The Southeast Kansas Community Action Program has a problem — but it's one of those "good" problems.
Of the approximately $1.2 million in federal stimulus money SEK-CAP received from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, approximately $500,000 will be put toward what's being called Community Capacity Building, an effort in which stimulus dollars will be used to improve area communities by stimulating their economies through new projects.
The problem: SEK-CAP has yet to decide how that money will be spent.
So in an attempt to find ways to use the cash, SEK-CAP is seeking recommendations from the people in the communities it serves.
"We have a lot of money to go into the 12 counties we serve and we can spend this money any way we want (with a few exceptions)," said Aaron McConnell, ARRA project coordinator for SEK-CAP. "But instead of just coming to your community and saying what we're going to do to make it better, we want to know what you think. We want ideas."
To facilitate ideas from the communities, SEK-CAP set up an e-mail address for this purpose only. Anyone with suggestions on how the money should be sent is encouraged to send those ideas to ARRA@sek-cap.com.
"We want people to e-mail us their ideas and tell us how we could come into their community and make that community better," McConnell said.
The stimulus funds are part of SEK-CAP's Community Services Block Grant and are administered through the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation. According to its Web site, SEK-CAP's primary focus will be placed on building the capacity of SEK-CAP to develop and implement initiatives for the elderly and youth. These funds can be allocated for a variety of services including housing rehabilitation, health, nutrition, child care, or other needs seen as vital to the local communities.
McConnell said SEK-CAP has already received several suggestions on how to use the money since the e-mail address was made public. One of those suggestions came from Angela Lewis, language arts teacher at Pittsburg Community Middle School, who proposed using the money to fund a summer arts class for elementary and middle school students next year.
"I heard Aaron McConnell on the radio talking about the stimulus package and the money that was available," Lewis said. "So I talked to him about it and sent in a proposal."
