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Commissioners to consider state MOU to manage $1.5M for testing of plume-impacted residents
Summary
Sedgwick County staff will ask the commission Wednesday to sign a Memorandum of Agreement with the State of Kansas that would bring $1.5 million to the county to manage testing for residents near the 29th and Grove contamination plume; an additional $1 million could be unlocked with local matching funds, but commissioners pressed for more data and long-term funding plans.
Sedgwick County staff told commissioners the only action requested Wednesday will be approval to sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOU) with the State of Kansas to receive $1.5 million for medical testing of residents near the contamination plume at 29th and Grove.
"At the high level, as many people do know, that there was a contamination site 40 years ago at 29th And Grove," the chair said, framing the long-running remediation and community concerns. County staff said the state set aside $1.5 million, and that an additional $1 million could be unlocked if the community provides a dollar-for-dollar local match.
County Counselor Jess Weidner summarized the MOU's matching rules: "The the MOA does not require any local match," he said, adding that the additional $1,000,000 is unlocked only by dollar-for-dollar local match from government or non-government sources. Staff emphasized that the Wednesday item is to accept the MOU and not the deployment plan or spending approvals.
Several commissioners raised concerns about program design and long-term sustainability. One commissioner said, "I don't I don't like the way this is coming out of so quickly," arguing the proviso and MOU could push spending and program design before adequate data and capacity exist. Commissioners asked whether previously raised private funds — including about $400,000 identified by the Kansas Health Foundation — would qualify as match; staff said that depends on source and how the match is documented.
Staff and partners have argued the best near-term delivery pathway is to support federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) that already serve affected neighborhoods, but commissioners pressed whether vouchers, endowments or other long-term funding mechanisms were considered. Lindsay, a finance staffer, said the MOU structure includes repayment or return requirements if funds are not used and a statutory deadline that limits the ability to create a permanent endowment from the state funds.
County staff said any funds received would be managed by the county and distributed through an RFP to a third-party manager; the Wednesday briefing will include more detail and subject-matter experts. No formal vote occurred at the agenda-review meeting; the MOU signature will be on the commission agenda for Wednesday.
