In other business Monday night, the Great Bend City Council:
• Heard an update from Great Bend Community Coordinator Christina Hayes. The recent Back to School Sale and Stores Pay the Sales Tax Day were hugely successful, she said. And, last Thursday, although attendance at the outdoor movie “Singing in the Rain” was hurt by the threat of rain, Hayes said the Summer Street Stroll and Great Bend Tribune ice cream social drew large crowds.
There is one more outdoor movie set for Sept. 12 (this is the second rather than the third Thursday). The film will have a sports theme.
Hayes also talked about the upcoming Melting Pot Month in September and the city’s Party in the Park Sept. 21
• Approved abatements at: 720 Morphy, owned by Quincy Stahl, for a motor-vehicle nuisance; and 2525 16th, owned by Joseph Peschka Jr., for a motor-vehicle nuisance.
• Approved a cereal-malt beverage license for Johnson’s Smokehouse BBQ, 1624 10th in Great Bend.
• Approved the 2014 Budget Ordinance and the 2014 Tax Revenue Ordinance. The total budget comes to $4,330,213 on a mill levy of 45.247. The mill rate is going up one mill due mostly to improvements to the Great Bend Public Library and an effort to rebuild cash reserves.
• Approved the Standard Traffic Ordinance and the Uniform Public Offense Code Ordinance. These are routine matters done annually at the start of the fiscal year.
• Heard an update on city activities from City Administrator Howard Partington.
Citing maintenance and liability concerns, it was the consensus of the Great Bend City Council Monday night not to accept an offer from Concrete Services President Roy Westoff to donate property on Second Street to the city.
Great Bend attorney Jim McVay, representing Concrete Services, said Westhoff was wishing to donate property at 1701 Second St. to the city in an attempt to settle a law suit filed by area residents involving the lot and the alleged dust blowing from it. During negotiations, the plaintiffs said they would drop the suit if the land was given the city.
“It’s a good piece of property,” McVay said. It sits next to the flood control levy and could provide access to the hike-bike trail and there are a lot of children who live in the area.
But, “do we have any liability?” said council member Dana Dawson said. He referred to past uses for the land by Concrete Services which washed out its trucks at the site.
McVay assured the council that the Kansas Department of Health and Environment had inspected the land and there were no environmental issues.
Even if the ground was seeded with grass by Concrete Services and the company had an environmental assessment performed, there was little interest in taking on the responsibility. But, before anyone goes to all this work, “what is the benefit to the city as a whole?” said council member Wayne Henneke.
Then there was the matter of taking care of the land. “The city staff is pretty stretched,” said council member Allene Owen. “It is a nice-sized piece of property and it will have to be maintained. Can we handle that?”
“I don’t know what we would do with this property,” said City Administrator Howard Partington. The city doesn’t need a park there and it would have to be cared for.
But, “It would be a good little park or play area,” said council member Randy Myers, adding it would have to cost a lot money to establish. He didn’t think the upkeep would be that difficult and he was told by area residents they would help with the maintenance.
It was suggested that the land be given to the area residents. McVay said that had already been discussed, noting a “legal body” not just a resident would have to be the recipient.
However, in the end, the council heeded the advice of city staff and rejected the donation. Officials said perhaps the attorneys for both sides could come to some agreement whereby nearby landowners could receive the property.
It was in April 2012 that Concrete Services submitted an application for the rezoning lots at 1701 and 1721 Second Street. The company wanted to change the zoning from commercial to light manufacturing/service commercial and a special-use permit to allow the company to operate a Redi-Mix facility at the site.
Under the permit, Concrete Services would have taken steps to lessen the dust problem, such as planting vegetation, paving the parking area and install irrigation.
For years previous, there had been complaints from residents about clouds of white dust creating a nuisance and a health risk in the area.
However, in a letter delivered to council members just prior to the April 15, 2012, meeting, Westoff notified the officials that the items were withdrawn. “Concrete Services hopes that it can come to a working arrangement with the neighbors and then reapply for the above mentioned requests,” the letter said.
The matter became an issue when residents in the area submitted petitions to block the changes. There was also a class-action lawsuit filed the residents against Concrete Services.
