County board approves participation in ROZ

A resolution presented by CloudCorp executive director Kim Reynolds to authorize participation in the Rural Opportunity Zone (ROZ) Student Loan Repayment Program allocating no additional dollars was approved by the Cloud County board of commissioners during its regular meeting on Tuesday.
The commission initially approved a resolution in 2019 funding the ROZ program at $4,500 per year for five years.
The $4,500 can fund three employees per year.
Rural Opportunity Zones are the 77 Kansas counties that have been authorized to offer financial incentives to those eligible for the student loan repayments.
Susie Haver and Marian Condray, co-directors of Cloud County Tourism, presented a 2022 budget request to the board during the meeting.
Haver and Condray also discussed the Big Dig and Prairie Plowing Days, scheduled for August 27-29 at the Kurt Kocher farm south of Concordia. The event draws attendees from all over the world.
The board approved appointing Joan Fraser to fill the unexpired position on the Cloud County Convention and Tourism Committee which was held by Ellen Anderson.
Andy Asch, Highway Department director, met with the board and discussed repairs to the Ames/Miltonvale Road. He said that Coughlin Company has agreed not to do the repairs, but to do an overlay. The cost to the county would be $350,000-$375,000. There was no decision made by the board.
Asch also discussed the lease or purchase of two trucks that have been ordered and said that the department is working on patching and spraying for Johnson grass.
No decision was made by the board on the trucks. A decision does not have to be made until next spring when the trucks are available.
Sheriff Ken Davis discussed an application for American Rescue Plan Act funds to be used for repairs at the Law Enforcement Center. He will submit the request on the application.
The board approved capital outlay requests for IT totaling $4,674.95 for three Lenovo ThinkCentre M720q desktop computers and four 24-inch ONN Roku televisions.
Two applications for American Rescue Plan funds from the Transfer Station were presented to the board including $8,320 for a wage increase and $45,000, or less, for a backhoe.
The board approved the following expenses totaling $195,475.01:
General Fund, $32,600.56; Road & Bridge, $94,952.29; Court Services, $2,773.04; County Tourism & Convention, $241.90; Employee Benefits, $1,100; Juvenile Reinvestment, $191.56; Special Alcohol & Drug, $542.50; Juvenile Justice, $8,513.98; Community Corrections, $6,539.24; Appraisal, $195.10; County Health, $6,350.35; Noxious Weed, $13,179.16; Election, $86.42; Solid Waste, $28,208.91.