The annual meeting of Republic County Economic Development (RCED) was held on Monday, February 20th at the Munden Community Center. The regular meeting was held at 5:30, followed by the annual meeting immediately after. Economic Development Director, Jenny Russell, presented a PowerPoint presentation showing the board goals for 2022 and the items accomplished toward those goals during the year.
The first goal of 2022 was to push toward population gain and making Republic County more accessible to an aging community. This goal included addressing abandoned housing/vacant properties, increasing childcare options, and expanding opportunities for a multitude of jobs. Last year RCED did the work to organize housing information and submit the Moderate Income Housing (MIH) application to the State of Kansas. The organization also continued to administer the Republic County Housing Programs which included the Paint the County Grant, Move Over Grant, and the Demolition Assistance Grant. Other strides toward developing housing included the start of the Western Republic County Housing Program where Pike Valley Industrial Arts students are building housing panels that will become the first home in the program.
In the fall of 2022, the Zero to Thrive Coalition held a meeting in Republic County to get childcare practitioners across the state mobilized toward the same goals within the State. RCED also had conversations with the new Childcare Specialist at the NWK Innovation Center to understand how her free services could be used to benefit Republic County childcare providers. Additionally, within this goal two large businesses were placed in the area.
The second 2022 goal was to utilize, to a larger extent, Republic County’s prestigious highway locations. Within this goal, the new road was developed at the NCK Industrial Park. Rolling Hills Electric Co-op chose the NCK Industrial Park to construct a building for trucks. RCED paid for a hotel feasibility study to help current efforts and to advocate for Republic County’s desirable location. Also, the plans were laid out to host the 2023 Big Kansas Road Trip.
Focus on business was the topic of the third goal. This included a continued focus on entrepreneurship through providing Small Business Classes to local businesses and startups. Yearly, RCED conducts the Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge for area junior-high and high school students. Recruiting new businesses, especially for the NCK Industrial Park, is a top priority. Multiple information packets and conversations have happened around this topic. Additionally, RCED submitted a Recruitment Program application to the NWK Innovation Center to obtain $60,000 for a local recruitment board to help Republic County businesses to recruit for hard-to-fill positions. RCED attended Kansas Rural AmeriTowne in Leonora Kansas with the USD 109 6th grade students. Rural AmeriTowne works to bring students a financial literacy program, teaching basic economics, banking, money management, government, communications, philanthropy, and employment.
Republic County’s progress and RCED’s success is truly reflected in the 2022 numbers. Sales tax collections in the county increased by $75,480.31 over the previous year. County property tax collections for 2022 were $97,654,073 for the County. In 2022, two major projects cultivated in the county that RCED was able to be involved in. The estimated total impact to these two future projects is $315,015,680.