By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
The city of Hays has 13 mayor-appointed volunteer boards and committees.
In recent years, it’s become difficult to find citizens to serve on the boards and their operation has always been time consuming for city staff.
Following a discussion request by Mayor Henry Schwaller, staff research revealed some of the boards also regularly struggle to find issues to address during their monthly meetings and have effectively outlived their usefulness.
A recommendation presented at Thursday’s city commission work session suggests eliminating four of the boards and instead, relying on ad hoc committees to meet as needed for specific projects and topics.
City Manager Toby Dougherty and commissioners agreed input from the boards and committees has always been valued and desired.
“We’re very lucky to have people that volunteer to serve on all of these groups and we appreciate their work, especially when they’re serving in an advisory capacity,” Schwaller said. “They come up with recommendations and many times, nothing happens. So for them, it’s a pretty trying exercise.”
James Meier noted he had a difficult time as mayor finding a resident to serve on the library board and he eventually posted a notice on Facebook where someone responded to the request.
Meier thinks the recommendations should be considered “not as an opportunity to get rid of these but rather to transform how we’re processing their information. So that not only are we utilizing our staff’s time efficiently, but the people that serve on these boards, their time is valuable too.”
There may be more public input if topical ad hoc groups are formed, according to Meier.
“I view this as a way to actually get more input and more people involved because it’s going to be a specific task with a specific timeline and something they’re truly interested in having input on.”
Several of the commissioners talked about having attended various committee and board meetings.
Ron Mellick said he’s seen undue pressure by board members on city staff at those meetings, recalling an incident at the municipal golf course several years ago.
“I feel sorry for staff and the fact that sometimes I think they get pressured into doing things that shouldn’t be done,” said Mellick. “I’m not picking on just the golf course. I have seen this done at several of these committees I’ve been to.”
Seven of the current 13 groups are required by state and/or federal statutes:
- Hays Area Board of Zoning Appeals
- Hays Area Planning Commission
- Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) Advisory Committee
- Hays Housing Authority
- Hays Public Library Board
- Hays Recreation Commission
- Northwest Kansas Community Corrections Board
Four of the six groups created by commission action are recommended to be disbanded:
- Airport Advisory Committee–Created in 1971
- Created when Hays Regional Airport was focused on general aviation and there was very little staff knowledge
- Valuable input on general aviation matters as well as long-term capital issues
- Input and feedback could be gathered on an ad-hoc basis or with annual meetings
- Building Trades Board–Created in 1992
- Has met one time the past two years; Could be folded into Board of Zoning Appeals
- Fort Hays Municipal Golf Course Advisory Board–Created in 1980
- Create ad-hoc venues for input from Women’s and Men’s Associations as well as general membership
- Hays Beautification Committee–Created in 1988
- Productivity limitations due to lack of funding and staff time available for projects
- Smaller tree board, a requirement of participation in Tree City USA program, could be created
The Sister Cities Advisory Board, created in 1998 by the city commission, serves as a valuable conduit to Hays’ sister cities in China and Paraguay. Instead of a formal dismantling, it’s recommended the board be allowed to appoint its own members. The city could still fund the board from the annual CVB budget.
CARE Council, organized in 1997, is the sixth commission-created group. The 12 members are responsible for reviewing any agency requesting monies from the city’s Social Services budget and the city’s and county’s alcohol tax budgets.
Commissioners want to keep the CARE Council as is.
The commission is expected to vote on the elimination recommendations at its April 25 meeting.
Dissolution of such groups is not unprecedented.
In 2003, the city commission passed a resolution that formally disbanded 11 committees. The Neighborhood Revitalization/Downtown Development Review Board was dissolved in 2013.
