Two local non-profits will now be awaiting word on potential funding following the Emporia City Commission’s recent action session Wednesday afternoon.
During that meeting, commissioners approved the signing and submission of an emergency solutions grant to be sent off to the Kansas Housing Resource Corporation to potentially provide additional funding for the efforts of both Family Promise of the Flint Hills and Plumb Place.
This is the second year in which Plumb Place has applied for this specific grant after being denied last year by the KHRC due to “unresolved corrective action or findings” relating to an unspecified prior year. The KHRC’s denial followed an announcement by the United Way not to fund the organization for concerns regarding accountability, transparency and training following the announcement of an Emporia Police investigation which began in 2018.
Adding to those concerns was the discovery of over $50,000 in missing funds from January 2014 to April 2017. Ahead of the commission’s approval of submitting the application, Commissioner Becky Smith posed the question as to whether the city was “comfortable” with both applying agencies in terms of records and bookkeeping.
Smith says extra due diligence conducted by city staff gives her more confidence Plumb Place may receive approval of the grant this year.
KVOE has reached out to Plumb Place Executive Director Mary Richardson for comment on the application process. An exact timeline for when the city should receive word on the application’s status is currently pending.
In other business, commissioners also approved a quote from Merle Kelly Ford of Chanute in the amount of $95,082 for a new dump truck. Commissioners also unanimously approved the appointment of Brad Kraft to the Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas.
The Emporia City Commission will reconvene next Wednesday for a study session inside the Municipal Courtroom at White Auditorium.
