By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post
A representative from a group interested in building a travel plaza at Interstate 70 and 230th Avenue asked the Ellis County Commission for a letter of support at Monday night’s meeting.
Jim Meillensifer, vice president of operations for Colby-based Chance Management, presented the commission with information on the proposed Big Creek Travel Plaza.
Chance Management operates a number of businesses in Colby including the Oasis Travel Plaza.
The Big Creek Travel Plaza will be owned by NWK Investments and operated by Chance Management.
Meillensifer said the proposed Big Creek Travel Plaza would be similar to the Colby operation, although there would not be restaurants inside.
“We’ll do more of a grab-and-go food inside the travel center,” Meillensifer said. “We’ve go about an 8,000-square-foot retail space that’s proposed (to) hold two to three fast casual restaurants.”
The proposal also has a coffee shop with a drive through, another restaurant and a hotel that will house approximately 90 rooms.
The original plan was for the travel plaza to be located on the same property as the Doonan Truck Center but Meillensifer said the 11 acres was not big enough for a complete travel center.
Under phase one, the plaza would be located on 22.35 acres to the north and west of previously proposed location. According to the Mike Woofter with NWK Investments, the total development could grow to 55 acres.
The group will need to get approval for both a tax increment financing and a community improvement district to help pay for extension of utility services to the site and other infrastructure.
The property will have to be annexed into the city of Hays allowing the group to use city water and sewer.
Developers hope the plaza will help spur growth in the area.
“Our hopes are that the county sees that this is a good project and it’s going to help increase the value land in that general area,” Meillensifer said.
He added they need the support and need improvements to the intersection of 230th Avenue and 55th Street to help their establishment.
The Kansas Department of Transportation has said it would be willing to provide some funding to the county to make improvements to a portion of the intersection, but the county must also provide funds.
The commission approved County Administrator Greg Sund to sign a letter of support. Hays USD 489 earlier offered a similar letter of support.