Industrial park on road to paving
Despite delay, Hartley officials not worried about completion
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NICK PEDLEY/SENTINEL-NEWS
Paving equipment is ready to roll at Hartley's new industrial park, which is located west of Grace Fellowship on Highway 18.
Superintendent of Public Works Jaron Benz isn't concerned that the only thing to change recently at Hartley's new industrial park is the weeds.
The 20-acre site was set to get paved last month, but only dirt remains. Benz said that's not a problem – crews are slated to return to Hartley within the next week and hopefully finish the job.
"Whether that's going to happen or not, I'm not 100 percent sure," he said. "They worked before Labor Day and were hoping to return, but didn't. Whether that's weather related, I don't know."
Work should progress at a rapid clip once the paving crew does arrive. Roughly 800 linear feet needs to be paved, which isn't causing Benz to lose sleep.
"Once it's ready to go, they can put that down pretty fast," he said.
Blueprints call for an approach to the highway with roads extending down to the corner and then west to the edge of the development. Some paving equipment is already on site and ready to roll.
Additionally, various electrical, gas and water utility hookups will get underway after paving is done. Some of the finishing touches likely won't get completed until next year.
"We're still sitting OK," Benz said of project's timeline. "Once we get some of our bigger projects done, this fall we're going to do as much as possible if weather allows."
The new industrial park is located directly west of Grace Fellowship on Highway 18. Its construction was prompted by a lack of space in Hartley, as the current industrial park located on the southeast side of town is near capacity.
The project's price tag is estimated at $1.1-$1.3 million. The area has been divided into nine lots – the largest encompasses 3.56 acres and the smallest occupies 0.83 acres. The city is using tax increment financing (TIF) funds to pay for some of the development expenses.
The land for the new industrial park was purchased from Brent and Kimberly Rieck and Jason Krosch in December 2018 for $22,000 per acre, or $440,000 in total. An additional parcel of land totaling approximately 1 acre was purchased this year at a similar price to accommodate the outlet waterway.
