Earlier this year, the Great Bend City Council approved major improvements to Heizer Park. This week, City Administrator Logan Burns announced that the grant the city first applied for in 2022 has finally been approved.
Great Bend will receive funding from the National Park Service and Kansas Wildlife and Parks for the Heizer Park Improvement Project.
“This will be an approximate $361,000 (project) with $200,000 coming from the City and $161,000 coming from the grant,” Burns told the City Council on Monday.
“The project will include two Musco mini-pitch courts, CXT bathrooms similar to what we did out at Langrehr Field Sports Complex, a 55 yard by 80 yard soccer field with new netting, improvements to the basketball court and sand volleyball courts, and shade structures.” The Barton Community College carpentry program will work with the city to provide the shade structures.
The entire park will be irrigated as well.
The deadline to complete the work is Sept. 30, 2025.
Scheduling with the subcontractors is going on now, Burns said.
One council member asked if the park would also include security cameras, which the council had called for. Burns said that is part of the project but it can’t be part of the grant, so it will be an additional cost.
City reports
News about the grant was part of Burns’ report on city news at the Dec. 16 meeting.
Burns also reported:
• A project to improve the cemetery rose garden was released for bid a second time. “We did not receive a bid the last time we did this, about three weeks ago. But we have staff reaching out to the landscapers that we spoke to previously.” Bid letting will close on Dec. 27 and Burns said they hope to bring something before the council soon. The project is from Trester Estate funds for roses in front of the mausoleum.
• Material for the battery backups for traffic signals has been delivered. Hammeke Electric will schedule the work, which is expected to start soon.
• Thanks to the city’s Network Administrator James Cell, the City was awarded a State and Local Cyber Security Grant for $24,565. This will require a $2,729 match and will be used to install fiber and backup solutions to several buildings throughout the city, starting with the police department and the zoo area. “Eventually we’ll be able to expand that to other buildings as well.”
Zoo ‘Look Books’ are at the printer
City Coordinator/Convention and Visitor’s Bureau Director Christina Hayes reported that the Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo look book project is officially at the printer. “We are so excited to have that; it’s going to look so great, and it’s going to be a piece of memorabilia and marketing for our zoo.” They will be available to purchase at the zoo.
The Zoo Look Books are photo-packed hardcover books detailing the history of the zoo.
In other CVB news, Hayes said as many as 600 people may visit Great Bend in June when the city hosts an educational session on artificial intelligence for Kansas Tourism.
Next week, the new Great Bend Visitor Guide will go to press. This item will be used for the next two years to promote the community. CVB ordered 15,000 copies.
“I want to say thanks to Great Bend Economic Development for jumping in with us on that, because now it’s not just a tourism guide,” Hayes said. “It’s also a guide for new businesses and new people to come to town.”
