Fort Scott commission backs college request with nonbinding letter to donate land, provide infrastructure support

Fort Scott Community College representatives asked the Fort Scott City Commission on short notice to back a Department of Commerce FRAME grant application that would pay for students to build four houses and provide hands-on construction training.

The commission voted to provide a letter of support stating the city will donate land for the project and help with required infrastructure. An earlier separate motion to commit $30,000 from the city’s economic development fund to buy land for the grant was defeated 3-2.

The college’s Sonia Gudnani, vice president of academic affairs at Fort Scott Community College, told commissioners that the FRAME grant is a Department of Commerce program for technical and community colleges and that award amounts nationally range from about $250,000 to $1 million per award, with $2,000,000 cited as the total program fund. She said the college must build or renovate four houses within the grant period and that proceeds from initial sales would be used to build additional houses in later years.

Rory Chaplin, associate dean of CTE and workforce development at the college, outlined timeline and sale requirements: "The houses would need to be sold within a hundred and 80 days after completion," he said, and noted that the grant allows renovation of only habitable properties if the college pursues that route.

Commissioners and staff discussed alternatives the college referenced in its application materials, including working with the city land bank to identify infill properties with clear title or donating a parcel large enough to support an initial cluster of homes. Commissioners raised implementation and fiscal concerns: several said using city tax dollars to acquire land for another taxing entity raised equity questions and noted that many land-bank parcels have unclear titles and would take years to clear.

Commissioner Matthew Wells moved to commit at least $30,000 from the economic development fund to purchase land that would be donated to the college; that motion failed on a 3-2 vote (Catherine Salisbury — no; Dylan Olsen — yes; Matthew Wells — yes; Tracy Dancer — no; Tim Van Hooky — no). The record shows commissioners weighed the city's return on investment, potential property-tax receipts and the constraints of the grant, which does not allow funds to be used for land acquisition or for repaying land donors.

After further discussion about what the application needed to demonstrate, a subsequent motion to prepare a letter of support that would state the city would donate land for the four houses and assist with infrastructure passed. The final motion language specified no dollar amount in the letter; commissioners also discussed excluding the city's Neighborhood Revitalization Program tax rebate from the city’s own commitments but legal staff advised that such a restriction could not be imposed on future homebuyers. The commission approved the letter of support by majority vote.

College officials said the more concrete the city’s support statement, the stronger the grant application. The college told the commission it had requested letters from other local partners, including the Fort Scott Area Foundation and Unified School District 234. The college also said it had not yet secured Bourbon County’s commitment.

The college emphasized the program’s workforce-development goal: students would gain direct construction experience, and the college expects proceeds from early sales to sustain later phases of the project. Commissioners and staff asked the college to pursue land-bank parcels with clear title where feasible and to supply details the city can review before any financial commitment is made.

The commission did not commit municipal funds in the meeting vote beyond the letter; commissioners indicated they want to review proposed letter language before it is finalized.

An award decision on the FRAME grant was described by college staff as occurring in March (application due Friday of the meeting week). If the college is not awarded the grant, commissioners said there is no obligation for the city to acquire land or undertake infrastructure work related to this project.

Ending: The commission approved the nonbinding letter of support and asked staff to draft the exact language for review before it is sent to Fort Scott Community College.