Conrad council discusses future of Ritchie land agreement

Ritchie Industries CEO Leon Yantis plans to step down from his role as the leader of one of Conrad’s oldest and most famous businesses at the end of 2018, and he came before the city council on Thursday night to address the future of a land-use deal and offer a trade of sorts.
           
Under Yantis’s proposal, the city could take ownership of the land north of the old Friday’s Auto building—which houses the memorial trees along Center Street and will potentially be the home of a park honoring late Chamber-Main Street Director Darla Ubben—and in exchange, the company would receive the alley that runs from the northeast corner of its property to Walnut Street. If Ritchie opts to expand at a later date, the new land to the east could be beneficial, and it would also assist with testing.
           
“You’ll probably have to chew on this for a while,” Yantis said. “(But) I don’t want the city to have to worry about their memorial park.”
           
No action was taken, but the council expressed a general approval of the idea with some questions about its implementation. Councilman Todd Schnathorst did add, however, that he wanted to be clear the memorial park, if completed, would be paid for through private fundraising and not taxpayer monies. 
 
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