Work is expected to begin next week on the demolition of an old building downtown.
The original deadline for demolition of the old Trading Post building at 1315 Williams was July 29 and that was extended to Sept. 1; however, out-of-town work by the contractor had slowed progress.
The demolition is supposed to begin soon, the Great Bend City Council was told Tuesday night.
The owner of the building, Larry Sloan, explained that the gas line into the building has been disconnected, the building has been emptied and other preparations are being made to be ready for the demolition of the unsafe structure.
While there are no plans to close Williams Street, the council was told that there will be controls to keep pedestrians away from the work site.
Much of the work will have to be done by hand, because of the other, nearby buildings.
And Sloan told the council that he realizes he will also be responsible for weatherproofing the exterior of the dance studio building to the north of his property, once the building is down.
Building Inspector Lee Schneider reported earlier that the structure was studied by a structural engineer in 2008 and it was determined that it was unsafe and presented a danger.