By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
While construction was going on this summer on the new Great Bend Justice Center, the expected move-in date for the police department and municipal court staff was sometime in September. An open house ceremony was originally scheduled for early October and then rescheduled to Oct. 20 in order for the nearly $9 million facility to be complete.
More than a month has passed since the open house and yet the police department has yet to move into their new home. City Administrator Brandon Anderson said the vestibule doors need to be fixed and there is a drainage issue on the north side of the building located at the intersection of 12th Street and Baker Avenue.
"That's the area where there's the most handicap parking to the public, so that's a concern," said Anderson. "We've had conversations back and forth. We've had an independent surveyor come in and run some points for our architect. They're trying to turn that around as soon as possible."
The City of Great Bend has worked with GLMV Architecture and McCownGordon Construction on the project.
Anderson noted getting this project completed has been itching at him for a while and they have pressed the contractor and architect to finish the final exterior punch list. Anderson was hopeful the issues would be resolved by Nov. 27.
"Obviously, all of us want to get moved in to that nice facility, but we want to make sure it's functionable before we turn it over from the contractor," said Anderson.
The 20,100-square-foot facility is mostly being paid for by the .10% sales tax increase approved in 2021.