The Hays City Commission this week will discuss the possibility of extending water and sewer lines to accommodate new hotel and travel plaza at the southeast corner of 55th Street and 230th Avenue.

The commission will meet for a work session at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at City Hall, an hour earlier than usual.

The hotel would be in addition to a Peterbilt dealership, which is being constructed on the easternmost portion of the property, just north of the Interstate 70 exchange.

The developer, Mike Woofter of Colby-based NWK Investments, has an option to purchase the remainder the property, according to a memo to commissioners, and is asking for an extension of city services. The city has estimated the cost of the extension at $2 million.

NWK Investments is proposing footing that bill, but requesting that the city not annex the property until a loan financing the extension is paid off. The developer hopes to attain a 10-year, $2 million loan through the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help fund the utility extension.

In his letter to the city, Woofter estimated the development to be an investment of between $14 million and $20 million, which would include a hotel, travel center/convenience center and restaurant. An estimated 115 jobs could be created by the development, he wrote.

However, the developer is requesting to remain outside city limits for 10 years, which would mean sales and property tax revenues would not flow into city coffers.

In the past, City Manager Toby Dougherty wrote in his memo, developers have paid the costs of infrastructure extensions, while the city has paid for oversizing line to accommodate future growth.

“The one exception was the area developed in conjunction with Home Depot. This was a very costly development and TDD and TIF (Tax Increment Financing) districts were utilized to pay for the infrastructure improvements,” Dougherty said. “With Mr. Woofter’s property, the extension and oversizing of infrastructure is quite expensive, and it will be difficult to find the money to treat it as a traditional development, especially when we are struggling to find enough monies to maintain the street, water and sewer infrastructure already in place.”

The commission’s discussion is in the preliminary stages, as Dougherty noted items such as drawings and revenue projections have yet to be submitted by the developer.

A complete agenda for this week’s Hays City Commission meeting can be seen HERE.