By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

The original location proposed for the westbound I-70 Welcome to Hays marker must be changed after the Federal Highway Administration told the Kansas Department of Transportation it cannot be placed in the KDOT right-of-way.

Convention and Visitors Bureau Director (CVB) Rick Rekoske told city commissioners Thursday night two alternate placements were considered. Rekoske recommended placement of the 18′ by 10′ limestone monument on private land on the north side of I-70, “just 11-hundred feet east of the original location” and outside of the KDOT right-of-way.

The city would have to purchase a permanent easement to use the private land. “John Braun (assistant public works director) reached out to the landowner about this and he was actually pretty excited about having the welcome sign on his property,” said City Manager Toby Dougherty. ” A kind of hometown pride,”added Commissioner James Meier.

Although the city owns the land for the alternative site on the south side of I-70, Meier and the other commissioners prefer the north site.

“I think to put it in this other location, you’d have to enlarge the sign to make it actually clear and visible which would add more cost than gaining the easement,” Meier said. “I think we’ll still have better visibility on the north side.”

Utilizing the private property on the north side of I-70 will require the acquisition of a permanent signage easement at a one-time cost of $1,645, plus the cost to erect a barbed wire fence around the sign to keep livestock away from it.

The monument project was approved by the commission in March.

Dougherty explained to the commission he can enact the easement purchase for the north location.

“We have money in CVB to handle the added costs for it so we don’t need to go back and do another action item. It’s all within my spending authority,” said Dougherty.

There are no changes to the eastbound sign planned near Arnhold Park on the south side of the interstate.

Rekoske said the monument project, to be done by Tobin Rupe Stoneworks of Wichita, should be completed by Oct. 31. Total project cost is about $57,000.  The money comes from the CVB budget and is generated by the guest bed tax.

Commissioner Henry Schwaller was absent from the work session.