Inclusive Engagement: Strengthening Trust and Impact through ARPA Funding Allocation

When a small group of Reno County partners sat down to chat about how to use funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), they were taking the first step in a vigorous campaign to serve the best interests of their fellow citizens, reported Aubrey Abbott Patterson, president and chief executive officer of Hutchinson Community Foundation (HCF).

Since that sit-down, millions of dollars have been earmarked for child care, workforce development and housing. 

The overall goal was to prioritize the spending of more than $17 million from the ARPA-COVID relief bill. With that in mind, the Reno County ARPA Resident Engagement Initiative was born. 

“During that first meeting, one partner challenged the others to consider whether it was right for us to influence spending decisions or should we ask Reno County residents for their ideas,” Aubrey Abbott Patterson recalled. “We decided on the spot. 

“The right thing to do was ask city and county elected officials to allow us to seek local citizens’ views on their priorities for this windfall.” 

HCF quickly took the reins, and ultimately, guided strategy, facilitated meetings, raised public awareness, and handled logistics and communications. 

A task force was formed with representatives from eight organizations. These were: HCF; Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce; Hutchinson NAACP; Hutch Rec; Leadership Reno County; StartUp Hutch; United Way of Reno County; and Young Professionals of Reno County. 

“However, the task force was expanded to 16 because of the inclusive spirit of ARPA guidelines and because we recognized we needed more voices to help guide the process,” Abbott Patterson noted. “These 16 people represent local organizations, governing bodies and groups. 

“To further ensure an inclusive, high-quality process, the task force partnered with Kansas State University’s LEADCOMM Associates to help craft a facilitated civicengagement experience.” 

The plan was simple: reach roughly one percent of the Reno County population through 90-minute discussions with groups of 8-20 residents. 

“This effort required mobilizing more than 20 community volunteers to undergo training to facilitate these meetings,” Abbott Patterson said. 

The first meeting was held in late August 2021 and the last just a couple of months later on Oct. 21. The task force heard from 553 residents at a total of 45 meetings throughout Reno County. 

The public listed child care as priority one and by early 2023, elected officials allocated $6 million to the cause. In addition, $1.8 million was earmarked for workforce development and $5 million went to support housing. 

The ARPA effort has since spurred many new developments and innovations in these top three areas, and even more money has flowed into child care. 

In workforce development, a portion of the money helped fund an industrial development tract and the city of Hutchinson granted more than $350,000 to projects aimed at addressing workforce issues, including a pilot project to relocate refugees to Hutchinson. 

Money directed to housing has allowed more homes to be rehabilitated at a faster rate across the county. “Our partners who work in this sector now regularly tell us that the infusion of ARPA cash has sparked renewed energy and more collaboration,” Abbott Patterson noted. “Today, the conversation has turned to sustaining the momentum so that progress continues beyond 2026 when ARPA dollars must be expended.” 

In the beginning, Abbott Patterson acknowledged, HCF “may have jumped into this project because we are skilled at setting up meetings, communications and process design. But over time, it has become very clear that this initiative allows us to demonstrate our commitment to uniting people and building trust among residents. 

“The resident-engagement process allows us to do this by sparking dialogue, honoring varying perspectives and life experiences, and promoting transparency, trustworthiness and inclusion in the decision-making process.” 

Four other priorities surfaced during the public meetings. They are: expanding mental-health resources; supporting local small businesses; expanding access to healthcare; and developing recreational opportunities. 

“The task force continues to have conversations about when and how the community can best address these other priorities,” Abbott Patterson said. 

Appreciation for many

Abbott Patterson is well aware she and a few other partners couldn’t have made these strides without the help of many people in the community. 

“I am proud that one of our community partners had the foresight and guts to challenge the rest of us to be more inclusive and that the group so readily agreed,” she commented. “I’m also thankful that our elected leaders listened and then agreed to slow down the decision-making process long enough to hear how local residents wanted to prioritize the use of the funds.” 

Abbott Patterson also gave kudos to the HCF staff “for identifying the values alignment and putting in countless hours to hold the process and people together as we moved forward.”