By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

There is no playground area for young children in the southwest quadrant of the Bickle-Schmidt Sports Complex west of Hays. Although there is play equipment in the northeast set of fields, families have been requesting something similar in the southwest fields.

“It’s been one of the most discussed items by folks visiting our facilities,” according to Jeff Boyle, director of parks. “It’s a discussion that’s been going on for years.”

The Hays Recreation Commission (HRC) and the city of Hays have both each budgeted to spend $50,000 this year for the purchase of a new playground unit for the southwest area.

Boyle showed the proposed playground purchase to Hays city commissioners last week.

“For the first time ever, this particular proposal (from among 12 submitted) received 100 percent of the votes by city and HRC staff,” Boyle told the commission, although he conceded “no 8-year-olds voted.”

“I could have gotten you a committee of six,” quipped father-of-six Mayor James Meier, which drew a big laugh.

The Riggs Recreation Equipment proposal has the most features. The overall design produces five levels of play including a ground level area with items for very young kids.

The $99,996.88 bid also includes a pour-in-place rubber fall zone and a shade canopy with netting on two sides to protect children from foul balls coming in from the adjacent baseball/softball diamonds.

“The only thing we would have to do in this (85′ by 43′) area is take our tree spade and remove three trees and move them to better locations, like by bleachers where folks can enjoy the shade,” Boyle said.

When the Parks Department contemplates purchasing playground equipment, there are three areas of consideration –  the age group for the playground, how many features are on the unit, and the equipment warranty.

Each of the 12 companies bid ASTM (American Society for Standards and Testing) certified commercial grade playground equipment and offer similar warranties, according to Boyle.

The number of features is what pushed the Riggs Recreation unit into first place.

“When we went into this, we weren’t expecting to get quite this much,” Boyle said. “This has 21 playable features and five levels or heights to play from with major slides. It’s a really neat unit with a lot of character to it.”

An amount of $50,000 is budgeted in the Special Park and Recreation Budget for the equipment. HRC would also pay $49,998.44.

Boyle noted that Riggs Recreation has done other projects for the city including the playground equipment in East Frontier Park, funded by the Hays Rotary Club, and also the unit at the  Pratt-Optimist soccer playground. The Kansas City company also paints the Municipal Park tennis courts.

The city commission will vote on the recommendation during their meeting Thursday night.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

You can start putting that unwanted junk out now for the 18th annual Hays alley cleanup which will start Mon., Oct. 22.

“This is a great opportunity to clean out your shed, attic, garage, basement or whatever else you might have,” says Marvin Honas, solid waste superintendent.

The free program is available to Hays residential refuse customers and will begin with curbside customers.

“We don’t want that stuff sitting along the streets any longer than necessary,” Honas explained.

Once the curbside collections are made, the four crews will move on to the alleys. Each site stop will be limited to 20 minutes. There is no set schedule.

Residents should sort their items into four piles:

1. Tree limbs and Brush–No longer than 12 feet in length or 6 inches in diameter

2. Construction and Demolition Debris–Lumber, drywall, bricks, sinks, tubs, wires, fencing, etc. (Please pull or bend over nails and place small quantities of concrete, bricks, and plaster in containers)

3. White Goods/Metals–Guttering, siding, washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, metal swing sets, etc.

4. Municipal Waste (All other items)–Furniture, carpet, TVs, foam, etc.

Items that will not be collected are tires, batteries, household hazardous waste, or medical waste. Tires should be disposed of at the Ellis County Landfill, and hazardous waste and batteries should be disposed of at the Ellis County Hazardous Waste Facility. Medical waste can be taken to the Ellis County Health Department.

According to Honas, the white goods will be recycled after they’re taken to the Ellis County Waste Transfer Station.

“The transfer station brings in another company that crushes this stuff and bales it  and then it is recycled.”

The trees and limbs will also have a second life.

“We do chip all the trees that we collect. The chips are taken down to the Parks Department, (1546 Highway 40 Bypass),  which uses them for their tree farm. A lot of landscapers do use the wood chips and citizens are also welcome to take them, free of charge.”

Last year’s alley cleanup yielded 850,000 pounds of junk. “We usually range between 750 and 850 thousand pounds,” Honas said, “although the first year we did this after not offering it for some time, we picked up 1.5 million pounds. It’s leveled out since then.”

Honas also noted the alley cleanup will not affect the regular collection of refuse and recyclables.

For more details, contact the Hays Solid Waste Department at 785-628-7350 or check the city’s website.

FHSU University Relations

Winners have been announced by Fort Hays State University’s Center for Student Involvement for the recent Homecoming events.

