In other business Monday night, the City Council:
• Approved a water line extension agreement at the request of HeartlandAg. The Grand Island, Neb.,-based company has purchased about 33 acres just north of the city limits on the west side of U.S. 281 to build a new commercial fertilizer equipment sales, parts and supply facility. HeartlandAg, which is new to Great Bend, has agreed to pay the $155,000 cost of the expansion, City Attorney Bob Suelter said.
HeartlandAg sells only to commercial fertilizer applicators, Suelter said. They expect to employ five to six people at first, but may expand to 12-14.
The company needed access to city water because Barton Community College owns all the water rights under the ground. Great Bend is only using about half of its 1.2 billion gallons in water rights, so the new line won’t be a strain on the city’s supply.
• Heard an economic development report from Great Bend Chamber of Commerce President Jan Peters. She talked about the ground breaking for American Ag Credit and the ribbon cutting for Ace Hardware. Officials with both companies said they were very impressed with the community support they’ve seen.
She also mentioned the Great Bend Farm and Ranch Expo that runs Wednesday through Friday, an event that takes her staff and an army of over 200 volunteers.
The opening ceremony is at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday and the show will stay open until 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.
In addition, she touched on the Central Kansas Job Fest set for May 1 at the Best Western Angus Inn courtyard.
• Approved a cereal-malt beverage license for Great Bend Farm and Ranch Expo Wednesday through Friday at the request of the Chamber of Commerce.
• Approved a request from Amanda Moran-Jones with the Great Bend Public Library to close Broadway between Stone and Williams streets from 4:15-4:30 p.m. June 18 for a rocketry presentation by the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center of Hutchinson. The rockets can shoot up to a 150 feet into the air, so the closing is requested for the public’s safety.
• Approved abatements at 720 Morphy, owned by Quincy Stahl, for accumulation of refuse, and at 628 Williams, owned by Yancy Feck, for accumulation of refuse.
• Approved a change in the wording to the city’s employee handbook regarding military duty. Under the change, it will be more clear that the city will resume making 401(a) payments to an employee after the employee returns from military service without requiring the employee to make up their matching contributions. The employee has the option to make up the payments over time if they so desire. The change stems from the city’s 2012 audit and brings the city in compliance with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, said Human Resource Director Terry Hoff.
• Heard a departmental update form City Administrator Howard Partington.
The make-up of the Great Bend City Council changed Monday night as it reorganized and new members took the oath of office.
Sworn in were new Council members Erika Julian representing the Ward 4 and Matt Hiss representing Ward 3. Not present for the ceremony was Vicki Berryman representing Ward 1 who had to miss the meeting due to an unexpected conflict.
They then took their seats for their first meeting. In their first official action, they helped elect Council Member Dana Dawson as the body’s new president.
Also recognized were out-going councilmen Ken Roberts of Ward 3 and Nels Lindberg of Ward 1, neither of whom had sought re-election. Randy Myers who ran an unsuccessful write-in campaign for the Ward 4 seat did not attend.
“I’ve enjoyed working with you over the years,” Mayor Mike Allison said of the pair. Roberts had served for 14 years and Lindberg for two.
“It’s been a pleasure working with both of you,” Great Bend Chamber of Commerce President Jan Peters said. She then offered her assistance to their replacements.
In an additional reorganization matter, the Council approved the list of official depositories for city funds.
