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CHRIS HILL DIRECTOR OF MUNICIPAL ELECTRICAL SERVICES BRYANT

This month’s article had me traveling to Bryant to visit with Finance Officer Kristie Sikkink and Maintenance Superintendent Ryan Sikkink. Ryan took over for long-time city employee, Garry Ladwig, and has been with the City of Bryant since February. Kristie has been with the city for fi ve years and has enjoyed the challenges that come along with her role. Since becoming the fi nance offi cer, she has seen infrastructure projects completed and will be seeing more in the near future.

In 2018, the city had a potential business coming to town and created an industrial park on the south side of town. If this business was going to decide to come to town there would need lines to increase reliability on their system.

Along with burying the overhead, the city has also been replacing the streetlights with LED. This improvement has led to more businesses relocating to the industrial park and they also have another lot for sale.

The city offices and community center improvements are also a great project that has been completed for the community and was a project that happened because of the sale of the Parkview Nursing Home. The proceeds from the sale led to a reinvestment into the community by the Bryant Parkview Care Center Board. The Parkview Care Center Board asked for a partnership with the city and together, along with the community fundraising, it allowed for a community room, conference room, kitchen, bathrooms, and city offi ces being built next to the community gymnasium on main street.

The project was an immeasurable contribution to this small

Maintenance Superintendent Ryan Sikkink and Finance Offi cer Kristie Sikkink.

to be upgrades to their electrical system. The city council decided that it was important for the city to upgrade their system and invest in their infrastructure that would improve their community.

The planning and upgrade both took place in the summer of 2019. A 25 KV distribution upgrade took place to accommodate for the potential businesses that would move in to the industrial park. Along with a voltage upgrade, the city decided it would be a good idea to bury the overheard

Bryant City Hall and Community Center

community. The old city offi ces were aging and the upgrades were needed on the auditorium building already. Working in conjunction with the community center made sense and has been a great addition to the city.

The community center can be rented and has been used for many things including business meetings, strategic planning meetings, interviews, dinners, birthday parties, and craft fairs.

The nursing home has been reconstructed into 10 housing units and all of the units are rented out with a waiting list for others that would like to move into them.

There is an apartment building next to the park that is also full with another four-plex for rental housing going up in the near future.

The next improvement that the City of Bryant is hoping to upgrade is the water/wastewater system. The city is hoping to be on the state water plan by October and will be able to upgrade in the next couple of years. Ryan mentioned that according to city records, the last water main project was in 2001 when they did a couple of blocks of water main infrastructure and street improvement, so they look forward to the possibility of the improvements.

Kristie mentioned that Heartland Consumers Power District has awarded the City of Bryant with the economic development grant; this had helped with equipment in the community room. Heartland Growth Incentive Program has also assisted local business with retail power bill rebates. Kristie said that Heartland has been a great asset for the community and helps to promote the economic development of the city.

Kristie and Ryan both talked highly about the city council and how they all work together and come up with great ideas for promoting and improving the City of Bryant. I look forward to my next visit in Bryant to see the improvements and talk about what makes their HOMETOWN great! ■

Photos left to right: City Hall Conference Room, Community Gym attached to community center, Bryant municipal electric plant.