A generous donation from a prominent Hays family for the Friends of the Hays Dog Park project is a “huge boost,” according to FHDP President Kim Perez.

Ten-thousand dollars is going to the dog park project, donated by Henry Schwaller IV in honor of this grandparents, Henry and Juliette Schwaller.  The elder Schwaller recently passed away

Perez  says the donation moves the project within $4,000 of  meeting the goal of $33,000 for Phase One.

The city is allowing the dog park to be built in phases at the Bickle-Schmidt Sports Complex.

“Phase 1 would cost $32,845.17 and include fencing for a 1-acre area, a staging area, a finished parking lot, and other park amenities,” explains Perez.  “Phase 2 will cost $42,269 and will include the fencing for a five-acre area.  And Phase 3 will cost $33,686 , to include the installation of additional amenities for the park. ”

FHDP volunteers have held three fundraisers this summer and have two more planned for this summer and fall.

All donations are processed by the Heartland Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Greater Salina Community Foundation.

The city of Hays has agreed to a three- year, “no-drill” oil and gas lease of  Fort Hays Memorial Gardens.

Land adjacent to the cemetery west of Hays is leased by David Barker for oil and gas exploration:

The city is getting a $1,000 dollar lease bonus, and a standard one-eighth royalty, plus a proportionate amount of any production.

Hays City Commissioners approved the lease during their meeting Thursday night.

In other business, they accepted the low bid of $66,000 for repainting the interior of the city’s north water tower and approved an ordinance and resolution authorizing issuance and delivery of general obligation refunding and improvement bonds.

At Thursday’s City Commission meeting, Kim Rupp, City of Hays Finance Director, presented the city’s financial report for the month of June.  The complete statement can be found on the city’s website here.  Here are some of the key areas:

Water Consumption

-Revenues in June totaled $6,765,312 a decrease of $156,434 compared to the same period as last year.

            Residential and business water consumption fell 30% when compared to this time last year. This translates into a drop in water sales & conservation revenue of -$87,811 for the month.

Water consumption in Hays has been a popular and controversial topic.  This week, the city mailed letters to residents advising of the new usage and pricing tier system.

The 2^nd water usage tier, which was put into place this year, will charge $7.20 per cubic foot.  The new tier is not designed to make money for the city.

Rupp told Hays Post “The intent of the new tier is to stop…at least decrease outside watering.  The second conservation tier is designed to curb outside usage.  It was never designed to offset any kind of revenue.  The top 20% users in the city use 44% of the water.  [The new tier] was designed to curb that.”

Rupp went on to say that loss of revenue as a result of decreased usage was never factored into the new tier rate.  “We really don’t know what kind of impact this might have.  Obviously, if people use less then revenue will go down.

“Conservation specialist Nick Willis had found that if you raise rates a certain percentage that means revenue’s going to go down a certain percentage because consumption goes down, but we never really put a pencil to any of that.

“We just followed what had already been put in place…The minimum is $1.80 per cubic foot.  The first tier that was put in place years ago is double that, $3.60 per cubic foot.  We followed what was already in place.”

Rupp added that residents just need to be aware of how much water they are using, especially with outdoor watering.

“People just need to turn their automatic sprinklers off, and only water when it’s necessary.  Run it manually.  Like today, we’ve had over an inch of rain, people didn’t turn them off.  People really need to be cognizant not just set it and forget it.”

Sales Tax

At the end of the report, Mayor Kent Steward asked Rupp if all businesses are now charging the correct sales tax.  Rupp replied “probably not.”

The current sales tax for Hays is 7.9%.  The state’s portion is 6.15% and the city’s portion is 1.75%.  During the City Commission meeting, Rupp indicated that calls are still coming into the city office regarding businesses charging the incorrect amount.

Rupp told Hays Post that sales tax dropped twice recently: once when the city’s .05% for the Sports Complex ran out, and again when the state dropped their portion of the sales tax.  Businesses made the first change right away, but the 2^nd drop is the one that some businesses haven’t adjusted in their computer and register systems.  Because of this, people are finding that they are being charged 8.05% rather than the correct 7.9%.

If you see that you have been charged the incorrect amount of sales tax, The Kansas State Department of Revenue is the group that administers sales tax.  They can be reached at 785-291-3580

Of course, you already knew it would rain.

Thursday we told you about that morning’s third annual “Rock and Chalk” happening on the sidewalks of downtown Ellis.

Public Library Director Steve Arthur noted proudly that it has rained the past two years shortly after the chalk artists had their fun.

And yes, as you can see by the library sign, the rain streak continues for the third consecutive year.

Rainfall amounts:  Ellis-1.90″; Hays-2.37″.

“Hays weather radio is back up ready to serve you!”

