Lincolnville qualifies for Kan-Step grant
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
A door-to-door economic survey recently was conducted in Lincolnville by Councilman David Schneider and Clerk Jane Pigorsch. Its purpose was to determine if the City of Lincolnville would qualify for a Kan-Step grant to construct a new community building.
The grant program, which is funded through the Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing, stipulates that at least 51 percent of residents must have a low-to-moderate level of income. The survey revealed that 62.3 percent fall within that range.
According to Schneider, the 2000 census pegged 38 percent in the low-moderate category. He said the city's survey results reflect a number of changes in households during the past two years, including an increase in widows, disabled, and retired residents.
Burns visited
Mayor Victor Burns and wife Gail, councilman Schneider, and councilwoman Sherri Pankratz and husband Jerry visited Burns Thursday to tour the town's new community center.
They met with Burns city clerk Carolyn Koehn to ask questions and gain more information about the Kan-Step program, which requires 40 percent of the total cost of a project to come from the community in the form of volunteer labor and donations.
Koehn noted that, because the town provided its own labor, workmanship was of better quality than if it had been contracted out. She said it also allowed the town to use better quality materials.
Council members seemed impressed with what they saw and heard and expressed enthusiasm for pursuing a Kan-Step grant.
The council's next step is to formulate a letter to the Department of Commerce and Housing explaining why the city's survey produced different results than the U.S. survey. It also must provide a list of volunteers.
