Beautification Committee Chairwoman Linda Dougherty received permission from the Great Bend City Council to continue improvements to the grounds around the Great Bend Public Library that began with donations that provided for bronze statues.
Now the committee has permission to continue with improvements that will include a new lawn.
Dougherty explained this will build on the project that began with the installation of bronze statues.
Now there will be plaques installed in the retaining wall, which will recognize the contributors for those statues.
And the project will continue with scraping and then replanting the lawn. “We have a little money, so we would like to replace the lawn,” Dougherty commented.
It is anticipated there will also need to be improvements made to the sprinkling system, so the new lawn can be kept healthy, she added.
The sidewalk in this area includes a group of “open squares” that were apparently intended for various uses years ago.
Some were used for evergreen plantings. Others had flowers at one time. They all have been susceptible to weeds and have become unsightly over the years.
The committee, with the help of the city’s Public Works Department, is going to fill the open squares in with red-colored concrete and then that will be textured to imitate brick work, Dougherty explained.
It should keep that area looking more orderly.
She said this step should make a big difference in the area. “We think it will improve the looks of the lawn.”
In other business Monday night, the council also approved plans by Max Nichols, of JoMax, for a 20-foot addition to be built on the side of an existing hangar at the Great Bend Municipal Airport.
The addition will be used for storage, City Attorney Bob Suelter reported.
And the council approved the sale of a city-owned, old warehouse structure in the 1700 block of Seventh Street to Great Bend Co-op for the appraised value of $6,100.