by Logan Gruber
operations@thenewsleaders.com
On May 18, the city council approved making an environmental assessment worksheet available for the public to view and comment on for a possible 745,000-square-foot, or nearly 100-acre distribution center near CR 133.
The proposed site is located just off of CR 133, just north of 19th Avenue NE. The site is mostly farmland at this time, with some wetland.
City documents say KDN Holdings, a food service supplier based in Massachusetts, is the company exploring the land. City staff wouldn’t comment further on what the distribution center might be used for.
The development would connect to existing water and sewer lines at 19th Avenue NE.
If everything goes as currently proposed, construction would begin in the fall of 2015, with completion expected in late-2016. According to city documents, the distribution center would service several surrounding states.
The plans estimate 300 people could be employed at the facility. Due to employee and truck traffic, a right-turn lane is also proposed for CR 133 heading north.
Comments on the proposed project can be made now through 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 24. The EAW can be viewed at city hall, which is also where written comments can be submitted, either in person or by mail.
Regular city council meetings are held at 6 p.m. on the first and third Mondays of the month in the council chambers at city hall, 25 College Ave. N. These meetings are open to the public, and a public hearing for any topic a citizen might want to speak about before the council is held near the beginning of every meeting. The meetings are also broadcast live on the city’s cable access channel:on Charter at channel 181; on Midcontinent at channel 10. Agendas and meeting minutes may be viewed at city hall, or online at cityofstjoseph.com.
The distribution center’s layout can be seen here: the red outline is the edge of the parcel they are proposing to purchase; the yellow, shaded areas are where buildings would lie; and, the white outline is where roads and parking lots would be.
