Starting Monday, the Fly Kansas Air Tour takes to the skies and will visit nine Kansas communities in three days to promote multiple aspects of aviation.

The tour is part of the Kansas Aviation Expo, which runs from Sept. 22 to 26 and coincides with Aviation Appreciation Week, as proclaimed by Gov. Sam Brownback.

Students from the communities of Wellington, Hutchinson, Dodge City, Scott City, Salina, Topeka, Pittsburg and Independence will learn about agriculture, space exploration, helicopter piloting, flight simulator training, unmanned aerial systems, military aviation, business aviation and aircraft manufacturing on the different stops of the tour. The tour will conclude in Benton.

The Expo has also invited several hundred high school students to learn about career opportunities by exploring the ‘Flying Classroom.’ The classroom will take place following the air tour on Sept. 25, to demonstrate how STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is used in aviation.

The same evening Amelia Rose Earhart will talk about her around-the-world flight and the Fly With Amelia Foundation that helps high school girls learn how to fly. Amelia Rose, who is not related to her name sake, recreated the route the earlier Earhart had charted for her 1937 attempt to fly around the world.

The schedule on Friday includes speakers from the FAA, TSA, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and more.
For more information on the event, go to the Kansas Commission on Aerospace Education website, www.flykansas.org or the event’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/KansasAviationExpo.

A group of communities across the region is offering up treasure for those willing to take a trip.

The Phillipsburg-based United States 36 Highway Association, which promotes the highway that runs from Ohio to Colorado, will have the ninth annual U.S. 36 Highway Treasure Hunt later this month.

The event is scheduled Sept. 19 to 21 and offers a diverse shopping experience, yard sales, bake sales, flea markets and other community events. Several northwest Kansas communities will take part in the festivities.

For more information on the Treasure Hunt or the association, which has its roots in the Pony Express, click HERE. The website includes a growing list of events and maps of participating communities.

Hays Post

Stacy Area will be sitting in the Best Seats in the House for Fort Hays State University’s football game on Saturday.

The Tigers hosts Lindenwood at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on Tiger Radio-Mix 103 and streamed live on HaysPost.com.

Area, a student a NCK Tech who works part-time at APAC Kansas in Hays, is an avid Tiger supporter who regularly attends FHSU home games during both football and basketball seasons.

As part of the Best Seat in the House prize, Area will receive four tickets to the game and be seated on a couch and chairs near the south end zone, complete with Eagle cups and an Eagle/FHSU blanket.

Area said he plans to attend the game with his girlfriend and two daughters, age 11 and 8.

Hays Post would like to thank all who entered. The Best Seat in the House will be available again Oct. 11, the Homecoming game versus Missouri Western.

Listen to Eagle Radio stations for your chance to win!

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

The first full month of passenger service by SkyWest, flying as United Express at the Hays Regional Airport, was successful, according to acting airport manager I.D. Creech.

Service between Hays and Denver started Aug. 1.

Although United has not yet released any official figures, Creech said, “We do know, unofficially, about 700 passengers flew out the first month and more than 700 people flew in, probably because of school starting in Hays.”

On-time service was “pretty good,” he added, “with three weekend flights canceled. SkyWest’s reliability in August was between 85 and 90 percent.”

Many flights from Denver are arriving in Hays early because of a prevailing western tailwind.

“The crews will then load early and leave early if all the passengers are already here,” Creech said. “They’ve been very, what I’d call ‘friendly,” with the flight schedule to get people on the plane in Denver coming home to Hays for the 10 p.m. arrival. There’ve been a couple of night flights arriving a little late because, as a courtesy, they waited on passengers making connections in Denver to make the Hays return flight — as long as it’s not a long delay.”

Creech also reminded passengers to book and schedule their flights online at www.united.com because the United Airlines website offers “advantages in baggage handling and ticket combinations.”

“We’re ecstatic about having them here,” Creech said.

