By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
One of the most highly trafficked facilities that the Great Bend
Recreation Commission maintains is the City Auditorium. The gym hosts
basketball games, indoor soccer, pickleball, Santa’s Workshop, concerts and
many other events. At Monday’s GBRC Board meeting, Director Chris Umphres
mentioned that it has been 30 to 40 years since the City Auditorium has been
fully painted.
"We've done some where you can reach by hand," said Umphres. "You can see, up higher, the dirt and air flow and chipped painting. Even the colors...we've spent time and energy on marketing the colors. Right now, the light blues are not our colors. There's a way to show that we're trying to maintain what we have."
The board took a tour of the auditorium on Monday where Umphres showed the
group areas where paint has chipped away and different eyesores.
GBRC did
receive a bid to repaint the entire auditorium for just under $75,000. Working
on a rate of $170 per hour, the contractor mentioned the price could be much less than
that, but trying to calculate the exact price is difficult.
"It's a tough job," said Umphres. "You're going to have to get a lift, there's some high stuff, tape off. Not a lot of people want to actually do the job. Nobody knew how to bid it. How do you know how long it's going to take to paint a city auditorium?"
The contractor’s estimation was the project would take nine weeks to complete.
The Great Bend Rec Board approved a motion to accept the painting bid with a
purchasing authorization not to exceed $60,000.