Friday’s long-awaited ruling from the Kansas Supreme Court about school finance was a popular topic Saturday during a series of town hall meetings by local legislators.
40th District Sen. Ralph Ostmeyer, R-Grinnell, and 110th District Rep. Travis Couture-Lovelady, R-Palco, were in Ellis on Saturday afternoon after first making stops in Norton and Praireview.
111th District Rep. Sue Boldra, R-Hays, joined the duo at Ellis City Hall. Boldra, a teacher, and Ostmeyer are on the education committees in their respective houses:
The legislators also met with constituents in Victoria on Saturday afternoon.
Reconstruction of 41st Street in Hays between the U.S. 183 Bypass east to Hall Street is scheduled to begin March 24. The project will be completed in early 2015.
Assistant Public Works Director John Braun says the $4.5 million project funding comes from two sources — $3.1 million is federal transportation dollars administered through the Kansas Department of Transportation, and the remaining $1.4 million will be paid by the city of Hays.
Braun says the work involves complete removal and reconstruction of the existing roadway:
An informational meeting will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at KDOT headquarters, 1811 W. Frontier Road. Construction contractor APAC, engineering firm Alfred Benesch & Company, KDOT engineers, and Hays city staff will present the 41st Street plan and schedule and answer questions from the public.
The USD 489 Facilities Needs Committee approved its final draft recommendation Friday morning.
By BECKY KISER Hays Post
After studying the issue for more than a year, the Hays USD 489 facilities needs committee is ready to offer a draft plan to the community for a district-wide upgrade of buildings.
During its meeting Friday morning, the group voted to pass along its recommendation to the school board. The price tag on the projects is approximately $100 million, which is proposed to be funded by a bond issue.
“This is a conceptual design, and we fully expect the board to do some tweaking,” said co-chairman Patrick Lowry.
“This process has been extremely enlightening in how everything works. There just hasn’t been much maintenance and upkeep of our district buildings the past 30 years, and they’re nearing the end of their useful life,” added co-chairman Bryce Young.
Several committee members expressed concern about the cost, although just one person, Paul Briseno, voted against the final draft.
“It’s going to take a lot of education of the public,” said member Tom Drees.”Tough, but doable, I think.”
The project would involve upgrades at each building in the district, including more than $27 million at Hays High School alone.
It also would lead to the decommissioning of Rockwell Administration Center and closing Washington Elementary School as an education center.
The committee’s executive summary says increasing space and curriculum demands call for “significant expansions and maintenance updates across the district.”
The cost to build new across the district would be $188 million, the report says.
Much of the costs included in the overall plan focus on deferred maintenance, projects put off over the course of years that have led to significant needs.
Safety/security measures and education space also were key factors in the committee’s recommendation. The recommendation also takes into account both current needs and anticipated future growth.
Several options for a bond issue are offered as possibilities, including separating the tax increases into three separate bond issues.
For the owner of a $100,000 home, the property tax cost to offset the bond repayment — whether for 20 or 30 years, or over one or three bond issues — would range from $17.06 to $21.85 monthly.
Service learning is becoming an important part of many college courses.
Kansas Campus Compact was established in 2003, joining a national organization of more than 1,200 campuses, to “teach the teachers” how to integrate civic engagement into the higher educational learning environment.
Kansas Campus Compact hosted a service-learning institute Tuesday at Fort Hays State University for faculty from nine colleges.
KCC Executive Director Josh Mosier believes service learning and civic engagement are the “purest form of skill development for understanding the world.”
Headquartered in Manhattan, Kansas Campus Compact funds and facilitates service learning and civic engagement at the higher education level. The member colleges and universities include public, private, two- and four-year institutions that are seeking to break the barrier between university and community.
Donning everything from a pair of hot pink stilettos to red mules topped with fuzzy feathers, the men of Fort Hays State University’s Greek community gamely walked up and down the Memorial Union stairs and throughout the building Monday night during the sixth annual “Walk A Mile In Her Shoes” fundraiser.
FHSU fraternity brothers show off their shoes.
“It’s great fun,” says organizer Josh Maples, grad assistant for Greek Life, “but we have to remember the very serious reason we do this, raising money and awareness about violence against women.”
More than $5,000 has been donated to Options Domestic and Sexual Violence Services over the years, according to executive director Charlotte Linsner.
