KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Mid-America Regional Council (BAGASSE) is requesting public comments on the 20 Sustainable Places Planning applications it is considering for funding in its Call for projects 2025.
“At the regional level, we don’t know communities well,” said Beth Dawson, manager of MARC’s Sustainable Places Planning program.
“It will be local people who live, work and breathe in their communities, so they know them well. It is very important to involve them in finding the solutions that work best there.”
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Dawson says that in six previous funding rounds, about $11 million helped plan projects that resulted in about $460 million in construction and other implementation.
“There is a significant return on investment in planning to figure out what solutions your community really wants and start making them a reality,” Dawson said.
It’s often easier to secure federal, state and county funding once the initial planning steps have been taken, and this money helps fund those steps. That’s why local elected leaders, like Platte City Mayor Steve Hoeger, are backing one of the 20 requests.
“We’re really trying to do ‘Ready, aim, fire,’ when a lot of times it’s ‘Ready, fire, aim,'” Hoeger said.
He is seeking $150,000 from MARC to help plan a new Main Street and Courthouse area as part of a broader effort to revitalize downtown.
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“If you’re looking for a bail bondsman or a lawyer, they’re there, but we want our center to be more than that,” Hoeger said.
In 2015, Platte City received about $120,000 to study Highway 92. Nine years later, Hoeger says those plans have generated $24 million in outside investment and are still helping shape new projects in the pipeline.
“The city doesn’t have enough staff to help do that, so the money allows us to bring in consultants and contracts to help sort out those processes,” Hoeger said.
You will be able to see all the projects and leave comments. here.
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