In other business Monday night, the Great Bend City Council:
• Adopted an ordinance authorizing and providing for the issuance of General Obligation Refunding Bonds. The initial intent was to refund both the 2004 and 2007 General Obligation Bonds that financed improvements to the city’s water system. Due to market changes, refunding of the 2007 Bond Issue was deleted.
The 2004 General Obligation Bonds did meet the criteria to be refunded and City Administrator Howard Partington said the city should move forward with that refunding. The amount of the issue is now $2,595,000, down from the bond’s original amount of $3,300,000.
The refunding will save the city, the Public Works Department in particular, about $28,000 per year.
• Approved the sale of 4.2 acres of city-owned property located west of Fire Station 2 on West 10th Street. Partington received the request from Hazmat Response Inc. of Great Bend wishing to expand by adding a warehouse and training facility, and go from 11 employees to 15 or 16. The selling price is the land’s appraised price, $147.000. This accounts for one third of the city-owned property in the area. The fire station sits on one third and the city is keeping the last third for future development. The city purchased the whole tract several years ago for $100,000.
• Authorized Mayor Mike Allison to sign the land lease agreement with Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad LLC for the 17.74 acres in the northeast portion of airport industrial area. The lease calls for $400 per month for 10 years with the option of renewing for another 10. The Kansas Oklahoma Railroad is planning to establish a trans load facility at the site and will extend its existing rail line to the property. The company hopes to break ground next spring and start operations soon after that by finding tenants.
• Authorized Mayor Mike Allison to sign the contract agreement with Venture Corporation for the 2013 residential street improvements. The work includes 12 blocks of mill and overlay and two blocks of full-depth reconstruction. City Engineer Robert Winiecke said the bid from Venture is for $303,197.60. The company will incorporate 20 percent recycled materials into the overlay, which is a common practice in low-traffic areas.
• Authorized Allison to sign the consent-to-sublease document that allows a sublease from DC Real Estate Holdings LLC. to Golden Belt Entertainment Group LLC. It was requested by DC Real Estate Holdings LLC. Dennis Call has stated that DC Real Estate Holding LLC has the same people involved as does Golden Belt Entertainment Group LLC. Partington said the changes is on paper only and won’t impact the city at all.
• Approved a cereal malt beverage license for the Bryce Moran Benefit Bull Ride Sept. 27, as requested by Community Coordinator Christina Hayes. The council also OKed the city contributing $1,000 to be a sponsor of the event. The money raised by the ride helps pay for Moran’s medical expenses following a serious motorcycle accident. This is the second year for the event which drew 450 people in 2012.
• Heard the monthly economic development update from Great Bend Chamber President/CEO Jan Peters.
• Approved abatements at: 1429 17th, owned by Pamela Jo Mai Maresch, 1207 Wilson, owned by Joan Staudinger, and 903 8th (800 Maple), owned by Village Park Inc., all for accumulation of refuse; and at 1603 Morton, owned by Sarah Schartz, for motor vehicle nuisance.
• Heard a report from Partington on the activities of city departments. He emphasized work done as a result of the recent flooding and the upcoming Party in the Park in September.
At its recent goal-setting session, the Great Bend City Council made new housing its number one priority. Monday night, it took a leap to help make that happen.
The council authorized City Administrator Howard Partington to proceed with drafting a housing study, the first step in the formation of a Rural Housing Incentive District. The study will then come before the council for approval before going to the Kansas Department of Commerce, the agency overseeing the RHID program.
“The RHID is kind of new for us,” Partington said. In fact, the whole concept has only been around for about six years.
The Housing Needs Analysis will quantify the need for housing at different levels and types, verify there is a shortage and that the shortage is detrimental to the community’s growth.
The Rural Housing Incentive Districts is a program through the Kansas Department of Commerce designed to aid developers to build housing by assisting in the financing of public improvements. RHID captures 100 percent of the incremental increase in real property taxes created by a housing development project for up to 15 years.
In order to take advantage of the incentive, property must be within a redevelopment district. Districts are defined by the city or county and must be based on the study.
RHID is authorized for any city in Kansas with a population less than 40,000 in a county with a population of less than 60,000 or for any county with a population of less than 40,000.
In June, City Administrator Howard Partington, Mayor Mike Allison and Great Bend Chamber of Commerce President Jan Peters met with a developer interested in building homes in Great Bend. This came two weeks after an effort to build an apartment complex in Great Bend fell through when the developer couldn’t get the federal tax credits they were seeking for the low- to moderate-income housing project.
In fact, the developer of that complex, Overland Properties of Kansas City, is one of two companies interested in taking part in the Great Bend RHID. The other company is ready to launch its effort once the district is in place.
Within the past couple weeks, Partington met with KDC Chief Attorney Robert North and Deputy Secretary Steve Kelly. He got more information on the process and advise on how to continue.
Dodge City has such a district in place. Partington said officials from there have helped him with Great Bend’s application.
