Great Bend Economic Development Inc. President Sara Hayden told the City Council Monday night that she has received the first application for the city’s downtown loft grant program.
Once her board reviews it, it will be announced to the council. Hayden said 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 came last spring and the second is coming in the spring of 2022).
Grants would come from these funds. These are reimbursement grants that cover up to $5.50 per square foot for renovations.
“We’re seeing some momentum with that,” she said.
Applications for state loft grants submitted
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.
These are through the Historic Economic Asset Lifeline (HEAL) grant program from the Kansas Department of Commerce.
Like the loft grants, the HEAL grant also targeted downtown properties to put them to economic use. They provide $25 per square foot of the property up to $75,000.
“We have four properties that were able to submit for this grant. The deadline was Dec. 20.”
Projects submitted had to show potential as economic drivers in the community. The matching grants will help address emergency needs for neglected buildings and assist building owners with eligible expenses for the revitalization of historic properties.
“I got to see all the applications,” she said. “There were some really strong ones, some really exciting ideas. So we’re very hopeful to see some success for our property owners on that.”
Awards will be announced Jan. 10. Eligible properties must have historical or architectural significance and be in a downtown business district in cities of less than 50,000 population.
City crews respond to snow
Great Bend Public Works Director Jason Cauley told the City Council Monday night the New Year’s Eve and Day snowstorm kept his crews busy, but it wasn’t anything they couldn’t handle.
“We were out Saturday removing that snow,” he said. But, preparations started earlier.
“On Thursday, (Dec. 30) we laid down brine (a slurry of salt and water),” Cauley said. “The brine system seems to work really well.”
This is done in advance of a storm to help keep the snow and ice from freezing to (or icing onto) the road.
Most traffic lanes remained open, but there was some drifting. Cauley’s crews started at about 5 p.m. Saturday and worked until about 2 a.m. clearing these. On Monday, they hauled off the piles of snow that remained.
“I was really proud of the work that they did,” he said.
He said the brine has to be applied before each storm.
Cauley’s team was out and working again this Thursday, again braving single-digit temperatures, to remove more snow.
Sales tax numbers looking good
The City of Great Bend received its latest sales tax disbursement at the end of December, which includes figures for October, and the numbers were promising, City Administrator Kendal Francis said, reporting to the City Council Monday night.
“I have a little bit of good news,” he said. “In 2021 we saw the highest annual collections on record. So since the inception of the sales tax (in 2008), 2021 was the highest collections we have received.”
In April, when the three new city sales taxes – for the police station, quality of life and police/fire retirement – take effect, numbers could be even higher, he said. “We can hopefully expect that to continue and receive strong revenues.”
City awaits Police Station/Court building cost
The final plan drawings for the new Great Bend Police Station and Municipal Court building were finished in December, but officials are still awaiting Wichita-based project manager McCown-Gordon Construction to develop the guaranteed maximum price, City Administrator Kendal Francis told the City council Monday night.
“We’re still waiting for McCown Gordon to provide some initial cost estimate for the police and court building now,” he said. “Fingers crossed that it’ll be here within the next week or so.”
Once the city gets that price and any final tweaks are made, the drawings will be publicly released, he said.
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, 2021, 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.
Great Bend entrance sign still a go
Great Bend City Administrator Kendal Francis reported to the City Council Monday night that the second of two new welcome signs, planned for the east entrance to town, is still on track.
The first, at the northern city limit on the west side of U.S. 281, was put in place in July 2020.
“It’s kind of been a long time coming,” he said. “We’re anticipating that to be a February installation.”
It is to be located on U.S. 56 near the Kansas Department of Transportation office. “There were some issues with the right-of-way permitting and there were some issues with the paperwork from KDOT, but we’ve got that squared away so we’re on the books to have it installed.”
Both of the signs are on federal highways and required KDOT approval.
