By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
This is Sandy Jacobs' eighth year serving on the Hays City Commission.
She expected by now to have opened the tap on the R-9 long-term water supply project for the cities of Hays and Russell.
It still hasn't happened.
"I thought that first year it'd all be said and done and we'd be cutting ribbons," Jacobs said.
The R-9 project in Edwards County remains the city's number one focus in 2025, said Jacobs and Hays City Manager Toby Dougherty in a recent Hays Post interview on KAYS radio.
Over the past few years, Hays and Russell have faced several litigations with Edwards County and the Water Protection Association of Central Kansas, known as WaterPACK.
Almost a year ago, an administrative judge ruled in favor of Hays' and Russell's R9 Ranch water transfer application. It would be the first such transfer in Kansas.
More recently, said Dougherty, there's been another positive court ruling for Hays and Russell.
The transfer application must be approved by a three-person hearing panel.
"The opponents in this case filed a motion for one of the panelists to recuse himself. They thought he was biased. ... The panel turned it down saying the chief engineer [of the Kansas Department of Agriculture's Division of Water Resources] was not biased and they denied the motion.
"So the opponents filed in Riley County District Court and we had to have a hearing... The judge dismissed the case late last month.
"We're hoping the panel gets back on schedule and approves the order very quickly, within the next couple of months."
Project design is about 60% complete. Construction of the 66-mile pipeline will run from the cities of Hays and Russell's wellfield at the R9 in Edwards County to the Hays Smoky Hill River water wellfield south of Schoenchen.
Other big projects the city will undertake in 2025 are the fruition of what was started in 2024.
Hays will begin remodeling the downtown Astra Bank once it's moved to a new facility being built at 27th and Main.
The bank building will remodeled to become the new Hays police station and also house the municipal court.
"It's going to be nice for our police to move [out of the Ellis County Law Enforcement Center and] into their own facility," Jacobs said.
Housing is another priority project in Hays.
"We've got wonderful housing figures and there's more starting," the mayor said.
"We're finally getting into The Grove [north of HaysMed] and we're putting streets in there."
The retiree-focused housing development by Grow Hays will have a community center, which now has the roof on it.
"It's going to be a huge, huge addition to our community — quality of life."
Jacobs expects to be cutting a grand opening ribbon in August or September.
She's excited about the momentum of housing development in Hays, including from the private sector.
Major street projects in this year's capital improvement plan include reconstruction of 32nd/33rd Streets and finishing the widening and improvement of east 13th Street near the location the new high school that is being built.
Dougherty, Assistant City Manager Jarrod Kuckelman and Vice-Mayor Mason Ruder recently met with local representatives in Washington, D.C.
"Every single person we talked with said how prepared and sophisticated we were as a city for what we've done for this project. Researching things to help make it a reality without having to fully raise [water] rates to do it," Ruder said.
"That's a testament to city commissioners before us and to staff. ... I can't wait until we get that water up here. That'll be nice," he said.