Tipton Community Building

City of Tipton receives KAN STEP grant for addition to community building

The Kansas Department of Commerce (Commerce) has awarded the City of Tipton a $140,810 grant to construct an addition to its existing community building. The City of Tipton is located in Mitchell County in north-central Kansas.

Tipton's existing community building is a gymnasium. It lacks an adequate kitchen, meeting room, or lockers and is currently not in compliance with ADA standards.

The new community center will serve 215 persons. The total cost of the improvement will be $235,400, which includes $94,590 in volunteer labor and a KAN STEP grant of $140,810.

The project architect is Donnie Marrs of DMA Architects, Salina, KS. Grant administration will be provided by Doug McKinney, North Central Regional Planning Commission. Volunteer "sparkplugs" for the project are Adrian Arnoldy, Phil Murrow and Dan Hake. Kansas Rural Water Association will provide inspection services and technical assistance to the volunteers.

The grant is awarded through Commerce's KAN STEP program, a self-help program that enables small communities to make major infrastructure improvements. Local people volunteer labor and services, while Commerce provides funding for materials and technical services. An acronym for Kansas Small Towns Environment Program, KAN STEP gives small communities an opportunity to do projects they couldn't otherwise afford. The funding is provided through the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.