Submitted article
Special to the Tribune
The City of St. John has taken responsibility of keeping a special history alive in town that they hope will be funded by Kansas Department of Commerce for Small Cities Community Development Block Grant funds.
War hero and science teacher James Hood kept Hood’s Haven for years as a place for kids to come and see science experiments and for older veterans in the community have a place to drink coffee. It was owned and operated as a non-profit science museum. Once a bright spot in the community for many years, it fell into disrepair after Mr. Hood passed. The family of Mr. Hood and the living board members not interested in doing anything with the building.
Last year the City of St. John, not wanting the building to continue to be empty, investigated what it would take for the building to change hands. There was one city council member that had taken responsibility of the building who had also been a board member of the old science museum non-profit, Mark Bryant. Mark cares about St. John, and it shows from his service. A veteran, he has volunteered in public service for years and currently sits on the City Council. Pam Watson, who’s the City Clerk and Zoning Administrator, talked with Stafford County Economic Development’s Ryan Russell to see if there was any interest in the building. Pam let Ryan know that the process to get the organization in good standing and transition the building ownership would be complicated. The science museum non-profit hadn’t filed in a while and there wasn’t an active board. Ryan agreed to help get the documents organized and proceed with the help of Mark Bryant to track down the living board members. They were successful in reviving the organization and getting the living members to create a resolution to transfer the building to Stafford County Economic Development Inc.. The goal was to renovate the building and make it again an economic asset for the community.
Stafford County Economic Development Inc. has been working the past year to organize the funding and tenant to be able to renovate the building, and it will be another year before it can be moved into. Stafford County Economic Development in partnership with the City of St. John is working with South Central Kansas Economic Development District, Inc. (grant administrator) and Hernley Associates (Architect) in writing a grant application and submitting to Kansas Commerce for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), a federally funded program. They will apply in hopes of receiving funds from the CDBG Commercial Rehabilitation program which will allow them to request $300,000. Stafford County Economic Development Inc. will provide the necessary match for the project. They have already contracted with a company that will purchase and plan to move into the building once it is completed.
There will be a public meeting about this project. Information is below.
City of St. John Public Hearing Notice
The City of St. John will hold a public hearing on January 21st, 2025, at 7:00PM at City Hall, 115 E 4th Ave, St. John, KS 67576, for the purpose of considering an application to be submitted to the Kansas Department of Commerce for Small Cities Community Development Block Grant funds under the Commercial Rehab category. A specific project to be discussed is rehabilitation of a commercial building located at 312 North Main Street, St. John, Kansas, 67576. The project includes installation of interior storm windows, installation of new transom window, exterior brick repair and restoration, demolition of deteriorated portions of the building, installation of new roof, gutters, and downspouts, address ADA deficiencies, interior restoration, installation of new HVAC, electrical, and plumbing systems. The project scope will address code and health and safety violations. The estimated project cost is $448,566.00, with the grant request for $300,000.00 of the project cost and a local match of $148,566.00 from private building owner funds. Other project proposals introduced at the public hearing will be considered.
Oral and written comments will be recorded and become a part of the City of St. John CDBG Citizen Participation Plan. Reasonable accommodation will be made available to persons with disabilities. Requests should be submitted to Ryan Russell, Executive Director, at 620-314-5561 by 5:00 p.m. on January 17, 2025.
