By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

The Ellis County Commission will hold two meetings Monday.

The first is a special meeting to hold a conference call with the architect on the 718 Main administrative building and also discuss proposed changes to the EMS/Rural Fire Building.

County Administrator Greg Sund, at the request of the commissioners, asked the architect to take a bottom-up approach, starting with the low bid and removing the recommended changes.

Sund also said, in his memo to commissioners, they should look into upgrading to water-saving devices throughout the building. He said because the county has identified water conservation as a priority, “It will send a message that the county commission believes in the priorities in they set.”

The commission also will discuss the EMS/Rural Fire project at the special meeting. According to Sund’s memo, the current estimate is a little less than $3 million and, when the 15 percent overhead allowance is added, the estimated cost is about $3.3 million.

The special meeting is at 2:30 p.m. Monday at the administrator’s office at the Ellis County Courthouse.

At the regularly scheduled meeting, the commission will discuss purchasing a new phone system. The commission will also get a report on the lesser prairie chicken, mortgage registration fee and a request for a Fort Hays State University program sponsorship.

The regular meeting will be at 5 p.m. Monday at the Ellis County Courthouse.