Commission Allows City of Douglas to Use County SAM/UEI to Apply for Safe Routes Grant

Butler County commissioners voted 4-0 to allow the City of Douglas to use the county’s SAM/UEI account to apply for a Department of Transportation Safe Routes grant after the city discovered its federal registration lapsed during the application period.

County staff explained that a current, active SAM (System for Award Management) registration is required to apply for and receive federal funds. Staff said Douglas’ SAM account was inactive as of the June application deadline but is active now. Staff told commissioners they had checked with the county auditors and that the county runs single audits, which staff said reduces administrative risk if the award were temporarily assigned to the county’s account for application purposes.

Mike Pausy, identified in the record as the city administrator for Douglas, described the grant as the “Safe Routes for All planning and programming grant” and told the commission it is “a $285,000 project.” Pausy said Douglas had an $80,200 local match and had secured additional Build Kansas funding that would lower the city’s immediate out-of-pocket cost to about $2,500 if the application succeeds. He said the grant would fund planning work including street and sidewalk inventories, pedestrian counts and a safety plan; portions of the First Street Corridor — a county street — could benefit from the planning work.

County staff said the Department of Transportation gave assurances that, if awarded, the project’s administrative account could be migrated to the city’s active SAM/UEI. Staff added a contingency: if that transfer could not occur and the award remained on the county account, the county would administer the grant and charge reasonable administrative fees for such work.

Commissioner Wazak moved to approve the request; Commissioner Masterson seconded. The motion passed on a 4-0 vote.