By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Building plans continue for the city of Ellinwood. City Administrator Chris Komarek attended Wednesday's Barton County Commission meeting to ask for funds to assist with some of the material costs associated with utilities to the new hospital and a new proposed housing development. The commission agreed to give the city $300,000 for the two projects.
"The hospital, I think, is getting some pretty good news in the last week or two," Komarek told the commission. "They're intending to break ground by November. That'll be where we start. The housing is obviously our next big priority project. The downtown sidewalk thing, we'll be waiting on that grant. It will still be a year and a half out before we can even start that. So we're looking at these two projects."
The city is planning for the construction of a new $22 million hospital facility on the west side of town, and a housing development in the northwest corner of the city. Using land acquired years ago, Komarek said the city is hoping for at least 14 lots.
Komarek said material goods for the two projects would cost approximately $536,000. That includes 6,200 feet of water main, 5,600 feet of sewer main, 17 manhole covers, and 1,100 feet of stormwater pipe. He said the city can save money by doing the contract work itself.
"These are just material costs we have," he said. "This is just pipe, manholes, valves, things of that nature. All this material I'm talking about here will all be installed by city employees. We do all the work ourselves. We don't hire contractors. That's just a huge expense. I have great employees, they have great talent, we can do this ourselves."
Commissioner Kirby Krier said he was in favor of the hospital and housing projects, but not the sidewalk project. The commission voted 4-0 to approve the allocation of the funds.
"I like project one and project two," he said. "Project one the hospital, project two the housing. I think the money you receive could all be spent on those two projects. I don't want to set precedent showing we are giving money out for maintenance. I look at the other project as maintenance rather than a new project. I want the new hospital and new housing that will add infrastructure into our communities."
Commissioners commended Komarek and the city of Ellinwood employees for cutting costs by handling construction work themselves. The $300,000 awarded to the city will come from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) federal COVID-19 relief funds, not property taxes.
Komarek said work still needs to be done on grants for the sidewalk project and the replacement of a 114-year-old water main in downtown Ellinwood. That project would not impact the Underground Tunnels at the Wolf Hotel.