By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
Property that has been owned by the city of Hays for several years has been annexed into the city and rezoned from agricultural use to a public and institutional district.
The 3.78 acres at 1732 W. 41st has been the site of a city water well for several decades. It was purchased about six years ago with future plans to build a fire station serving the business and residential growth in northwest Hays as well as north of Interstate 70.
City commissioners unanimously approved the annexation and rezoning Thursday night. Public Works Director Jesse Rohr told the commission there had been no opposition during an earlier public hearing conducted by the Hays Area Planning Commission.
Construction of a third fire station was designated a priority by the commission last year and bids for the project should be let within the next month or so according to Toby Dougherty, city manager.
The total project cost is estimated to be $5.5 million. The project will be funded by the city's portion of the 1/4-cent Ellis County sales tax approved by voters in 2020 for emergency services.
The city's second fire station is located at the Hays Regional Airport and is only staffed when commercial passenger aircraft land and leave. The cost to build it was 90% funded by the FAA with a 10% city match.
The facility was designed for expansion, Dougherty noted.
"When we built the station, we located and designed it in such a way it could be expanded for general use. We could segregate it between FAA use and general use," Dougherty said. "All the expansion would be at the city's cost. It could become a fourth location down the road."
The station on 41st Street will be Hays' second fully staffed fire station.
"We have a lot of pent-up growth that's going to happen out around (I-70) Exit 157," Dougherty said Friday morning.
"This station will give easy access to be able to jump on Hall Street and take 48th Street over (to business areas) and it's right in the middle of a residential area that's going to continue to grow."
The quick and easy access to the North Vine Street Corridor was a must but the new fire station did not necessarily have to be built within the business corridor.
"New commercial construction is built with the most up-to-date fire suppression technology. So new commercial businesses have sprinkler systems and different types of alarm systems," Dougherty pointed out. "So they're designed to hold off a fire until there can be a response.
"Houses aren't built that way. When houses catch fire, they burn. So our greatest liability from an quick response, from an immediate response, is in the residential areas. That's why, nationwide, a lot of fire stations are located in residential areas."
The city's first fire station, built in 1974, is downtown at 1507 Main and adjacent to residential areas.
"It's nice having it downtown with that quick response. A lot of those buildings were built or renovated when you didn't have those types of standards such as firewalls and fire suppression systems."
Similar to the downtown location, firefighters at the new station on 41st Street will respond to non-emergency calls most of the time, which do not require the use of emergency lights and sirens.
Data provided by Fire Chief Ryan Hagans also shows most responses occur between 7 a.m. and midnight, with a significant drop-off in the overnight hours.
The current response times for fire emergencies in Hays averages 4.5 minutes.
In order to keep response time lower (and often, property insurance lower), the Insurance Services Office (ISO) recommends a fire station within 1.5 road miles of all areas of the city. Much of the new development in northwest Hays is further away from the downtown fire station at 1507 Main Street than recommended.