The City of El Dorado is among the first round of awardees for the Building a Stronger Economy (BASE) economic development grant program, announced by Governor Laura Kelly today. The City received $3 million for water infrastructure and industrial development.
“The BASE program is vital to enhancing Kansas’ economic competitiveness,” Governor Laura Kelly said in a press release. “These grants provide essential funding to our local communities, positioning them to succeed and be a place of continued economic growth.”
As approved by the Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK) Executive Committee, the BASE grant program offers matching funds to address economic development opportunities to expand the state’s base of businesses and residents to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The SPARK Executive Committee allocated $100 million in COVID-19 relief funds to the BASE program.
“For our state to grow and businesses to flourish, we need a strong economic foundation in communities across Kansas,” Senate President Ty Masterson said. “I believe that building that foundation requires strong tax and economic policies. SPARK appropriated funds for these BASE grants because they offer unique opportunities to strengthen those foundations and build a prosperous future for all Kansans.”
City of El Dorado Engineering Director Scott Rickard said El Dorado’s funds will go toward a project to improve the water lines leaving the water plant to better prepare the city to serve industrial growth to the north and west of the city in the 1,600 acres the City is currently marketing for industrial prospects. The remaining funds will be used to certify these sites for industrial prospects, including environmental assessments, boundary surveys and some initial site clearing on the properties.
Projects selected must be completed within two years of the award date, with 50 percent of the funds awarded in 2022 and the remaining funds provided no earlier than January 2023. This is one of 35 infrastructure investment projects totaling $100 million.