Three Great Bend City Council members were absent from Monday’s meeting. Councilman Kevyn Soupiset was also not at the meeting initially but Mayor Cody Schmidt called him on the telephone so there would be a quorum. A roll call was taken for each vote, with all items passing 5-0. One vote required at least 2/3s of the council’s approval to pass. Mayor Schmidt cast the required sixth vote in favor of adopting Ordinance 4454, establishing the Great Bend Lodging Community Improvement District.

Here’s a brief look at actions taken at the March 17 meeting:

• Payroll ending March 1 was covered in the amount of $454,238.61, and other bills to date were paid.

• A door-to-door license was approved for Shelly Burhenn, doing business as Four Soldiers Mowing LLC, Great Bend.

• A tree trimmer license was approved for Charles Roberts, doing business as Roberts Tree Service, Larned.

• The Mayor signed the concession lease with Jason Ward at the Sports Complex.

GBRC Fireworks

• The Great Bend Rec Commission received approval for a firework show at the Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt on the evening of April 5.

• Two resolutions were approved setting public hearings on May 5 to declare dangerous buildings. The mobile home at 201 Walnut was damaged by fire in June 2024 and the house at 218 Pine was damaged by fire last month.

Art & Wine Walk

• Amanda Gaddis with the Great Bend Convention and Visitors Bureau talked about the 11th annual Art & Wine Walk, set for May 2. An ordinance was adopted to allow unlicensed businesses to serve complimentary alcohol on their premises for this event.

Hotel Development Incentives

• A public hearing was held, with no objections voiced, on creating a Community Improvement District (CID) and sales tax within the district. This is part of the incentive package for Great Bend Lodging LLC, which plans to build a hotel and restaurants on 10th Street next to the Great Bend Events Center. The council then adopted Ordinance 4453, establishing the Great Bend Lodging Community Improvement District.

• A public hearing was held, with no objections voiced, on adopting a redevelopment project plan. This is another step in formalizing an incentive package for Great Bend Lodging LLC. After the hearing, the council voted 6-0 to adopt Ordinance 4454, adopting the plan.

Downtown sidewalk grant

• Assistant City Engineer Hitha Kadiyala reported on a Transportation Alternatives (TA) Grant project and the council approved the Transportation Alternative agreement with the Kansas Department of Transportation. The City applied for this program on March 1, 2024, for downtown sidewalk repair and accessibility improvements on Main Street from 10th to 17th. The project grant was awarded last October.

“Even though our eligibility should be a 20% match if the program is awarded, KDOT awarded the grant project with 100% funding with $0 city match, which includes construction engineering and preliminary engineering,” Kadiyala reported. “As the next steps for the process, KDOT requires the City to enter into a City/State agreement. We are currently in the process of selecting a consultant for this project and once the selection is made, we then have to enter into a separate three-party contract developed by the state as well.” The TA grant is a reimbursement project and funding will come from the KDOT grants fund and the quarter-cent city sales tax fund.