Three individuals addressed the Great Bend City Council on Monday during the portion of the meeting allotted for citizens’ comments. Those were followed by comments from City Councilman Gary Parr and reports from the City Administrator and the Convention and Visitors Bureau and City Public Relations directors.

Quality-of-life projects

Judy Murphy addressed the council about the quality-of-life sales tax, saying she would like community members to have more input in the projects for which those funds are used.

“I think that we (should form) a committee to address the needs that are seen by the community members and not just by the city council. Some of the things that I see needs for are after-school activities and summer hours for the zoo, and the bike trail being maintained,” she said. Murphy also noted that the ice skating rink is closing Dec. 21, two days after schools close for winter break. That leaves two weeks when school is out and kids don’t have anything to do.

“So that’s my concern. I think there should be a committee for the quality-of-life sales tax,” she said.

Dragstrip

Nick Duty, director for the West Central Region of the National Hot Rod Association, was there on behalf of the NHRA and the Sunflower Rod and Custom Association to thank the council and mayor for their support of the SRCA Dragstrip.

“(We want to) express our gratefulness for your support over, really, the last 70 years, but more specifically, the last three years as improvements have gone on at the dragstrip. We know it’s not been easy. Tracks like that don’t survive for 70 years or thrive without support from the community and, most importantly, the city. That partnership doesn’t go unnoticed; thank you,” he said.

“We are super excited about what’s coming up out there in 2026 with the track getting reopened,” Duty said. The SRCA will host the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and there will be a race on the July 4 weekend for the NHRA’s Nostalgia Heritage Series.

“For those of you that don’t know, SRCA held the very first NHRA national event in 1955, so it’s going to be a big deal for us as a sanctioning body,” he said. “We’re also going to be putting the Sunflower Rod and Custom Association into the Division 5 Hall of Fame this year for their 70 years of support overall.”

Tribune

The third speaker was Andrew Murphy from the Great Bend Tribune, recapping what he’s learned about Great Bend Economic Development and recounting a meeting with city officials. (See “Public Comment and Eco Devo Discussed,” in the Dec. 16 edition of the Tribune.) His comments are reprinted on the opinion page of the Dec. 18 Tribune.

Parr’s concerns about Eco Devo

Councilmembers are also given time to speak at this point in the meeting. Councilman Gary Parr had comments:

“Well, you’d have to be living in a cave to not know what’s going on in the outcry from the city right now about exactly what Andrew is talking about. There’s a great many questions that haven’t been answered. Two weeks ago, I asked a whole bunch of those to Jason (Kuilan, who became the executive director of GBED at the end of October), and he’s not responsible because he hasn’t been here long enough. I wish somebody from GBED would come forward and answer the questions that the people are screaming about. ... They’re upset. They’re mad. They see what’s going on: We’ve got a building out there half finished with the roof blowing around on it, with the front entrance wide open on it, and we’re short about $4 million to finish the project, from what I’m hearing. And that’s not what I heard in October and November of last year. So things have changed considerably, and the people are crying out for some answers. ...”

His questions included: “Why is this going on? How did this happen? What are we going to do to correct it? What is our money being spent on? Why wasn’t this being watched over? With the money that we’re handing over, why isn’t somebody from the City Council sitting on that board?”

City Administrator Report

City Administrator Logan Burns gave an update on what is happening within the City of Great Bend organization.

At the Great Bend Fire Department, Pat Nemec has been promoted to captain and Skyler Edwards has been promoted to lieutenant.

Mike Smith at the fire department, along with Public Relations Director Addie Crites, took drone pictures last week of the Christmas lights downtown, at the zoo and around town.

The City’s annual service award luncheon was set for Wednesday. “Thirteen employees have hit milestone status  – 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years, all the way up to 45 years. That goes to Laurie Bard of public works; She’s been here a long time, but we’re thankful we get to celebrate all our employees.”

Concerning the dragstrip, Burns said concrete paving contractor Emery Sapp conducted their test batch of concrete last week and planned to do a hand-pour at the end of the track on Wednesday. For the rest of the week, they anticipate wind gusts up to 50 mph, “and then the temperatures are starting to get pretty low. So, likely this will probably be the only pour that we do this year. They’ll come back, probably in February or no later than March 1 to continue that.”

Asked if the crew would use blankets on the concrete, Burns answered, “They are doing the blankets on this one pour. We’re not having to pay for that.”

Ask to comment on the progress of the project, he answered, “I think the critical path at this point is the tower. I’m not necessarily worried about the paving of the track.”  If there is a window of weather in February for paving, he said, “I think we’ll be in good shape. I think the biggest thing right now is going to be the tower.”

CVB and Public Relations reports

There were also reports from Convention and Visitor Bureau Director Amanda Gaddis and Public Relations Director Addison Crites.

Gaddis said she and Crites are working on promotional ideas for the city. “If you’ve been to the movies lately, you’ve seen a ‘Great People, Great Places, Great Bend’ (video).” They hope to update that video.

She submitted the 2024 economic impact report for visitors in Barton County, which shows:

• $53.5 million in visitor spending in 2024;

• 677 total jobs supported through tourism;

• $5.5 million in state and local taxes because of visitors.

Crites repeated her recap of the Home for the Holidays event on Nov. 29 (see “Christmas on Parade: Saturday event well-attended,” in the Dec. 2 Tribune). The noted that 82 people came to Santas Around the World that night  and 76 people rode the Dolly Trolley to see the Trail of Lights. More than 1,000 vehicles have passed through the Trail of Lights welcome booth between the hours of 6 and 8 p.m. since it officially opened on Nov. 29.