By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
There are park improvement plans all over Great Bend right now. A major
overhaul to the south side of Brit Spaugh Park is moving forward. Upgrades to
Heizer Park have been discussed for more than two years. The Great Bend Kiwanis
Club is interested in sprucing up the By-Pass Park on the east side
of town but needs financial assistance to make it happen.
Discussing the By-Pass Park at last month’s work session, the Great Bend City
Council might be looking for some cost cutting on the project after receiving a
design for the remodel come in at $686,500. The plan calls for a restroom,
parking lot, playground equipment, new basketball court and park benches.
City Council member Lindsey Krom-Craven said the Kiwanis plan might need to be
scaled down.
"They wanted the bigger, better pictures," said Krom-Craven. "They wanted more, more and more versus let's make a nice park...we don't have to have fancy. If we're ever going to assist with these other agencies, we have to tell them we'll help get you a nice park, but we're not going to put in all this fancy."
The Kiwanis Club has roughly $30,000 saved for the project. The Robert and
Patricia Schmidt Foundation gifted Kiwanis an additional $50,000 to assist with
the improvements.
Great Bend has the .15% quality of life sales tax that could allocate funds to
the By-Pass Park, but the council made no indication on their level of support.
