Latest news with #CommunityImprovement
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Grant could help Newton Recreation Center continue improvements
Officials at the Newton Recreation Center hope a grant will allow them to improve the growing facility. The township supervisors agreed last week to apply for the state Greenway, Trails and Recreation Program grant on behalf of the center on Newton Ransom Boulevard. The money would be used to repave and add spaces to the parking lot, renovate the outside basketball court and add exercise equipment to the trail on the grounds, board Chair Terry Purcell said. They also hope to use the money to add two pickleball courts, she said. Purcell estimates fixing the parking lot will cost $200,000, and it will cost about $50,000 to resurface the basketball courts. The supervisors agreed to apply for $250,000 in funding. Purcell said the parking lot is the board's priority, with the growing number of people using the facility. 'We want to make sure we have adequate parking because our attendance is increasing over the past couple of years,' she said. 'We want to make sure that that necessary initial work is done in the parking area, because that'll just enhance the facility all the way around.' * The playground and trail at the Newton Recreation Center pictured Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo) * The Newton Recreation Center pictured Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo) * The outside basketball court at the Newton Recreation Center Wednesday, May 28, 2025. The township supervisors agreed to apply for a grant on behalf of the center that would improve the court and parking lot. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo) * The parking lot at the Newton Recreation Center pictured Wednesday, May 28, 2025. The township supervisors agreed to apply for a grant on behalf of the center that would improve the court and parking lot. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo) Show Caption 1 of 4 The playground and trail at the Newton Recreation Center pictured Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo) Expand Purcell said they want to add pickleball courts in response to the growing interest in the sport at the center. A pickleball league plays at the center weekly. If the center receives the funds, she hopes to use them for the parking lot and basketball court projects, which could start next year. 'They are our top two priorities,' Purcell said. Constructed in 1939 as the township's school, the building has been operated by the township since the late 1990s. Municipal officials considered selling the building in 2023 but decided against doing so when a board was formed that year and began planning activities and carrying out improvements inside and outside the building. The board last year was awarded a $250,000 state Department of Community and Economic Development grant to replace the windows and make improvements to the indoor gym, and $5,000 through Lackawanna County's Community Re-Invest Program to purchase outdoor equipment. Purcell said the board is thrilled the township applied for the grant on its behalf as it will allow them to provide more opportunities for people of all ages. 'We're excited to have the opportunity open up for us so that we can start to expand on what our initial vision was,' she said.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Downtown sidewalk grant, Art & Wine Walk, and GBRC fireworks approved
Mar. 18—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.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Public hearings set for hotel incentives
Feb. 5—Two public hearings are scheduled for March 17 as the City of Great Bend hopes to offer incentives for Great Bend Lodging LLC to build a hotel and restaurant at 3017 10th St. on the vacant land next to the Great Bend Events Center. Other actions taken at Monday's City Council meeting included a major software purchase, approval of highway improvements and a change in the purchase of a new vehicle for the School Resource Office at the Great Bend Police Department. Once the Great Bend Hotel and Convention Center were a combined entity. Later, the City acquired the convention center at 3111 10th St., which is now the Great Bend Events Center. The former Highland Hotel property at 3017 10th St. sat empty until Great Bend Economic Development purchased it in 2022 and launched Project Change (see The hotel was razed and work began to find a developer for a new hotel and restaurant. Public hearing 1 On Jan. 27, the Great Bend Planning Commission reviewed the proposed project plan and adopted a resolution finding it is consistent with the comprehensive plan for the development of the City. After the public hearing, the intention is for the City Council to adopt the redevelopment project plan within the boundaries of the 10th Street Redevelopment Project. The boundaries are where the vacant land is now. This is part of the incentive package for Great