By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
In February, the Barton County Commission approved a $4.2 million courthouse renovation centered on the building's heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. Since then, the county leased two properties in Great Bend to house county employees during the project. Wednesday morning, Commission Chair Shawn Hutchinson explained the need for one more lease.
"We had originally leased the old Sears building in hopes it would be good enough for the courts and county attorney's office," he said. "However, there needs to be enough of a degree of separation between those two offices. The space wasn't quite big enough to do both."
The commission approved a lease for the property at 1520 Main Street in Great Bend. In February, the county also approved a 12-month lease for the property located at 1709 Main Street in Great Bend, and another 12-month lease for the building at 1500 Kansas Ave. in Great Bend. Those two properties cost the county $30,000 upfront, and $20,000 for each month on the lease. The new lease comes at a cost of $4.62 per square foot, compared to $6.83 for the property on Main Street, and $4.35 for the building on Kansas.