By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
It's been years in the making, Hays city commissioners said during their Thursday work session, but it's worth the wait.
A Chick-fil-A quick-service restaurant is to be built this year at 3404 Vine, the site of the former Rodeway Inn motel, which was closed and razed.
Jarrod Kuckelman, assistant city manager, presented the developer's request to issue industrial revenue bonds (IRBs) for the $6.2 million project. The city would serve as a conduit issuer, with the developer responsible for the payments.
The developer is requesting a property tax abatement and a sales tax exemption for materials, furniture, fixtures and equipment. The estimated cost is $66,875.
No bonds will be issued, and there is no taxpayer commitment.
Once construction is complete, the exemption would expire, and all sales and purchases at the location would be subject to regular sales tax collections.
Kuckelman said the developer estimates initial annual retail sales for the restaurant at about $5.5 million. At the city's current sales tax rate of 2.25%, that would generate about $123,750 in average annual sales tax revenue for Hays.
There's been a lot of public speculation and excitement about the project. Ten-year-old Noah Berges of Roosevelt Elementary School was in the audience, holding a sign in support of the restaurant.
"Great sign," said Mason Ruder, mayor, to Berges.
Ruder said a lot of work had gone into the project, including analysis of traffic flow, ingress, egress and parking space for the restaurant, which will include a double-lane drive-thru.
Sandy Jacobs, commissioner, said the city's roundabouts were installed "just for development on Vine Street like this, where people would be able to get in and out, not have to stop at stop signs or red lights."
Ruder said he called all the restaurants adjacent to the 37th Street roundabout, which reported their sales went up 10 to 20% after the roundabouts were in place.
"Drivers aren't afraid to jump across Vine anymore," he said.
Shaun Musil, city commissioner, gave kudos to David Clingan of Grow Hays and city staff for their work behind the scenes.
"Chick-fil-A now; what's next?" Musil said. "We know a lot of (new) businesses want to be where it's busy."
Clingan said the restaurant, which is hiring an experienced franchise owner/operator who will move to Hays, expects to hire 17 employees.
The city commission will vote on a resolution next week for the intent to issue the requested industrial revenue bonds.
Sewer cleaning and inspection
A bid for the 2026 sanitary sewer cleaning and inspection was presented by Jeff Crispin, director of water resources.
The city maintains about 115 miles of sanitary sewer lines and cleans and inspects about 22 miles of them each year.
Problems that can result from a lack of sewer cleaning include sewer backups, manhole overflows, public exposure to raw sewage and regulatory fines, Crispin said. "Not every city does this preventative maintenance."
This year's project covers northeast Hays, which was last treated in 2021.
The low bid was from Dakota Municipal Solutions, Moorhead, Minnesota, for $133,028. The budgeted amount was $150,000. The remaining $17,000 will be used for heavier cleaning, tap intrusion removal, root removal and patching.
Centrifuge maintenance
Crispin also presented a low bid for a 10,000-hour maintenance service of the centrifuge at the Water Reclamation and Reuse Facility, Highway 40 and General Custer.
The bid of $48,600 from the authorized manufacturer representative in Wichita is below the $50,000 budget.
David Vilaysing, commissioner, was appreciative of the maintenance plans presented for the Department of Water Resources.
"I challenge all the other department heads to look at what we've got out there and how we can maintain it and make what we have last longer for financial responsibility," Vilaysing said.
Setbacks for carports
Current Unified Development Code regulations require a 5-foot side yard setback for all accessory structures, including carports. Following recent variance requests, Jesse Rohr, public works director, said the Hays Area Planning Commission is recommending reducing the side yard setback for carports from 5 feet to 3 feet.
"It allows property owners with narrow or constrained lots to maximize usable yard and driveway space," Rohr said.
Fire, property maintenance, electrical code updates
The city periodically updates its building codes to account for advancements in structural integrity, fire and life safety, property maintenance, and electrical safety. They were last updated in 2017.
Changes include local matching of the frequency the state of Kansas requires for fire, emergency and tornado drills. There would also be an amendment requiring that all fire alarm activations be sent to local dispatch.
Commissioners moved all the agenda items on for a vote at their March 26 meeting.
Executive session
Toby Dougherty, city manager, requested a 30-minute executive session to consult with the city attorney's staff regarding matters pertaining to attorney-client privilege, including the Hays city commissioners (excluding Shaun Musil), the deputy city manager and the assistant city manager.
Kuckelman said Musil's exclusion had nothing to do with his performance as a commissioner.
No action was taken following the session.