By TONY GUERRERO
Hays Post
The Ellis County emergency manager presented a report on disaster preparedness to the Ellis County Commission on Tuesday.
Lyle Pantle, Ellis County emergency manager, presented a document aligned with the Kansas Planning Standards. These standards are updated every five years to maintain Ellis County's disaster preparedness.
Pantle said a recent update to the document includes the addition of an emergency operations mapper, which can assist external agencies during a disaster.
A formal review of the plan was approved.
Ellis County Fair rental agreements
Ellis County Fair Board President Justin Scheck discussed updated rental agreements for the rodeo grounds.
The updated rental agreements specify fees of $100 for up to four hours or $200 per day for arena use, $15 per night for stall rentals and $25 per day per camper for hookup and electrical use.
"Some of the people who use the rodeo arena said that if we raise it to $200 per day, they're probably not gonna use it," Scheck said.
Scheck proposed temporarily reducing the per-day fee to encourage groups like the Fort Hays State University club to continue using the facility rather than seeking alternatives.
The contract was approved to update the fee to $75 for four hours and $150 for a full day, with an annual review.
The other rental agreements remained the same.
HVAC award
During the past few years, the Ellis County Commission has upgraded aging HVAC systems in several county facilities. Glassman Corporation was the contractor on a project to upgrade equipment at the administrative building.
Glassman submitted the project for an award for energy efficiency.
Joe Glassman with Glassman Corporation presented the Associated General Contractors State of Kansas Building Award of Honor to the commission on Tuesday.
Annual township reports
Ellis County Clerk Bobbi Dreiling signed off on the annual Ellis County townships' financial reports.