Highlights from the Great Bend City Council meeting on May 7, 2018…

– Interim City Administrator George Kolb notified the Council that the operating hours at the Front Door on 10th Street will change to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. beginning June 1, 2018. The previous hours of 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. were not worth the cost to stay open the extra hour.

– Kolb also noted that the City of Great Bend and their departments will not be switching to the 800 mH radio system quite yet. The Barton County Sheriff’s Office recently announced their switch to the more efficient system, but Kolb says infrastructure is not where it needs to be for it to make sense for the city to switch right now and will remain with the 400 mH devices.

– The City has offered the Network Director position twice, but both candidates have declined the offer to handle the City’s computer and technology needs.

– The City Council will meet in executive session on May 21 following the regularly scheduled meeting at 6 p.m. to discuss semifinalists for the City Administrator’s position.

– Great Bend Chamber of Commerce CEO Jan Peters says there are a couple of prospects that are interested in the old JCPenney building in Great Bend, but they are still in talks.

– The City Council approved a bid from Kustom Floor Designs for roughly $99,000 to replace the carpet at the Great Bend Events Center. The carpet will be installed in August. The other bids came from Sutherlands ($119,000) and Millers of Claflin ($117,000).

– More safety improvements to railroad crossings were approved to install a crossing signal, flashing light straight post type gates at the Lakin Avenue, Forest Avenue, and Grant Street crossings. The improvements will be paid for by the Kansas Department of Transportation through federal money.

– City Clerk Shawna Schafer reminded the Council that the filing deadline to the November election is noon on June 1, 2018. Council members Vicki Berryman, Cory Zimmerman, Joel Jackson, and Brock McPherson are up for reelection in 2018.

– The Council moved forward with setting a public hearing date for an unsafe structure at 819 Adams Street. The owner will have until June 18, 2018 to continue to clean it up and make it safe before the Council votes on demolishing the structure.