Kechi Road (61st) and Oliver. City Administrator Kamme Sroufe said she believes it is a great accomplishment for a city the size of Kechi to obtain this type of grant.

In 2014, the preliminary cost estimate (excluding utility relocation) was $1.4 million. In 2020, the costs ballooned to $4.7 million (including $2.3 million for utility locations). Without the funds to move forward with the project, the city was forced to ask WAMPO if the $1.5 million federal grant could be delayed. WAMPO agreed and Kechi's grant is currently scheduled for 2024.

Because utility relocations were one of the highest costs, a scaled-back version of the plan was created that leaves some of the utility lines above ground. It also removes some of the aesthetics and addresses only the areas closest to the intersection. Estimates for this version of the project are between $2.5 and $3.7 million.

Sroufe said the 1 percent sales tax would generate roughly $90,000 per year and estimated that the average Kechi household would pay somewhere between $46 and $138 extra per year. She said the Kechi Arts & Business District Master Plan is a multi-phased plan that could take decades to complete.

Sroufe noted that the $90,000 per year that could be generated through the sales tax is the equivalent of a property tax increase between 3 and 4 mills. Sroufe has not recommended a property tax increase and Kechi city council members have refused to impose a property tax increase on residents to fund the project. Instead, they have asked residents to vote on the matter and decide for themselves. Most stated that they believe the project will die after years of work and thousands of dollars spent if the sales tax fails and the city has to turn down the grant money.

Council member Brian Adams has consistently and staunchly opposed any tax increase during his time on the governing body. He noted that only Wichita, Goddard and Viola have lower mill levies than Kechi in Sedgwick County. Adams said he believes the city has always worked hard to keep taxes low for its residents.

"Never once have I voted for a tax increase here but the return on that means that doesn't leave us a lot of money to do improvements," said Adams. "This is federal money that people in Massachusetts paid that we have an opportunity to bring into Kechi to improve the quality of life. I'm not advocating one way or the other. … This is an opportunity for a discount on a project that we want to do. I took from the meetings we had with the citizens several years ago when this started getting rolling that the citizens were behind this."

Governing body members said they see the sales tax as a way of letting commuters and outsiders chip in for the project rather than putting the burden on residents. If approved, the 1 percent sales tax would be applied to all items purchased in Kechi except for gas. It would, however, apply to city utilities. Some contractors are required to report sales taxes to the state and others are not; if they are required to report sales taxes then the 1 percent tax would apply to their services. In Kansas, sales taxes are applied where a customer receives the delivery of a product. So, if a product is made in Kechi but delivered to a buyer in another city, the sales tax does not apply. If a product is made elsewhere but delivered to Kechi, the sales tax does apply.

Mail-in ballots are available to residents who applied for them before Jan. 31. Although the county website refers to an early voting period, that option will not be available for this election. An electronic version of the Kechi Arts & Business District Master Plan and more information is available on the city's website.