By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays USD 489 school board approved a $30,200 contract with Mammoth to design tennis courts at Hays High School.
The current four tennis courts at HHS will be resurfaced, and four more courts will be built. Seating and a shade structure also will be added.
The current courts are in poor repair and are in the construction zone for the new Hays High School building.
HHS has about 80 players, a combination of girls and boys, out for tennis each year.
The boys' and girls' teams play on the Fort Hays State University courts, which cost about $3,300 per year.
Having eight courts would allow HHS to host tournaments, which it can't now. Board member Ruth Ruder said this could increase the community's revenue by attracting people to eat meals, buy gas and stay in hotels in Hays.
Board members Allen Park and Derek Yarmer said they wanted the district to seek bids for the design work.
Superintendent Ron Wilson said the district has worked with Mammoth before and has been pleased with its work. Mammoth is a Kansas company that specializes in sports projects.
He said the design bid was in line with what would be expected for this work. Wilson said he doubted that the district would save much in searching for other designers for the project.
Board member Jayme Goetz also expressed concerns about the project being delayed by searching for other companies to bid for the design work.
The design bid was approved 5-2, with Park and Yarmer voting against it.
Mammoth will develop the project's design specs, but the construction bids will be submitted to the school board for approval.
Cameras
The board also approved a bid from Nex-Tech to purchase surveillance cameras and devices for the new high school at a cost of $379,000.
The bid is a one-time cost. Funds will come from bond money.
Nex-Tech was the only bidder on the project. The same system already exists in all other schools in the district.
Live views from the cameras will be available in the HHS office. The video will be kept on local servers for 90 days.
The bid also includes video doorbells for entrances at the school.
"We have done a really good job of upgrading our cameras over the last three years," Wilson said.
Classified contracts
Chris Hipp, assistant superintendent of business services, said the district has had difficulty filing some classified nine-month positions, especially custodians and cooks.
On Monday night, the board voted to enter into a contract with ATS Facility Services to assist with recruiting classified staff.
ATS will recruit employees for the district at slightly higher pay but with a lesser benefits package.
The employees will be under the district's direction but will be paid and employed by ATS.
Hipp said the district still interviews and chooses which ATS candidates it would like to fill positions.
Hipp said the district's net cost is the same whether it employs the workers or ATS employs the workers.
Although ATS has worked successfully at other districts across the state, filling 12-month contract positions, this is their first time working with a district to fill nine-month positions.
However, Hipp said he was confident that the relationship could be beneficial, and he is hoping to work with ATS immediately to fill two cook positions that have been open for some time.
In other business, the board conducted its first readings on classified and administrator handbooks and heard an update from Doug Williams of Grow Hays.