Structures ruled unsafe, dangerous
Following a public hearing Monday night, the Great Bend City Council deemed the structures at 205 Frey as unsafe and dangerous.
Building Inspector Logan Burns previously conducted a visual inspection of a house and noted the camper and mobile home located on this property were both considered unsafe structures due electrical issues, waterline and sewer line issues, and inadequate ventilation of utilities. Both the camper and mobile home had illegal fireplaces that were unsafe.
A hearing was previously set for Feb. 21, but due to a change in the council meeting date to Feb. 22, a new notice had to be sent and the hearing rescheduled.
This is where Great Bend safety officials found multiple fire and health hazards, including makeshift heating electrical and sewage systems. In addition, there is trash and refuse on the property including mattresses, furniture, scrap metal and general refuse that need to be removed, There are numerous vehicles on the property that have flat tires and are either not displaying current registration, and/or are not in operable condition.
Burns said he was contacted by Barton County Dispatch on the afternoon of Nov. 19, 2021, regarding the property. Officers of the Barton County Sheriff’s Office, Great Bend Police Department and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation were serving a search warrant at the residence, and three arrests were made in relation to the distribution of methamphetamine and fentanyl.
When officers saw the condition of the property, they requested Burns respond as well. The city was unable to contact the property owners.
Brewery to mark one year
So Dry Lake Brewing can hold its one-year anniversary celebration, the Great Bend City Council Monday night approved allowing consumption of alcohol on public property. This allows the closing the alley from Lakin Avenue to Forest and closure of parking stalls on the city-owned parking lot at Lakin and Williams from 10 a.m. Saturday, May 14, to 1 a.m. Sunday, May 15.
The event is scheduled from 11 a.m. to midnight; however, they requested the longer hours to allow time to set up and clean up, City Administrator Kendal Francis said.
The event will include two bands, games, food truck and a muralist who will be live painting their garage door. The consumption of alcohol is planned in the proposed space. The brewery is working with the State Alcoholic Beverage Control to obtain proper permits for this activity.
Bike, scooter ordinance amended
The Great Bend City Council Monday night opted not to act on a downtown business request to install a bike rack and changes to the ordinance regulating the operation and parking of bikes and micro-mobility devices in the business district.
Dry Lake Brewing requested permission to place a bike rack in front of the business. In reviewing the request, City Attorney Allen Glendenning recommended changes to clarify existing ordinances, provide for engineering approval, as well as help address issues with micro-mobility devices, City Administrator Kendal Francis said. Additionally, the changes also eliminate the antiquated bicycle registration requirement.
The council didn’t oppose the rack or the changes. The rack will be addressed separately in the near future, and the changes will be addressed when the city updates all of its ordinances in about 18 months.
Rezoning requests OKed
The Great Bend City Council Monday night OKed rezoning requests for David Tabrizi at 1801 Patton Rd.. Carole Harris at 1809 at Patton Rd. and Keller Real Estate at 1815 at Patton Rd.
All three are currently selling their properties and are under contract, but the sales are running into a challenge, said Logan Burns, city building inspector. The bank noted the buyers could not get fixed-rate financing and it was because the properties are not zoned residential to get 15- or 30-year fixed loans.
So, the owners requested rezoning from C-1 (Local Commercial) to R-2 (Two Family) to finalize the financing and sales of the properties.
A public hearing was held on March 28, before the Planning Commission. Kevin Keller of Keller Real Estate represented all the property owners involved.
Keller and Harris were the only parties represented at the hearing in regard to this issue. David Tabrizi was represented by Keller.
City staff and the Planning Commission all recommended the findings of fact and rezoning requests be approved.
Council paves way for Cinco de Mayo
To allow the planned Cinco De Mayo events to take place, the Great Bend City Council Monday night approved a host of permissions. The event is set for Saturday, May 7, in the Courthouse Square.
These approvals included: The closure of Main Street from 19th Street to Lakin Avenue from 11 a.m. to midnight; and authorization of a cereal malt beverage license for a beer garden from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
In addition, the parade will start at 11 a.m. and go from Brit Spaugh Park to Lakin Ave. Police officers will lead the parade and will block traffic at Broadway and 19th. The other side streets will be blocked by the Street Department.
The organizing committee also requested: Reserved parking around the south side of the square for vendors and performers, and help with promotional materials, such as posters for the event (Community Coordinator Christina Hayes has already ordered promotional posters); and assistance from the Park Department with setup, layout and trash as they have done in years past.
Alive Plaza to expand
The Great Bend Alive Plaza on Forest Avenue will be larger this year after the City Council approved a request from Great Bend Alive Inc. to expand its common consumption area to extend down the alleyway between Forest and Lakin.
By extending the CCA, more downtown businesses are able to directly participate and it allows for more room for the growing popularity of the CCA events, known as Final Fridays on Forest, said Sara Hayden, president of Great Bend Economic Development Inc. Great Bend Alive Inc falls under GBED.
“We were running out of room,” Hayden told the council. They had over 500 people attend their events in 2021, its inaugural year.
Final Fridays will start April 29 and run on the final Friday of each month through November from 5-9 p.m.
