Free outdoor movies will return to Jack Kilby Square this summer, Great Bend City Administrator Logan Burns said.
Burns presented his update on what is happening within the City organization at the Feb. 17 City Council meeting.
City Public Relations Director Addison Crites plans to bring back the summer movies, Burns said, noting she has released some polls on social media so people can weigh in on the selection.
June’s movie night theme will be “America” and July’s will be “Family Movie Night.”
Burns also commented on the big fire last Friday.
The Great Bend Fire Department did a great job getting the fire knocked down, he said. He encouraged everyone to continue to use caution as high winds continue to pose a fire risk.
Burns and Barton County Administrator Matt Patzner are trying to schedule a City Council/County Commission joint meeting in March. Burns said he would like to schedule a tour of the wastewater treatment plant for council members on the same day.
Megan Barfield with the Chamber of Commerce notified Burns that several people plan to attend the Western Kansas Delegation Conference, April 20-21 in Washington, D.C. Burns said one City Council member plans to attend.
Burns noted the dragstrip work is continuing and he congratulated the SRCA Dragstrip on its induction into the NHRA Hall of Fame. (Saturday’s Great Bend Tribune will have more on this.)
CVB reports 27% increase in guest tax collections
The Great Bend Convention & Visitor’s Bureau reported collecting $118,042 in transient guest taxes in the first quarter of 2026. The City imposes a 6% tax on hotel and motel stays, which funds the CVB to promote tourism and events.
CVB Director Amanda Gaddis told the Great Bend City Council on Tuesday that the amount collected represented a 27% increase from the previous year.
“We’re pretty proud of that,” Gaddis said, making her monthly report to the council. There were meetings and conferences at the Great Bend Events Center, and more hunters staying in Great Bend motels.
“I talked to Curtis Wolf out at the Kansas Wetlands Education Center (KWEC), and he said that they did see a lot of the hunting numbers come back. The birds, not so much, but because we did have water (at Cheyenne Bottoms), we are seeing those numbers come back.”
Gaddis said she and her assistant, along with a representative from the KWEC, will travel to Omaha for the Travel Boat Show to promote Great Bend, and its zoo, along with the wetlands and the Education Center. In past years, about 2,200 people attended the trade show.