By SALINA POST
The Saline County Commission meeting will take place in–person at the City/County Building in Room 107 and via online stream. Meetings can be viewed at the Saline County Kansas YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@salinecountykansas3125/streams.
If citizens wish to speak during the meeting, those who attend in person will have the opportunity to speak at the podium. Topics that residents want to talk about must not be present on the agenda for that day's meeting.
If you need any assistance in participating in any meeting or event due to a disability as defined under ADA, please call the County’s ADA Coordinator at (785) 309-5812 or email [email protected] before the scheduled meeting or event to request accommodations.
To see the complete meeting packet for this week's meeting, click here.
Consent Agenda
● Approval of Tax Roll Adjustments
● Approval of Accounts Payable
● Approval of Public Forum Agenda
● 2023 Presbyterian Manor KDOT letter of support
● Approval of proposed change order 20 for the courtroom project
● Approval of County Commission Minutes for October 31, 2023
Action Items
Digital Equity Grant
On August 15, 2023, the Commission authorized $100,000 in funding from the County’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund to be used toward grants to local agencies that help bridge the digital divide in the community.
As part of the Commission's action on August 15, the Commission authorized the County Public Information Officer to appoint a Review Committee to screen the grant applications and make recommendations. The Public Information Officer would like to thank the following individuals who graciously gave of their time to perform this service for Saline County: Renee Duxler, Salina Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO; Kimberlyn Jones, Kansas Commerce Digital Equity Program Manager; Eric Norris, Manhattan Public Library Director
The review committee met via Zoom on October 24 to discuss the applications. The committee recommends funding for all five applications, all of which were highly rated. These are:
1. A grant of $20,630 to the Salina Area United Way to fund equipment, including laptops and printers, among other items, to create an access point for individuals to use the internet and digital devices for homework, job searching, and training, and other activities free of charge. The SAUW has a soft match of $16,320 in office space and
$3,000 in donations. They are partnering with the Salina YMCA and Salina Adult Education Center on this project.
2. A grant of $16,378 to the Salina Grace Foundation for a Digital Equity for the Homeless project to set up an internet Wi-Fi system to provide free Wi-Fi to their guests and provide laptops and workstations for guest to check out and training to help them learn basic computer skills, search for jobs, fill out applications, and the like. They are partnering with Central Kansas Mental Health, and this project will provide resources to clients of CKF Addiction Treatment, People In Need, Independent Connection, and others. This will be matched by $2,000 from a private donor.
3. A grant of $8,600 to Salina Media Connection to host 10 monthly Spanish Connection programs targeting the Spanish-speaking community focusing on various internet, digital literacy, civic education and government, health, finance and banking, legal and educational topics. Additionally, the funds will be used for quarterly in-person classes on digital literacy. This grant is matched by $400 in cash contributions and $500 in in-kind contributions by Salina Media Connection. Their community partners on this project include JAB-IT PC, the Salvation Army, and Spanish Connection.
4. A grant of $4,425 to the Salina Public Library for to expand their Hotspot Lending Program by purchasing 25 Franklin T10 Hotspot devices and one year of service on each device to be checked out for free by the public. The Salina Public Library is providing a match of $442.50. The project is managed solely by the Salina Public Library.
5. A grant of $3,397 to the Salina Public Library for a Youth Robotics Club, which will provide nine robotics workshop kits for youths 13 to 17 years old to encourage digital literacy, creativity and critical thinking, teamwork and collaboration. The Salina Public Library is supplying $616 in matching funds. The project is managed solely by the Salina Public Library.
The total funding to be awarded is $53,430 of the $100,000 allotted for this grant program.
Staff recommends approval of the five grants. This would save $46,570 in funding previously allocated to this grant program that could be repurposed as the commission deems necessary.