Hays city commissioners met Thursday night for their bi-monthly work session.
It has not been broadcast live on local cable TV as the regular meetings are on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month.
That changed yesterday in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
The city has closed its offices to the public and notified the news media it would not be allowed to be in the commission chambers during the March 19 work session or March 26 regular meeting.
The number of people in the room is currently limited to 10, according to Collin Bielser, assistant city manager.
"In addition to the five commissioners and four city staff members (City Manager Toby Dougherty, City Attorney John Bird, Finance Director Kim Rupp and Bielser) we can only accommodate one more individual," Bielser wrote in an email to Hays Post and the Hays Daily News.
Meetings of local governing boards are subject to the Open Meetings Act; broadcasting the meeting live maintains compliance with the Open Meetings Act.
Nex-Tech in Hays operates the equipment in the commission chamber during live meetings, requiring that employee to be the 10th person in the room.
The meetings had already started streaming live online in late February.
During last night's work session, commissioners talked about changing where it publishes its legal notices.
For years, the Hays Daily News has been the city’s official publication site.
Recent downsizing of the local staff has caused problems, Bielser told the commissioners, including incorrect changes to one notice and increasing the size of another notice without approval. He noted those errors had been made by news staff in Salina and Topeka.
City staff is recommending the commission approve a charter ordinance designating the city website as the official city news outlet.
Commissioner Ron Mellick likes the idea.
“A lot of people either don’t get their newspaper on a certain day or it doesn’t show up," Mellick said. "Being online they can check our legal notices any time and from any place.”
Publishing legal notices on the city’s own website would save about $9,400 a year.
In other business, the commission:
* Heard a resolution advancing the statutory process for the Heart of America RHID (Rural Housing Incentive District Financing). The Ellis County investment consortium plans to develop the street and infrastructure for development of 75 residential lots as affordable housing located at the northeast corner of 22nd St.and Wheatland Ave.
A representative of the city's bond counsel, Gilmore & Bell, joined the meeting by phone to review how RHIDs work. The RHID portion of Hays' economic development incentives policy has never been used.
* Heard resolutions calling for public hearings on the D & J Land Development TIF (Tax Increment Financing) and CID (Community Improvement District) requests for a travel plaza to be built north of the Interstate-70 Exit 157. The city commission has taken previous actions as part of the TIF process. Finance Director Kim Rupp noted the Planning Commission on Monday unanimously agreed the travel plaza project is consistent with the intent of the Hays Comprehensive Plan. This would be the first action regarding the CID request.