There were no state concerns with the one on U.S. 281. But, there are plans to expand U.S. 56 to four lanes, which would impact the second sign’s placement.
Now, Francis said they are just hoping the weather will hold so the work can be done.
In December of 2019, the council approved a bid from Marks Custom Signs for a total of $38,724 ($17,122 for the north entrance. $21,102 for the east entrance, and a $500 state license fee). The east entrance costs more due to the earthwork involved.
Community Coordinator Christina Hayes stressed that funds for the signs will come from the Thelma Faye Harms Trust, and will not cost the city anything.
Judges, mentors, students sought for Entrepreneurship Challenge
This year’s Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge will take place March 8 at the Great Bend Events Center, Great Bend Economic Development Inc. President Sara Hayden said.
“We are doing the Barton County Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge again this year,” she said, speaking to the City Council Monday night. “We have eight youth businesses signed up right now and we’re looking forward to getting even more.”
These students create a business and they get to present it at a trade show-style event 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 are still looking for business mentors, judges, and of course more students,” Hayden said. “So if you are interested in being a part of it in any way we would love to hear from you.”
More information is on the GBED’s website, www.gbedinc.com.
New name, but same Friday entertainment
The Friday night celebrations in the 2000 block of Forest Avenue, known as Great Bend Alive Plaza, will return this year, Great Bend Economic Development Inc. President Sara Hayden said in an update to the City Council Monday night. The monthly events will be dubbed Final Fridays on Forest.
They will start April 29 and 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 GBED’s website www.gbedinc.com, she said. Anyone with questions can also reach out.
GBED childcare facility coming along
Great Bend Economic Development President Sara Hayden told the City Council Monday night plans for GBED’s new childcare facility are progressing. They already have the final architectural renderings.
“We are now kind of in the final logistic stages here of meeting with our last potential investors to finish up the funding,” she said. They are working with GLMV Architects of Wichita on the project.
“They’ve done a great job for us,” she said. “And with what they say, we should be on track to break ground in the summer as long as everything keeps moving as it is now.”
They have a location selected for the center, she said. The current property owner wants to keep it private for now, but the site is centrally located.
“We will announce it soon,” Hayden said.
The planning for this was done by a childcare task force under GBED. They are working closely with Garden City to duplicate successful efforts there.
The Finney County Childcare and Early Learning Network board was formed in 2019 and began work in identifying spaces that could accommodate childcare. The group has been awarded tax credits to help expand services to address long-term workforce requirements in the growing community.
Hayden’s group is developing a self-sustaining childcare center in Great Bend. This is just the start and they hope to continue with this model and establish centers in other county communities.
She said they will not compete with existing childcare providers. Instead, they want to network with them and offer assistance where needed.
Assistant, new board members join GBED
There are some new folks working with Great Bend Economic Development Inc., GBED President Sara Hayden said, reporting to the City Council Monday night.
“We are thrilled to get to announce a new executive assistant that we have hired, Selena Klempner,” she said.”She just started this week.
So we’re excited to see what we can do with the two-man crew.”
In addition, “our board has welcomed three new board members and they will be seated next week.” They are Paul Snapp, president and CEO of First Kansas Bank, Tony Szot, the plant manager at Superior Essex, and Shawn Hutchinson, the owner of Satellite Pros and a Barton County commissioner.
Workforce summit set for April
The Great Bend Economic Development Inc. Workforce Task Force is continuing its planning for a workforce summit to take place on April 20 and 27, GBED President Sara Hayden said.
“That will be a two-day event,” she said, speaking to the City Council Monday night. “The first day is education-based with education for employers also job seekers.”
The second day will consist of a job fair.
They will bring in keynote speakers who will be announced soon.
“We all know that workforce is a major obstacle,” she said, adding they want to help alleviate this. “We want to be able to provide whatever we can in the ways of education and support to be able to make that happen.”
The task force gathered feedback from the business community and from job seekers. This event sprung from those discussions.
