As the remodeling of the front office of the Great Bend Events Center progresses to accommodate the Convention and Visitors Bureau office, future plans for the facility are taking shape, City Administrator Howard Partington said Monday night.

Referring to architectural drawings, Partington walked the city council through planned improvements to the parking lot and handicapped accessibility and potential changes to the front entrance. 

The center came up Monday due to a problem with the office project caused by a discrepancy between the original drawings and actual measurements. This meant the initial  plan initially for two windows had to be scaled back to one for now.

This amendment was approved. The second window will be bought, but stored until it can be determined where to put it.

Also in the pipeline are changes to the front parking area to improve drainage. This will prevent puddling, ice and improve access for those with handicaps. 

One of the sketches Partington displayed showed the center with a canopy jutting out over the main doors. The architect calls for the removal of the existing front columns and addition of the 40-by-60-foot awning.

“This kind of goes under the category of a heads up for the future,” Partington said. He brought it up to get a feel from council members to see if the design meets their expectations.

However, Partington said the canopy as well as a change in the color scheme may come up at a meeting yet this year. “We want to be very careful how we plan this” so the work doesn’t conflict with events.

Another alternative they might consider is heating a portion of the parking lot to melt the ice on the north side of the building.