County staff recommended 19 awards from 42 applications submitted for the fiscal-year 2026 Economic Development and Quality of Life (EDQL) grants, drawing praise for the process and sharp questions about the grants'scope and overlap with social services.

The board was briefed on the grants program by Aron (county grants staff), who said the county combined a $150,000 ED pot with DEI committee funds to create a $165,000 total pool. Staff proposed allocating roughly $105,000 for economic development grants (awards $5,000'$50,000) and $60,000 for quality-of-life grants (awards $1,000'$10,000).

Why it matters: The grants support nonprofit programming and events that staff said should be free, ADA-planned and primarily serve Johnson County. Supervisors said the program is valuable but that considerable applicant demand outstripped available funds, and some supervisors urged clearer definitions of "economic development" and better coordination with social-service funding streams.

Staff described an outreach and review process that included webinars, published Q&A, a three-week application window and a two-week review. The committee received 42 applications totaling about $803,000 in requests and recommended 19 awards. Some applicants received less than requested because staff considered other Johnson County funding the applicant received and whether the event would proceed without county funds.

Supervisor comments were mixed: several praised the thoroughness of the review and the committee's work; another argued the program's categories are too broad and said nearly half the applications were social-service oriented but the review did not include social-service staff. That supervisor said future rounds should better separate social services requests or assign more funding to social-service needs.

Grant staff and committee members, including Ryan Fozmark (grant specialist) and Sarah Thompson (economic development planner), acknowledged capacity limits related to staff turnover and the need to refine eligibility and guidance for next year. Ryan said new staff and better pre-application direction would allow the program to narrow priorities and reduce overlap.

Staff noted next steps: county staff plan to negotiate award terms with each applicant and issue reimbursement-style agreements via DocuSign. All grants in this round will be reimbursable (not upfront payments), and applicants will submit midyear reports and final invoices by June 2026.

Ending: Supervisors asked staff to return next year with sharpened priorities and better coordination across county grant programs; staff agreed to present proposed changes ahead of FY27 budget discussions.