By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
A second discussion by Hays city commissioners of the draft 2019 budget Thursday focused on funding to outside agencies, specifically the Downtown Hays Development Corporation (DHDC).
The 501(c)3 group has received $53,655 in city funds each year since 2015 and is requesting the same amount for 2019.
Vice-Mayor Henry Schwaller opened the conversation by saying city funding is “not an entitlement for any of the outside agencies” and DHDC has become a “victim of its own success.”
“It’s doing so well with its fundraisers that I really think it’s time that the little bird gets out of the nest,” Schwaller said.
He noted the city commission began funding DHDC with $100,000 in “seed money” that morphed into an annual appropriation. “And every year we say, this is temporary funding and at some point you won’t get it any more…we’ve never gotten further with that discussion.”
Commissioner Ron Mellick agreed with Schwaller, comparing the situation to “a parent still paying a grown, married child’s cell phone bill.”
“We’ve tried in the past to reduce it by 10 percent each year and we haven’t carried through on that,” added Mellick, who previously served on the commission from 2007 to 2015. He was recently appointed to fill the unexpired term of Chris Dinkel.
“The city is kind of paying DHDC’s day-to-day operations,” Mellick said. “I think ‘tough love’ is going to have to appear and they be slowly weaned off or back at least.”
Mellick and Schwaller both clarified they weren’t proposing any cuts to DHDC funding for 2019 but “next year, we’re definitely going to have a take a much harder look at it,” Mellick added.
Commissioner Shaun Musil, a downtown business owner for a little more than a year, said he’d been “thinking long and hard on this the last couple weeks.”
“I personally think the DHDC board is one of the best volunteer groups in our community (he served one year on the DHDC board) and there’s people from all over this community on that board.”
Still, Musil admitted to having some concerns as a business owner.
“Their events no doubt affect this community, and not only downtown. They stay in the hotels, go to the bars. People love their events. I am kind of concerned about their day-to-day (operations). I think sometimes they’re too focused on the events.
“But I’ve talked to longtime downtown business owners who’ve said if you don’t have something going on down there, they believe a lot of stuff won’t happen and it will have an effect on our sales tax coming in.
“This is such a small part of our budget. I think we should focus on the very, very positive things this group does,” Musil concluded.
Participating in the work session via telephone, Commissioner Sandy Jacobs cited increased collaboration between DHDC, Fort Hays State University and the city for her support of funding DHDC for the foreseeable future.
Mayor James Meier said he was looking at return on investment.
“I don’t think anybody is entitled to money forever,” Meier said, “but if we were to take that $56,000 and invest it in another group or in advertising, I don’t think we’d get the same return that we’re getting right now.”
Melissa Dixon, executive director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, sitting in the audience alongside DHDC executive director Sara Bloom, addressed the commission.
“I believe downtown is our top attraction,” Dixon told commissioners. “(CVB) supports and markets those DHDC events and when the funding comes straight out of our budget, I believe it is money well spent.”
Commissioners are scheduled for a final budget review at their July 26 meeting where they will set a public hearing for August 9.
In other business, commissioners heard from Public Works Director Jesse Rohr about the Crawford Addition request for annexation, rezoning and final plat.
The property site, at the northwest corner of 48th and Roth, is being considered as a location for a new Tractor Supply Company retail store.
The city commission will vote next week on the requests which have already been approved by the Hays Area Planning Commission.