Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Economic Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Linn County economic‑development board seeks short‑term contractor to keep youth entrepreneur and small grants programs active
Summary
Members of the county economic development board asked commissioners to approve contracting for short‑term help to run the Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge and several grant programs; commissioners asked for flat‑rate cost proposals and asked county attorney to draft a contract if the board proposes a candidate.
Jennifer Leech Harlow, representing Linn County's economic‑development board, asked commissioners whether the board should continue meeting and whether the county can contract for short‑term support to run key programs including the Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge (YEC), a summer youth employment program, a daycare grant, sidewalk grants and home‑improvement grants.
Why it matters: Leech Harlow said the YEC typically distributes about $5,000 in prizes and requires coordination with schools, judges and sponsors; the county's Network Kansas contact (Janet Miller) provides support and funding for the competition. The board said volunteers who currently serve are largely working full‑time and have limited capacity to add the operational work needed to prepare the YEC and other near‑term grant deadlines.
Board request and commissioner response: Leech Harlow asked the commission to allow the board to hire a contractor to plan and execute the YEC (and possibly other programs) on a short‑term, contract‑for‑service basis. Board members estimated a single event contract for the YEC would likely range from $1,300 to $1,500; commissioners asked the board to solicit flat‑rate quotes for each program (YEC, summer employment, daycare grant, sidewalk and home‑improvement grants) and return with specific bids. The county attorney offered to draft a contract if commissioners provide the job description and the board identifies a proposed contractor.
Commissioner guidance: Commissioners suggested the proposed contractor should report to the economic‑development board (not directly to the commission) and recommended quarterly board meetings with additional meetings scheduled as needed for grant deadlines. The board will collect cost proposals and an exact job description for each program and deliver that to the clerk to circulate to commissioners for review.
Next steps: The economic‑development board will obtain written flat‑rate cost proposals for specified tasks, provide a detailed job description for each program to county counsel, and return to the commission with contract language and recommended terms. The commission indicated it is open to contracting for short‑term help to preserve the YEC and other programs pending a longer‑term organizational decision.
