Opponents urge county to drop bid for Tyson chicken plant

Opponents of a Tyson processing plant in Sedgwick County asked county commissioners on Wednesday to drop a bid for the plant, expressing concerns about potential environmental and social costs.

About a half-dozen speakers said the mammoth processing facility – and a network of contract chicken farms that would be needed to support it – could damage the county’s air and water quality and attract immigrant laborers who would use county services.

“Tyson would burden our water supply, sewer system, roads, schools and healthcare facilities at a time when the Kansas budget has made devastating cuts in these areas,” said Robin Ulmer, wearing a T-shirt with the logo of #NoTysonSedgwickCounty, an opposition group organized through social media.

“So Tyson gets a big tax break, needs a huge taxpayer investment from us to upgrade infrastructure for them, and will only pay most of their workers below the poverty line,” she said. “Let Tyson go into a town who needs the employment and wants the burden to keep their town alive. We don’t need it. We can do better.”

The five county commissioners and the public-private economic development group Greater Wichita Partnership joined forces to put Sedgwick County into competition for the Tyson facility after Leavenworth County rejected it in late September.

Commission Chairman David Unruh said that doesn’t mean the county will automatically approve Tyson.

“I pledge to you that the commissioners are going to keep an open mind on this issue,” Unruh told the plant opponents.

Commissioner Michael O’Donnell, who started the ball rolling at the county to try to lure Tyson, said he welcomes the debate.

“That’s obviously going to gear up a lot of emotions, both good and bad,” he said. “And so what we’re doing is try to encourage everyone to keep an open mind as we explore if this is going to be a good fit for Sedgwick County or not.”

The plant would create about 1,600 jobs and bring an estimated $320 million in development to the county.

The original plan to put the plant near Tonganoxie was announced with fanfare by Gov. Sam Brownback and initially supported by Leavenworth County officials.

But commissioners there backed off tax breaks they had approved to lure the plant after fierce opposition surfaced.

Tyson announced it would seek another location and has named Sedgwick, Cloud and Montgomery counties in Kansas as finalists for the project.

Tyson said in a statement Saturday that it is continuing to evaluate its options in Kansas, and other states have expressed support for the project.

“No matter where we decide to build, we intend to do our best to answer questions residents will understandably have about the project,” the company said. “In fact, we support their engagement in the process. We hope they’ll keep an open mind before making a judgment on a project that will generate 1,600 jobs, an estimated annual economic benefit of $150 million and the opportunity for area farmers to diversify their farms.”

One of the specific concerns raised Wednesday was the potential for impact on water supplies and quality.

Tom Kneil, a board member of the Arkansas River Coalition, said he’s concerned that supplying the plant would deplete groundwater and reduce the river’s flow. He said he also worries about potential contamination from a network of contract farmers raising hundreds of thousands of chickens and processing their manure.

“The reputation and history of Tyson is not good in terms of water pollution, air pollution and workplace safety,” he said.

The opponents also raised questions of who would take the jobs.

New chicken plants “usually go through the (local) labor pool in about a year and start bringing in migrant labor,” said Richelle Walker, a plant opponent who attended the meeting but did not address the commission. Opponents said that influx of people can affect schools, health and social services.

O’Donnell said Wichita already has a lot of refugees and immigrants who need the work.

“The Obama Administration has sent a lot of refugees to Sedgwick County,” he said. “So we actually have thousands of people that have settled in our region already. So I don’t think they (Tyson) would have to find more.”

“There is a certain segment of the opposition that is racist,” O’Donnell added. “Just flat out people told me ‘We don’t want immigrants here. We don’t want these people in our community. I’ve been taken aback a little bit by it because people are so flagrant with that.”

This story was originally published November 1, 2017 at 11:25 AM with the headline "Opponents urge county to drop bid for Tyson chicken plant."