TOPEKA – Officials in Dodge City secured a $14.2 million federal grant to improve water treatment and help release water into the Arkansas Riverbed to help recharge wells connected to the rapidly depleting Ogallala Aquifer.
The city of Ellsworth will use $117,000 in federal funds to build a snow removal building at the airport, and Johnson County Transit will receive $7.6 million to purchase energy-efficient propane and natural gas buses to replace diesel vehicles that have exceeded their useful life.
As part of the local, state and federal program, the Prairie Band Potawatomie Nation was promised $16 million to expand 14 miles of highway and build 2.5 miles of trails.
Matthew Volz, executive director of the Kansas Infrastructure Hub, said these projects were among 11 in Kansas that received federal approval last year as part of the bipartisan infrastructure bill that authorized the distribution of $1.2 billion to U.S. states. Lawmakers and Gov. Laura Kelly created the Build Kansas Fund to invest $200 million over four years in infrastructure projects in water, transportation, energy, cybersecurity and broadband.
Volz said the state’s $23.1 million investment in the 11 projects brought in $31.5 million in federal grants.
“This is all good news,” he told state lawmakers on Wednesday. “A return on investment of 136%.”
The state’s Build Kansas Fund, with approval from the Legislative Advisory Committee, has agreed to add a total of 63 projects to the federal grant pipeline. So far, the federal government has rejected eight applications from Kansas. That means $31.6 million of state funding would go back into the Build Kansas Fund.
During the recent legislative oversight hearing, three Kansas projects were added to the wish list for federal grants.
The City of Pittsburg provided $110,000 and requested $236,000 from the state and $1.2 million from the federal government to build a sidewalk to facilitate pedestrian traffic.
“They want sidewalks on both sides of the street so people can access the retail and restaurant areas from the hotels,” Volz said.
A proposal from the city of Arkansas for $300,000 to develop a street and pedestrian safety plan was also submitted to the federal government. The city would donate $3,000, the state would provide $57,000, and the federal government would cover the rest of the budget.
Dickinson County has developed a proposal to assess traffic safety corridors. The county offered $12,000 and the state provided $36,000, with the expectation of receiving $192,000 from the federal government.
The state issued a document at the request of the Legislature outlining the expectation, but not a mandate, that local units of government pay 5% of the cost of projects related to the local, state and federal infrastructure initiative. Funding from a city, county or other entity could be in the form of cash or in-kind contributions, Volz said.
“It is intended to show commitment to the project,” said Volz.
Troy Waymaster, Republican of Bunker Hill and chairman of the House Budget Committee, said the state does not want to require all applicants to pay the 5% matching contribution. It is likely that some applicants do not have the means to pay a share of an infrastructure project, he said.
“You are a community of 400 people,” Waymaster said. “It might be very difficult for you to find common ground.”
