By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
The Great Bend City Council took the first step Monday in creating a STAR Bond project for improvements at the Great Bend Expo Complex and proposed hotel and restaurants at 3017 10th Street. The council approved an ordinance establishing the district, or the geographical boundaries of project.
Focused primarily on the dragstrip and fairgrounds, the project calls for increased seating, livestock arena, banquet hall with four multi-purpose courts for sporting events, amphitheater and rodeo grounds improvements.
Great Bend City Administrator Logan Burns said establishing the district is just the first of many steps in working with the State of Kansas for the STAR Bond.
"Next there will be a feasibility study done by the State of Kansas," said Burns. "That will give us a better understanding to explore the financials and STAR Bond sizing. From there, we will do the project plan of creation where we'll get into all the specifics and funding. At that point, we'll go to the state for approval."
STAR stands for Sales Tax and Revenue, where the bonds are repaid through the increased sales tax revenue generated by the development. There are no additional taxes charged to residents.
Troy Miller, Barton County Fair Association board member, said there are many unknowns with the project as far as how it impacts hosting the fair.
"The Fair Board owns the Expo III building," said Miller. "We would definitely need to be a part of the planning before we would be willing to let go of Expo III to make sure this is going to work. We want to make sure we have a building."
The council reassured Miller that the Fair Board will be involved in future talks.
"It's exciting to see some great new things going on, but there are a lot of unanswered variables that need to be discussed," added Miller. "We would like to be a part of that."
The plans for the project and cost are not set until approved by the state. The Legends area near Kansas City and Boot Hill Casino in Dodge City are examples of STAR Bond projects.