Riley County says it met Make My Move goal; director weighs site-name change on program page
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Amanda Webb, Riley County planning director, told the commission that the county has reached the initial benchmark for the Make My Move recruitment program: 11 households have completed required steps and relocated or are in-process, and eight additional applicants are close to being confirmed toward a 20-household program goal.
"We now have 11 movers," Webb said, adding that four were already here and seven more were on the way; eight further applicants were in the pipeline as of that morning. Webb said most of the confirmed participants had secured jobs locally (including positions at K-State and USDA) and that ten of the 11 are renting while one has purchased a home.
Webb also relayed guidance from the Make My Move host about click-through metrics: Riley County's current click-through rate was about 3.25% year-to-date versus a near-6% average for similar-sized communities. Make My Move suggested using "Manhattan, Kansas" on the landing page to lift clicks; Webb said the change would not alter program parameters but could be populated so that the county page still links to smaller communities within Riley County. Commissioners generally favored keeping the county label and asked Webb to add information about other local communities and businesses to the page rather than change the community name.
Why it matters: the program is tied to a state grant and local tracking of outcomes affects future funding; Webb said the county has submitted status paperwork and expects the second half of the grant disbursement once EPA steps through its process. Commissioners asked for demographic detail on incoming households and for staff to provide lists on request.
Clarifying details: Webb noted the program target was 20 households (10 per year for two years), that the county had 11 confirmed movers and eight additional applicants in the pipeline, and that the EPA-related grant tied to the project is a roughly million-dollar award with state coordination. No funding allocation was voted on at the meeting.
"We now have 11 movers," Webb said, adding that four were already here and seven more were on the way; eight further applicants were in the pipeline as of that morning. Webb said most of the confirmed participants had secured jobs locally (including positions at K-State and USDA) and that ten of the 11 are renting while one has purchased a home.
Webb also relayed guidance from the Make My Move host about click-through metrics: Riley County's current click-through rate was about 3.25% year-to-date versus a near-6% average for similar-sized communities. Make My Move suggested using "Manhattan, Kansas" on the landing page to lift clicks; Webb said the change would not alter program parameters but could be populated so that the county page still links to smaller communities within Riley County. Commissioners generally favored keeping the county label and asked Webb to add information about other local communities and businesses to the page rather than change the community name.
Why it matters: the program is tied to a state grant and local tracking of outcomes affects future funding; Webb said the county has submitted status paperwork and expects the second half of the grant disbursement once EPA steps through its process. Commissioners asked for demographic detail on incoming households and for staff to provide lists on request.
Clarifying details: Webb noted the program target was 20 households (10 per year for two years), that the county had 11 confirmed movers and eight additional applicants in the pipeline, and that the EPA-related grant tied to the project is a roughly million-dollar award with state coordination. No funding allocation was voted on at the meeting.
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