For the first time, money was also given to Jana’s Campaign, a Hays-based movement to reduce gender and relationship violence.
About 40 Greeks participated from the five FHSU fraternities: Sigma Chi, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Alpha Gamma Rho and Sigma Alpha Epsilon.
Walk a Mile in Her Shoes raised $875 for Options.For the first time, Walk A Mile in Her Shoes makes a donation to Jana’s Campaign, also $875.
Although the figures are preliminary, the event, moved indoors because of the frigid temperature, raised $875 for both Options and Jana’s Campaign.
Legislation passed in 2012 moved state appraised and taxed motor carriers to a commercial vehicle registration application that is now performed at the county level.
A lot of “service-oriented” business owners who thought they’ve been operating their vehicles within state and federal Department of Transportation laws, are finding out they’re not.
When it comes time to renew heavy truck and trailer tags with their county treasurer, many owners are told their vehicles are part of the new commercial vehicle system, and must bear the state’s new purple and white “Commercial” license plate.
Penny Fryback is a Special Investigator for the Kansas Corporation Commission Transportation Division. She offers regular Motor Carrier Safety Regulations seminars in Hays and throughout western Kansas. Fryback says attendance has begun exploding, from an average of about 25 people to a record 93 carriers in Hays Monday:
Fryback says it’s businesses such as plumbers, painters and landscapers that have been unknowingly “operating under the radar” for years. Gerald Long of Saint John is one of those—he’s operated Long’s Harvesting the past 15 years and custom cuts in Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado. Long says he thought he “was running legal all these years” and “fully intends to come into compliance with state law:”
The renewal deadline is Friday, although the Kansas Division of Vehicles is waiving late fees for one month.
Ellis County Treasurer Anne Pfeifer says her office workers have been busy learning the new system as well. The biggest challenge, she says, is “explaining who needs to be registered as a commercial vehicle.” That can be answered by the free KCC seminars.
The situation will likely continue through the year, predicts Fryback, because some current vehicle tags, which should be the new commercial tags, will come up for renewal each month.
More than 45,700 vehicles have been registered through the new process, according to the Kansas Department of Revenue.
The city of Hays plans to hold a town hall meeting soon to discuss water issues and the possibility of having to declare a Water Warning, which would severely limit outdoor water use.
Commissioner Eber Phelps says it’s a “pre-emptive move as opposed to a reactionary situation, which could be unpleasant for residents who’ve already purchased plants and lawn seed for spring planting:”
Phelps and Hays City Manager Toby Dougherty recently attended the 2014 Land and Water Summit in Albuquerque, N.M. Phelps expects Hays to take a closer look at several ideas including more education about xeriscaping and use of gray water irrigation.
The declaration by the city commission requests all water users to voluntarily cut back on their indoor and outdoor water use.
Western Kansas is facing a third consecutive year of drought.
Hays Water Conservation Specialist Jason Riegel says despite the many changes and investments the city has made to conserve water, “in the long-term, rain is needed to recharge depleted aquifers.”
If that doesn’t happen, Riegel says the city will have to upgrade to a “Water Warning:”
City commissioners will discuss the possible move to a Water Warning at their meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at City Hall.
Work is nearing completion on the remodel of TMP’s Al Billinger Fieldhouse to satisfy fire code requirements.
By BECKY KISER Hays Post
Construction at Thomas More Prep-Marian’s Al Billinger Fieldhouse has continued to progress steadily since early November, when the school was notified by the state fire marshal of fire code deficiencies.
“We’ve made countless adjustments and schedule changes,” Development Director Jeff Brull told Hays Post on Monday. “Our students, athletes, faculty, staff, fans and parents have been very accommodating. They’ve certainly made the best of a bad situation.”
Activities such as sporting events have been moved off campus to several other Hays facilities.
As of Monday, the east exit of the building from the gym floor was nearly complete, and work on the exit from the top bleacher area continues.
Workers broke through the exterior brick wall Friday afternoon to create the opening for new fireproof doors. Electrical work began Monday, and Brull said the door and stair installation are next.
“Once that’s complete, we hope to get the OK from the office of the state fire marshal,” he said. “We’ve got a few events we’d still like to see hosted in the gym before the (school)year is out, and we’re doing everything we can to keep it on schedule.”
By BECKY KISER
