By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The City of Hays on Dec. 12 approved annexation of property for a proposed travel plaza at exit 157 of Interstate 70.
Annexation will allow connection to city services, including water and sewer, and will also allow financing of improvements to 230th Avenue adjacent to the development.
The annexation included six pieces of property. The largest piece of property is owned by Hess Land LLC and is being developed for the travel plaza.
The other four owners requesting annexation were Ellis County, Celebration Church of Hays, Doonan Peterbilt and the City of Hays.
The other five pieces of property are much smaller and being annexed for right of way and to facilitate improvements to 230th Avenue.
The Ellis County Commission had already given approval to the annexation. The county commission also has asked KDOT to transfer a $1.5 million grant that was awarded to Ellis County in 2013 to the City of Hays for improvements to the intersection at 230th Avenue and 55th Street.
Airport crosswind runway
A design engineering agreement for improvements to lighting for the crosswind runway at the Hays Regional Airport was approved by the city commission on Dec. 12.
The cost of the engineering agreement will be $95,050. Ninety percent is being paid by the FFA, and the remaining 10 percent will be paid out of the Airport Improvement Fund.
The total cost of the project will be about $1.2 million — about $111,000, paid from the Airport Improvement Fund. John Braun, City of Hays project manager, said there is enough money in the fund to pay for the city's portion of the project.
The new lighting will be cans and conduits instead of direct bury lighting, which will make the system easier to maintain. New precision approach path indicators will be included, which helps alert pilots they are on the correct approach. The new lighting will be LED, which will last longer and use less energy. Other enhancements are also included.
The useful life of the current system was estimated at 10 to 12 years, but the system has been in use since 2003.
Construction will be done on this project during summer and fall. The work will not affect commercial air traffic at the airport.