Coffey County economic development director seeks approvals on sign lease, highlights grants and RAISE engineering picks
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Summary
Jenny, county economic development director, recommended renewing a five‑year interstate sign lease (county cost presented as $7,800 paid up front), outlined tourism outreach and state grant opportunities including a Revive & Thrive downtown signage grant, and recommended CSS Engineers and CG Consultants as top candidates for the RAISE engineering RFP while noting the federal grant agreement must be signed before engineering work begins.
Jenny, Coffey County’s economic development director, briefed commissioners on multiple initiatives Feb. 2, including a returned five‑year lease for an interstate sign and recent and pending grant opportunities.
On the sign lease near I‑35, Jenny said the landowner would accept a five‑year agreement and that the proposal as drafted would be paid up front for five years for a total of $7,800. "This lease will end on March 15 ... the total would be $7,800 for 5 years," she said, and offered to return a signed copy for the commission to authorize.
Jenny also described upcoming tourism and marketing outreach: a Coffee County booth at the Wichita Boating, Hunting and Fishing Expo and a county promotional video being produced by Ethereal Lens Media. She said Commerce has a downtown revitalization grant (Revive and Thrive) that could provide up to $100,000 for renovations, in cases that include community or coworking space, and that she is helping local downtown Burlington businesses with applications.
On federal infrastructure, Jenny reported the county posted an RFP for engineering tied to a RAISE build grant, received four submissions and convened a staff scoring meeting. She said the top two recommended firms were CSS Engineers and CG Consultants and that commissioners could ask either firm to make short presentations. Jenny emphasized that engineering work should not start until the county receives and signs the federal grant agreement and noted an estimated local cost exposure of roughly $30,000–$36,000 that may not be reimbursable by the grant.
Jenny also said she had sent a letter of support from Emergency Management on the Natrium project to Commerce and Evergy and that Commerce would forward materials to TerraPower; she reported officials there told her the county’s materials were "very good."
No formal votes on the sign lease or consultant picks were recorded at the meeting; commissioners asked for copies of score sheets and supporting documents before deciding whether to invite firms to present.
Economic development provenance: topic intro SEG 187; topic finish SEG 816.
