By ALIN HETT
Hays Post
Ellis County Fairgrounds will soon have a new look after county officials moved forward Tuesday with new metal signage for the facility, replacing signs that have been in place for decades.
Darin Myers, Ellis County administrator, told commissioners that the three signs will cost a total of $2,031 and will identify areas of the fairgrounds, including the newly renamed Loran Zimmerman Unsere Leute Deutschefest Meeting Room.
The room was renamed by Ellis County commissioners in July, prompting commissioners to request updated signage for the fairgrounds. The Ellis County Fair Board reviewed several designs before selecting the version presented to commissioners Tuesday.
Myers said county officials also considered adding programmable LED signs that could be updated remotely to show what events were taking place in different areas of the fairgrounds.
Those signs, however, came with a significantly higher price tag.
“Those quotes were about $10,000 a sign,” Myers said. “Once we saw that price, we're like, well, let's see if we can look at an alternate price.”
County staff and the Ellis County Fair Board looked at less expensive LED signs costing around $1,000 each, but those would have required someone to be at the fairgrounds and connected to the local Wi-Fi to change the displays.
Allowing people renting the buildings to access the signs was also considered, but Myers said that raised concerns about the displays being used improperly.
After considering the options, the Fair Board recommended the county skip the LED signs and move forward with the traditional metal signs.
“With the price tag, it's just too much,” Myers said. “The price that was in there also doesn't include having to have an electrician go out there because there's no electricity up there for them to be able to plug the signs in as well.”
Nathan Leiker, Ellis County commissioner asked whether the new metal signs would be illuminated at night.
Myers said two of the three locations already have exterior lights above the signs. The area around the Loran Zimmerman Unsere Leute Deutschefest Meeting Room does not currently have the same lighting, but Myers said the county could explore installing a light there if needed.
The signs are expected to be ordered and installed within the next few months.
ACCESS Transportation
During commissioner reports, Leiker provided an update on ongoing discussions surrounding ACCESS Transportation and reminded residents that ACCESS is available to the general public, not exclusively to people with disabilities.
Leiker said about 200 people use the transportation service each month and encouraged commissioners and others involved in discussions about its future to schedule a ride themselves before making decisions about the service.
“It's general public transportation,” Leiker said. “Anybody can ride. Just call them and schedule a ride.”
Issues with grain storage outside Ellis
Michael Burgess, Ellis County commissioner, raised concerns he has heard from residents near a grain elevator south of Ellis.
Burgess said the grain is being dumped just outside Ellis city limits in county territory and residents have contacted him about grain and mold dust, as well as birds reportedly dying after eating old grain.
“I've been contacted multiple times now,” Burgess said.
Burgess said it remains unclear whether the issue falls under county authority or another agency, such as the Kansas Department of Health and Environment or U.S. Department of Agriculture. He said the county may need to look into the situation and determine whether its zoning regulations address certain issues.
County appraisal ratio study
Eugene Rupp, Ellis County appraiser, presented commissioners with the results of the county's latest property appraisal ratio study.
Residential property in Ellis County had an appraisal ratio of 97.33%, while commercial and industrial property came in lower at 89.62%.
Rupp used a $100,000 home as an example of what the residential figure means.
“If we had a house valued at $100,000, we would appraise the house at $97,000,” Rupp said.
The figures were presented as part of the county's 2025 final ratio study and its 2026 procedural and substantial compliance review through the Kansas Department of Revenue's Property Valuation Division.
Breastfeeding Coalition
Members of the Ellis County Breastfeeding Coalition also appeared before commissioners Tuesday to discuss the coalition's progress since its formation in 2015 and a new designation it received in August.
Monique Koerner with the Cottonwood Extension District said Hays was a pilot community for the original Communities Supporting Breastfeeding certification when the local coalition formed.
Since then, the organization has expanded its efforts throughout Ellis County, working with health care providers, businesses, childcare providers and mothers.
Koerner said one of the coalition's largest recent efforts involved increasing the number of businesses designated as breastfeeding welcome locations.
“One of the leaders and I went up and down Main Street into a couple of shopping complexes, and we were really pleased with the reception that we got,” Koerner said. “Everybody was on board with it and just thinks that it's a really good initiative to support families in our community.”
Businesses participating in the program display stickers indicating they welcome breastfeeding mothers.
The coalition ultimately reached 45 businesses.
The designation primarily requires businesses to educate employees that Kansas law allows mothers to breastfeed anywhere they otherwise have the right to be.
As part of another coalition-supported project, HaysMed serves as a collection location where mothers can donate excess breast milk. The milk is stored before being shipped to a milk bank in Denver for pasteurization.
HaysMed has since begun keeping pasteurized donor human milk available for patients at the hospital.
In other business
More than 10 new Ellis County employees were introduced to commissioners Tuesday across several county departments.