The Homecoming king and queen were crowned at halftime of the Tiger football game on Saturday. Twenty-nine Homecoming royalty nominees represented 20 different student organizations and groups. The king and queen nominees are selected through a combination of scores on their applications, an interview process, and a popular vote of the student body, all of which takes place during Homecoming Week.

The 2018 Homecoming queen is Cassidy Locke, a Wichita junior majoring in secondary English education. Locke’s involvements include Delta Zeta, Sigma Tau Delta, VIP Ambassadors, Encounter and the Spanish Club.

The 2018 Homecoming king is Roy Koech, a Russell senior majoring in criminal justice. Koech’s involvements include the Criminal Justice Club, volunteering with Tigers In Service, Student Government Association, African Ambassadors and the United Methodist Student Organization.

Award winners from the Homecoming Parade:

This award is available to all entries. This year’s winner, Alpha Kappa Psi is the university’s professional business fraternity, sporting a safari-jungle themed float.

This award is for FHSU groups only. University Activities Board brings free, interactive entertainment and music events that are open to both students and the public.

The Heritage Award is available to non-profit organizations only. Messiah Lutheran Church offers two services every Sunday at 8:30 or 11 am which are open to the public.

Only walking groups are eligible for this award. This year’s winner, the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, strives to serve the local community as a bridge between China, Hays and Ellis County.

Only walking groups are eligible for this award. The THM club works to gain awareness for the Tourism and Hospitality Management Department, it is celebrating this year the 10-year reunion of the department.

Ten organizations competed in the Student Organization Competition throughout the week, earning points for participating in Homecoming events.

• The overall winner was the University Activities Board.
• Alpha Kappa Psi, the professional business fraternity, had the most-liked photo in the social media challenge.
• The Graduate Association of Students in Psychology was recognized for donating to the canned food drive.
• The Criminal Justice Club earned honors for nominating the Homecoming king.

More information can be found on the official Homecoming website at https://fhsu.edu/homecoming/index.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Hays artist Dennis Schiel has expectations of $30,000 to $40,000 in private monies towards the historic mural he plans to paint on the Sternberg water tower.

“I’ve talked to people who want to donate money but $40,000 is just a drop in the bucket,” he acknowledged to the Hays City Commission Thursday night.

Schiel first presented his large design to commissioners in early March. The estimated cost is $268,000. Thursday he presented two more smaller designs with fewer pictures that would be less expensive.

Schiel plans to apply for a grant from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation, Logan, but told commissioners he would feel more confident if he first had a monetary contribution from the city.

Commissioner Sandy Jacobs told Schiel she believes the foundation is more interested in grassroots fundraising, volunteerism and community letters of support. Jacobs has worked closely with Hansen in her role as director of the Heartland Community Foundation.

Although all the commissioners expressed their support of the project, Mayor James Meier also said he’s concerned about funds for the city’s infrastructure needs.

“For me, the fund I would look to is CVB (Convention and Visitors Bureau) because that’s what it’s for. With the discussions we’ve been having lately and how we can better utilize that fund for infrastructure needs, it changes the nature of that fund for me,” Meier said.

He cited 27th Street between Hall and Vine, and 22nd Street as “needing attention.”

“Certain things that we would have expended that fund for I don’t think is necessarily appropriate any more.”

Commissioner Ron Mellick pointed out the city can use transient guest taxes collected for the Convention and Visitors Bureau to promote Hays “and that money is paid by out of town guests. Nobody local is going to see their taxes go up for this.”

Mellick said he favors the largest mural on the 1 million gallon water tower adjacent to the Sternberg Museum of History and just south of Interstate 70.

“Go big or go home.”

“This is a promotion for the city of Hays that would last 20 years. You take one of our billboards, they average 10 by 30 feet. This mural is almost 38 times larger than that billboard,” said Mellick.

“If you’re driving down I-70 and you look down, you miss that billboard. Those billboards cost about $4,200 average just for the rental, for 300 square feet. In 20 years, you put $84,00 into that one billboard.”

Mellick said with costs of the other billboards and signage “basically there’s only $10,00 difference and this is something when you’re driving you won’t miss it.”

The mural would include William Cody, Wild Bill Hickok and General George Custer. Depending on the design selected, the scene would also include a buffalo and possibly a train.

The commission urged Schiel to next apply for a grant from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation and also promised to write a letter of support for the project.

Commissioner Shaun Musil was absent from the work session.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Some unusually good news for the city of Hays as it comes time for the annual renewal of the employees’ health insurance policy.

Assistant City Manager Jacob Wood said the 2019 Blue Cross Blue Shield premium is actually a decrease based on the city’s expected enrollments.

