By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Replacement of the water  main along Oak Street from 20th to 26th Street will start later this month in Hays.

Construction is scheduled to begin Mon., Oct. 31, 2016 and will last about five months, according to Assistant Public Works Director John Braun. The work will begin at 20th Street and move north. Access to some residences may be restricted at times.

A Public Open House/Information meeting will be held tonight, Tuesday, October 18, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the City Commission Chambers of City Hall at 1507 Main Street. The city’s contractor, J Corp, along with city staff answer questions and present the plan and schedule.

Braun says this project is basically a wrap-up of work that began in 2012.

“Back in 2012, we had several waterlines within the older parts of town scheduled for replacement. Since that time we’ve done waterlines on Oak St. 26th St., Elm, Hickory, Ash and various other places.  So this is sort of wrapping up that program,” Braun said.

“The Capital Improvement Plan that’s in the 2017 budget lists some other waterlines on various streets that need also to be updated. Those are based more on waterline break histories. The past projects were more for water capacity and fire protection issues,” he explained.

If interested residents are unable to attend tonight’s meeting, Braun has offered to talk to people individually. Call the Hays Public Works Dept. at (785) 628-7350 or email Braun at [email protected].

Eagle Communications announced this week Mike Doerfler has joined the Broadband Division as its newest employee-owner.

Doerfler will serve as director of Eagle Technology Solutions, which was created after the recent acquisition of Hays-based SICOIR Computer Technologies and already has expanded into the Abilene and Columbus, Neb., regions.

Eagle Technology Solutions provides information technology services and support for business and residential customers.

Doerfler comes to Eagle with a wealth of industry experience, having spent the past 18 years working for companies such as Systems Solutions, Inc. and Nex-Tech, and has experience leading teams that create and implement managed I.T. services for business. His expertise lends itself to developing managed service offerings in areas such as network security and support, managed firewall, compliance, proactive network monitoring, cloud computing, managed backup, remote desktop support, computer repair and more.

Doerfler has been instrumental in leading teams through acquisitions and developing managed service offerings that are focused on solutions for business growth, innovation and profitability.

“Mike’s wealth of experience and industry knowledge has already made him a key addition to the Eagle Communications family. Bringing Mike on to lead our Technology Solutions team is a sign of our commitment to being the leading technology company in our industry,” said Travis Kohlrus, Eagle Broadband general manager. “Our new service offerings were driven by our customers asking for more support in the fast-paced world of technology. Mike’s addition to our team strengthens our promise to customers to provide exceptional service. We are very fortunate that we were able to find someone of Mike’s talents to lead us forward. I’m confident that he will play a key role in providing and implementing high quality solutions for our customers.”

Eagle Communications, Inc. is a Kansas-based Broadband Services and Media Company with more than 285 Employee-Owners. The company operates 28 radio stations in Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri, as well as cable TV systems in 59 Kansas, Nebraksa and Colorado communities. The company also offers e-business solutions, web hosting, telephone service, high-speed internet, and wireless internet in most service areas. 

For more information, visit www.eaglecom.net.

By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

A road allowing access to a proposed residential development south of Hays will remain following a vote by the Ellis County Commission Monday.

On Sept. 1, the Ellis County Clerk’s office received a petition for vacation of Randall Lane south on Hays in the VonFeldt residential addition. The petition was signed by 13 residents who live nearby.

Randall Lane runs through the VonFeldt subdivision approximately 2 miles south of Hays and would connect the proposed Blue Sky Addition to U.S. 183.

Ellis County Commissioners Dean Haselhorst and Marcy McClelland, along with a surveyor and three Ellis County residents selected by the commission, viewed the road on Oct. 7. On Monday, the commission held a public hearing to hear from residents.

The road was originally platted in 1977 and, if vacated, would leave the proposed Blue Sky Addition and approximately 66 acres of ground owned by Mary-Alice Unrein landlocked, according to County Attorney Tom Drees.

If the road was vacated, the county would have to provide another access road and then have to pay the extra costs of building the new road — as opposed to the cost of developing Randall Lane, according to Drees.

“If she (Unrein) develops Blue Sky, she also has to pay to develop that road,” Drees said. “If we move it elsewhere, any cost beyond what it would cost to develop Randall Lane, she can petition for damages to the commission.

“The commission can assess that, even back too, some of it back on the petitioners,” he added.

Ernest Pfeifer was one of the “disinterested householders” appointed as part of the road view committee. Pfeifer said at Monday’s meeting he was in favor of vacating the road because Unrein owns property to the south and he believes they would have access through that property.

The other two residents – Dennis Pfannenstiel and Wes DeBey — were not present at the meeting but, in submitted statements to County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes, said they were in favor of keeping the road.

Terry Krannawitter lives in the Vonfeldt Addition along Randall Lane and said Monday he was not in favor of allowing the road to remain because of the increased traffic, dust and litter it will create.

Krannawitter said all of the traffic from the six-lot Blue Sky Acres will exit the subdivision onto U.S. 183 and that will make it difficult getting out of his driveway. He was also concerned with turning onto U.S. 183.

He was not aware the county would have to pay the extra costs of developing another access to Blue Sky and said he would not be in favor of paying for a portion of that.

The commission voted 2-0 to not vacate Randall Lane, meaning the road will remain in place, and Unrein is expected to pay to upgrade the road. She said it will match the standards or roads set by the county.

The commission still has to vote on the proposed plat of the Blue Sky Acres Addition. It was previously approved by the city commission against the recommendation of the Hays Area Planning Commission and city staff.

Commissioner Barb Wasinger, who was not present at Monday’s meeting, and County Counselor Bill Jeter recused themselves due to conflict of interest.

In other business, the commission:

• Approved the purchase of a 2017 Ram pickup from Lewis for $29,870 for the sheriff’s department and for $28,932 for Public Works.

• Approved a resolution banning stickers from election ballots. According to Smith-Hanes, the resolution bans stickers placed on the ballot for a write-in candidate in place of actually writing in the candidate.

• Approved a resolution selling an extra dump truck to the city of Ellis.