Coffey County to pay up to $10,000 toward survey for school-owned land to spur housing near rec center

Coffey County commissioners voted to pay up to $10,000 toward the cost of surveying and a drainage study for a school-owned parcel west of the Burlington Recreation Center, a step proponents say could clear the way for up to six new home lots near the rec center and schools.

The funding, approved by majority vote with one dissent, will cover half the cost of a plot survey and a drainage survey for the parcel on Willett Street, with money to come from the county's community improvement reserve. Commissioners instructed staff to return a formal contract; the board asked that the county be kept informed as work proceeds.

Why it matters: The parcel is owned by USD 244 and sits adjacent to recreational facilities, Burlington Middle School and Burlington High School. School and housing authority officials told the commission their boards want the property developed for housing to help attract and retain employees and to add modest, neighborhood-scale housing in the city.

Housing authority director Rhonda Gilbert and Burlington USD 244 superintendent Craig Marshall presented the proposal and asked the commission to share survey costs so the school board could decide how to proceed. Gilbert said the school board does not foresee needing the property for school functions and wants it to be usable for housing that fits the neighborhood.

"We don't see a need for that property for the school district," Gilbert said, adding the board would be willing to sell or otherwise partner with a housing authority or developer to see homes built. Marshall and Gilbert both said drainage across the parcel is the principal obstacle to subdivision.

Marshall said engineers told him a plot survey would run about $10,000 and a drainage survey about $8,000. He told the commission that if the county supported paying half the survey costs, the housing authority would then present the results to the school board at its Feb. 10 meeting and the school board would decide whether to proceed.

Commission discussion focused on the county's role in getting a usable site prepared while avoiding creating windfalls for speculators. Commissioners said they wanted enforceable language if the land were sold so buyers could not hold parcels without building, and they discussed several options: selling all land to the housing authority, selling lots with build-out conditions, or structuring repayment to the school as houses are sold.

Motion and outcome: The board approved (majority, 2-1) a motion to pay half the cost of the plot and drainage survey, not to exceed $10,000, with funds coming from the community improvement reserve. The motion was moved and seconded at the meeting; the record shows the motion passed with one nay. The board asked staff to work with the housing authority and school district on scope and contract language before payment.

Next steps: Gilbert said the housing authority will return to the school board on Feb. 10 with survey results if the county's support is confirmed, and the county will be provided engineering findings and proposed contract language as the work proceeds.