By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Although the city of Hays doesn’t necessarily consider it a priority, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) does.

Constructing a 10-foot-tall wildlife fence around the Hays Regional Airport property is now at the top of the city’s Capital Improvement Project list.

According to Assistant City Manager Jacob Wood, the city must move forward with a wildlife fence or there will be no more grant monies from the FAA for eligible projects at the Hays airport.

“Several years ago when the FAA was out here inspecting, they saw a couple of deer on the property and they did require the city to do some more investigation. And so the FAA feels like it warrants a fence.

“It’s not something that’s been high on our priority list. It’s been something we’ve kind of pushed back,” Wood noted. “But over the last couple of years it’s crept up on the FAA’s list as a priority so it’s something they’re really requiring us to do.”

“It is part of the FAA’s program so it’s a 90/10 match. The city pays for 10 percent of the project and they’ll pay for the other 90 percent,” he explained.

City commissioners will hear more about the design phase of the project–a cost of $100,000–during their work session Thursday, Sept. 1. The actual construction of the $2 million fence is expected to occur next year.

The city of Hays’ total expenditure on the wildlife fence will be about $200,000, Wood said.

See tonight’s city commission work session agenda here.