By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
Barton County is gearing up for another round of beautifying downtown buildings throughout the county. A third chapter of the Façade Improvement Grants will give business owners a chance to update their building’s exterior.
A meeting was held last Thursday in Ellinwood to bring together city council members and Barton County officials. Barton County Commissioner Barb Esfeld felt the meeting was a good way to outline the façade program requirements and encourage matching funds from the individual cities.
"I appreciated getting to meet with the councils and put names to the faces that we work with," said Esfeld. "I thing everyone felt the same...it's good to do a project that we can work together and have direct impact."
Barton County allocated a combined $880,000 to the two previous rounds of the Façade Improvement Grants. Commissioner Duane Reif said Barton County has pledged $120,000 in 2025 for projects in Claflin, Ellinwood, Hoisington and Great Bend.
"I really feel like we had a good connection with the city council members," said Reif. "They really appreciated us doing this. They didn't feel left out. Some of the smaller cities around, I'm not so sure they feel like they're connected sometimes. This is a good way to get everybody together."
Through all of the projects to date, 43 local contractors were utilized. The total investment, including what the county paid out and the business’ match, was just over $1.7 million.