By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
Hays city commissioners on Thursday unanimously approved a resolution supporting DP Management, Omaha, Nebraska, in its application for a moderate-income housing state grant to build a 136-unit apartment complex.
If awarded, the $650,000 grant from the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation will help finance the project on the southeast corner of Wheatland Avenue and East 22nd Street, which the developer is under contract to purchase.
The city has no financial responsibility for the grant application.
"This is just a letter of support. That's all the city would be doing," said Shaun Musil, commissioner.
Forty-eight of the one, two and three-bedroom units would be market-rate housing, while 88 units would be low-income housing. DP Management has partnered with Ellis County to submit a low-income housing tax credit application to the federal program.
The apartment complex would cost $9.8 million for phase one moderate-income units, and $22 million for phase two low-income units.
"We need the housing," Musil said. "You look around town, and you see so many businesses continue to struggle to get qualified staff. Hopefully, with all the apartments to be built in the next four or five years, it will help some of that."
Other new Hays housing developments are planned and include The Depot, 10th and Main; The Grove, north of Hays Medical Center on Canterbury Drive; and Tallgrass Phase 4, Wheatland Drive north of 22nd Street.
Commissioners also held a public hearing, with no public comments, for establishing and levying a 1.5% Community Improvement District (CID) tax at CERVS, 3701 Vine.
The development agreement for building a bigger CERVS convenience store and Phillips 66 fuel center was also approved.
Developer Russ Pfannenstiel, Hays, estimates the tax will generate about $895,000 over the maximum 22-year term of the CID.
The estimated project total cost is $4.7 million, with about $3.2 million as CID-eligible expenses.
The 1.5% sales tax would be imposed when operations begin at the new facility.
Commissioners also approved the design-build agreement for phase 1 services for the new Hays police station and municipal court facility at 1100 Fort in Astra Bank.
The $182,000 agreement is with PWC, Hays, in partnership with team members BKV and JGR, who have experience with the proposed project.
The architecture firm BKV completed the police department's space needs analysis, and the architectural firm JGR designed Astra Bank's 2018 remodel.
Police headquarters and municipal court will move from the Ellis County Law Enforcement Center, 105 W. 12th, to the renovated bank.
Astra Bank is building a new facility at 27th and Main.
During citizen comments, city employee Phillip Gage, a sergeant in the Hays police department, commented on Commissioner Reese Barrick's recent challenge to the local business community to pay their full-time employees at least $20 an hour.
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"I think if we have city commissioners challenging other business leaders, we also ought to be a business leader as well," Gage said.
He noted 16 city positions start at less than $20 an hour.
Barrick was late to the meeting and was unable to publicly address Gage's comment at that time.
Mayor Sandy Jacobs thanked Gage and said all citizens' comments are taken into consideration by the commissioners.