By ALIN HETT
Hays Post
Ellis County commissioners will consider new signage for the Ellis County Fairgrounds during their meeting Tuesday, following the renaming of a room at the fairgrounds earlier this summer.
Commissioners voted July 7 to rename the Deutsch Hall room as the Loran Zimmerman Unsere Leute Deutschefest Meeting Room. Following the change, commissioners requested a sign design be developed and reviewed by the Ellis County Fair Board.
The Fair Board has selected a design, with the proposed signs estimated to cost $2,031. Volunteers would install the signs, eliminating additional installation costs.
County staff also explored adding digital LED signs to the fairgrounds buildings that could display information about events taking place inside.
An estimate for three remotely programmable LED signs came in at $34,383, although only two signs would be needed. After reviewing the cost, county staff and the fair board are recommending against moving forward with the digital signs.
Staff also researched a lower-cost digital sign estimated at $788 for one sign. However, that option would require additional electrical work and would not offer remote programming, requiring someone to be at the fairgrounds to update it before events.
The fair board has indicated it supports moving forward without digital signs.
The room renaming has also prompted commissioners to consider developing a formal process for naming Ellis County buildings. Commissioners are expected to discuss that process during a work session tentatively planned for October.
In other business
Eugene Rupp, Ellis County appraiser, will present the results of the county's 2025 final ratio study and discuss Ellis County's 2026 procedural and substantial compliance reports received from the Kansas Department of Revenue's Property Valuation Division.
Monique Koerner with the Cottonwood Extension District and Jennifer Taylor, Ellis County human resources manager, will discuss the Ellis County Breastfeeding Coalition and its recent efforts. Koerner will also introduce Ellis County's new 4-H Extension agent.
The Ellis County Commission meeting begins at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Ellis County Administrative Center, 718 Main St.