The Geary County Commission has agreed to sign new inter-local agreement to create the Flint Hills Regional Transit Administration.

The Flint Hills Regional Council has been working on the inter-local agreement in order to create a public entity, FHRTA, that is needed to utilize available federal funds for transit services.

Bill Clark, FHRC Executive Director explained to the commission that up to $1 million per year is available in FTA 5307 funds.

“5307, known as urban transportation funds, are available to the Manhattan Urbanized Area, but there not being tapped into,” Clark explained. “By forming some type of entity will allow us to apply and receive these funds from the federal side to use for public transit in our area.”

Currently aTa Bus uses rural area funds, FTA 5311, and is not eligible to receive the FTA 5307 funds and neither is the FHRC.

The new funds would require a smaller local match 80/20, 20 percent being local, compared to a 50/50 match under the current funds. Kansas State University is currently paying the local match and will continue to pay for the match under the new plan.

“Under this new inter-local agreement there would be no requirement of any of the jurisdictions to contribute anymore funds than are being contributed today,” Clark said.

The FHRCA would have full control over how those funds are spent as well according to Clark.

“The decision on how to spend them is made at the local level. To include what type of buses you would buy, what type of accessories for those buses, we would make those decisions.”

Currently those decisions are made by the Kansas Department of Transportation.

Clark has approached all of the members of the Flint Hills Metropolitan Planning Organization to sign the inter-local agreement. Geary County was the first to officially approve and sign the agreement. Clark said he expects the other counties to sign as well but is still waiting to hear back from them.