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About Liberal: Liberal
Details: Profile
Community Profile
"Crossroads of Commerce"
Statistical
Review
| Form
of Government: |
City
Manager - Five member elected commission. Incorporated as
a town 1888. |
| Total
Population: |
City 20,384 (2006);
Seward County 23,404 (2006) |
| Median
age (2002): |
28.9
years |
| Climate: |
| Average
Temperature (2001) 55.2 degrees |
| Annual
rain (2001) 19.14 inches |
| Annual
snowfall (2002 ) 8.0 inches |
| Earthquake
index (1999) 0.0 |
| Area: |
8.5
square miles |
| Altitude: |
2,843
feet above sea level |
| Latitude:
37'2" |
Longitude:
100'55" |
A
City on the Rise
Liberal is
a city preparing for the future while preserving the best of its
past. Liberal has enjoyed a steady population increase of four
and five percent over the past few years. Site location consultants
are impressed with the advantages that Liberal has to offer expanding
and relocating business companies - a hardworking labor force,
large tracts of affordable land, enterprise zone incentives, and
a pro-business environment. Yet, Liberal retains the charm and
beauty of a small rural town with its turn-of-the-century buildings
and residences.
A
City with Market Access
Liberal is
located in the heart of the Great Plains with a trading area covering
the corners of five states: Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico
and Kansas. It was named for the early day settlers who were "liberal"
with the scarce supply of water. The City is positioned at the
crossroads of U.S. Highway 54 and U.S. Highway 83. The Liberal
Mid-America Regional Airport is located within the city limits of Liberal and serves
commercial, freight and private aircraft traffic.
A City with an Abundant Workforce
The available
labor force in Liberal has the benefit of being diverse. Because
of our heavy agricultural and petroleum ties, there is an abundance
of unskilled and semi-skilled general labor. But, there are also
a significant number of skilled workers with a variety of educational
and technical backgrounds. Seward County Community College and
Southwest Kansas Technical School provides workforce tailored
to business and industry demands.
Growth
Growth in
Liberal is projected to remain high for the next few decades.
The Kansas Department of Budget projections show Seward County
as the fifth fastest growing County in Kansas, with Liberal growing
significantly faster than most rural Kansas communities-52.6 percent
growth for Liberal versus a 3.8 percent decline for the average
non-metropolitan Kansas community.
The Liberal
Trade Area varies in distance from 30 to 100 miles with an estimated
population of 80,000. Customers included in this trade area as
validated by credit card purchases or checks. Communities included
in Liberal's Trade Area include Guymon, Hooker, Beaver, Turpin,
Tyrone, Forgan, Balko, Boise City, Goodwell and Keyes in Oklahoma;
Hugoton, Plains, Elkhart, Satanta, Kismet, Moscow, Rolla, Sublette,
Meade and Ulysses in Kansas; Springfield and Walsh in Colorado;
and Booker and Perryton in Texas.
Newspapers:
Southwest Daily Times with circulation of 6,500, Liberal Light
a weekly paper with circulation of 5,400, Los Tiempos twice a
month paper with circulation of 12,000 and two Hispanic tabloids.
Radio Stations:
KSCB with 3 stations - AM, FM and The Legend, KSLS with 2 stations
- The Twister and KYUU the Hispanic station, and KZQD which is
also a Hispanic station.
Television:
Time-Warner Cable serves Liberal with over 200 channels. Basic service
is comprised of Off Air Networks; PBS educational channels and
Super Stations. Adelphia offers additions to the basic service:
HBO, Cinemax, Showtime movie channels, Starz and Encore, International
packages, Spanish packages and Music Choice with 45 channels of
music. The company also offers long-distance phone service and
power link high speed Internet.
Parks: 13
with a total of 86 acres
Assessed
Valuation: 11/01/03 for 2004 Budget $88,776,304
Debt Schedule
as of 12/01/03
General Obligation Bonds - $20,855,000
COP's/Lease Purchase - $186,665
Tax Mill Levy - 2006
| State
|
1.500 |
| County |
24.958 |
| Junior
College |
26.011 |
| USD
480 Exc Gen |
13.896 |
| USD
480 Bond & Interest |
6.662 |
| USD
480 General |
20.000 |
| Liberal
City |
43.355 |
| Total
|
136.382 |
Municipal
& Private Services
Fire Department:
Thirty full-time employees and volunteers; 2 stations operating
24 hours a day. 1 station-partially operative, 12 pieces of motorized
equipment.
