Crawford County reviews grant options for storm sirens, fire equipment and infrastructure

Crawford County commissioners on May 20, 2025, heard a detailed grant update outlining pending federal and state opportunities that could fund storm sirens, fire equipment, water and sewer upgrades and youth job training.

The update, delivered by Gus Burnet, Crawford County grant staff, summarized the county’s current applications and described several Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) options the county can pursue before the August notice-of-intent window.

Why it matters: the grants noted by Burnet could finance public-safety equipment and infrastructure projects that county officials say would reduce disaster risk and long-term operating costs. Several proposals carry local matching requirements and competitive limits that will shape whether the county seeks one large award or smaller, more-likely grants.

Burnet said the county remains under consideration for a HRSA Rural Health Care Service Outreach Program award that would fund staff to help with truancy and related outreach; the application’s announcement is expected in July and, if awarded, funding would begin Aug. 1. He also reported on the county’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program work tied to storm-siren projects and quoted an email from Stephanie Goodman of the Kansas Division of Emergency Management saying, “At this time, your project will not see any impact changes to the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.”

On state CDBG funding, Burnet explained the county may submit two applications this year. Possible projects described to commissioners included: - A new firehouse and equipment for Fire District 4 (eligible as a community facilities — large grant; 25% local match for the large facility award). - A storm shelter in Beulah (cited under the urgent needs disaster category, which has a $100,000 award ceiling). - New oxygen bottles and air packs requested for Crawford County fire departments, estimated at about $700,000; Burnet said the large community facilities grant could cover the full request with the county responsible for a 25% match, while a smaller grant (10% match) would cover roughly one-fourth of the estimate. - CDBG economic development awards to support roads, sidewalks, water lines and other infrastructure (Burnet said this category typically requires a 50% local match). - Water and sewer rehabilitation projects for areas including Mulberry and Water Districts 4 and 5; commissioners raised local wastewater infiltration on Fourth Street, which county officials said has driven higher treatment bills. - A youth job-training option that could fund equipment, textbooks and training for low- and moderate-income youth; Burnet said the grant “pays for your equipment. It pays for your textbooks. It pays for everything you need,” but he was uncertain whether the local match is 10% or 25% and said he would confirm.

Commissioners discussed trade-offs between pursuing one large award (higher match, higher payoff) versus smaller grants with higher odds of success. Burnet said he will gather more detailed cost estimates and recommended the county consult directly with the fire districts and emergency management to determine their preferred approach. He said he expected to return in a few weeks with a more detailed package and that some projects — such as the youth training program — might be eligible for application by partner organizations such as the Restorative Justice Authority.

No vote was taken on any specific grant application during the meeting. Commissioners asked staff to follow up with Fire District 4, Greenbush representatives, and the county’s emergency-management representative to firm up project budgets and local-match sources before committing to which two CDBG applications the county will file.

The discussion also noted practical constraints: several shelter and infrastructure proposals require engineering reports and blueprints before an application will be considered competitive; Burnet and commissioners said those pre-application costs often require local investment or separate grant funding for planning and design.

Burnet’s presentation included repeated reminders of deadlines: HRSA announcement in July and CDBG notices of intent in August. He said the Hazard Mitigation/BRIC funding appears unchanged and that the county’s storm-siren project remains in the pipeline with FEMA and KDEM coordination.

The county will continue developing cost estimates and match plans and will return to the commission with a more detailed set of options for formal consideration.