Story by Emma Loura/Manhattan Mercury
Downtown Alleys north of Poyntz Avenue will shut down starting next week.
Gina Snyder, executive director of Downtown Manhattan Inc., told Riley County commissioners on Monday the alleys will close July 15 so Kansas Gas Service can enlarge the tube connected to the city’s gas service.
“We just have to do what they say when they say,” Snyder said. “They’re on a deadline. They have a time limit.”
The Kansas Gas alley project will start with the alleys north of Poyntz Avenue. Snyder said the work should take about two weeks, weather permitting. Construction in will move to the alley behind the county buildings. This may take place around the election in August.
“We’ll have centralized trash; we will have no deliveries, no incoming traffic,” Snyder said. “Pedestrians can walk to and fro because they’re not going to tear up the cement. There will be boarding.”
Snyder also said Downtown Manhattan president Donna Scheele died June 30 after a struggle with cancer.
“It’s a tremendous loss to Downtown,” Snyder said. “She was the bank president of the United Bank and Trust, she was our board president, she was treasurer at one point for DMI, she was the chair of the Downtown Business Improvement District.”
Snyder said she will remember Scheele for her mentorship, love of art and generosity toward small businesses.
“I’ve never met another person who just absolutely loved the small business community,” Snyder said. “She was a mentor to me, both professionally and personally.”
Snyder announced a Poyntz Avenue event called Plein Air on July 16, when artists will paint outdoors on a Third Thursday evening.
“We’ve really been expanding the program this year to have events within events,” Snyder said.
Snyder said there are 20 artists signed up to participate in various locations downtown, including the sidewalk outside of the county courthouse, for the competition portion. It is a juried competition with a $500 award. Downtown Manhattan will be one of the first recipients of the paintings.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if you get a beautiful courtyard painting or two or three, even,” Snyder said.
