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Minutes for HB2331 - Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources
Short Title
Designating Lehigh Portland state park.
Minutes Content for Thu, Feb 16, 2023
Chair Rahjes opened the hearing on HB2331. Kyle Hamilton, Office of the Revisor of Statutes, provided a briefing on the bill and stood for questions. (Attachment 6)
Oral Proponents
Linda Lanterman, Director of Parks, Kansas Wildlife and Parks testified in support of the bill. She provided a brief history of the proposed park and notable features including the 138 acre lake, the riparian woodlands, historic farmsteads and John Brown's cave. (Attachment 7)
Lisse Regehr, President, Thrive Allen County testified in support of the bill. She spoke about the how the community had changed because of the completion of the Leigh Portland Trails, the positive effect the trails have on recruiting young professionals, new businesses that are thriving as a result of the trails and how adding Lehigh Portland State Park would continue the foundations that have been laid. (Attachment 8)
John McRae, President, Iola Industries, Inc. stood in support of the the bill. The support from the fifteen member board is unanimous. The board terminated the lease with the local Elks Lodge so that the general public could have access to the land. (Attachment 9)
John Materson, Vice President Iola Industries, Inc. and President of Allen County Community College - Retired, spoke in support of the bill. He talked about the great recruiting tool the state park would be to attract not only businesses, tourists and young professionals but community college students as well. (Attachment 10)
Matt Rehder, City of Iola City Administrator, testified in support of the bill. He provided the Proclamation from the Mayor and all City Council Members that stated their support for the establishment of the Lehigh Portland State Park. (Attachment 11)
David Lee, Allen County Commissioner, provided supporting testimony. He believes that Lehigh Portland State Park could be the catalyst for reversing the state-wide rural county population loss trend for Allen County. (Attachment 12)
Jeff Carrol, Owner, Ottawa Bike and Trail stood in support of the bill. He opened his business in 2018 because of the nearby trail and his business is doing well. He believes tourism will increase with the connection to the Prairie Spirit Trail and Flint Hills Trail. It will provide more challenging trails to the Kansas Trail System. (Attachment 13)
Jody Hoener, President,Healthy Bourbon County Action Team, stood in support of the bill. She provided information about all of the work that has been done to get to the point to ask for legislation to create Lehigh Portland State Park and the benefits it will provide the area. (Attachment 14)
Brock Godinez, Student/Athlete, provided supporting testimony about how his coach uses the trails in the area for cross county training. After training, he and his team support the local businesses for breakfast, and sometimes ice cream. He noted that the area is much better and diverse for cross county training than other local training sites. (Attachment 15)
Darrell Pulliam, resident of Crawford County, employed by Pittsburg State University, a founding member of Prairie Pathways, a local business owner, a previous professional BMX cyclist and a life long cycling advocate provided supporting testimony for the bill based on his experience in ride trails, roads and single track trails in over 40 states and how the Lehigh Portland State Park would be a unique adventure and destination point for many people. (Attachment 16)
Bret Greenwood, Kansas Citizen, provided supporting testimony for HB2331. He stated that the initial phase of heavy lifting is complete and it was built with the local and larger communities in mind. It needs to be preserved and augmented for even greater access by all Kansans and beyond. (Attachment 17)
Moria Spring, an elementary school student in Allen County, provided supporting testimony for the bill. She relayed her experiences in the area including watching the trails being built, exploring John Brown's Cave, and seeing a Super Moon from Lehigh. (Attachment 18)
John Leahy, Director, Thrive Allen County completed the slate of oral proponents for the bill. He is also the Steward of the Lehigh Portland Trails. In addition to other testimony, he talked about the area being a living museum from a journal entry by Zebulon Pike in 1806, through the homestead times, the development of the land by the Portland Cement Company up to the current proposal for the Lehigh Portland State Park. (Attachment 19)
Written only Proponents A-H,(Attachment 20) I-P(Attachment 21), and R-W (Attachment 22).
There was no Neutral or Opponent testimony.
The Chair closed the hearing on HB2331.
