Sedgwick County approves $125,000 match to state program for testing near 20th and Grove plume

Sedgwick County commissioners on Feb. 5 approved $125,000 in local matching funds to leverage an additional $1 million in state match and $1.5 million already allocated for environmental "at-risk" testing tied to a memorandum of agreement with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) focused on the groundwater plume around 20th and Grove.

County Manager Tom Stultz said the county previously accepted $1.5 million in state funding and that the new $125,000 would bring local match commitments to $750,000 and enable $3 million in total project funds. "The expenditure of these funds would be contingent on the county entering into an agreement with a third party to act as the county's contractor in administering the environmental at risk testing for the county," Stultz said.

The vote came after more than 90 minutes of discussion in which commissioners and staff stressed two lines of concern: immediate support for residents who say the KDHE analysis raised alarm in the community, and longer-term questions about data quality, program design and sustaining testing and treatment capacity. Commissioner Howell said he would support the $125,000 but criticized the KDHE report and the data used to calculate cancer incidence in the area, calling for KDHE to correct methodology and for a more sustainable, systemic solution than one-time testing purchases.

Commissioners emphasized the limitation that the county is responding to a specific state proviso and MOA tied to the 20th and Grove incident while noting the county intends to pursue broader discussions about the more than 220 active contamination sites in Sedgwick County. "This cannot stop with 20 Ninth And Grove," Stultz said, noting the county intends to work with the Kansas Health Foundation and a third-party contractor to structure implementation through an RFP process.

The board's motion directed staff to transfer $125,000 from BOCC contingency to the public safety community program in the general fund, contingent on execution of a county agreement with a contractor to administer testing. The motion passed unanimously: Commissioners Bluebaugh, Wise, Howell, Meitzner and Chairman Ryan Beatty all voted aye.

Next steps identified by staff and commissioners include completing the contracting process (the county expects a third-party contractor to be selected through a sole-source or RFP process with Kansas Health Foundation involvement), continuing community outreach and evaluating how program elements could be scaled or applied to other contamination sites in the county.