<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1602875845037.png" alt="The city of Hoyt requested $45,000 for mold remediation in its community center but was allotted just $5,000 in total federal aid for the entire population of 638 people — $7.83 per person. (Submitted to Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>The city of Hoyt requested $45,000 for mold remediation in its community center but was allotted just $5,000 in total federal aid for the entire population of 638 people — $7.83 per person. (Submitted to Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By NOAH TABORDA <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/10/16/hoyt-council-president-blasts-jackson-countys-insulting-use-of-cares-act-funds/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — A small-town 
leader blasted the Jackson County Commission for its decision to use 
pandemic relief funding on “pet projects,” including the remodel of the 
county attorney’s office, rather than urgent needs in county 
municipalities.The county received $2.9 
million in CARES Act funding to be spent on unbudgeted expenditures 
incurred because of COVID-19, but commissioners allotted just $40,000 to
 cities and towns within the county.Nathan McAlister, 
president of the Hoyt City Council, said amid a costly pandemic, the 
decision to give so little to cities baffled him.“The amount allotted is, 
in my words, insulting,” McAlister said. “Most counties understand that 
their cities are hurting as well and are distributing the funds in an 
equitable manner. For some reason in our county that doesn’t seem to be 
happening.”In a fiery speech during a
 recent meeting of the city council, McAlister called the decision to 
spend relief funding on the county courthouse and jail a “cash grab.” He
 said area communities’ needs are being ignored, and he questioned the 
need to spend $145,000 on a consultant.<figure>
 <iframe width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u3zQFoPC004"></iframe>
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>County commissioners said these expenses were long overdue and within the regulations for spending the federal aid.The county commission 
spent $550,000 on a quarantine isolation chamber for the sheriff’s 
department to safely transfer prisoners and an additional $250,000 to 
remodel the county attorney’s office.The three county school 
districts received $531,362. The county commission also committed 
$221,897 to Holton Community Hospital and $226,850 to NEK Multicounty 
Health Department, which serves Jackson, Atchison and Brown county.McAlister said 
municipalities have more immediate needs related to COVID-19. For 
example, Hoyt requested $45,000 for mold removal in its community 
center, a voting location, which McAlister said developed the fungal 
issue after staying closed in the heat of summer during the pandemic.County commissioners allotted just $5,000 for the entire municipality of 638 people, or $7.83 per person.“It’s not as if we were 
asking for oodles and gobs of money,” McAlister said. “Hoyt itself was 
not asking for much. Really in the grand scheme of things, our 
percentage of what we asked for is probably on par with what they spent 
on their consultant.”Jackson County does not 
have a county administrator, so it hired a consultant to ensure 
compliance with funding regulations, said Janet Zwonitzer, chairwoman of
 the Jackson County Commission.Zwonitzer said with so 
little time to decide when and where to spend the money, a lot of red 
tape to navigate and the need for thorough record-keeping, the 
commissioners felt it necessary to bring in someone to assist with the 
project.She said the grant 
administrator and the state certified the investment of CARES Act 
funding for the isolation chamber and county attorney’s office.“It’s a no-brainer that we
 would use that kind of money to do that instead of taxing everybody in 
the county to get that project done,” Zwonitzer said. “I know that it is
 hard for the public who never gets to see some of these areas. So I 
understand why there’s been some question about why we did it. We’re 
pretty sure that we feel we did the right thing.”As significant capital improvements, however, both projects were <a href="https://covid.ks.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Jackson-County_Reimbursement-Direct-Aid-Review-Memo.pdf">flagged during review</a> as potential compliance issues if not executed correctly.The project must be 
cost-efficient, substantially complete before Dec. 30, 2020 — the 
deadline for counties to spend their relief funds — and meet <a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title02/2cfr200_main_02.tpl">federal regulations for the administration of federal grants</a>.The commission determined mold remediation for the Hoyt Community Center did not meet CARES Act requirements.“This community building 
didn’t fit the state’s guidelines for this money,” said Ed Kathrens, a 
Jackson County commissioner. “It would have been rejected by the state. 
Then that money would have been paid back probably out of taxpayer 
dollars because it already had been spent on the project.”Despite McAlister’s 
frustrations over the community building, the decision of where funds 
are administered is ultimately up to the county, said Lauren Fitzgerald,
 a spokeswoman for Gov. Laura Kelly.“Recognizing the variance 
of needs across Kansas, the SPARK taskforce and State Finance Council 
awarded funds to Kansas counties so they could make investments to best 
serve their communities’ specific needs,” Fitzgerald said. “The Office 
of Recovery monitors to ensure all county spending is federally 
compliant. However, it is up to the counties to determine how they think
 those funds can best be utilized.”McAlister said the county’s decisions may be compliant but argued they were done in bad faith.“It’s a spirit of the law 
versus letter of the law mentality,” McAlister said. “It is completely 
within their rights to do what they’ve done. It just seems, well, 
inappropriate.”

🎥 Kan. city council president blasts county’s ‘insulting’ use of CARES Act funds