The Crest Theatre will receive a new sound and lighting system, thanks to private donations and City of Great Bend funding. The City Council approved the purchase on Monday, while tabling a second proposed upgrade.
City Administrator Logan Burns credited Mayor Alan Moeder with leading the fundraising efforts. Including a recent Quality of Life CIP grant, $77,375 has been raised. Holding back $30,000 of that for a proposed concert in the spring, that left $47,375.
“The mayor was instrumental in securing donations for the project, bringing a new quality of life aspect back to the Crest Theatre,” he said. Upgrades will allow the historic site to become a concert venue, while continuing the Great Bend Community Theatre productions.
Bids were opened on Aug. 21 and the only bidder for the sound and lighting project was Parr Sound & Lighting, for $68,450. The council approved using the available donations plus $21,075 from the City’s contingency funds for this purpose. Councilman Gary Parr, owner of Parr Sound & Lighting, abstained.
Alternate bids were sought to add a 265-inch video wall. Again, only one bid was received. That $44,995 bid came from Satellite Pros and the price is guaranteed for 30 days. Moeder said the fundraising efforts are continuing, so the council decided to return to the subject at the Sept. 21 meeting.
“I’m still having a few people out there that haven’t committed, but they are thinking about committing (funds),” Moeder said. One individual is considering an $18,000 gift.
Concerts
Supporters had raised $30,000 for a spring concert when they learned that the current sound system at the Crest won’t work for that purpose.
“We’re hoping that each concert generates enough income that we can keep having concerts – four or five a year – in there,” Moeder said.
Parr said getting the video wall installed at the same time as the sound and lighting system would be the best option. It will take six to eight weeks for the equipment to come in for his part of the project. He also noted that other cities in Kansas have turned historic theatres into concert venues with success, among them Kingman, Hutchinson, Salina and Hays. The Crest has 550 seats, which is more than theatres in some of those cities.
“They’ve refurbished them and made them into venues; you don’t just have to do concerts in there, you can have any kind of function.” He added, “I started talking about it years ago, and I am 100% on board whether I did the project or not.”
Great Bend’s Crest Theatre is on the National Register of Historic Places.
