Restrooms and other improvements to Heizer Park are on the Great Bend City Council agenda for the meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, July 15, at City Hall. The park is located between Seventh and Eight Street on Heizer Street in the southeast part of town.
The improvement project will utilize a $161,260 grant from the Land & Water Conservation Fund. The previous city administrator, Kendal Francis, applied for this grant in 2022 and it was awarded in October 2022. The grant requires a local city match of $200,000. According to the agenda materials, the city plans to use the remaining funds from the Langrehr Field bathrooms of $85,000 and the City set aside $100,000 in 2023 in end-of-year transfers. This leaves approximately $15,000 to transfer to utilize the grant.
City staff put together a scope project after a conceptual estimate projected an over-budget project total of approximately $3 million.
The administration is recommending the council approve the following bids:
• $128,750 from Musco for a mini-pitch double pitch system
•$43,450 from Ramirez Construction for a 79 by 88 foot slab
• $26,880.50 from Superior Sprinklers LLC for the irrigation of the park
• $94,093 from CXT Restrooms for the Cortz model
The project also includes new basketball goals, new sand volleyball net, fencing and netting behind a new soccer field.
Heizer Park’s amenities are sparse compared to other parks in Great Bend. There is a small parking lot, a shelter with picnic table and a grill, a volleyball area with posts to hold a net, soccer field and a baseball backstop. There are a couple of benches and trash cans. The most prominent feature is a modern playground with slide, climbing features, spring riders and swings.
Assistant City Administrator Logan Burns told the City Council in June that he would be bringing the bids to the July 15 meeting. At that time, councilman Alan Moeder pointed out that bathrooms previously added at Heizer Park were later removed because illegal activities were going on there. Burns suggested moving the bathrooms closer to the street and adding some security cameras.
City Council agenda
Restrooms and other improvements to Heizer Park will be discussed when the Great Bend City Council meets at 6:30 p.m. Monday, July 15, at City Hall. The meeting will be livestreamed on the City Council Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/gbcitycouncil/.
Other items on the agenda are:
• Jesus Carbajal rezoning request, 1013 Hubbard St.
• Manases Enterprises LLC rezoning request, 1620 Baker Ave.
• Tiakkon Operating LLC request to lease 9.6 acres at the north end of the Airport.
• Executive session to discuss economic development matters that include confidential financial information and trade secrets. Joining the council will be the city administrator, assistant city administrator, city attorney, Great Bend Economic Development President Sara Arnberger and Bond Counsel Dominic Eck with Gilmore Bell.