 

By NICK BUDD
Hays Post

At Thursday’s City Commission Meeting, commissioners discussed a proposed community improvement district at the Mall at Hays proposed by DP Management of Omaha, Neb., which manages the facility.

If approved, the proposal would implement a 1-percent sales tax hike on sales generated at the mall only, bringing the total sales tax to 9.4 percent stores on the property. The revenue from the 1-cent sales tax hike would be used to pay for improvements at the Hays Mall on a pay-as-you-go basis, with a limit of approximately $3.14 million. The Hays City Commission must approve the CID in order for it to become reality.

Proposed improvements include renovations and improvements to the interior, entrances, landscaping and parking logs. DP Management also plans to demolish the bank drive-through and the former Montana Mike’s building, and add two more retail properties on the space.

“A lot of people ask ‘Why can’t you just pay for this yourselves, why do you need the city’s help?’ ” said mall representative Matthew Gough of Barber Emerson. “The answer is, in a project like this, you can set aside 10 to 15 cents per square foot for capital improvements and maintenance. At that rate, you could set aside around $30,000 per year, which would take around 100 years.”

According to Gough, the project would happen in two phases. The first phase of “prioritized improvements,” which  Gough said would attract more business, includes renovations to the interior of the mall, parking lots and the installation of new lights outside, although an exact timeline of the phases has yet to be finalized.

“It’s possible that we’ll do some phase one improvements while we’re doing phase two and vice-versa, we don’t know what the future will be,” Gough said.

According to Terry Clouff, CEO of property owner DP Management, the improvements would help the mall compete with other regional retail outlets.

“The national tenants that we’re looking at are very obvious in your competing markets,” Clouff said. “We have available space for them. Some of these improvements will not be CID-eligible and they will be an expense to the owner.

Clouff also said financial backing has already been secured for the first phase of improvements at the mall. The completion of the second phase of improvements will depend upon sales growth.

Mayor Henry Schwaller brought up concerns about the roof of the building and other maintenance issues at the mall, noting some current tenants are disappointed with how the mall has been maintained.

“Tenants are not happy with the overall maintenance schedule,” Schwaller said. “Having air conditioning is kind of an issue for some of the tenants. They’ve also expressed concerns about the roof and leaks in their spaces. They say they love staying, but you’re not as responsive to the maintenance of the building.”

Commissioner Ron Mellick brought up concerns about communication with the tenants about the CID, noting some tenants are “very upset” because they haven’t had any contact with DP Management about the CID.

“There are tenants out there that are very upset about this because you guys haven’t contacted them about this and they feel like they’re being overrun with this,” Mellick said. “Some of them are talking about doing the same thing that Hibbett did and moving out someplace else.

“I would love to see the mall succeed, but this is a double-edged sword that you guys are messing with.”

Clouff said anchor tenants have been contacted, but some of the smaller stores have not.

Mellick also said the CID could hurt some businesses, especially at the anchor tenants including JC Penney, which recently closed several stores around the nation. He brought up the idea of bringing in another anchor tenant to the mall.

“I worry that if we put this CID in place, if it hurts (Penney’s) sales, they’ll be the next to leave when another round of closings comes,” Mellick said.

According to Clouff, JC Penney is in almost every property DP Management works with, and store operators have said they are favorable to the improvements. He did note they are worried about the increased sales tax.

Clouff also addressed concerns brought up by commissioners about the high rent prices at the mall for tenants. He said that the rent prices at the mall are comparable to malls across the country that are similar in size and customer base.

Commissioners Kent Steward and Shaun Musil said they were not in favor of moving the project forward.

“I just don’t think this is the proper use of tax dollars,” Commissioner Kent Steward said. “I think taxes should be used for government operations and government services. I know this money will be channeled through the city, but this is letting a business tax the people of the city of Hays (for improvements), and I just can’t stand for that.”

The issue is scheduled to be discussed again at next week’s regular meeting, and a public hearing on the proposed CID could be set for Oct. 23.