By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Salina Catholic Diocese plans to sell a piece of property on 27th and Main Street and instead develop a new Catholic cemetery about a mile and a half south of Hays.
The 4.8 acres at 27th Street is being listed for $1.1 million. It is bordered on the south and west by residential housing, on the north by commercial zoning and the east by the current St. Joseph Cemetery.
“The current St. Joseph Cemetery along 27th and Main Streets has served the funeral and burial needs of the Hays Catholic community since the 1870’s. While the cemetery is not yet full, St. Joseph Parish saw the need to look ahead to the day when more land would be needed to see to the needs of future generations,” St. Joseph said in a news release.
“Thanks to the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Ed and Donna Stehno, 30 acres of land have been procured for just such future needs. The land is located on 230th Avenue, one-half mile south of Spring Hill Road, which is about a four-mile drive from St. Joseph Church. As the City of Hays now has responsibility for the Fort Hays Memorial Gardens Cemetery out west on Noose Road, in the not-too-distant future most burials for Hays funerals will be taking place three to four miles outside of town,” the new release continued.
“In the coming years, St. Joseph Parish will begin developing 10 of the 30 acres with fences, roads, a tool shed and preparations for traditional burials of caskets as well as columbaria for the interment of ashes. These 10 acres should see to the needs of the Hays Catholic community for at least the next 50 years. As cremations are becoming more common in Ellis County, this will figure significantly into planning for the cemetery. A columbarium is also being considered for the current St. Joseph Cemetery,” the news release said.
The proceeds from the sale of this land will be used exclusively for developing the new cemetery and for the perpetual care of both the new and old cemeteries, the new release from St. Joseph said.
“After consulting with various parishioners who specialize in finance, banking and real estate, it was decided that selling the land in town and looking elsewhere for more cemetery space would be a wiser use of this resource as we plan for the future,” the St. Joseph new release said.
The land is zoned P-I Public Institutional, which is land set aside for uses such as cemeteries and schools.
Jesse Rohr, city of Hays public works director, said the land was listed in the city’s comprehensive plan in 2012 as P-I, because it was the church’s intent at that time to use the land to expand the cemetery.
Sadeghi, the diocese’s real estate agent in Hays, said the high-traffic area would be a prime spot for commercial development. A 2015 traffic study indicated that area sees about 20,000 vehicles per day, she said.
Rohr said the city would likely entertain a request by the new owner for rezoning the property.
“It will be interesting to see how the new owner’s vision fits into our new plan,” Rohr added.
In terms of the traffic, Rohr said city regulations allow staff to request a traffic study from an owner during the rezoning process if that looks like it will be a concern.