The Flint Hills Regional Council is using a $250,000 in grant funds to hire a consult to research the economic impact of force reduction that has already occurred at Fort Riley, and what could occur in the future.

The Council’s Director, Gary Stith, said this week a request for proposals has been put out to find a consultant. “When the proposals are received from consultants there’s a group that will be reviewing that.”

Once a consultant is selected, Stith said the consultant will work with area communities around the installation to look at economic impacts. “By that I mean they’ll look at workforce impacts, jobs, schools, housing, retail impact, the whole gamut of economic impacts.”

This is a 100% federal grant, meaning no local matching funds will be required.