Police Department:
Current strength - 45, authorized strength - 46. One police station
with 20 pieces of motorized equipment.
Sheriff's
Department: Forty employees - 5 clerical, 13 sworn officers and
22 corrections people.
Total street
mileage: 107.5 with 100.3 paved. 6,874 water meters; 7,223 gas
meters, 7,893 electrical meters and 10,118 telephone lines.
Water storage capacity - 4,250,000 gallons. Average daily consumption
number - 4,000,000 gallons per day.
Pollution
Control
Method of
Sewage Disposal: Municipal, activated sludge. Capacity - 8.91million
gallons daily. Present load - 3.72 million gallons daily.
Utilities
Electric
Power - Pioneer Electric delivers
regulated electric service along with related products and services
Natural Gas
- Aquila Gas delivers
regulated natural gas along with related products and services
Telephone
- AT&T
Water Supply
- Municipal - 15 deep wells
Postal: 43
employees.
Retail Sales Tax Collected - City of Liberal
| 1992 |
$2,229,441 |
| 1993 |
$2,494,285 |
| 1994 |
$2,921,584 |
| 1995 |
$2,818,815 |
| 1996 |
$2,820,882 |
| 1997 |
$2,976,107 |
| 1998 |
$3,274,567 |
| 1999 |
$3,006,932 |
| 2000 |
$3,125,660 |
| 2001 |
$3,324,976 |
| 2002 |
$3,114,785 |
| 2003 |
$2,913,096 |
| 2004 |
$3,355,149 |
| 2005 |
$3,420,984 |
| 2006 |
$4,195,023 |
Resources
in County
Gas, oil,
sand, gravel. Value of total production is in excess of $40 million
annually.
Industrial
Parks
Industrial
Airpark (municipal, full service) 500 acres
Liberal Industrial Park (municipal, full service) 150 acres
Mid-America Development (privately owned) 125 acres
Lowry Addition (privately owned) 27 acres
Major
Manufacturers and Employers
Number of
manufacturing plants in the community/area: 14
| Firm |
Total |
Product |
| National
Beef Packing |
3,500 |
Beef
Processing |
| USD
480 School District |
807 |
K-12
+ tech school |
| Seward
County Community College |
160 FT
300 PT |
Higher
Education |
| Southwest
Medical Center |
434 |
Medical |
| Super
Wal-Mart |
371 |
Retail |
| Seaboard
Foods |
280 |
Pork
Processing |
| Seward County |
221 |
Government |
| National
Carriers |
200 |
Refrigerated
Trucking |
| City
of Liberal |
199 |
Government |
| Duke
Field Services |
156 |
Petroleum |
| Panhandle Oilfield Services |
140 |
Oilfield Service |
| Dillon's |
140 |
Grocer Retail |
| Halliburton |
130 |
Oil Well Logging & Perforating |
| Pizza Hut |
117 |
Fast Food |
| Best Well Service |
108 |
Well Service |
Work
Force - April 2007
Hourly wage
rates in selected occupations
| Office-Clerks-Teller-CSA |
$9.34 - $12.94 |
| Construction Laborers |
$8.00 - $12.72 |
| Driver/Sales Worker |
$7.59 - $10.59 |
| Roustabouts, Oil & Gas |
$10.74 -$11.80 |
| Production Workers |
$10.90 - $13.15 |
| Maintenance Workers |
$10.40 - $15.15 |
| Transp. & Material Moving Operation |
$11.60 - $13.56 |
Percentage
of labor force unionized: 5%
Labor
Data for Seward County (October 2003)
Kansas Labor Force Estimates
| Civilian
Work Force |
11,303 |
| Employment |
10,996 |
| Unemployment |
307 |
| Unemployment |
2.7% |
Schools
Liberal has
invested 23.6 million dollars in education in the past few years
to either build new facilities or remodel existing buildings.
The public school system consists of a senior high school, two
intermediate schools, two middle schools, seven elementary schools
and provides a speech clinician, special education, and a full-time
psychologist. The Liberal Senior High School offers two major
graduation programs: College Prep and Tech Prep (2+2). The Southwest
Kansas Technical School and Seward County Community College offer
courses to approximately 3,000 post secondary students. The Epworth
Hospital Building has been renovated and now serves as the Allied
Health Center, part of Seward County Community College, including
training in nursing, medical laboratory technology and respiratory
therapy.
Two Private
Christian Schools, Southwest Kansas Christian Academy and Fellowship
Baptist School offer K-12 with accelerated education programs.
