The City of Great Bend took applications for police chief through last Friday, and City Administrator Kendal Francis told the City Council Monday night that the post has garnered strong interest.
“We received 21 applications,” he said. “So we’re in the process of reviewing those and we’ll begin scheduling interviews in the near future. Once we weed through those, we will make our final selections.”
It will be up to the council to make the final decision.
Chief David Bailey announced in September that he is retiring as of Dec. 18 after 45 years of service to the city. Bailey was appointed to the position by the City Council in December 2017 following the resignation of previous chief Clifton Couch.
Damaged fence a concern
Great Bend City Councilwoman Lindsey Krom-Craven voiced concerns over the damaged fence along the west side of McKinley Lake (across the street to the east of Veterans Memorial Park). She made her comments Monday night during the City Council meeting.
“That’s something we’ve known about for quite a while,” City Administrator Kendal Francis said. “It is our belief that it’s not the city’s.”
He said they don’t know the history of the fence that has been there for decades. “So we’ve taken the position that it’s not the city’s to repair” and it would be up to the homeowners around the lake.
“So how do we find out whose responsibility it is?” Krom-Craven said.
“I have no idea whose responsibility that is,” City Attorney Bob Suelter said. “It was put in probably when that whole area was developed out there. I can’t find any proof that the city put it in. I imagine the lake owners did to keep people from fishing in there.”
The damage was caused when a car ran into the fence, Suelter said. The driver fled the scene, but authorities think they know who it was.
The car was not titled to the driver and he was uninsured, but Suelter said they are seeking a witness who claims the driver admitted to the crash. This witness is the woman who sold the car to the suspect.
“What I’m going to try to do is go back and get him charged in municipal court for driving without insurance,” he said. “So if we can prove he did it, I’ll try my best to get restitution.”
However, someone who flees from their uninsured vehicle after a crash may not be responsible enough to pay. “We will do the best we can to collect the money.”
Krom-Craven and Councilman Dana Dawson said the damage is unsightly and could be dangerous. “I think we need to pursue it in some manner,” Dawson said.
Street work progressing
The ongoing Great Bend street work is progressing, said City Administrator Kendal Francis Monday night. He was addressing the City Council in his regular departmental update.
“The street improvements are going well,” he said. Stone street north of 10th is all that is left to be completed and “that’s going to take a little bit because of the concrete work that needs to be done.”
Venture Corporation of Great Bend is handling this project.
As for the street crack sealing, work has been slowed some, he said. This is due to a delay in the materials arriving, but they should be here this week.
“I don’t have a time frame for when this will be starting, but hopefully very shortly,” he said. Nice weather should allow this to move quickly.
This is being done by Shane Suchy Construction for $67,600 as part of the city’s annual street maintenance. Included are streets in all four corners of Great Bend, covering about a quarter of the city.
Ball field lighting installation moving along
The installation of the new lights for Al Burns field at Veterans Memorial Park is nearly completed, City Administrator Kendal Francis said, while addressing the City Council Monday night.
“I think the majority of the lights are installed,” he said. But, there’s still some of the old lighting poles that need to be taken down.
However, windy conditions may prevent crews from removing these old standards this week.
This is part of a larger joint project with the Great Bend Recreation Commission to update lights on all the ball fields and tennis courts at Vets.
Grant to benefit Christmas parade
Barton County received a Kansas Health Foundation grant, and the City of Great Bend benefited from it, City Administrator Kendal Francis told the City Council Monday night. The city will be awarded $1,266 that will be applied for the Home for the Holidays Parade. “Thank you Barton County and Kansas Health Foundation, he said.
Great Bend on state eco devo radar
In her monthly report to the Great Bend City Council Monday night, Great Bend Economic Development Inc. President Sara Hayden said the city is getting some statewide attention.
“The last month has been pretty exciting for us,” she said. Great Bend had a chance to host Bill Murphy, the new Kansas Department of Commerce deputy secretary who oversees all of business development for Kansas.
He’s the one who gets to pick the projects and locations, and also helps determine which industry makes the most sense for which area. “So it was great to get him here and highlight Great Bend and put Great Bend on his radar for feature development.”
Hayden said they’ve already seen some of the fruits of that visit. “There were a couple projects that we had submitted back before I was here that we were able to address with him, and we’ve been put back in consideration for those projects. So that was an immediate win.”
She is excited to see what will continue to happen in the future.
Great Bend busy recruiting new businesses, expanding others
There is a lot happening on the economic development front in Great Bend, said Great Bend Economic Development Inc. President Sara Hayden during her monthly report to the Great Bend City Council Monday night.
“I have submitted Great Bend for two proposals that were sent down from (the Kansas Department of) Commerce,” she said. “I know these can be a little frustrating when I share them with you because I can’t give much information, but I don’t have much information either.”
What the state sends is very vague, she said. Officials just give a couple examples of features needed to qualify for the projects.
However, the first is for a manufacturer and distributor. The city can offer the amount of land needed (30 to 40 acres) and has immediate access to railroads. “We were actually narrowed down to one of 15 sites that makes sense, and that’s exciting,” she said.
The second is for a plastics manufacturer, and again Great Bend is desirable because of access to rail and air transportation. The amount of land needed may be a problem, but she is trying anyway.
Hayden and her board have also targeted a couple of companies in hopes of recruiting them to Great Bend, both small manufacturing companies that would employ 30 to 50 people. “We really feel like right now that’s our sweet spot for what we can handle with our workforce.”
One of the prospective manufacturers is located on the east coast and the other on the west coast. Great Bend can offer them more efficient shipping since most of their suppliers are already located in the Midwest, and a much better cost of living.
“I feel like we meet some of the things that would make their businesses more profitable,” Hayden said. “So I’m excited to see what we can do with that.”
Hayden said she has been working very closely with KDOC representatives on both coasts. “There are a lot of companies that are on the coasts right now that are feeling the pressure of rising costs, COVID, and are really looking to locate back into rural communities and into the Midwest. So it’s been a great relationship to work with both of them and hear any ideas they’ve got.”
Looking locally, she said there have been three businesses in town that she’s working with to get state incentives for expansions. “Hopefully we’ll be able to move forward with that, and the exciting part is that we have businesses in Great Bend that are expanding. That’s really great for the economy.”
Survey gauging opinions of young professionals
Towards the beginning of October, Great Bend Economic Development Inc. President Sara Hayden sent out a survey to young professionals. The purpose of this survey was just to ask questions on why they located to Great Bend, she told the City Council Monday night.
She also wanted to know some things they really liked about being in the community and what are some things that could be changed to make it more desirable for young professionals and their families.
“So we’re really hoping that once we look at those, we’re going to be able to get some actionable items that we can really work with to make our community more desirable,” she said.
GBED to finalize new board members
Great Bend Economic Development Inc. Board applications came to a close last Friday, and they were sent on to the City of Great Bend and the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce on Monday, said Sara Hayden, GBED president, as she addressed the City Council Monday night.
Both entities will review those and then they’ll have finalized board members in a couple weeks.
