The final plan drawings for the new Great Bend Police Station and Municipal Court building are nearly finished, City Administrator Kendal Francis told the City council Monday night.
“We’ve been meeting quite a bit here lately,” he said of city officials and GLMV Architects of Wichita. “We’ve seen the set of 70%-complete drawings for the station and we’ve tweaked those a little bit more. The architects are hoping to have the complete set of drawings by the end of this week.”
There was a meeting Tuesday and they discussed a few more minor interior changes and the shuffling of some rooms, he said. “But we’re getting very close to having kind of the draft of the of the final layout.“
The roughly $7 million, 20,000-square-foot facility will sit at 12th and Baker on what is now a city parking lot. A .10% city sales tax to help pay off the project bonds was approved in the Nov. 2 general election.
The estimated construction cost is in the neighborhood of $6.3 million, with the city having about $1.5 million set aside for the project. The bonds will fund about $5.4 million.
No construction schedule has been set, but officials are targeting the spring of next year with a 12-month construction window.
Turf project wrapping up
The installation of artificial turf on the four main ball fields at the Great Bend Sports Complex is complete, said City Administrator Kendal Francis, addressing the City Council Monday night.
The fifth field, known as Langrehr Field, “is very near completion,” he said. Project contractor Hellas Construction, Austin, Texas, can’t install turf if it’s below 50 degrees, so that has slowed progress over the past few days.
“But they are constructing the bullpens and the batting cage” at Langrehr, he said. “I think we’re getting very close. Sounds like the weather is going to warm back up towards the end of the week. They’ll probably be able to get quite a bit accomplished.”
City still eying Heizer Park improvements
Amid increased interest from those living in the southeast part of Great Bend, the city is working to formulate a plan and stitch together funding for improvements to Heizer Park, City Administrator Kendal Francis assured residents and the City Council Monday night.
The topic was raised by Auden Galindo, a neighborhood resident and parent who addressed the council and suggested the addition of futsal courts to the facility. With a tennis court-like surface, these are smaller than a regulation soccer field, or pitch, used for a scaled-down variation of soccer.
“We have chosen it as the most convenient spot because of where its located,” he said. The Hispanic community there is strong and many of these young athletes will never try any sport but soccer, and this is great for basic skills training.
These would be less costly to maintain than full-sized fields and would be a draw for tournaments, said Galindo, who also coaches youth soccer. “It’s very popular.
“I grew up in that area. I started playing in that park,” he said. Soccer took him to college where he competed as well.
“I’m 30 now, so it’s been 24 years and that park looks the same,” he said. He and others just don’t want the improvements to get overlooked.
“The possibility of installing those has been raised by the (Great Bend) Recreation Commission,” Francis said.
“As we do look to continue to look at improvements in Heizer, I think that’s something that we could take a serious look at,” Francis said.
Last August, the city in conjunction with the GBRC conducted a community survey regarding potential improvements of the park at Eighth and Heizer streets. That identified the four top priorities – new playground equipment, bathrooms, additional lighting for security and then picnic areas.
“There was talk about adding bathrooms out there, but I don’t think that should be the priority right now,” Galindo said. “We just need to get people out there first.”
As for funding improvements, the city had applied for a Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks grant and had hoped to hear back from KDHE by Thanksgiving whether it was approved. But, “we still don’t have a word on that,” Francis said.
Once they learn the application’s fate, the city can look at how much money is available and start laying out a phased approach to make improvements, he said.
They are looking at American Rescue Plan Act money, some funding promised through the Harms Trust, a possible small grant through the Golden Belt Community Foundation, and maybe a partnership with the Great Bend Kiwanis Club.
Wheatland Electric Cooperative Inc. announced in April that it had awarded a $1,000 Sharing Success Fund Grant to install additional lighting at the park.
It was in August of last year that Francis held a Kendal’s Koffee at Heizer Park. It was a chance to highlight the coming changes to the park in
Eco devo courting new businesses
The effort to bring new businesses to Great Bend continues, Great Bend Economic Development Inc. President Sara Hayden said in her report to the City Council Monday night.
“We do currently have four open recruiting projects right now,” she said. “Those are moving along nicely and we’re hoping that we’ll have something to report in the next six months or so.”
She cautioned that such work takes time and there are privacy concerns. “So when that is not confidential, we would love to share those projects.”
City waiting for first loft grant
Although there have no loft grants awarded, the project to bring downtown living to Great Bend continues, Great Bend Economic Development Inc. President Sara Hayden told the City Council Monday night.
The loft consulting firm Upstairs Downtown of Detroit, Mich., was in Great Bend for a workshop early last month. Present were lenders, architects, insurance and real estate professionals, city officials and other interested parties.
