By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
They may not be the most riveting conversations, but they're certainly some of the most important the Hays city commission has each year.
Commissioners unanimously voted Thursday to continue with the next rotation in five-year plans for sanitary sewer cleaning and video inspection, along with manhole rehabilitation.
The plans were created by Jeff Crispin, water resources director, to spend some maintenance money annually from the water and reclamation and reuse budget in order to avoid much more costly potential replacement costs for the sanitary sewer lines and manholes.
The city has 110 miles of sewer lines and 2,172 manholes.
Each year, slightly more than 22 miles of the sewer lines are inspected and cleaned for proper operation and maintenance of the collection system. Problems that can be caused by the lack of sewer cleaning includes sewer backups, manhole overflows, public exposure to raw sewage, and regulatory fines.
Crispin says the line flow may be slowed by intrusions such as private utility lines, tree roots, and deterioration.
Commissioners approved the low bid of $110,621 from CC Steel, LLC, of Maple Plain, MN, with a budget authority not to exceed $140,000 in case some areas need more than just light cleaning.
The work will be done in November and December and sewer customers will be notified 24 hours in advance.
Mayer Specialty Services of Goddard was awarded the low bid of a budget not to exceed $125,000 for rehabilitation of 100 manholes.
According to Crispin, manholes need rehabilitation due to acidic environments, low pH, erosion, aging, and storm water infiltration.
A third agenda item regarding water use was an award of a $52,200 bid to Earles Engineering, McPherson, for engineering services to design a bigger Highway 40 sanitary sewer pump station.
The lift station, constructed in 1984, sits in the flood plain and will see increased flow when the new high school is built. It also serves Commerce Parkway and the new housing areas being built east of 22nd Street.
The new high school will also mean increased traffic on east 13th Street.
The city of Hays has received a cost share grant from the Kansas Department of Transportation to reconstruct 13th Street from Anthony Drive east to Commerce Parkway.
The $1.2 million dollar state grant will be applied to the cost of the project which will include widening the asphalt street and adding an 8 ft. multi-use pathway along the north side of the street.
Total project cost is estimated at $2.34 million, with the city budgeting $750,000 for it and Ellis County earmarking $500,00. The east end of the street has been annexed from the county into the city and Hays will become responsible for its maintenance once the project is done.
Final design is to be completed by the end of the year with construction anticipated by the end of 2024.
In other business, commissioners heard an update of the activities of the Ellis County Historical Society by Amanda Rupp, executive director.