County to support KANZA's CDBG application
The Jackson County Commission has agreed to have the county support KANZA Mental Health & Guidance Center as its administrators and board seek $400,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds to renovate the recently purchased Moser building in Holton.
At a recent Jackson County Commission meeting, the commissioners agreed that KANZA could apply for the Kansas Department of Commerce grant by using the county’s government status.
The decision by the county commission ended several months of negotiations on the topic.
In August, KANZA finalized the purchase of the building, which is located at 510 Kansas Ave.
The building was purchased from Scott and Susan Foster of Holton at a cost of $300,000. KANZA’s Mental Health Foundation provided a $150,000 loan to KANZA, which was added to KANZA’s own funds to make the purchase outright.
KANZA has been occupying the north portion of the Moser Building since 2012 and shares the currently renovated 6,300 square feet of space with the Jackson County Department of Juvenile Intake and Assessment.
The other half of the building, about 7,200 square feet, is unfinished and is not usable until additional remodeling is completed, it was reported.
A Jackson County Challenge was held in December to generate additional donations. A total of $32,000 was raised at that time, according to David Elsbury, KANZA CEO.
The CDBG is being sought to renovate the remainder of the building in order to expand mental health services in Jackson County.
The grant requires that KANZA obtain a governmental entity to sponsor the business on the application and implementation of the grant.
It was reported that the county would not be financially responsible for repaying the grant even if KANZA were to default on the loan. The only way the county could be responsible in any part of the grant process is if there were incidents of fraud committed on behalf of the KANZA board when filling out the grant application, it was noted.
The three county commissioners unanimously agreed to allow KANZA to apply for the grant through the county.
