By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

It took two votes Thursday night, finally passing four to one, for Hays city commissioners to approve a request made by the owner of Lot 1, Block 1 of the 46th Street 2nd Addition, 4500 Van Buren Dr., to vacate a small portion of the drainage dedication that abuts the lot and lies within the Golden Belt Estates 3rd Addition.

Jesse Rohr, city Planning, Inspection and Enforcement superintendent said city staff recommended vacating the area–0.081 acres. Although it’s a part of the drainage dedication, it is not part of the actual drainage area.

“This isn’t a piece of property we have title to. We didn’t buy this property from somebody. This property was dedicated as part of a plat,” City Manager Toby Dougherty reiterated. “So the city has no acquisition fees, no cost in acquiring the property. That’s why it was recommended to vacate the property. It’s pretty simple. If the easement is vacated, it automatically goes to the adjacent property owner.”

Commissioners had the option to ask for payment for the requested property vacation.

“The property really has no value to the city and it’s a liability to maintain it, so that’s why we recommended asking for just a $500 filing fee (to cover administrative expenses),” Dougherty explained.

City Attorney John Bird called the situation “a little bit of a legal fiction.”

“If it were an asset that the city could market, it would be something you should probably advertise for sale. But there’s no one else to give a shot at it, except maybe the Parks Department,” Bird said.

Longtime Hays City Commissioner Henry Schwaller doesn’t like the idea of “giving away” property. He said he could recall only one other circumstance when that happened.

His motion to request $5,000 from the landowner for the vacation failed on a vote of two to three.

“Whether it’s real property like this, or equipment–the very worst fire trucks and street sweepers which have only salvage value–we make sure that every time we sell these, we get the maximum dollar for them,” Schwaller said.

“Whether it’s land  that’s deeded, inherited or given to the city in some way–someone surveys a development lot incorrectly and the city inherits five or seven feet of land–this is the first time in 15 years we’ve given away something that actually has value.

“If we needed that land to expand the drainage ditch, we would have to pay the property owner,” Schwaller pointed out.

Vice Mayor Shaun Musil agreed with Schwaller, who asked Dougherty for a policy going forward.

“But we don’t currently have that policy in place, so I think we should pass the resolution as recommended by city staff,” Musil said. Musil seconded a motion made by Commissioner Lance Jones to vacate the drainage dedication portion as recommended.  Schwaller voted against the measure.

Dougherty was then directed by Mayor Eber Phelps to begin formulating a policy. Dougherty told commissioners he looked at the situation as “a clerical error more than anything else.”

“If somebody today tried to give the city this piece of land, we’d say we don’t want it. We’re trying to correct an oversight,” Dougherty added.