HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A report from an initiative conducted last fall seeking input from Reno County residents regarding use of American Rescue Plan Act dollars is set to be released.
The Reno County ARPA Task Force and Sean Eddington with Kansas State University will present the findings of the 45-meeting resident engagement process at the Jan. 25 Reno County Commission and Feb. 1 Hutchinson City Council meetings. Recommendations based on the report will also be presented. Eddington and his team at K-State’s LEADCOMM Associates designed the initiative’s framework, analyzed the data collected and compiled the report.
The public may also access the report and task force recommendations beginning Jan. 25 at rallyreno.org.
Passed in March 2021, the bill provides $350 million for state, local, territorial and tribal governments to address COVID-19 challenges. Reno County was allotted $17-plus million of that total to be used in accordance with spending areas defined by the U.S. Treasury:
- Equity-focused services
- Broadband infrastructure
- Support pay for essential workers
- Addressing negative economic impacts
- Water and sewer infrastructure
- Replacing public sector revenue loss
- Supporting public health response efforts
From late August through late October, the task force, made up of representatives from organizations and groups serving Reno County, invited residents to convene 90-minute facilitated discussions of eight to 20 participants to share how the pandemic affected their lives, neighborhoods and communities and to generate ideas for how to prioritize the dollars. With a goal of reaching roughly 1 percent of the county population, the task force heard from 553 residents.
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