Council continues housing development effort
BY DALE HOGG
dhogg@gbtribune.com
Taking the next step to lure more housing to town, the Great Bend City Council Monday night authorized city personnel to submit a housing study to the Kansas Department of Commerce as part of the Rural Housing Incentive District effort.
Local freelance writer Maggie Lee has been working on the study, needed prior to passage of a resolution to petition the KDOC to create the district. The study is close to being complete, City Administrator Howard Partington said.
After KDOC approves the study, city staff will bring to a future council meeting a resolution that would petition KDOC for the creation of the RHID.
The study quantifies the need for housing at different levels and types, verifies there is a shortage and that the shortage is detrimental to the community’s growth.
This is a program through the KCOC designed to aid developers to build housing by assisting in the financing of public improvements via tax credits. 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.
“This is one of their more successful programs,” Partington said of the KDOC and the incentive districts.
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 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.
Partington said housing was identified by the council as one of its top economic development priorities.
Incidentally, he said, Kansas Commerce Secretary Pat George was in Great Bend Monday and city officials had an opportunity to give him a tour of the community. George is the one who ultimately signs of on the RHID proposals.
Things are looking better for the MyTown project which will enter into its fifth year of trying to fill vacant downtown Great Bend storefronts come November, but money is still a little tight, MyTown Board member Sheryl Cheely told the City Council Monday night.
She came before the council to request an extension for the organization to repay its $330,000 loan, a request unanimously approved.
The project and city involvement dates back to 2009. In that year, Mytown borrowed the $330,000 from the city for 10 years at 4 percent interest, with plays of paying interest only for the first five years and principle plus interest for the next five, said City Administrator Howard Partington.
It paid $1,100 per month through May of this year. Since June, it has paid $2,000, principle and interest.
However, according to the original agreement, the organization was scheduled to start making $6,077.45 payments beginning in June. “Our financials get better each year, but we are not at the point where we can make $6,000 payments,” Cheely said.
Over the past three years, MyTown has steadily increased its net income, she said. In 2010, its net loss was $371,800, in 2011, the loss was $360,941, and in 2013, the loss was $31,539.
“The recession didn’t help us any,” she said. None the less, “we did extremely well this year.”
Under the extension, the monthly payments will be $2,000 through May 2014, and increase $250 each year after that, Partington said. They will max out at $4,500 in 2023-24 when the loan will be repaid.
“We are still making changes,” she said. MyTown opened seven stores and now manages four – Renue Salon, Miss Pretty Pickles, Heart of Kansas and Perks Coffee Shop.
It has lease arrangements with the operators of Gambinos Pizza (formerly Mytown’s Treaders Deli), Yours Truly (formerly Mainstream Boutique) and The Craft Coop (formerly R.B. Tellers).
“These changes were only made after replacement businesses were found,” Cheely said. “As you know, one of our goals was to have a vibrant downtown, with the storefronts full of merchandise and people strolling the sidewalks enjoying the experience of shopping in Great Bend. We feel great strides have been made win this area with MyTown’s help.”
She also said MyTown helped play a role in getting the new Cinema 6 movie theater downtown and helped promote the idea of the bronze sculptures.
There is still a to-do list, she said. They would like to see loft apartments downtown, an up-scale restaurant above Renue and the renovation and use of the Zarah Mall corner at Main and Lakin.
Housed the former Zarah Hotel building, the MyTown Project’s started when a few local businessmen started thinking of how to revitalize downtown Great Bend. The concept has undergone some changes from its original idea of opening different stores with some shared management.
In other business, the council:
• Accepted the low bid from Suchy Construction for $12,877.20 for the improvements to the Veterans Memorial Park Walking Path. City Engineer Robert Winiecke said $5,000 from Barbara Bushnell Trust will be used on this project.
The stretch includes 588 feet of six-foot-wide sidewalk at the northwest corner of the trail and it will be the second piece of the path to be redone this year. There are two or three more segments to be tackled.
• As it has in years past, the council approved request from the First Church of the Nazarene at 4811 Broadway to close Sherman Street between K-96 and Broadway from 4-10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, from 3-10:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27.
• Approved the Snow Removal Policy that was reviewed at the previous council meeting. The only change was the date. It prioritizes what streets get cleared first.
• Approved a tree trimmers license for Get A Switch Tree Service of Hays.
• Heard Great Bend Chamber of Commerce President Jan Peters’ economic development report. She said the Big Bend Bike Rally and accompanying motocross event were both successful, and thanked all those who helped, especially city personnel. She also said there may be some changes in the works at CPI Qualified Plan Consultants.
• Heard an update on the activities of city departments from Partington.
