Geary County officials review OLDCC grant application, childcare incubator models and local events; minutes approved

Geary County officials met for a regular session and received updates on a pending Oklahoma/Local Development Community Commercial (OLDCC) grant application that could fund a countywide comprehensive plan, discussed regional childcare incubation efforts and local events scheduling, and approved the meeting minutes by voice vote.

The county was informed that the Flint Hills Regional Council has applied for an OLDCC grant to pay for a comprehensive plan for the area. An official reported the grant application could cover consultant costs that the county previously expected to pay; a local match will still be required, described in the meeting as either a 5 percent or 10 percent match (not specified). "No action taken," one participant said after returning from executive session.

The commissioners heard about regional childcare efforts and a recent ribbon-cutting for the Flint Hills Community Center in Manhattan, which the presenter said contains childcare incubator rooms, workforce and health-care training space, and partnership programs with Manhattan Technical College and local clinics. The presenter said those incubator rooms are intended to host startup childcare providers who would receive mentorship and resources before moving on to operate independently, with expected transitions in roughly 12–18 months.

Economic-development and infrastructure items came up in reports. The countywide cleanup and city maintenance priorities were listed for September; the commission asked staff for chip-sealing figures to include in a future report so residents can see current work and planned pavement maintenance. A proposed master agreement with the local economic development corporation (EDC) was noted but deferred for further discussion.

Personnel and internal-administration items included a request to distribute the employee handbook publicly and place an official copy online. An employee task force reported $1,750 in donations collected for a staff fund and described recent training-day attendance as about 50 percent online and 50 percent in person.

Several community-event items were discussed. Apple Days was moved to Oct. 18 to avoid a conflict with Oktoberfest; a county veterans parade was discussed for Nov. 8 with assurances made about not competing with nearby Manhattan’s events. Veterans banners were described with a first-year fee of $150 and $30 for subsequent years. The military affairs council noted ongoing efforts to attract Fort Riley participation in regional activities and events.

Other items placed on an upcoming agenda include a proposed noise-ordinance resolution and a presentation by Trent on the health department's planned transition from a .org to a .gov domain. The commission indicated it will circulate a joint-meeting packet to city officials ahead of a planned joint meeting.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to accept the minutes: Passed by voice vote. The motion and second were made during the meeting; the record shows a voice vote (“Aye”), with no roll-call tally recorded in the transcript.

Meeting context and next steps

Attendees asked staff to return with clarifying details where figures were approximate in discussion — specifically the grant match percentage and chip-sealing quantities. The commission scheduled further discussion of the EDC master agreement, the noise-ordinance resolution, and the health-department domain transition at an upcoming meeting.