By CRISTINA JANNEY

Hays Post

The Ellis County Commission agreed to move forward Monday night with architectural plans for a new public works building adjacent to the county landfill.

During the 2018 commission retreat, commissioners identified upgraded facilities for public works as a high priority for future capital planning, according to the report in the commissioners’ agenda packet.

The county initially considered building a new metal building at the 280th Avenue location. Two options for a buildings at the site were estimated at $1.9 to $1.4 million. That includes converting the existing shop into cold storage.

However, the county has recently leased to purchase land adjacent to the landfill. All of the land the county plans to purchase is not needed to expand the landfill. Staff is proposing relocating the Public Works Department to 240th Avenue adjacent to the landfill.

Bill Ring, public works director, said locating the new public works shop at the landfill would create some opportunities for efficiencies. He gave the example of a backhoe breakdown this week that required both of the shop mechanics to go to the landfill to fix the equipment. This left public works without a mechanic.

He said he also hoped locating the shop adjacent to the landfill would allow office staff to be cross trained and more easily share documents.

If the county built at the site of the current shop, it would use all of the available space, leaving no room for expansion, Ring said. At the landfill site, public works would have space to have parking and for storage for materials, such as sand and crushed concrete.

Commissioner Dustin Roths said he supported exploring the location.

“The concern Phillip [Smith-Hanes] brought up about our ability to expand size is so constrained by the railroad track here, I do like the idea of us looking into this, at least seeing dollars,” he said.

Commissioner Butch Schlyer said, “I would like to see us proceed with this. I think there is no question we need to address the public works with their needs as far as space and storage. If this concept could create more efficiencies along with it, we should explore this and see where this will leads us.”

Haselhorst also said he supported moving forward with the architectural plans.

The additional architectural drawings for a building at the landfill site will cost $3,500. If the commission decides to build at the landfill site, it would likely sell the property where the current shop is located.

The commission also transferred $146,689 to the Capital Equipment Reserve Fund from the Budget Stabilization Account. The county budget for 2020 contains $56,144 as a transfer from Equipment Reserve Fund and an equivalent expenditure for six months’ salary and benefits for an assistant EMS director if hiring an assistant EMS director is deemed necessary.

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

VICTORIA — Construction is set to begin soon on a $4.5 million water system revitalization project in Victoria that will replace the town’s water tower, revitalize two of their wells and replace aging water lines throughout the town.

The project will also connect the town’s supply to the Trego 2 Rural Water District.

A USDA grant, along with a low-interest loan will pay for the majority of the project, with the city set to pay around $100,000, according to the USDA.

The first stage in the project that is being completed by EBH Engineering is the replacement of the water tower.

“The water tower is 20 years past its estimated life span,” said Brad Schmidtberger, city superintendent. “We are going from a 50,000 gallon to a 150,000 gallon above ground. That fulfills the needs of growth for the town.

“The grant was approved, and the engineering firm is doing all of the surveying,” Schmidtberger added.

Bidding for construction should start soon and he said tower construction could start in September.

Waterline replacement is likely to come next as stage two of the system overhaul and will replace approximately 14,000 feet of waterlines and adding waterline loops to many existing lines.

“We have done water projects over the years and replaced a lot of the water lines around town naturally, and this would replace some of the ones that were not replaced in the most recent water project in the 1980s,” Schmidtberger said.

Adding loops to waterlines will help with water flow and water quality.

“We have some waterlines that are very dated, and we have a couple that are not looped in some lower-use areas. We are going to loop those in. That will produce much higher quality water in those lower-use areas,” Schmidtberger said.

Repairing two of the city’s wells and connecting to the rural water district will complete the project and will help ensure the water supply is sufficient for the expected growth in Victoria.

“We would have basically new wells,” Schmidtberger said. “They are both very dated and in need.”

“By offsetting these and re-drilling with new screens, new casings and so forth, it’s going to give us a better and a more efficient quality of water and a more efficient supply of water,” he said. “With the repairs, we will be able to capitalize more on what’s there.”

Adding water from the rural water district will add another water supply to the system and ensure the supply remains sufficient for future growth.

“That will allow us to feel comfortable with the amount of water we have, long term,” Schmidtberger said.

The decision to connect to the Trego 2 Rural Water District was based on location as the district runs lines through Ellis County and the properties of the water.

The rural district’s water is “the best match for our water,” Schmidtberger said. “It will blend very well with our water and our existing well field.”

Having water that is similar in makeup to the city well makes it the most cost-effective method of adding to the water supply, he said, as they can blend the water with the well water as it will not need additional treatment.

Once the connection is made, the water from the district will be added to the central reservoir for processing.

More information about the project was published in a city newsletter and can be found here.