Technicians fixed the problem in less than 4 hour today.  Officials at NWS in Dodge told Hays Post they were not certain what caused the outage.

9:35 a.m.   The National Weather Service in Dodge City is reporting via Twitter this morning ” Hays weather radio is down. Technicians are investigating. Restore time unknown”  Stay tuned to Eagle Radio and check Hays Post for additional details as they become available.

The weather service has also issued this public information statement. 
THE WXM35 NOAA WEATHER RADIO TRANSMITTER AT HAYS KANSAS IS OFF THE 
AIR DUE TO AN EQUIPMENT FAILURE RESULTING FROM A POSSIBLE LIGHTNING 
STRIKE LAST EVENING. OUTAGE DURATION AND RESTORE TIME ARE UNKNOWN AT 
THIS TIME.

The Hays Police Department conducted 25 traffic stops and received six animal calls on Thursday, according to the Police Activity Log.

Indecent Act with a Child:

• 2:00 a.m. July 16^th – Indecent Act/Liberties with a Child reported in the 2500 block of Felten Drive

Identity Theft:

• 6:35 p.m. – Identity Theft reported in Hays

Driving Under the Influence:

• 2:15 a.m. – Driving Under the Influence reported in the 700 block of Vine Street

Warrant Service:

• 12:10 a.m. – Traffic Stop, Warrant Service (Fail to Appear) conducted in the 400 block of East 23^rd Street
• 11:37 a.m. – Traffic Stop, Warrant Service (Fail to Appear) conducted in the 100 block of East 6^th Street

Worthless Check:

• 5/26/2013 > 5/26/2013 Worthless Check reported in the 1300 block of Canterbury Drive
• 5/26/2013 > 5/26/2013 Worthless Check reported in the 1300 block of Canterbury Drive
• 5/27/2013 > 5/27/2013 Worthless Check reported in the 1900 block of Vine Street
• 5/27/2013 > 5/27/2013 Worthless Check reported in the 1900 block of Vine Street
• 5/27/2013 > 5/27/2013 Worthless Check reported in the 500 block of West 27^th Street
• 5/29/2013 > 5/29/2013 Worthless Check reported in the 1300 block of Canterbury Drive
• 5/30/2013 > 5/30/2013 Worthless Check reported in the 1600 block of East 27^th Street
• 5/30/2013 > 5/30/2013 Worthless Check reported in the 1600 block of East 27^th Street
• 5/31/2013 > 5/31/2013 Worthless Check reported in the 1300 block of Canterbury Drive
• 5/31/2013 > 5/31/2013 Worthless Check reported in the 1600 block of East 27^th Street
• 06/01/2013 > 06/01/2013 Worthless Check reported in the 1600 block of East 27^th Street
• 6/01/2013 > 6/01/2013 Worthless Check reported in the 1300 block of Canterbury Drive
• 06/01/2013 > 6/01/2013 Worthless Check reported in the 1300 block of Canterbury Drive
• 6/02/2013 > 6/02/2013 Worthless Check reported in the 1300 block of Canterbury Drive
• 6/02/2013 > 6/02/2013 Worthless Check reported in the 1600 block of East 27^th Street
• 6/02/2013 > 6/02/2013 Worthless Check reported in the 1600 block of East 27^th Street
• 6/03/2013 > 6/03/2013 Worthless Check reported in the 1300 block of Canterbury Drive
• 6/03/2013 > 6/03/2013 Worthless Check reported in the 1300 block of Canterbury Drive
• 6/04/2013 > 6/04/2013 Worthless Check reported in the 1300 block of Canterbury Drive
• 6/04/2013 > 6/04/2013 Worthless Check reported in the 1300 block of Canterbury Drive
• 6/05/2013 > 6/05/2013 Worthless Check reported in the 1300 block of Canterbury Drive
• 6/06/2013 > 6/06/2013 Worthless Check reported in the 1300 block of Canterbury Drive
• 6/07/2013 > 6/07/2013 Worthless Check reported in the 1300 block of Canterbury Drive
• 6/08/2013 > 6/08/2013 Worthless Check reported in the 1300 block of Canterbury Drive
• 6/08/2013 > 6/08/2013 Worthless Check reported in the 1600 block of East 27^th Street

Violation of Restraining Order:

• 3:55 p.m. – Violation of Restraining Order/PFA reported in the 1200 block of Fort Street

Vehicle Accident:  

• 8:25 a.m. – Accident-Co Road/St Hwy reported in the 2200 block of Vine Street

Water Use Violation:

• 1:55 a.m. – Water Use Violation reported in the 200 block of West 33^rd Street
• 7:02 a.m. – Water Use Violation reported in the 1300 block of Schwaller Avenue
• 3:07 p.m. – Water Use Violation reported in the 2700 block of Epworth Street