Pratt County appoints Chase Gauley to PA EDC; officials report housing study and exploratory solar project

Pratt County commissioners on Dec. 16 appointed Chase Gauley to the Pratt Area Economic Development Council and received updates on two economic-development efforts.

Unidentified Speaker 2, reporting from last week’s PABC meeting, said the council will end the façade grant program at year-end to conserve resources and will start a countywide housing assessment after Jan. 1 to identify needs for multifamily, moderate-income and lower-income housing in Pratt and nearby communities. “The housing study…they intend to get that going right after the first of the year, to be able to do the countywide housing assessment,” Speaker 2 said.

Speaker 2 also told commissioners a company is in exploratory talks about siting an industrial-scale solar farm in eastern Pratt County that would feed power into the Southwest Power Pool. The company is in early feasibility stages, Speaker 2 said, and local permitting and Planning and Zoning review would be required. “They said it would be about 2 years before any construction could start,” Speaker 2 said.

Commissioners moved to replace outgoing PA EDC member Ruth Ann Barker, whose term ends at year‑end, with Chase Gauley; the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote.

The meeting also included an update on the Sawyer gas‑line project: Speaker 2 said the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) has developed a construction RFP and that rate studies and procurement steps remain before construction can begin.

What’s next: The housing assessment work is expected to start early next year, and any proposal for a solar facility would proceed through Planning and Zoning and other permitting before any construction timeline is set.