The Rundown – City approves tax rebate for Barkman Honey expansion

Published on May 27, 2026

The Rundown is prepared by the City of Newton Communications Office to summarize the City Commission action and does not represent official Commission minutes.

7 p.m. May 26, 2026, Newton City Commission meeting

At Tuesday’s meeting, the City Commission approved a tax rebate economic development grant for Barkman Honey, which seeks to expand its processing and manufacturing facility in Newton.

Barkman Honey is based in Hillsboro and is the largest honey packer in the United States, with locations in Ohio, New York, and Florida.

The company already warehouses much of its raw products in Newton. Owner Brent Barkman said the company now seeks to create a research and development operation at 1700 SE Ninth St. in the Newton Industrial Park.

“We’ll be able to do small runs of things that don’t fit into a high-speed factory like we have in Hillsboro or Van Wert, Ohio,” Barkman said. “We felt like Newton was a great place for us to expand. It’s hard to employ people in a small community.”

The project includes a capital investment of about $4 million and 12 new employees over the next five years.

Typically, an expanding company would request a tax abatement from the City, but Barkman leases its property from a holding company and thus does not directly pay property taxes. In the agreement, the City will provide tiered annual rebates equal to the City’s share of assessed property taxes for the next three years, up to $15,500 total, subject to the company’s continued operations.

In other action, the City Commission:

1. Received a 2027 budget request from Heart to Heart Child Advocacy Center for $8,000.
2. Awarded a contract to remodel the Newton Rec Center’s racquetball courts into a multi-use space to Vogt’s Construction for $220,000. The project will be paid for by Newton Recreation Commission.
3. Proclaimed June as Pride Month.
4. Reviewed the City’s Senior Citizen Low-Income Utility Assistance Program and discussed ways to expand available assistance and increase utilization of the program.
5. Approved a no-protest and access agreement with Prairie View for its expansion. The agreement allows Prairie View to access utility service for the east-side expansion through its existing campus on the west, and waives Prairie View’s right to protest the cost for possible future infrastructure extensions if Prairie View further develops the east side or if another development south of Prairie View requires improvements.
6. Approved a request for snow fencing at the Athletic Park band shell on May 30 for the Fine Arts Booster Club’s Concert in the Park.
7. Approved the property owner’s request to rezone the home at 320 S. Pine from P-O professional office district to R-1 residential.
8. Reviewed the Newton City/County Airport Capital Improvement Plan ahead of the City’s joint work session with the County Commission at 5 p.m. June 9.

For more information, please contact Director of Communications Erin McDaniel at 316-284-6055 or emcdaniel@newtonkansas.com.