In May 2021, representatives from organizations serving Reno County formed a group to work with city and county leaders to gain input from Reno County residents on how they would prioritize the $17-plus million coming to our community from the American Rescue Plan COVID-relief bill passed in March 2021. In accordance with the inclusive, equitable spirit of the ARPA guidelines and recognizing that it needed more voices to help guide the process, the task force expanded to eventually include 16 residents representing various community organizations, governing bodies and groups. To further ensure an inclusive, high-quality process, the task force also partnered with Kansas State University’s LEADCOMM Associates to help craft a facilitated civic engagement experience. The resulting plan was simple: Reach roughly 1 percent of the Reno County population through 90-minute facilitated discussions with groups of eight to 20 residents. The first meeting was held in late August 2021, and by the time of the final meeting on Oct. 21, 2021, the task force had heard from 553 residents at a total of 45 meetings hosted throughout Reno County.

In the fall and early winter of 2021, the team at LEADCOMM Associates, led by Dr. Sean Eddington, gathered the data collected from the meetings and synthesized the findings into a report.  Below is a video overview of the report delivered by Dr. Eddington to the Reno County Commission and Hutchinson City Council. Alongside the video are links to the full written report and the Reno County ARPA Task Force’s recommendations to governing bodies.  

• Report to the Reno County Commission: Jan. 25, 2022
• Report to the Hutchinson City Council: Feb. 1, 2022

Public deliberations by governing bodies:

• Reno County Commission Study Session, Feb. 22, immediately following the regular meeting that begins at 9 a.m., Reno County Annex, 125 W. First Ave., Hutchinson
• Hutchinson City Council Study Session, March (TBA), City Hall, 125 E. Ave. B