Consultants Will Howink and Mary Ellen Guacecki of Merchant McIntyre briefed Montgomery County commissioners on recently awarded items and a pipeline of pending federal grant opportunities, and they recommended priority targets for the county.

"As recently as last week, Montgomery County was awarded the Department of Interior's slip on tanker unit. So, well, it's about $85,000," Mary Ellen Guacecki, Consultant, Merchant McIntyre, told the commission. She and Will Howink reviewed pending Assistance to Firefighters (AFG) applications, BUILD (Department of Transportation) and earmark activity, and program-specific opportunities such as Safe Streets, EDA public-works funding and DOJ rural public-safety grants.

Why it matters: the presentation laid out the timing, match requirements and competitiveness for several federal programs and asked the commission to help prioritize projects, consider available matching funds and authorize staff to provide required resolutions when grants demand them.

Key points presented and discussed included:

- Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG): consultants said two AFG applications are pending for PPE/SCBA and brush equipment; award notices were expected to begin rolling out late this month into July. Consultants cautioned grants are highly competitive and recommended continuing to submit annually.

- BUILD/Department of Transportation: Merchant McIntyre noted the county submitted to the BUILD program (a roughly $15.5 million-tier program). They said the program can take multiple cycles to win and that review comments from the agency would arrive in August; if not awarded, the team recommended using review feedback to resubmit in the next cycle.

- Earmarks and congressional engagement: consultants said two earmark requests were submitted to Senator Moran — $1.9 million for service transportation planning and design, and $2.1 million for public-safety communications upgrades — and explained making a member's list is a crucial early step before committee cuts. They suggested re-submitting or supplementing projects in the fall and coordinating site visits with district staff.

- Safe Streets and Roads for All: consultants advised the county can now apply for implementation funds after obtaining a comprehensive safety action plan from the Southeast Kansas Regional Planning Commission; the program carries a statutory 20% match requirement.

- Economic Development Administration (EDA) and Army Corps: Merchant McIntyre recommended starting EDA public-works applications now because EDA typically favors projects submitted early in the federal fiscal year (Oct. 1); EDA local match expectations were described as typically 40% local. They also urged county staff to consider the Army Corps' 7,001 form (due in August) for water infrastructure projects intended for inclusion in the Water Resources Development Act.

- Public-safety grants: the DOJ rural and small department violent crime reduction program (award ceiling noted at $300,000, no match) and the Body Worn Camera Partnership Program (award ceiling up to $2,000,000 with match up to 50%) were flagged as strong targets. Consultants recommended coordination with local law enforcement and policy work for camera programs.

Will Howink and Mary Ellen said their office will provide at least monthly memos summarizing application status and recommended next steps. Commissioners asked how Merchant McIntyre prioritizes competing client projects; the consultants said they tailor applications to solicitation review criteria, work with agency program staff, and coordinate with congressional delegation staff to build political support.

No formal action was taken; commissioners and staff agreed to continue working with Merchant McIntyre and to coordinate project priorities and match commitments through county staff.