By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
The city of Hays has agreed to contribute $1 million towards the community center project at the planned mixed housing development, The Grove.
The project, to be built north of Hays Medical Center by Grow Hays, has secured slightly more than $4.2 million of the estimated total cost of $6 million for the project. That includes a $3.6 million grant from the state's capital fund accelerator project.
"This will be an intergenerational facility," said Doug Williams, executive director of Grow Hays.
"It will provide a proper home for our senior center. ... The location now out on the highway (2450 E. 8th) is not safe at certain times and it's difficult to get to. I believe the attendance will be much better in the new facility."
The community center also contains a child care center with 77 slots, which Williams said fits the city's future needs for child care.
"We've made great strides, thanks to Sarah Wasinger and the Child Care Task Force of Ellis County, but that doesn't mean the problem is resolved.
"We need to position ourselves for any growth opportunity that comes along and child care is always going to be a part of that, " Williams said.
The facility will also have community rooms for the public to use for events and activities.
"I think it's going to be a great recruiting tool for our community," he said.
Sandy Jacobs, vice-mayor, spent some time recently at the current senior center, hearing the wants and needs of patrons for something bigger and better.
"I believe we owe these people so much," Jacobs said. "This community was built by the people using this facility and we are now the benefactors of that."
Commissioner Reese Barrick said "we're putting our money where our mouth is. We've been trying to push businesses to help with childcare for the people that work for them. This is a chance for us to help with that part."
Commissioners informally agreed to the request at their Nov. 16 work session following Williams' presentation and made it official during their meeting Tuesday afternoon.
The community center must be completed by late 2025, according to a provision in the state grant.
The money will come from the commission capital reserve fund. Mayor Shaun Musil noted it does not involve a tax hike of any type.
Williams also spoke to the commission about a proposed funding arrangement with Heart of America Development Corporation for future development and a potential rural housing incentive district policy exception for The Grove and Tallgrass Phase 4 developments.
The non-profit economic development group Heart of America purchased the land for the Tallgrass housing addition in January 2020 and the city approved the incentive district in June 2020.
"This project has outperformed anything than we had planned on," Williams said.
Phase 1 is occupied and Phase 2 has 14 of its 18 homes under construction. The first 14 are all sold.
Street infrastructure for Phase 3 and its 12 homes is scheduled to start in the spring.
Heart of America is asking to be cashed out of the first three phases of the Tallgrass development and then moving ahead with Phase 4.
"The current pay-as-you-go policy is somewhat self-limiting in that a developer spends all their money and they have to wait a long, long time to get it back," Williams said.
The rural housing incentive district captures the property tax increments to be paid to the developer over 20 years.
The city would receive the property tax increments and pay Heart of America approximately $2.4 million for recovery of its investment.
City staff would use existing incentive revenues to fund a revenue bond. The monies generated by the bond would allow Heart of America to move forward with Phase 4 of the Tallgrass development as well as the build-out of the industrial park on Commerce Parkway.
"What Doug is pitching tonight is we cash them out and they do these two things," said Toby Dougherty, city manager. "But those things would be governed by a new development agreement that spells out all the details.
"We look at this as a pretty safe bet because the revenues - the improvements - are already there. It's highly unlikely property values would drop that much. Very low risk on our part."
Williams also presented the idea of a bonded rural housing incentive district for development of Tallgrass Phase 4 and The Grove.
It would utilize a financing mechanism where the developer places 30% down, and the infrastructure is then created along with an rural housing incentive district. The city would then issue temporary notes to fund the capital infrastructure improvements. After enough houses are built, the city would use the property taxes generated by the incentive district to fund a revenue bond.
Dougherty said this plan does come with some risks "of something not getting built, something that exists in our current policy.
"Essentially, we are bonding the remainder of that 70%. So if the lots don't sell or don't get built on, you may end up with a lot but you don't have any revenue to pay those lot special assessments [for infrastructure] and would have to pay it on your own.
"There's a risk profile any way you go on that."
The proposed financing changes will be discussed at a future meeting.