Flint Hills Metropolitan Planning Organization

Mission: "Providing a regional forum to coordinate, encourage, and promote a safe, efficient, affordable, and integrated transportation system for all users in support of livable communities and economic competitiveness." The Flint Hills Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) covers portions of Geary, Pottawatomie, and Riley Counties; including the Cities of Manhattan, Junction City, and Wamego. The MPO (designated February 2013 through an Interlocal Agreement) was the first MPO designated by the State of Kansas in over three decades. Federal law requires any Urbanized Area population exceeding 50,000 persons to create a MPO to carry out the multi-modal transportation planning process for the designated metropolitan area. The Manhattan Urbanized Area exceeded this population threshold in the 2010 Census. In 2017, the Policy Board voted to expand the MPO boundary to include the City of Wamego and more of Pottawatomie County along the US-24 corridor. The boundary expansion took effect January 1, 2018. The FHMPO is governed by a Policy Board made up of local elected officials from the jurisdictions in the metropolitan area and a representative from the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT). The Policy Board is supported by a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), consisting of staff level representatives from various local, state, and federal agencies. Population within the MPO: 110,441 people Approximately 247 square miles (158,080 Acres) 3 counties 6 cities Kansas State University Fort Riley Military Base