USD 480
School Enrollment
| 1993 |
3,931 |
| 1994 |
4,228 |
| 1995 |
4,312 |
| 1996 |
4,345 |
| 1997 |
4,286 |
| 1998 |
4,242 |
| 2000 |
4,217 |
| 2001 |
4,395 |
| 2002 |
4,419 |
| 2003 |
4,363 |
| 2004 |
4,711 |
| 2005 |
4,336 |
| 2006 |
4,423 |
| 2007 |
4,585 |
USD 480
School Demographics
| Total Enrollment |
4,585 |
| White |
24.3% |
| Black |
4.6% |
| Hispanic |
67.7% |
| Other |
3.4% |
Official Information as of 10/15/2007
Seward County Community College Demographics
| Total Enrollment |
1,850 |
| Caucasian |
61.8% |
| African American |
2.9% |
| Hispanic |
25.9% |
| Other |
6% |
| Pacific Islander/Asian |
2.5% |
| Native American |
.9% |
Female - 56%
Male - 44%
Under Age 24 - 60%
Over Age 24 - 40%
Students taking Online Classes - 30%
Official Information as of 10/15/2007
Health-Care
Facilities
| Southwest
Medical Center Hospital |
101
beds - Acute & Skilled |
| Good
Samaritan Nursing Home |
70
beds (Intermediate, Skilled Nursing & Alzheimer's with Adult Day Care) |
| Wheatridge
Park Care Center |
57
beds (Intermediate) |
| Alterra
Sterling Housing - Assisted Living |
44
Apartments |
| Southwest
Guidance Center |
1 Consulting
Psychiatrist
1 Staff Psychologists
3 Social Workers
1 Licensed Psycologist
1 Therapist
1 Clinic Director
1 Executive Director |
| Medical
Doctors |
27
2 surgeons
6 diagnosticians
2 obstetrics & gynecology
1 ophthalmologist
3 pediatricians
1 radiologists
1 pathologists
3 family practice
1 otolaryngology
1 dermatologist
1 psychiatrist
1 pulmonologist
1 anesthesiologists
5 emergency medicine |
| Dentists |
6 |
| Othodontists |
1 |
| Optometrists |
4 |
| Chiropractors |
3 |
Financial
Institutions
Banks: 6
Credit Union: 1
Total deposits-$360 million
Library
Liberal Memorial
Library: Open 64 hours each week. 67,000 volumes and 2,800 records
and cassettes. 214 subscriptions to papers and publications and
a 1,002 piece reference collection.
Churches
36 churches
representing 28 denominations
Travel
and Transportation
| Motor
Carriers: |
11 |
| Highways
serving the community |
|
| Interstate
E-W |
I-70/152
miles |
| Interstate
N-S |
I-35/210
miles, I-25/230 miles |
| U.S.
Kansas E-W |
U.S.
54/0 miles |
| U.S.
Kansas N-S |
U.S.
83/0 miles |
Rail:
Southern Pacific
| Air: |
Runway
Surface: |
Concrete |
| |
Length:
Two |
Primary
7,101 feet,
Crosswind 5,725 feet |
| |
Lighted:
Yes |
|
| |
Private
aircraft storage: Yes |
Commercial
flights: Yes
Airline: Great Lakes Aviation |
| Package
Delivery Service: |
UPS,
Pony Express and Beaver Express (ground) UPS, Federal Express
(air) |
Days Travel
Time
| Kansas
City |
1 |
|
Los
Angeles |
2 |
| New
Orleans |
2 |
|
Chicago |
1 |
| Minneapolis |
2 |
|
Dallas |
1 |
Travel
Accommodations
Sixteen motels
and one bed and breakfast with a total of 805 rooms or units,
two with meeting facilities. The Seward County Activity Center
can accommodate meetings, conventions, trade shows and exhibitions
from 10 to 2,000 persons.
Eating Establishments
More than
40 eating establishments offer a variety of cuisine.
General
Review
Liberal is
the county seat of Seward County, located in the southern tier
of counties in Kansas and is the third county east of the Colorado-Kansas
State Line. The county was established in 1873, and named in honor
of William H. Seward, who was Secretary of State during Lincoln's
administration. The present boundaries of the county were established
in 1884. The City of Liberal was founded in 1888 along the tracks
of the Rock Island Railroad. Liberal survived the Dust Bowl of
the Great Depression to become a regional leader in the agricultural
and petroleum industries.
