A host of local organizations and the county will share $1,087,872 in SPARK funding distributions approved by the County Commission Monday morning. Included were the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce, the Golden Belt Community Foundation, the Center for Counseling and Consultation, and Barton County offices for payroll in departments impacted by the mitigation of COVID-19, such as public health and public safety.
Barton County has received the necessary documentation from the State Office of Recovery to distribute SPARK funding to the certain entities and to reimburse the county for COVID-related expenses, said County Administrator Phil Hathcock. 
Coronavirus Relief Funds are awarded via the Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK) Taskforce, as a component of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. 
“This money is our to help mitigate and plan for future COVID expenses,” Hathcock said. The deadline to spend the funds is Dec. 30. 
“I’m here before you today to request a review of approved distribution of SPARK funding to several entities again,” he said. “These entities have submitted the necessary documentation to fulfill the requirements of the care that allow us to distribute their funding.”
“As you know, we’ve already distributed quite a bit of money to school districts and cities,” he said. “So, these will be periodically coming in for you to approve the distributions, as we receive the necessary documentation.”