Great Bend City Administrator Kendal Francis officially announced his resignation before the City Council Monday night. Reading from a prepared statement, an emotional Francis praised the city staff and governing body and urged them to rely on this expertise as the search for his replacement gets underway. “It’s not been easy on anybody” Mayor Cody Schmidt said.  “We have quite a process in front of us,” Schmidt said. “But I have big hopes big dreams and a lot of faith in this group up here with me. We will do everything in our power to make sure the city continues to [...]

Great Bend City Administrator Kendal Francis said Friday morning he has accepted the city manager position in Hutchinson. However, it won’t be official until he signs the contract after the Hutchinson City Council approves it Tuesday night. His resignation would be effective Friday, Jan. 6. “It has been my distinct pleasure to represent you, our team, and this community for the past four years,” Francis said in his resignation letter to the Great Bend City Council. ... In Hutchinson, Francis will take over for Gary Meagher, who is the interim city manager. ... Francis took the Great Bend job in July [...]

In an update to the Great Bend City Council Monday night, Bob Wetmore, co-director of Dodge City-based Great Plains Development Inc., said his agency continues to work for the community as he outlined the services GPD provides. This is a non-profit economic development agency that works with cities and counties by helping with loans to them as well as entrepreneurs. Source: Great Bend Tribune

... As City Manager, Mitchell understands that being in charge doesn’t mean backing away from a project. “Just because something is hard doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing,” he said. ... Mitchell got his first taste of community service when the United Way director asked him to be her intern. After graduation, he attended Kansas State University with a major in public relations, “because that was what she went to school for,” Mitchell recalled. Later as he was interning at United Way, he was approached by the Junction City city manager who asked what he thought about working with him. “I [...]

Great Bend Economic Development launched a competition Friday that will result in one entrepreneur winning $50,000 to open/start a business in Barton County. A total of $95,000 will be given away at the end of the IGNITE Rural Business competition, including $50,000 to the grand finale winner in October of 2023. Second place will be awarded $30,000 and third place gets $10,000, according to GBED President Sara Arnberger. Those following along the journey of the competition will vote online for the People’s Choice Award and award a business with $5,000. New inventions/businesses are encouraged to apply as well as startups. Source: [...]

Ellinwood’s work to secure funding for a replacement hospital through the USDA has proven to be worth the hard work and efforts. The Ellinwood Hospital District Board of Trustees has been notified that the $25 million in requested funding has officially been obligated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Construction of a new hospital and clinic and is expected to begin late this year or early in 2023, CEO Kile Magner stated in a news release. “This has been quite a process to say the least, and we are thrilled that all of the team’s hard work has paid off,” Magner [...]

The Kansas Department of Transportation is committed to keeping the highways cleared when inclement weather impacts the state, but staffing shortages continue to affect the agency with not enough snowplow operators in many areas. These ongoing shortages could affect KDOT’s ability to clear snow and ice from highways in a timely manner, said Transportation Secretary Julie Lorenz. “We want motorists to know ahead of time – it’s not a matter of if the highways will be cleared this winter, but when,” Lorenz said. “KDOT crews will be proactive by shifting crews and pretreating surfaces whenever possible but having fewer employees could [...]

... the price of natural gas — one of many factors going into the cost of electricity — is expected to spike again during the winter months of 2023. City officials in Hoisington and across the state are resorting to a variety of measures to mitigate the increasing cost of purchased power, a big chunk of a monthly electric bill. Hoisington City Manager Jonathan Mitchell said that some of those out-of-the-box measures have been going on for a while. “A thing that we’ve done internally is to make changes to our staffing structure,” Mitchell said. “We’re reducing staff; trying to be [...]

Someone wanting to live long-term in a recreational vehicle within Great Bend will have to do so at a campground, RV park or mobile home park after the City Council Monday night approved an ordinance establishing this requirement. Existing ordinances and regulations could be interpreted to prohibit the use of an RV parked on a lot as a residence. However, they do not clearly do so, City Attorney Allen Glendenning said. A complaint was made to the Code Enforcement Office about a trailer in the side yard of a residence being used as a residence for a family member. When the [...]

Last week, the City of Claflin received a welcome Christmas gift a little early. Robert Gunder, who has been assisting the city with obtaining a new trailer for its recycling program, said that while they were expecting delivery around December or January, the trailer arrived this week. It is currently parked in front of the Claflin City Building and a plan to get it pressed into service as quickly as possible is being discussed. Claflin Mayor Mike Urban credited Gunder with getting the ball rolling on the project earlier in the year. Source: Great Bend Tribune