Liberal has
experienced uninterrupted growth for two decades and projects
greater expansion in the future. The community offers a progressive
business and industrial environment while maintaining a distinctly
Western flavor. The Cimarron River enters the northwest corner
and flows in a southeasterly direction.
Historically
interesting spots abound in the area. Remnants of the past are
housed and catalogued in the Coronado Museum, originally the old
Lee Larrabee mansion, built in 1917-18. Period furnishings tell
of the settling of the area and early life-styles, including some
unearthed possessions of Spanish explorers. Thirteen miles north
of Liberal on US Highway 54, visitors can see "Samson of
the Cimarron," the largest bridge of its kind in the world.
Built in 1938, at a cost of $1.5 million, this 1,269-foot giant
spans the meandering Cimarron River.
One of the
largest tourism draws to Liberal is Dorothy's House. This attraction
was made famous by Frank Baum who write the story "Wizard
of Oz," which was later made into a movie starring Judy Garland
as Dorothy. Located at the "Gateway to the Land of Ah's,"
Dorothy's House mimics the house in the movie, including coal
oil lamps, period furnishings and other memorabilia. During the
summer months, "Dorothy" is on hand to greet visitors
along with other "Oz" characters.
Francisco
Vasquez de Coronado and his troop of 36 men entered Kansas at
or near the Liberal townsite in 1541, in search of Quivera, the
legendary kingdom of gold. After a fruitless and disappointing
search, which extended into central Kansas, Coronado and his men
returned the way they had come. Although they found no gold, one
of Coronado's lieutenants wrote of the land, "It is not a
hilly country, but has tablelands, plains, and charming rivers...I
am of the belief that it will be productive of all sorts of commodities."
Liberal is
a city of diverse and interesting architectural styles. Renovation
of the Landmark Center (the old Warren Hotel building) and the
old Epworth Hospital building have preserved and enhanced architecture
from an earlier period, while structures such as Panhandle Eastern's
facility and Seward County Community College's campus typify more
modern trends in architectural design. The City of Liberal received
a grant award late in the year 1994 for the restoration of the
Rock Island Depot and another grant in 1998 for restoration of
the Cimarron Hotel/Grier Eating House. This project was completed
in Fall 2001. The commitment to the preservation of architectural
history continues through development of a five-year preservation
plan.
The Liberal
Mid-America Air Museum was dedicated in Spring of 1988 to the
preservation of America's aviation heritage. The museum boasts
the nation's fifth largest collection of military and civilian
aircraft. Patrons will see vintage aircrafts, historical artifacts
and photographs as they experience the Wings of Destiny, Liberal
Army Air Field and Air War, and Vietnam exhibits.
As a shopping
center for this five-state area, Liberal has more up-to-date retail
stores and services than are usually found in a city of this size,
including two malls and a Wal-mart Supercenter. Liberal is proud
of its residential districts with beautiful homes and tree-lined
streets. It is being increasingly recognized for its progressive
educational systems and its fine churches.
Quality
of Life
Liberal offers
a roller blade park, lighted baseball and softball fields; playgrounds;
two golf courses with grass greens; tennis courts; a youth center;
four theatres; a bowling alley; picnic areas with shelters; swimming
and wading pools; horseshoe pits; soccer fields; summer recreation
programs; fitness centers; and many clubs and organizations.
Liberal is
home to the Bee Jay's, a national champion semi-pro baseball team.
Youngsters may participate in many activities year round through
the city recreation program, Kids, Inc., and Cal Ripkin, Babe
Ruth and American Legion Baseball. The city hosted the first annual
Mid-America Youth Basketball tournament in 2001. Forty-nine teams
make up of 4th to 12th grade players enjoyed three days of competition.
Since then, we carry on that activity each year.
Baker Arts
Center introduces the community to works from area artists and
hosts an annual juried art event that attracts many local, regional
and national participants. The Liberal Arts Council, Seward County
Historical Society, The Rainbow Players, Southwest Symphony and
the Community Concert Association are actively involved in creating
community events. Two Garden Clubs assist the community with beautification
projects.
A generous
core of volunteers participates in the production of several events.
Annually, the community celebrates our diversity with a Cultural
Diversity Day. More than 40 nationalities gather to eat, dance
and display the rich heritage of ethnic tradition. Liberal also
celebrates Juneteenth and Cinco De Mayo. The co-existence of several
major cultures is one of the things that makes Liberal unique.
