The first recipient of a city downtown loft grant is B&H Enterprises, which owns the old Masonic Lodge building on Lakin Avenue. They will receive $85,250 to renovate the upstairs, Great Bend Economic Development Inc. President Sara Hayden told the City Council in her report Monday night.
The owners will be presented with a ceremonial over-sized check at 11:45 a.m. Wednesday in front of the structure. The first floor houses Great Bend Coffee and Yours Truly.
“They have wonderful plans to renovate the upper floor into commercial space in the next few weeks,” Hayden said, noting this is one of the biggest properties they have downtown. “We’ll follow up with some exciting plans that they’ll reveal and loft tours so we can get everybody really excited about that.”
She said they don’t have any other applications submitted yet. They are consulting with six other property owners on their next steps. Those potential applications will be for residential spaces.
New sales taxes going into effect
The trio of new sales taxes approved by Great Bend voters go into effect on April 1, City Administrator Kendal Francis reminded the City Council Monday night.
The taxes include:
• .10%- debt service construction of a new police station with a 20-year sunset. The estimated revenue comes to $377,752 per year.
The estimated $5.8 million, 20,000-square-foot facility at 12th and Baker on what is now a city parking lot and will also house the Municipal Court.
The estimated construction cost is in the neighborhood of $7 million. The city has about $1.5 million set aside for the project and the bonds will fund the balance.
This project is currently underway and city officials are still awaiting Wichita-based project manager McCown-Gordon Construction to develop the guaranteed maximum price.
• .15% - quality of life improvements with no sunset. The estimated revenue comes to $566,628 per year.
This covers improvements to parks and other recreational facilities, as well as maintenance and city events.
The city’s Quality of Life Committee, made up of city officials and community members, is now in place. It will look at ways to utilize the revenue.
• .20% - pension for public safety personnel (police and fire) with no sunset. The estimated revenue comes to $755,504 per year.
The City Council also, Monday night, opted to use this money to fund an in-house profit-sharing-style retirement plan for the first responders.
Members of Quality of Life Committee named
In a computer-generated random selection, the six community members of the City of Great Bend’s Quality of Life Committee were picked during the City Council meeting Monday night from a pool of 24 applicants. They include 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, Francis said, 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.
Council planning joint meeting with commission
In a follow-up to their productive first-ever joint meeting with the Barton County Commission last March, the Great Bend City Council is planning another such gathering for 6 p.m. Monday, March 28, at the Events Center, 3111 10th St.
City Administrator Kendal Francis told the council Monday night that more details will be announced after he visits further with county Operations Director Matt Patzner.
Final Fridays coming to downtown
The Friday night celebrations in the 2000 block of Forest Avenue, known as Great Bend Alive Plaza, are getting closer, 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 seeking more childcare funding
Great Bend Economic Development President Sara Hayden told the City Council Monday night plans for GBED’s new childcare facility continue to progress.
“We are seeking more funding opportunities,” she said. “We have a couple other grant opportunities that we are pursuing this month and are hopeful to be finalizing that process soon.”
They have finalized architectural drawing and are working with GLMV Architects of Wichita on the project.
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.
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.
GBED seeking BASE grant
The State of Kansas recently launched an infrastructure and development support program known as the BASE grant, which stands for building a stronger economy, said Great Bend Economic Development Inc. President Sara Hayden, addressing the City Council Monday night. GBED has applied for two of them.
“They released it in rapid fire,” she said. They only had about four weeks to submit their applications.
There were over 400 grant applications submitted for $100 million, Hayden said. She is seeking one for housing and one for master planning at the industrial park, both sizeable projects.
“We’re very hopeful to be considered for those,” she said. The recipients are expected to be announced by the end of March.
