ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

After breaking ground at the end of 2025, the Rodney Kapp CityBus Facility is now officially open at 118 E. 4th Street.

The ribbon-cutting for the new facility took place Tuesday afternoon, and CityBus Supervisor Marie Wyer said she is excited the project is completed.

“This is a big accomplishment, and I'm so happy to have been part of it. Like I said at the groundbreaking back in December, this facility been a long time coming,” Wyer said. “It was hard to imagine this place being done because the CityBus program has never had its own building, it's always been in City Hall since being started in 2012.”

Wyer said the project is especially meaningful given how long former CityBus Supervisor Rodney Kapp had advocated for a CityBus facility before passing away in April 2025. The project has also seen a lot of support from the community.

“It feels fantastic being able to do this, because Rodney had been advocating for a separate CityBus facility for multiple years before he passed away,” Wyer said. “It was great having a lot of the Kapp family at the ribbon-cutting – this wouldn't have been done without his advocacy, and being able to share that with his family was absolutely wonderful.”

Wyer said the facility will be very beneficial to the entire community.

“We are happy to be able to have this facility, this will help us keep the buses protected from the elements, and the drivers will be able to do their pre-trip and post-trip work safely inside without having to worry about wind and snow and being in the dark, and everything else we deal with in Southwest Kansas,” Wyer said. “For one thing, parking will be a lot easier because we'll have official space to park the buses rather than having them parked behind City Hall. That will be a particular benefit, and the drivers will have their own parking spots instead of having to be in the public parking behind City Hall, so there will be a lot less of that crowding. And that will also be a benefit for City Hall, because there will be more public parking available there instead of hoping you can find a spot. Having the new space gives us some new opportunities to serve the public, and we have more room compared to what we had at City Hall, and anyone with any questions can come by and talk to us. We will be selling passes out of the new building instead of City Hall, and since we're in the neighborhood, that gives us more room to spread out, which I'm really looking forward to. There are a few small details we're still waiting to work out before we can start officially moving the buses in, but as soon as those get taken care of, the buses will start getting moved in, 100 percent. When that happens, I think there will be a bit of time when we'll be somewhat lonely – we're used to being in City Hall and hearing everyone coming in and out, but it's going to be so different in the new building. But even with all of that, I think everyone will be really happy once they get settled in.”

“It's really exciting seeing this all done, and I'm really happy everything came together. I do agree with Marie though, it will be a bit sad being out of City Hall and away from the hustle and bustle we've become accustomed to, but it'll be an overall great change,” Janette Monge (who will be the taking over the supervisor role in the near future), added. “I'll be really excited when we start moving the buses in, that'll be a big relief for us and be such a big benefit to the drivers since they won't have to be out in the dark or cold and can do everything safely inside.”

Wyer and Monge agreed city leadership did a great job keeping everyone updated as the project went on.

“We depended on Scarlette Diseker and Brad Beer, they did a fantastic job keeping us updated with everything that was going on, and they were a wonderful help in getting everything accomplished,” Wyer said.

“I also have to give a hand to the building maintenance guys, they were a great help moving everything in and around. I'm grateful to the City for everything they did with this project,” Monge added. “I was so happy when we were given the go-ahead to start moving stuff in, I was so happy to start emptying those boxes and really start getting stuff settled in. We also decided to invest in some extra furniture and other small incidentals to help fill the space out, which I think really helps make the space awesome. It's almost unreal what we've been able to do.”

Wyer added she and the CityBus staff will not be remaining silent about the move.

“Our drivers have been telling riders about the move, which is great, and I know a lot of our more frequent riders have been spreading the word to others,” Wyer said. “Our ridership has increased because of word of mouth, and I think that will continue even after we officially get everyone and everything into the new building.”

Overall, Wyer said, there is a lot to celebrate with the new facility.

“I appreciate all the help everyone's given us, it's been a wonderful experience putting this all together,” Wyer said. “The overall turnout to the ribbon-cutting was far, far beyond our expectations – we weren't sure how many people would actually show up, and it turned out to be a steady stream of people, and we were really glad the weather cooperated.”