346             1997 Session Laws of Kansas             Ch. 99

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:

Section 1. (a) Contingent upon a favorable response from federal
agencies regarding development of shared resources, the secretary of the
department of wildlife and parks shall identify and select sites suitable
for the development of commercial, family oriented lodging areas at the
following state parks: Clinton, Hillsdale, Kanopolis, El Dorado, Cheney,
Wilson, Milford, Tuttle Creek, Pomona and such other state parks as the
secretary deems appropriate.

(b) Such identification and selection of the sites shall take into con-
sideration the mission of the facility, the environmental considerations
and the availability of needed utilities.

(c) Family oriented lodging shall not include the development of lake
resorts.

Ch. 99             1997 Session Laws of Kansas             347

Sec. 2. The secretary of the department of wildlife and parks is then
authorized to negotiate for a long-term lease with a private sector devel-
oper for improvement and development of any selected state park site.
All such leases shall be on such terms as the secretary prescribes and
adhere to the purposes and considerations of section 1 and amendments
thereto.

Sec. 3. The department of wildlife and parks shall advertise for pro-
posal plans with bids for development of sites selected under section 1
and amendments thereto. Advertisements for proposals with bids shall be
published once each week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper
having general circulation in the community at least 60 days before the
time for receiving the proposals with bids. The advertisement shall also
be posted on readily accessible bulletin boards in all offices of the de-
partment. The advertisement shall identify the area to be developed, the
purpose of the development and shall state that such further information
as is available may be obtained from the department's office in Topeka.

The secretary shall consider all proposals with bids submitted, the fi-
nancial and legal ability of the private sector developers making such
proposals with bids to carry them out and may negotiate with any private
sector developer for a proposal with bid. The secretary may accept such
proposal with bid as it deems to be in the public interest and in further-
ance of the purposes of this act.

Sec. 4. All improvements of the selected state park site shall be ex-
empt from ad valorem property tax but the owner or owners of the im-
provements shall be required to make a contract or contracts for payment
of service charges in lieu of the ad valorem property tax in an amount
equal to the value of the improvements as assessed by the county ap-
praiser under the then existing tax process times 100 mills. All in lieu of
moneys received will be divided equally between the county of location
and the parks fee fund, established under K.S.A. 32-991, and amend-
ments thereto.

Sec. 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the statute book.

Approved April 10, 1997.