Bend Lodging LLC. Public hearing 2 As part of the incentive package of Great Bend Lodging LLC, the city proposes creating a Community Improvement District (CID) and levying a CID 2% sales tax inside that district, where the hotel and restaurant would be built, to help pay for the costs of the nearly $23 million project. The portion of the project proposed to be financed with tax would generate $3.4 million over the maximum term of 22 years of the CID. "The sales tax would only be for the property ... east of the Events Center, currently vacant land," City Administrator Logan Burns said. The city council will be asked to adopt these measures on March 17 after the conclusion of the public hearing. New Finance Software purchased for City The City's finance software, which includes the general ledger, payroll, accounts payable and utility billing, is through Tyler Technologies, and Great Bend uses its product FundBalance, City Clerk/Finance Director Shawna Schafer said. "We were notified by Tyler Technologies in early November that the solution FundBalance will reach its end of life and will be retired effective Dec. 31, 2026," she said. Staff sat through three software demos with three different companies and recommended Edmunds GovTech software, based in New Jersey, as the most user-friendly. "They have a lot of features I thought would be beneficial for the City," Schafer said, adding these are features the current software does not have. "Some features will really speed up our processes." GovTech was also the most economical, at $98,778 ($59,715 one-time conversion fee and an annual fee of $39,063). The other demos were from Tyler Technologies ERP Pro Solution for $147,520 ($96,700 conversion fee and annual $50,820 fee) and Computer Information Concepts (CIC). However, CIC "never gave me a quote," Schafer said, adding she attempted to follow up with them three times. "They did say during the demo that the software is being rewritten currently and that if we switched to them, we would be doing the conversion twice, but the second time would be at no additional fee." Bryce Edmunds from GovTech attended the council meeting via Zoom to answer questions. The council approved the purchase from GovTech. The funds will come from a year-end transfer to the capital equipment fund. There was an overage in the police station sales tax money and the council has the consensus to transfer it back to the general fund to replenish a portion of the $250,000 year-end transfer to the police station fund in 2023. Highway improvements Assistant City Engineer Sreehitha Kadiyala spoke and received the council's approval of a bid from Venture Corporation for a 2024 CCLIP project for $477,328. This consists of a resurfacing project on Main Street from the bridge to 2nd Street and on Patton Road from 10th to 9th St. The City put out bids for the construction of CCLIP (City Connecting Link Improvement Program) Pavement Surfacing Improvements and Venture submitted the only bid. This is a reimbursement project; the State's participation is 90% and the City's is 10% of the cost. CCLIP is run by the Kansas Department of Transportation. SRO/DARE vehicle Last month, the council approved the purchase of a replacement vehicle for the Great Bend Police Department's School Resource Officer/Drug Abuse Resistance Education from Marmie Chevrolet for $55,000 and authorized upfitting from Superior Emergency Response Vehicle (SERV) in Andover for up to $12,000. Police Chief Steve Haulmark said he learned the approval came too late and the city had "missed the window" for that price from Marmies. "SERV said that they would sell us one for the original quoted price," Haulmark said. "I'm back here this evening asking for authorization to purchase that vehicle from SERV for the amount of $56,750 (and the upfitting for a total of $69,238)." It was approved. City Administrator Report City Administration Logan Burns gave the following report on city business at Monday's City Council meeting: —Fire Station 2 roof repair continues. Great Bend Fire Department's new pumper tanker is expected on Feb. 21 and a new ladder truck should arrive on Feb. 18. —Roofmasters is expected to have the roof at the Sports Complex done by March 1 before ball games start. —Council members were reminded to let Burns know if they want to attend the annual Chamber of Commerce Banquet or the Western Kansas Delegate trip to Washington, D.C. —The next council meeting will be Tuesday, Feb. 18, due to the 17th falling on Presidents' Day. "As part of that meeting, we'll be bringing back the decision for mud volleyball and fireworks at Party in the Park," Burns said. —The committee that makes recommendations for the Quality of Life Sales Tax has sent the updated capital improvement plan, which the council needs to look at during an upcoming work session. —John Worden, administrator of The University of Kansas Health System — Great Bend Campus, will give an economic impact study presentation at the March 3 council meeting.
