“Let’s go to the port.” If that calls to mind a big harbor full of ships and seagulls, think again.
There are other kinds of ports such as an airport – or a railport. Today we’ll learn about a rural Kansas county that is using a port authority to support railroad infrastructure so as to benefit the local economy.
During the last two weeks, we met Carolyn Dunn, president of the Stafford County Port Authority and past director of economic development in Stafford County. In the conclusion of this three-part series, we will learn about a port authority.
Stafford County is an agriculturally-based county in the middle of Kansas. One of its assets is a railroad line.
When Dunn first took the job as county economic development director, she was approached by three companies that were interested in establishing a large grain car loading facility along the railroad in the county. In each case, the deals did not pencil out, and the companies went elsewhere.
“We had to figure out how we could make this viable for them,” Dunn said. “Rather than those companies having to absorb all the cost of land and track, we looked for a way to structure this so that it makes it advantageous to attract businesses.”
