City touts roughly $24 million BUILD grant; city manager gives early updates on VA clinic and storm response

Mister Zimmerman told the commission staff and partners did the bulk of the work securing what he described as Junction City’s largest BUILD grant—an amount he referenced both as $23,900,000 and roughly $24,000,000 in the meeting—and thanked staff and Fort Riley partners for their efforts.

He said the city had met with representatives connected to a planned VA clinic and had received preliminary figures that include about 46,000 square feet for the facility; Zimmerman said the city will push those numbers out to the public and issue a PIO notice when details are available.

Zimmerman and other staff described several operational items: a review and restructuring of base water and sewer rates that he said reduced the base expense to the lowest since 2018; efforts with Kaw Valley Engineers and county partners to address flooding and drainage following recent storms; and limb/brush pickup operations, including hiring contractors and providing county landfill access for residents at no fee.

On local taxes, Zimmerman said unpaid taxes are a significant driver of local tax burdens and that the city will publish a public document listing delinquents; he said the list is a public record.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions about contractors and timelines; Zimmerman said a contractor team (Jason Hobick and others) plans to visit on Aug. 4 to make a request to the commission and that staff will circulate additional information as it becomes available.