The nomination forms for the Home for the Holiday parade grand marshal are now available, said Christina Hayes, community coordinator and Convention and Visitors Bureau director. She was addressing the City Council in her update Tuesday night.
“This is the first time we’ve ever done this,” she said. “But we are we have an official form now. “If you have anyone you know of that would be a great grand marshal, that is officially out.”
The simple one-page forms are available on the city’s website greatbendks.net under the “Living In” tab and “Events.” One can just scroll down and find a link to the PDF.
Nominees must: live in Great Bend; be in good standing in the community; have displayed outstanding service, support and commitment to the community, county, state and/or country; and be at least 21 years of age.
The nominations are due by March 31. They can be sent to Hayes at chayes@greatbendks.net.
City seeks summer help
It may be cold, but the City of Great Bend is thinking about summer and filling numerous seasonal jobs, City Administrator Kendal Francis said, speaking to the City Council Tuesday night.
“I just want to make people aware that we have several openings throughout the city,” he said. “It’s kind of the time to start looking for part-time and seasonal help.”
These include life guarding, maintenance and mowing, he said.
Those interested should contact the city at 620-793-4111.
Automated water meters plan progressing
The project to move the City of Great Bend’s water system over to an automated meter reading system is still in the works, City Administrator Kendal Francis told the City Council during his report Tuesday night.
“We are still trying to move forward in the process,” Francis said. “We have we have submitted the system specifications and the bid specifications to the Kansas Department Health and Environment as required. We are waiting on their approval of those specifications.”
Once they receive those, they would be prepared to put that project out to bid, he said, stressing there’s no commitment on the city’s part at that point. But “we would be able to bring accurate pricing to back to the council.”
and I know that there are still some questions about the whole system and but I think that would be the good opportunity to to then probably have a work session to kind of discuss that project. In more detail to see. And that’s all I have.
They are looking at an AMR (automated meter reading) system, Francis said. Radio signals are picked up by city personnel driving through a neighborhood.
Another option is an AMI (automated meter infrastructure), These are fixed-base and don’t require the drive-by readings, but they are more expensive and provide much more data than the city needs, Francis said.
The idea is to improve long-running problems with timely and accurate meter readings. Staffing issues and aging infrastructure have made the timely and accurate reading of the city’s water meters an issue.
Last June, the council voted to move forward with the city’s application for a $2.2 million Kansas Public Water Supply Loan Fund for the installation of the system and to seek bids for the project.
This may not be necessary. The city could also tap COVID-19 recovery stimulus American Rescue Plan funding.
And, just because the loan is for $2.2 million doesn’t mean the city has to accept the full amount.
