When Kendal Francis stepped into his office as the new Great Bend City Administrator, he was surprised to find the furnishings included filing cabinets.
“I thought those went the way of the telephone booth,” Francis commented when he spoke to the Noon Kiwanis Club last Wednesday.
“Technology-wise, we are woefully behind throughout our entire organization.”
James Cell has been hired as the city’s first networking administrator and will be tasked with bringing the city’s information technology up to date. For Francis, the addition comes none too soon.
“We were antiquated,” he said. Wednesday was his 55th day living in Great Bend and in that time, he said, “I’ve signed my name more than I have in the previous 10 years.” Modernizing the city’s IT may take two or three years, he said.
Another new addition to the administrative team is Simon Wiley, assistant director of public works. The city continues to interview candidates for an engineering tech position.
Moving forward
Francis was hired to replace longtime City Administrator Howard Partington, who resigned in 2017 during a controversy with former Police Chief Clifton Couch. When Francis came to work he told his staff, “We don’t rehash the last year and a half. Today we’re moving forward.”
There’s a lot going on, including the $6.5 million waterline project which is 80 percent complete. Francis said they hope to finish it before the end of the year. It is $600,000 under budget, even though additions have been made to the original project as areas of need have come to light.
There are also street projects including extending Eighth Street from Grant to McKinley that will carry traffic to the new Tractor Supply store coming this fall. Venture Corporation won the bid to pave the street with asphalt for $426,343.50, well below the engineer’s estimate of $680,663. Because the cost will be borne by a benefit district that includes the owner of the land along the south side of the new street, Francis noted, “The city has no out-of-pocket costs — and we get a street.”
Once the new street is done, planned improvements to the 10th and Grant Street intersection can begin that will improve turning radii and traffic signals. This will mostly be paid for by the Kansas Department of Transportation.
More developments
Francis invited the public to visit the City of Great Bend’s website, which has been redesigned to be more user-friendly, and he mentioned a Community Visioning initiative called “Great Bend: Better Than Great,” that will be launched by the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce and the Barton County Young Professionals. With a broad cross-section of the community represented, the group will develop a defined plan with action items.
Francis also fielded some questions from the Kiwanians and put one rumor to rest.
Asked if there are plans to build a Love’s convenience story near the Tractor Supply store going in near Eighth and Grant street, he said that is not true, although the City has talked to representatives from Love’s. City officials would like to entice someone to open a travel center in Great Bend, but so far haven’t found a company willing to build one here, he said.
“Nothing is happening on that front and not over there (on Eighth Street),” he said.
Great Bend has several convenience stores — including a Love’s Country Store at 1221 10th St. — but travel centers typically feature multiple truck parking spots and may include showers, laundry facilities and truck tire car centers.
Another question was whether the former Great Bend Hotel at 3017 10th St. could be abated.
In August, with the weeds growing around the empty hotel and other maintenance was left undone, City Sanitarian Austin LaViolette did ask the Great Bend City Council for an abatement on the overgrown vegetation.
“That’s all we can act on right now,” Francis said. So far the owners have completed minimal repairs to avoid an abatement on the building. “The structure itself is sound,” he said. He noted that the owners are also behind on their taxes.
