After much discussion over income potential of the Great Bend Convention Center and what some Great Bend City Council members called the dismal maintenance of the facility by Highland Hotel management, the council voted Monday night to form a committee to look at the center’s short-, medium- and long-term fate.
Many at the council meeting Monday night at City Hall feel the center’s condition is an embarrassment to the community and cited complaints of uncleanliness.
The committee, which could include most of the City Council and Great Bend Convention and Visitors Bureau Board, and representatives from the community will meet at a date to be determined later. But, for now, the only action will be to have the city assume responsibility for policing the center before and after events.
“What we’re doing right now is not working,” council member Randy Myers said. He advocated the city taking over day-to-day operations of the center immediately instead of allowing hotel management to handle them.
Last August, Ambika Enterprises, a partnership between husband and wife Tejal and Amarish Patel of Concordia, and an uncle, Ishwar Patel of Vancouver, Canada, bought the hotel portion. The family, which already operates smaller hotels in Concordia and Beatrice, Neb., officially took over the hotel portion of the Highland Complex on Aug. 23.
In June, the council approved utilizing $500,000 donated by an anonymous group of local residents to purchase the convention center.  
The Patels told the council earlier they were in the process of making renovations. But, they are concerned about what the city plans to do.
City Administrator Howard Partington said the center project could be broken down into three pieces – the next six months, the construction phase from January through July 2013 and the actual operation of the center after that. But, any action is up to the council.
Council member Dana Dawson said he recently visited the hotel portion and saw some of the renovations the Petels were making. “It’s not up to the standards we would want.”
“We wanted it to be a working relationship with both,” council member Allene Owen said. “I know they have a plan.”
But, it is a strange situation, she said. Both the hotel ownership and the city are sort of waiting on each other to make the next move.
Convention business accounts for about 23 percent of the total center business, with community events (weddings, dances, etc.) making up 77 percent. The CVB has 450 state associations in a data base, but not all of those groups could be accommodated in the center.
This caused council member Dale Westoff to wonder if a $1 million remodeling could ever be paid for. “We don’t want to have to raise the mill levy to pay for the Convention Center.”
There are also guest tax and sales tax revenues, but the center could wind up being subsidized by the city in some manner.
“The convention business just isn’t what it used to be,” said CVB Executive Director Cris Collier. In the past decade, the Internet and webinars have replaced some conventions, some groups have stopped their annual meetings and other groups have consolidated theirs.
Last year, she said, the guest tax brought $213,000 into Great Bend. Of that, $21-32,000 was from conventions.
Having to remain neutral and market all facilities in the city, she said the bureau has not been actively marketing the center. As is, it is not of a high enough caliber to lure high-end groups.
And, she has to be careful how Great Bend is represented to any organization so its reputation remains intact.
Perhaps, she said, it could be promoted locally first. But, again, the city wouldn’t want to be embarrassed.
Loren Unruh, CVB president, recommended holding off on making any changes until concrete plans are in place. “Between now and the end of the year (when construction could begin), don’t spend any money.”
He still feels the Highland Hotel is not convention worthy.
Collier said the hotel owners are making improvements and in their eyes, these are significant ones. But, these may not mesh with council expectations.
An architect still has to be selected and a budget has to be set. An existing committee is already looking into the architect question.
 The council is looking at several management options. These range from the status quo of having the Highland owners manage the center to having the city handle everything from booking to food service.
As another twist, council member Mitch Haney asked if the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s inclusion of Great Bend on a list of possible sites for its headquarters factored into the Convention Center equation.
All Partington would say was that he and Jan Peters, president and chief executive officer of the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce, have an existing building in mind to propose to the KDA “and we don’t have to buy it.”
“They are looking for a creative solution,” Peters said. “We think we have the most creative solution.”
The Kansas Department of Agriculture’s lease in the Mills Building in Topeka expires Sept. 30, 2013. It announced in June it is soliciting bids for office space in Topeka, Manhattan and Great Bend, Garden City and/or Dodge City.
 The department has some 172 employees in its Topeka office and would like to have the new space ready for moving in on Oct. 1, 2013.
 According to a legal notice submitted by the KDA and published in the Tribune Sunday, June 17, the department is seeking a facility with 5,000 to 45,000 square feet of office space in Great Bend that meets Americans with Disabilities guidelines.
The KDA is looking for at least a five-year lease. The deadline for responses is July 15, 2012.
Peters said Great Bend would like at least some of those jobs to come here.
In other business, the council:
• Approved abatements at 409 and 413 Elm St. owned by Rogelio Nava for accumulation of refuse, and 422 Walnut St. owned by Bradley Colson for motor vehicle nuisance.
• Approved an ice cream vendor’s license for Frosty Treats of Texas which operates a traveling ice cream truck.
•  Rescheduled the council’s budget work session from July 11 to 6 p.m. July 30 at City Hall.
• Heard an economic development report from Jan Peters, president and chief executive officer of the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce. She said she is continuing to work with two strong prospects who want to get going in Great Bend as soon as possible. Also, the owner of the Comfort Inn hotel in Great Bend has bought the former convenience store at 1305 K-96 and has some great ideas for the location. Plans for the Eagle Express have been forwarded to City Inspector Lee Schneider.
 • Approved allowing Mayor Mike Allison to sign contracts with engineers Burns and McDonnell and construction company APAC for work on the new apron at the Great Bend Municipal Airport, and to sign the paper work to accept a federal grant to help fund the project.
The $3.04 million project covers the 33,000 square yards of concrete apron adjacent to the terminal building. The cost includes engineering and construction. The Federal Aviation Administration grant would cover 90 percent of that total. But, the signing of any contracts is contingent on the availability of the federal dollars, said Airport Manager Martin Miller.
A local bidder, Venture Corporation, was not the low bidder and Miller said that in order to qualify for the grant, the lowest bid had to be accepted.