By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
"We're a doing, growing community," said Hays Mayor Shaun Musil at a recent joint city/Ellis County meeting.
Commissioners for the city of Hays and Ellis County met in a joint meeting Tuesday evening at Smoky Hill Country Club in Hays, where they agreed to collaborate on two road improvement projects and future economic development growth projects.
Much of the roads discussion focused on the intersection of Vineyard Road and 270th Avenue, part of the most highly traveled roads in the county that are not paved, said Nathan Leiker, Ellis County Commission chairman, with an acknowledgment to several people in the audience who travel those roads.
The location is at North Commerce Parkway and Vineyard Road, east of the Home Depot.
The city owns the right-of-way all the way to 260th Avenue.
"This is a forward-looking project," said Leiker, who chaired the meeting.
"It's obvious the future of Hays is developing in that direction," he said.
In 2019, the city purchased 90 acres immediately northeast of the Interstate-70 Exit 161, Commerce Parkway interchange.
The design of a project to extend utilities and other public infrastructure to the Exit 161 interchange, including internal infrastructure improvements to the city's property, will get underway this fall, with construction starting in 2025.
"It's a good route to the new high school and middle school (on East 13th Street)," Ellis County Commissioner Neal Younger said of accessing 13th Street from Commerce Parkway.
"It's also another good route for people up in the area of 41st Street to the interstate, plus a good bypass around Hays. ... It will be a good enticement to move forward for people wanting to do development in Hays," he said.
Sandy Jacobs, Hays vice-mayor, doesn't want the road to be considered a bypass but rather as another exit off I-70 into town.
"I want it to be inclusionary, a way to get up to the north part of town without coming all the way in," Jacobs said.
City and county commissioners agreed on the reconstruction's importance, and discussion quickly turned to how to pay for it.
"The longer we wait, it won't get any cheaper, especially road materials," said Mason Ruder, city commissioner.
Darin Myers, Ellis County administrator, said a Kansas Department of Transportation project that will resurface U.S. Highway 183 north to the county line, is scheduled for 2025.
Leiker wondered if the county and city could piggyback on that project with some cost sharing.
"Maybe we can get on with whoever the winning contractor is for some of their building materials," he suggested, "and save some money on mobilization costs."
Reconstruction could include upgrades to culverts and drainage, utility relocation, and additional right-of-way.
Commissioners talked about maintenance of the road if the project proceeds.
Leiker said the county intended to turn the road over to the city "because the city has the zoning and right-of-way for a lot of different areas up there."
No cost estimate was determined for the project.
Improvements to 48th Street, constructed in 2002, were discussed.
Recent core tests showed the asphalt road has a better-than-expected base but is riddled with cracks.
Although a county road, "the city hears complaints about it every day," Musil said.
Business growth continues in that area, and future housing developments are expected.
Creating a middle turn lane or right-hand turn lane, as they become needed, was discussed.
The county has twice been turned down for a matching K-DOT grant to reconstruct the road in concrete, Leiker said. That project cost is estimated at $2.4 million.
Jacobs suggested asking for letters of support from state representatives in the next round of grant funding.
Commissioners agreed to have their respective public works directors work together on the two road projects and to examine their respective capital improvement funds to determine where to begin budgeting for the upgrades.
Alaina Cunningham, city commissioner, wants the two governmental bodies to meet together more than annually, "especially since we're talking big budget items."
"I don't want to kick these on down the road," Leiker said.
Doug Williams, Grow Hays executive director, talked to the commissioners about the possibility of a more stable funding mechanism from both entities for the nonprofit group. Both bodies currently use line item funding at the commissions' discretion for outside agency funding.
"Perhaps our own mill levy," Williams suggested.
Leiker and Musil praised Grow Hays for its work in obtaining several large economic development grants and The Grove housing project north of HaysMed.
Williams emphasized the importance of retail growth and more housing developments for the county and city's future growth.
Grow Hays has contracted to purchase 9.1 acres of land north of Home Depot in Hays. They hope to construct a new shopping center on the land.
The land is north of I-70 on East 41st Street.
"We do a good job of collaboration between the city and the county," Musil said. "Our community is growing because of it."
"We're forward-thinking," said Reese Barrick, city commissioner. "The city has been working really hard on quality of life issues and keeping up with infrastructure improvements like roads and sewers.
"This is that next step of collaborating on things," he said. "Instead of people building houses in the middle of nowhere between Limon and Denver, they can come to our community that is willing and accepting and has infrastructure, has the quality of life.
"This is the next step to increasing retail events, bringing the jobs so that people will want to move here."