By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post
The Ellis County Public Works Department officially has a future home north of Hays.
After nearly seven months of searching for locations and negotiating sale prices, the Ellis County Commission, in a special meeting Wednesday, agreed to purchase 75 acres of land in the 1700 block of 250th Avenue north of Hays.
Ellis County Administrator Darin Myers said, during those seven months, they talked to several landowners and real estate agents in search of a location that was both affordable and had a location that fit county needs.
Myers said there are multiple reasons the county needs a new public works location.
“The current location out there is landlocked. There is just under 10 acres of land (and) to the north of their shop facility is all residential. Can’t expand to north and to the south of it is a small piece of land owned by Union Pacific,” Myers said.
Myers said they looked into leasing the Union Pacific land to the south but the company wanted a price that did not work for the county.
“Plus we’d still have ... an estimated $3 million in renovations to our current facility,” Myers said.
The current public works facility, 1195 280th Ave., is over 60 years old and is showing its age.
“They literally have markings on the floors to put buckets every time it rains so that way when it rains to pours into the buckets,” Myers said.
But Myers said the biggest reason public works needs a new facility is that the current one does not work with operations today.
“They currently have that facility, but they also a facility over in Ellis, so ever time they need to have bulk material storage or have an asphalt lay down yard or mixing yard, everything has to go to Ellis and they then have to haul it," Myers said.
He added, “Keeping something centrally located in the county is very import for efficiencies into the future.”
Public Works Director Brendon Mackay said the location is good for the future of the department.
“It sets us up (for the future) because it will be centrally located for the county,” Mackay said. “It will be on your way in when you come into the big town. You’ll see us right from the roadway.”
Another bonus of the new property was that it is located in an industrial area. The current facility is located in a more residential area of the county.
“It will be in an area most part industrial,” said Mackay. “It’s not like we’re in a housing development anymore where we have dust and noises, and we don’t want to be the ones doing that.”
Mackay added that the new location will also allow them to help maintain the Northwest Business Coordinator.
County Commissioner Neal Younger said, “it’s a very good location.”
The purchase price was $475,000, with all the money coming from the capital improvement fund within the budget.
Myers said that equals out to less than $7,000 per acre while most properties they looked at were closed to $15-20,000 per acre.
The property does come with the mineral rights, which will help repay on the property. There is already a water well on the property.
“When you take the long view, this is the best financial decision that can be made for the public works department and the county,” Commissioner Joe Leroux said.
The county will begin looking at working with architects in the coming weeks and have options to present to the commission in early July, according Myers.