Slow and steady wins the race.
That was the gist of Jonathon Goering’s discussion with commissioners regarding improvements to the Allen County Regional Airport.
Goering, economic development director at Thrive Allen County, said that after he and others met with the FFA it was clear “this airport project is a marathon not a sprint,” especially since certain grant opportunities might not be available for several months.
However, Goering said that certain projects at the airport could begin earlier, just so long as they were first approved by the FFA (which usually takes a month or two).
In the short-term, Goering and commissioner Jerry Daniels explained how 24 acres in the northwest corner of the airport property are already available for development. Hence, bids will soon be sought for running utilities to this area.
Jessica Thompson, director of development at Thrive Allen County, discussed with commissioners some details of the county’s new grant-funded transportation program.
Following her recommendation, they accepted a bid from Master’s Transportation of Kansas City, to rent a 14-passenger bus for $2,869 per month.
The pilot transportation program should hopefully begin within a couple months, and will last as long as the grant funding does. If everything goes well, actions will be taken to make the program more permanent.
One concern raised by commissioner David Lee was whether people would continue to use the transportation service if there were eventually fees attached, but data from Coffey County showed that participation did not drop when minimal fees were charged or donations were encouraged.
After a recommendation by Becky Voorhies, Thrive’s director of health programs, commissioners also approved another local business to receive Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds.
Voorhies further mentioned that CDBG COVID-relief money remains for small businesses, but all funds for nonprofits have been expended.
Chelsie Angleton, 911 director, obtained permission from commissioners to send one of her dispatchers to a special training session in Texas.
“I think everyone could benefit from the leadership training, no matter where they are in the dispatch center,” she said.
Commissioner Lee also asked Angleton how the dispatch center determines which wrecking services to use following an accident, and she explained that they rotate “to keep it fair.”
Jason Trego from the dispatch center presented commissioners with bids on laptops, but they asked if he could obtain additional competitors to choose from.