Liberal proudly carries the title of "Pancake Hub of the
Universe" and is the site of the International Pancake Day
Race. The race originated in Olney, England, where housewives
had, for centuries, raced to the church on Shrove Tuesday, the
beginning of Lent, carrying their pancake skillets. In 1950, Liberal
issued a race challenge to the women of England, and since that
time, the race has been run competitively between the two cities.
Each year, the race draws state and national recognition as the
news and media throughout the country carry the results and photos
of the race. The Pancake Board hosts over 1,500 for an annual
breakfast of pancakes and sausages.
OzFest, a
celebration of Dorothy's successful return to Kansas, is held
the second weekend in October. Some of the original Munchkins
join Liberal's salute to Oz, and ruby slippers abound on Dorothys
of all ages. A parade, a carnival, a craft fair and many other
activities makes OzFest a day to remember.
Economy
The City
is a major retail trade center for Southwest Kansas and the Oklahoma
Panhandle. Seward County has the third highest retail trade pull
factor of 1.11 in the State of Kansas for the year of 2003.
Because of
the proximity to the Hugoton Gas Fields, several major petroleum
firms maintain offices and facilities in and around Liberal. These
firms employ nearly 900 people, while other complimentary gas
services provide jobs for hundreds more.
Beef packing
is the largest industry in the region. In the surrounding 100-mile
area, there are six major cattle slaughter plants processing over
25,000 head of cattle per day. Liberal is home to National Beef
Packing Co. (Farmland) which processes 5,000 head per day.
In nearby
Guymon, Oklahoma, Seaboard Corporation opened a pork processing
plant in 1998-1999 that employs 2,600. Corporate hog production
is one of the fastest growing industries in the region. Likewise,
other agricultural industries, such as dairies, are moving to
the area to take advantage of Liberal's abundant supply of grain
and water. The County's agri-business saw a 75% growth rate between
1991 and 2001.
Agriculture
Liberal's
farmers are pioneers in the use of deep irrigation wells in wheat,
corn, and sorghum grain farming. At present time, Seward County
has 476 irrigation wells in operation, providing essential moisture
to 92,760 acres. Success of irrigation wheat and milo farming
is exceeding expectations and is possible because most of the
country lies above 287 feet of water-bearing gravel that moves
in from west and north. These wells average above 1,800 gallons
per minute each, insuring steady income to the farmers and stabilizing
agriculture in the county.
Seward County is also gaining as a stock-feeding area between
the calf production centers of the south and the cattle-feeding
yards of Iowa and Illinois. Seward County area has several feedlots,
including Lazy EH Feeders, Liberal Feeders and Supreme Feeders.
The breakdown for agriculture production in Seward County by value
is: Cattle-54%; Hogs-13%; Wheat-6%; Sorghum-3%; Corn-16%; Hay-2%;
Milk-1%; and other-5%.
Business
& Industry
National
Beef Packing is Liberal's largest employer and serves a national
and international market with beef and beef products. National
Carriers, Inc., is affiliated with National Beef and operates
a fleet of 640 vehicles as a common truck carrier. In July 1963,
National Helium, Inc. opened operations in Liberal. National Helium,
Inc. is the world's largest helium extraction plant. UtiliCorp
United constructed a $16 million generating plant adjacent to
National Helium to serve the helium extraction plant. The helium
plant can process about 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily.
Tuls Dairy operates in Seward County with the hopes of more dairies
to come.
Business
Development Resources
Liberal is
committed to working with both existing and future businesses
and industries. The City Commission, City Manager, Economic Development
and Liberal Chamber of Commerce are dedicated to bringing economic
growth and vitality to Liberal. Likewise, City staff is committed
to simplifying the task of bringing new businesses to town. Several
incentives are already in place. These incentives include an Interest-Write
Down Program; Enterprise Zone tax incentives, tax-abatements for
qualified manufacturing companies, full-service industrial parks
and various state and local incentives that can be tailored to
meet the needs of individual businesses and industries.
For any further
information, please contact one of the following:
City
of Liberal Economic Development
Attn: Colleen Towns, Director
4 Rock Island Road
P.O. Box 2199
Liberal, Kansas 67905-2199
Phone: 620.626.0159
Fax: 620.626.0589
E-Mail |
Liberal
Chamber of Commerce
Attn: Rozelle Webb, Director
4 Rock Island Road
P. O. Box 676
Liberal, Kansas 67905-0676
Phone: 620.624.3855
Fax: 620.624.8851
E-Mail |
