The City of Great Bend is doubling its mosquito spraying. City Administrator Logan Burns announced Monday that, going forward, foggers will be working from 8 p.m. to midnight on Mondays and Thursdays. In the past, spraying was only on Thursdays.
There were recent public complaints about the mosquitoes this year. Burns said after the reports the administration received on Monday, the decision was made to spray twice a week through the end of September to help combat the issue.
“We’ll look to get ahead of them and just have everybody enjoy their time outside,” he said. After September, the staff will adjust as needed.
Additional information was released by the city:
• The city is unable to spray in the rain.
• Two vehicles are used to spray and each contains different chemicals.
• One vehicle will run the east side and the other on the west side and will alternate each time.
• It is advised to wait 30 minutes to one hour to go outside after fogging is complete to avoid inhaling chemicals.
Spraying dates in Aug. are the 4th, 7th, 11th, 14th, 18th, 21st, 25th and 28th. For questions, contact Public Works at 620-793-4150.
More city news
Burns shared this information during his report on City news at the Aug. 4 City Council meeting. He also shared:
• Venture has completed the paving on 19th Street and Morton Street. They went back in Monday for manhole adjustments. They finished 24th Street on Monday and began milling Broadway from Patton Road to K-96, which should take about three days, the RoadSafe will come in on Wednesday to do all of the striping. They will start at Great Bend High School and get all of those parking stalls done, and then carry on to other streets.
• The Wetlands Waterpark will end its 2025 season on Sunday, Aug. 10.
• “One of our recent initiatives is to showcase our employees and how thankful we are for them to work for the City of Great Bend. Our first Employee of the Month is Alison Urban, our deputy city clerk,” Burns said.
He read a comment from Finance Director Shawna Schafer: “She consistently goes above and beyond for the City, demonstrating initiative, dependability, and a profound sense of teamwork. Alison doesn’t just ‘help out,’ she truly owns the work and delivers results.”
• Saturday is Party in the Park at Veterans Park. “I’m excited this year to get everything back – especially the mud volleyball pits back at Vets. Make sure you come out to the concerts; this one you don’t want to miss.”
• Golden Belt Humane Society is participating in the 11th annual Clear the Shelters event that runs the entire month of August. Contact the Humane Society to connect with them and help animals find their forever homes.
Abatement
In an action item, the city council approved an abatement at 5825 Birchwood St. A blue pickup has been parked on the property for over a year. It is either not displaying current registration and/or is in inoperable condition. The wheels are chocked. Burns said other violations at the property have been cleared up. With Monday’s resolution declaring a motor vehicle nuisance exists, Code Enforcement is directed to remove the nuisance with all associated costs assessed against the property.
