The Great Bend City Council on Monday approved a $55,000 contract with Bartlett & West to design the rebuild of the dragstrip. Jim Rinner, design build manager with B&W, was there to answer questions.
City Administrator Logan Burns said the plan is to break ground this year and have the dragstrip completed in time for the Spring 2026 racing season.
Flaws in the dragstrip construction in 2021 resulted in “high spots” on the racing surface and forced the Sunflower Rod and Custom Association, which manages the dragstrip, to suspend racing in 2023 and beyond. After settlement from the resulting lawsuit, the city is ready to move forward, Burns said.
“The contract in front of you provides for a lump sum design fee in the amount of $40,000 to develop schematic concept design defining project requirements coordinating with the City of Great Bend, SRCA, NHRA, along with engineers who were experts in the lawsuit, Larry Mott and Ernie Schrader, to consult during this concept development.” Burns said B&W will deliver a Project Criteria defining design, schedule, budget and performance expectations.
The contract includes another $15,000 for pre-construction services that include developing bid packages.
“We need to start design as soon as possible to be able to get the racing going for next year,” Rinner said. “We’re looking to try and get design far enough along to be able to bid, to be able to go into construction – start demolition and start all new work – just as soon as possible. Hopefully, we can be looking at sometime in May, and that will give us sufficient time to wrap things up by the end of the year and be working on the punch list in preparation of next year’s season.”
Asked if the new project will avoid the problems of the past, Rinner responded, “We’ve been able to benefit a lot from this investigation of what went wrong last time. ... My company has some great engineers, but we need to rely on other experts, too, so that’s why we’re bringing them in.”
Administrator reports
During the meeting Monday, Great Bend Fire Chief Brent Smith introduced three new firefighters, Trey Milsap, Drew Blake and Alex Rodriguez. It was also noted that work has begun on the roof at Fire Station 2.
City Administrator Burns said Public Works will soon be focusing on potholes as they emerge.
“I’m happy to say that the patches we put in approximately one or two months ago are still intact,” Burns said.
Three Great Bend Police Officers graduated from the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center last Friday, Burns continued. “So big congratulations to Tanner Ford, Kamden Kennon and Jason Amos. Jason was recognized as an honor graduate as well. They will begin their field training now for the next couple of months here.
Christina Hayes, city coordinator, noted that the 4-H State Program Rally is at the Great Bend Events Center this week (Wednesday through Friday). The Kansas Post Rock Limestone Coalition will be here next week. The Events Center has nine conferences scheduled for 2025.
At the end of the month, Jan. 25-26, the Kansas Roots Basketball League will bring 50-55 teams to Great Bend, thanks to work by the Great Bend Recreation Commission. “This is going to be first- through sixth-grade girls and boys. ... This is a huge heads up to all restaurants, the bowling alley, the zoo – all the places in town – that these kids and these families are going to be looking for things to do,” she said.
“And then another big hip, hip hooray goes to Kim Heath at Great Bend High School, because she landed the State 5A Forensics Meet for 300-plus students. That will be 35 different schools coming to Great Bend in May.”
Meeting at a glance
Here’s a quick look at other action taken at Monday’s Great Bend City Council meeting:
• Abatements were approved for property at 425 Buckeye St. and 2811 21st St. On Buckeye Street, a recliner needs to be removed from the front yard. On 21st Street, the remnants of a burned down shed need to be cleaned up.
• The council voted 5-1 to deny an application from Fuller Industries Inc. for property tax exemption. Councilman Alan Moeder voted against the motion and Councilwoman Tina Mingenback arrived at the meeting just after the vote. All other motions during the evening passed 7-0. Councilman Kevyn Soupiset was in Washington, D.C.
• The council approved a resolution authorizing the mayor and city clerk to execute a special warranty deed, a bill of sale and release of a lease to DC Real Estate Holdings LLC, the owner of Golden Belt Cinema 6, now that the industrial revenue bonds issued by the City in 2011 have been paid off.
• The council approved a bid from Marmie Chevrolet for a new DARE vehicle for the school resource officer for $55,000 and authorized upfitting the vehicle. The vehicle is a 2025 Chevrolet Tahoe Police Pursuit Vehicle. The upfitting will be done by Superior Emergency Response Vehicles in Andover for a cost not to exceed $12,000. The old DARE vehicle will become a detective vehicle. Money for this purchase comes from the State of Kansas.
