By Jonathan Zweygardt
Hays Post
The Ellis County Commission has pledged to support the Grove Community Center in Hays to the tune of $241,000, with the understanding that their contribution is dependent on the county’s continuing financial stability.
The Grove is a housing development with a proposed community center north of Hays Medical Center that will house a child care facility with the ability to care for as many as 77 children, the home of the new local senior center and several community rooms that could be used for different community gatherings.
The funding would only go to the community center and not to the housing development that is being built around it.
Doug Williams, Grow Hays executive director, told the Ellis County Commission they have raised $5.75 million of the $6 million for the community center. He came before the commission to request the remaining $241,605 to fund the project on April 9.
After all three county commissioners voiced their support during the April 9 meeting, the commission continued discussions on the funding at their May 14 meeting.
The three commissioners again voiced their support for the facility, and Commissioner Michael Berges said he wanted to provide the funding from the 2024 budget if the county could.
"We have room in this year's budget to be able to do it," Berges said. "We did what we told taxpayers last year by lowering the mill. We got a balanced budget, and we can get it in there and still have some budget stabilization."
Berges said, “I want to get this funded. I think it makes more sense to get it funded this year and then have it off our plate to move on to 2025.”
Ellis County Administrator Darin Myers suggested the commission use the funds from the 2024 budget to pay Grow Hays. He said with the year almost half over, it appears the county has the funds to make such a move.
“Looking at where we've been at for the last five years, I would say it's highly likely that we would have the budget authority remaining in the general fund to make that allocation to Grow Hays if the commission would request to do so,” Myers said.
Myers said the county commissioners set aside additional funds to implement a wage and benefit study. The county started the year with more money in the budget stabilization fund than in normal years, so it has about $790,000 in the fund.
"Of those five prior years, that's the second most we've had left in that (fund)," Myers said. "We never usually spend out of it because it's usually there as a buffer in case the overall general budget goes over."
Myers suggested that the commission if they choose to make the funding commitment, wait until August or later this year to assess the county's financial situation and then determine whether to use funding from the 2024 or 2025 budget.
Williams told the commission the most important thing was they committed to funding the project.
“When it's paid is not as important as that it's going to be paid, that there is a commitment,” Williams said. “If it's a matter of getting to the end of the year and seeing if budgets are where they are ... we certainly have that level of flexibility.”
He told the commissioners if they commit to the funding, that will trigger the $1 million commitment from the city of Hays and $750,000 from the Robert E. and Patricia Schmidt Foundation. According to Williams, both entities' funding is contingent upon Grow Hays receiving the remaining $4.25 million.
In a 3-0 vote, the commission approved a motion that funds the Grove Community Center Project $241,605 for the 2024 budget, pending continued positive budget trends.