Governor asks for $500k to bolster SEK economy

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January 17, 2012 - 12:00 AM

The southeast Kansas economic improvement initiative got a victory of sorts last week when Gov. Sam Brownback included a $500,000 allocation to the Project 17 efforts in his proposed budget.

State Sen. Jeff King, and the other three southeast Kansas legislators spearheading the effort to improve economic and health conditions in the state’s poorest region, have said the project needs about a half million dollars. 

The governor’s proposal to allocate resources from the state general fund is the first step toward securing those dollars, King told the Register Monday.

“It’s very encouraging. The governor has said all the right things and done all the right things to help our effort. Now he’s put his money where his promises were and we are very grateful for that,” King said. “Any time the governor says in his budget request ‘I think this amount is important enough to put it in my budget,’ that’s a big step forward.”

Despite the governor’s support, King said there’s still work to be done to gain the support of the majority of the Legislature.

“There’s always a fight over a half million dollars of spending, especially when times are as difficult as they are,” said the Independence Republican. “Now it’s up to us and our colleagues in the Senate and the House to make sure the money stays there.” 

Spending “a little” money to promote economic development in southeast Kansas should reap rewards statewide, King said.  

“It’s not only a good investment, but it’s an essential investment for all of the state,” he said. “The state of Kansas is extremely interconnected. Anything that helps any part of our state helps the whole state” and vice versa, he said, pointing to the ripple effect the closing of Boeing in Wichita will create.  

“We are stronger together than individually,” he said.

David Toland, Allen County’s representative on the steering committee and executive director of Thrive Allen County, credited the enthusiasm surrounding the project, illustrated by nearly 300 people attending the Nov. 17 economic summit in Iola, for convincing the governor it was a worthy enough effort to propose funding.

“The strong turnout and support we’ve seen from all 17 counties since this began couldn’t have hurt us when the governor was developing his budget,” he said.

The $500,000 would cover operation expenses for the recently appointed 16-member Project 17 steering committee as well as pay for an executive director to guide the initiative — an idea that depends heavily on funding availability. 

Not putting all its eggs in one basket, the Project 17 applied for a $1 million grant from the Kansas Leadership Foundation last week, which would provide leadership training and program development in the region, one of the four core indicators the committee aims to address.

The foundation will choose five finalists and conduct face-to-face interviews before making a final decision by early spring.

Project 17 members will meet quarterly, with the next meeting April 13 in Iola.

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