It makes sense to plan for the future. The bigger the budget, the greater the need for long-term planning. It does seem, however, that a lot of people are planning all over each other this year.
The Barton County Commission has a Comprehensive Plan for “the proper growth and development of Barton County,” established in 1999 and revised in 2016.
Barton Community College last updated its Strategic Plan in 2017 and hears monthly Strategic Planning reports.
Back in 2016, Great Bend USD Superintendent Brad Reed did some planning on his own, came to the board of education with an architect and some drawings, and suggested a new bus barn on the grounds of the District Education Center was a good idea, along with remodeling the DEC itself. The school board scheduled a tour of the bus barn but then canceled that and, by the end of the year, Reed had resigned and the project was scrapped. Instead, in 2017, the board agreed it was time to choose a district architect who would look at all facilities and assist is the creation of a master plan for the coming years. A steering committee was formed and, 11 months and some 50 meetings later, a report was presented. So, when the school board approves a facilities master plan in the near future, it will have the benefit of all of that research and input.
Meanwhile, in 2018 the Barton County Young Professionals membership came to the conclusion that there needs to be a vision for where Great Bend is going. With help from the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce & Economic Development, that led to the creation of a “visioning committee” known as Great Bend - Better than Great! This group is also engaging the community and, thanks to a grant from the Harms Trust, has hired Shockey Consulting, based in Overland Park. Anyone who wants to participate is invited to a Community Vision Workshop from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 7, at the Best Western Angus Inn Courtyard, 2920 10th St. There’s also an online survey at www.gbbetter.com.
At the same time, the City of Great Bend is working with the Austin Peters Group out of Overland Park to craft a three-year strategic plan. No grant this time; your tax dollars are paying for this consultant. City Administrator Kendal Francis says, “The goal of strategic planning is to identify a vision for the city and develop a specific plan of action for achieving that vision. It is essentially a road map that guides us from where we are currently to where we aspire to be in the future. ...” This project will also include a community survey.
It is unclear how the community vision and the city strategic plan are different, but it’s clear that community members who want to share their hopes and dreams for the future Great Bend have multiple opportunities to weigh in. Leaders in government and even companies may sometimes find it beneficial to hire consultants, but creating and overseeing strategy also happens to be what those leaders are paid to do. So, once the consultants are done, it is imperative that we participants know what it all leads to.
Susan Thacker
