There are several community projects happening in Fort Scott.

At the Quarterly Downtown Meet and Greeton July 11, facilitated by the Chamber of Commerce, leaders of several  of the projects gave updates. The event was hosted by Lyons Realty Group office.

Lindsey Madison, Chamber Executive Director, gave a summary of the upcoming events and promotions:

•  July 15: Christmas in July Sidewalk Sale
•  July 18: Patty LaRoche will present a book talk at Hedgehog.INK! from 7 to 8:30 p.m. LaRoche’s new book, A Little Faith Lift…Finding Joy Beyond Rejection  will be featured.
• August 4-6: Sales Tax Holiday Weekend, where participating businesses give customers a 9.4 percent discount on purchases.
• Sept. 8-9: Town-wide Garage Sale
• Sept. 9: Art Crawl by the Bourbon County Arts Council, the Artificers and more, from 2-6 p.m.
• Sept. 16: Author Miranda Collins, Chanute, writer of Action Detective Mystery will be at Hedgehog.INK! at 2 p.m.
• Sept. 21: Downtown Fall Fest, stores open until 8 p.m. for fall food snacks and shopping.
• Oct. 28: Halloween Parade. Festivities start at 10 a.m., children’s downtown parade on Main Street at 11 a.m.
• Nov. 9-11: Holiday Open House, kick off on Thursday from 5-8 p.m. with continued open house on Friday and Saturday.
• Nov. 25: Shop Small Friday/Saturday in Fort Scott.
• Nov. 30 Candy land Christmas with parade and festivities downtown.
• Bailey Lyons gave an update on the splash pad project: Concrete is being poured this Thursday on the big splash pad. On July 15-16 volunteers are needed to help with landscaping projects: bring gloves and tools. The group has raised approximately $325,000 for the project nearing completion.
• The new historic mural that will be created on Skubitz Plaza will be unveiled in coordination with the Gordon Parks Celebration on Oct. 6. The mural was approved by the city’s design review board this week, Jerry Witt, owner of the mural site building  said.
• The multi-purpose pavilion to be on Skubitz Plaza is in the works, Madison said. The Farmers Market group will use the facility “and anyone else.”
• The welcome arch to the city is being worked on by the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team and will go to the city’s design review board.
• The Chamber Golf Classic is this Friday July 14 at Woodland Hills Golf Course. They are still accepting raffle items.
• The Special Olympic Golf Tournament is July 29 at the same course.
• The mountain bike race, the Marmaton Massacre Festival, will be Sept. 16 in Gunn Park.
• The annual Naturalization Ceremony at the Fort Scott National Historic Site will be on a  Friday in September to be announced.
• Grants available to businesses: E-Community at http://www.networkkansas.com and Grow KS.

Updates from attendees:

Bourbon County Commission Chairman Jim Harris said it is asphalt laying season in the county, “please be cautious of workers.”

“Since 2019 we’ve lowered the mill levy by 9.6%…I will not vote for a mill levy increase,” he said.

There is a new format for speaking at the commission meetings, he said: People must sign up and they get 5 minutes each to speak. “We want peoples input,” he said. “It’s OK to disagree but be professional.”

Harris said there is a request for proposals for the overpass project on the south side of Fort Scott. The commission will be applying for state and federal funds for the project.

Rob Harrington, Bourbon County Regional Economic Development Director, said they have been working on a Star Bond and TIF project south of town, and it will be “huge to the community.” His office is at the former Mercy Hospital building,  now owned by Legacy Health Foundation.

Kari West, Lead Customer Solutions Manager at Evergy, said the utility company hasn’t had an increase in five years and they are requesting one. Evergy purchased property north and west of their current location on Skubitz Plaza with plans to move to that site.