Events Center sign to get face lift
The large digital billboard in front of the Great Bend Events Center will see an upgrade following action by the City Council Monday night. It approved a bid from Mark’s Custom signs for $69,990 to update the digital portion of the sign.
The warranty on the Great Bend Events Center billboard has expired. “This is our most troublesome sign and it requires a warranty to be able to maintain and keep nice,” Community Coordinator Christina Hayes said.
Without a warranty (which can be extended after five years), it could end up costing us anywhere from $800-$3,000 each month to maintain, she said.
She proposed two options: Option one for $58,979, which is a slight upgrade to what they currently have, and option two for $69,990 which is a sign with double the resolution. There is also an optional upgrade for the top sign, above the digital portion, which would be an extra $14,260 to either of the options.
The council picked option two, without the upgrade. This comes with a 10-year warranty.
“We knew this expense was coming up, so we have been saving from year-end transfers,” Hayes said. There is enough in the account to cover this cost as well as coming upgrades to the city’s other digital signs.
City street project expanded
The street chip seal project that was originally planned for 2021 will take place this year, and the Great City Council Monday night approved expanding the effort.
Last year, the city approved a bid for chip and seal for 80,000 square yards; however, the contractor, Circle C Paving of Goddard, was not able to do the project due to unforeseen circumstances, Public Works Director Jason Cauley said. Thus, the contractor will be here early this summer.
In light of this, “We would like to add two streets to the project,” he said. These include Walnut between 10th and the K-96 bypass and MacArthur for a total of 9,000 square yards for an additional $34,200.
This would be the addition of approximately six blocks.
The funds are coming from the quarter-cent sales tax that is specific to street improvements.
In July of last year, the council OKed the 2021 street chip-and-seal project bid from Circle C.
The city was planning on doing chip and seal with a fog seal top coating on residential streets on approximately 70 blocks. The firm offered the only bid for $248,850,
A fog seal is a light application of a diluted slow-setting asphalt emulsion (a thin liquid oil).
The streets included in the original plan were in the north central, northwestern and western parts of the city.
Committee to seek input
The recently formed Quality of Life Committee has met a couple of times now and members are ready to garner ideas from the public, City Administrator Kendal Francis told the City Council Monday night.
“We are planning to put together a citizen survey to get some input,” he said, noting this will be announced in the near future. “We are asking for some feedback from the citizens.”
In addition, “we’re also looking at how we can best address the youth to get some input from them on some of the avenues that we’re looking at,” he said.
They committee includes Bruce Swob, Sharon King, Debbie Munz, Stephen Patton, Curtis Arnberger and Kate Wary. Alternate members include Randy Goering and Kaylean Weber. The six will join Ward 3 Councilman Cory Urban, Ward 1 Councilwoman Lindsey Krom-Craven, Ward 2 Councilwoman Jolene Biggs, City Administrator Kendal Francis, Public Lands Director Scott Keeler and Great Bend Recreation Commission Assistant Director Chris Umphres.
The purpose of the group will be to look at how to best spend funds generated by the .15% quality of life sales tax approved by city voters last November.
They will look at the types of amenities that make Great Bend great, from improving existing facilities to building new ones to maintenance.
The tax translates into 15 cents for every $100 spent, and will bring in about $565,000 annually.
KCAC seeks volunteers
The Kansas College Athletic Conference Baseball and Softball Tournament will be starting Wednesday, May 4, and running through Saturday, May 7, at the Great Bend Sports Complex, and Community Coordinator/Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Christina Hayes told the City Council Monday night that she is looking for volunteers.
She needs volunteers to work two-hour shifts from 5-9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, then all day Friday and Saturday. These folks man the back gate to greet teams and help them with check-in, Hayes said. Call the city at 620-793-4111.
Tourism a big deal
Kansas National Travel and Tourism Week runs May 1-7, and Great Bend Community Coordinator/Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Christina Hayes said in her report to the City Council Monday night that it is good to celebrate those who visit the state.
“Our visitors are so important,” Hayes said. “Tourism brings economic development, state pride, jobs and quality of life to Kansas. It’s a vital tool for communities big and small.”
In 2020, the tourism industry in Kansas generated 31.4 million visitors to Kansas which equaled $5.4 billion spent by visitors in the state, she said. Of that, 16 cents of each visitor dollar spent was spent at retail stores.
“So I think that’s important to note,” she said. Each Kansas household would have to be taxed an additional $520 To replace the tax revenue generated by tourism.
Other statistics include:
• Tourists supported 53,442 jobs.
• A traveler is worth $173 per day to Kansas.
• Overnight visitors represent 40% of all visits to the state, and account for 75% of the spending.
• Leisure travel represents 67% of all visitor spending, with business travel accounting for the rest.
Hayes gave an example of this impact based on a youth basketball team coming for a two-day tournament with 15 players, two coaches and 37 attendees. That amounts to 50 hotel room nights totaling about $5,000, and daily spending per person (meals, souvenirs, snacks and other expenses) totaling about $3,700.
“So the total direct spending is about $8,700 in our community for just one team,” Hayes said. “I think that’s important to just show you the numbers. Tourism is extremely important.”
