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Goodland Commission hears federal funding strategy from Merchant McIntyre; staff to return with extension option
Summary
Merchant McIntyre presented a federal grants strategy for Goodland, identifying EDA disaster‑supplemental funding, congressional directed spending, and DOT SS4A grants as priority targets and offering a narrowed six‑month retainer option to finalize an EDA application; commissioners asked staff to place the contract‑extension decision on the next agenda.
Merchant McIntyre, a Washington, D.C., federal funding and government‑relations firm, presented a grants strategy to the Goodland City Commission on Oct. 25, outlining priority funding targets and recommended next steps.
Julia Angelotti, vice president of legislative strategy at Merchant McIntyre, said the firm conducted a resource inventory and produced a grants grid intended to match Goodland priorities with federal funding opportunities. "We conducted a resource inventory" and built a grants grid "to hone in on strengths the city already has," Angelotti said. She described partnerships already in place locally and the need to expand them to strengthen grant applications.
Thomas, a government relations associate with Merchant McIntyre, identified three immediate targets: Economic Development Administration (EDA) disaster‑supplemental and related EDA programs, congressional directed spending (earmarks), and the Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) planning and implementation grants. For an EDA capital ask tied to industrial‑park/Grainville expansion, the firm described a potential city request in the neighborhood of $7,000,000. For congressionally directed spending, Merchant McIntyre recommended smaller, targeted asks (they described guidance around roughly $3.5 million per project as a working target); SS4A planning grants were presented as a near‑term step to enable later implementation grants.
Angelotti said Merchant McIntyre can both craft program design and write competitive applications, not merely "check the box" on Notice of Funding Opportunities. She also described coordination with the EDA regional representative Mark Worthman and the importance of private investment leverage to strengthen EDA disaster‑supplemental applications.
The firm proposed options for continued engagement. Angelotti said the existing 90‑day engagement produced the deliverables promised and offered a narrowed six‑month extension focused on finalizing and submitting a primary EDA application; she cited a $5,000 monthly retainer in current contract language but said scope and fee could be reduced by narrowing deliverables. "We would try for a 6‑month extension instead of a year," she said, adding the shorter window could be sufficient to finalize and submit the EDA application and pursue a congressionally directed spending request.
Commissioners asked practical questions about timing and funding for the contract. Kent (city staff) noted the retainer is currently budgeted from electric utility reserves and said staff would place the extension option on the next commission agenda for a formal decision. Several commissioners favored prioritizing the largest potential awards (EDA and congressional priorities) and taking a conservative, focused approach rather than spreading staff and consultant effort across many small targets. Commissioner Redland said the 90‑day packet "accomplished what was stated" while other commissioners asked for clearer plans on how the city would cover the consultant fee if grants were not awarded.
Next steps: staff will place a contract‑extension item on the commission’s next agenda with specific options (narrow six‑month extension vs. longer term), associated costs and recommended deliverables before the commission votes.