“It was attended by 32 people and there were a lot of great questions and a lot of great feedback. It has started a lot of really fantastic conversations on this project.”
GBED hired Upstairs Downtown to offer the free two-day event. The idea was to get the loft ball rolling.
“The group that came to town was very impressed with our downtown, with our city as a whole and was really excited to see the project,” Hayden said. “So they’ve said that they want to come back to town every year until this project is done just to see what happens with it.”
Hayden said that once money starts going out, she would share who has applied with the council.
The council in July approved spending half of the city’s $2,271,654.71 in American Rescue Plan Act funds for a downtown rehabilitation project to assist in sprinkler system installation and other improvements to downtown lofts. This allowed up to $1 million for the effort, with half coming from each of the city’s two ARPA payments (the first coming this spring and the second coming next spring).
Grants would come from these funds. These are reimbursement grants that cover up to $5.50 per square foot for renovations.
Contestants, judges sought for Entrepreneurship Challenge
This year’s Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge is set for March 8 at the Great Bend Events Center, Great Bend Economic Development Inc. President Sara Hayden said.
“We right now have 10 students signed up so we’re excited,” she said, speaking to the City Council Monday night. But, registration is still open to any Barton County high school student.
“These students create a business and they get to present it at a trade show-style presentation for the city to come watch,” she said. The projects are judged by community business mentors, and they are still looking for judges to help.
“We would just love to invite you guys to come out and get to see some of these projects too,” she said. “We had some really exciting projects last year and it’s great to see the ideas that the students come up with.”
Course to help local businesses owners planned
Great Bend Economic Development Inc. will host the Growing Rural Businesses class, an eight-week certificate program, starting Feb. 3, GBED President Sara Hayden said, addressing the City Council Monday night.
“Existing businesses are the target for this,” she said. “Think of it as kind of your mini MBA (Master of Business Administration).”
The course is taught by Wichita State University’s Center for Entrepreneurship, but it will be done locally, she said. It is a partnership made through Network Kansas, a non-profit that helps connect state businesses with resources.
“It’s been a very successful program around the state and we’re excited to bring it here,” she said.
Enrollment is limited to 25. Registration can be made on GBED website at https://www.gbedinc.com.
Downtown plaza events to return
The Friday night celebrations in the 2000 block of Forest Avenue, known as Great Bend Alive Plaza, will return next year, Great Bend Economic Development Inc. President Sara Hayden said in an update to the City Council Monday night.
The events will start April 29. Called Final Fridays on Forest, they will run on the final Friday of each month through November.
“Food vendors and entertainers who are interested can express their interest on a specific date by visiting our website,” she said. “We would of course like to encourage local restaurants that would like to come out and serve for those dates to sign up or just to reach out with questions as well.
“That is always a fun time, and we had a great turnout this year,” she said. They also received a lot of good feedback.
Workforce summit in the works
The Great Bend Economic Development Inc. Workforce Task Force has convened and is planning a workforce summit to take place in April 2022, GBED President Sara Hayden said. The exact dates will be announced soon.
“We’ve gathered feedback from the business community and from our job seekers, and then our workforce tax Task Force has then gathered all of that,” she said, giving a report to the City Council Monday night. “The plan is to bring a kind of mega-job fair/education experience to job seekers and employers.”
There will be keynote speakers, tips on resume writing and other activities to benefit those looking for work and those hiring, she said.
Additional loft grant funding available
In addition to the City of Great Bend’s downtown loft grant initiative, there is another funding opportunity available for those wishing to remodel their buildings, said Great Bend Economic Development Inc. President Sara Hayden, addressing the City Council Monday night.
“The state has also really got on board with the focus on creating downtown housing out of historic buildings,” Hayden said. So they have put forth what’s called the Historic Economic Asset Lifeline (HEAL) grant program.
It is designed to bring downtown buildings back into productive use as spaces for new or expanding businesses; housing; arts and culture; civic engagement; childcare; or entrepreneurship. The matching grants will help address emergency needs for neglected buildings and assist building owners with eligible expenses for the revitalization of historic properties.
Projects submitted must show potential as economic drivers in the community.
“That is a quick turnaround grant,” she said. The deadline is Dec. 20.
It is available for any historical building where owners want to renovate their property to add loft or commercial space, Hayden said.
Hayden said she’s happy to walk those interested through the process. “Any funds that are available to help, we want to be able to direct property owners to that because we know that these are very costly projects that will ultimately lead to exciting economic development.”
Awards will be announced Jan. 10, 2022. Eligible properties must have historical or architectural significance and be in a downtown business district in cities of less than 50,000 population.
