By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
A somewhat unexpected expense was presented to the Great Bend City Council Monday night during their budget session. An $8.8 million project to build a new police station and municipal court is nearing completion. Once the construction is finished, who is going to keep the building clean?
To account
for cleaning the Justice Center being built at the intersection of 12th
Street and Baker Avenue, the City of Great Bend has added money for a custodian
to clean the approximately 20,000 square-foot facility. City Administrator
Brandon Anderson said the city is budgeting $55,000 for salary and benefits for
a fulltime custodian.
"I think we're budgeting for a worst case scenario," said Anderson. "We're jumping into an ocean that we don't know exactly what we're dealing with right now. The plan within this budget is to plan for the fulltime position. If we don't end up needing it, that's a plus."
The Justice Center will be used 24 hours a day and will hold court on Monday
and Thursday. The custodian will be under the direction of Police Chief Steve
Haulmark and will be trained by Claudia, the current custodian. Claudia cleans
City Hall, the Front Door and the current police station.
The city council will take a tour of the new Justice Center July 17 to get a better feel for the needs and size of the facility.