“We got really good bids this year. It’s actually a reduction of 2.46%, which in the current healthcare market is pretty good. So, we’re pretty excited about that,” Wood said.

City commissioners will review the bids during their work session this evening.

Officers in the Hays Police Department are looking to change their uniform style for the first time in 60 years. The 2018 budget contains $46,500 to purchase a new style of uniform for all officers.

The HPD employee committee researched, tested and evaluated several different brands of uniforms and recommended the Blauer uniform which comes with an outer-ballistic vest carrier system.

Since the late 1950s the Hays Police Department has worn the same style of uniforms with a dark navy shirt and pink-tan pants. According to information provided by Chief Don Scheibler, it’s become find to purchase the pink-tan pants in the same color and material, even when
purchased from the same vendor. designed to improve the health and well-being of our police officers.

Other agenda items include:

• Request from local artist Dennis Schiel for city money as he raises private funds to paint a historical mural on the Sternberg Water Tower
• Matching fund request from the Hays Recreation Commission for new playground equipment at Bickle-Schmidt Sports Complex
• Airport Consultant Master Services Agreement
• Airport Snow Removal Equipment – Work Authorization Agreement
• Airport Apron Rehabilitation – Design Contract

The complete Oct. 18 agenda may be seen here.

The work session starts at 6:30 p.m. in Hays City Hall, 1507 Main.

ELLIS – Ellis city council members will hear a Comparative Water Report from the Public Works Dept. during their meeting tonight.

Also on the Oct. 15 agenda is a status report on the water exploration contracts.

The complete meeting agenda follows.

AGENDA

October 15, 2018

REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF ELLIS

City Hall – Council Meeting Room

BILLS ORDINANCE REVIEW WORK SESSION BEGINS AT 7:00 P.M.

ROLL CALL AND MEETING CALL TO ORDER AT 7:30 P.M.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA (if needed)

• CONSENT AGENDA
  1. Minutes from Regular Meeting on October 1, 2018
  2. Bills Ordinance #2055
  3. September Manual Journal Entries

(Council will review for approval under one motion under the consent agenda.  By majority vote of the governing body, any item may be removed from the consent agenda and considered separately)

PUBLIC COMMENTS 

(Each speaker will be limited to five minutes.  If several people from the group wish to speak on same subject, the group must appoint a spokesperson.  ALL comments from public on agenda items must be during Public Comment.  Once council begins their business meeting, no more comments from public will be allowed.)

• PRESENTATIONS OF AWARDS, PROCLAMATIONS, REQUESTS & PETITIONS (HEARINGS)
  1. Presentation of Service Awards
• SPECIAL ORDER
  1. Fire Department Monthly Report – Chief Dustin Vine
• UNFINISHED BUSINESS
• NEW BUSINESS
  1. Consider Approval of Public Property Permit Application and Event Request for Traffic Control – Trunk or Treat
• REPORTS FROM CITY OFFICIALS
  1. Administrative
     • Public Works
       • Comparative Water Report
       • Consider Approval for Training
       • Department Update
     • Police
       • Department Update
     • City Clerk
       • Health Insurance Savings Report for September
       • September Financial Statements
       • Department Update
     • Attorney
       • Update on Status of Code Violation Cases
       • Status Report on Water Exploration Contracts
     • Mayor Update and Announcements
       • Update on PRIDE Committee Projects
       • Update from LKM Annual Conference

EXECUTIVE SESSIONS

• ADJOURNMENT

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

A week ago Wednesday, it was hot in Hays with the mercury reaching to 95 degrees.

Since then, much cooler temperatures, and lots of rain.

In the first 9 days of October, Hays has had 5.57 inches of rain. That’s the official report as of 9 a.m. today from the K-State Agricultural Research Center south of town.

Tuesday’s high was just 45 degrees with the overnight low dipping to 37 degrees.

A Flood Warning for the Smoky Hill River near Schoenchen was issued by the National Weather Service in Dodge City Tuesday night, but was cancelled at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday as flood waters receded.

The year-to-date precipitation for Hays is 33.29 inches.

According to record keeper Joe Becker, so far “the moisture amount puts 2018 as the 6th wettest year in Hays in the past 125 years.”

The weather forecast calls for rain returning Thursday night.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

It was a rainy weekend in Hays with continued precipitation in the weather forecast.

Statistics reported from the K-State Agricultural Research Center south of town, show 0.92 of rain Saturday plus 2.32 inches Sunday.

So far in October, just the first week, Hays has had 3.52 inches of rain. The total to date for the year is 31.24 inches of precipitation.

The weekend total measured at the Eagle Communications Media Center, 2300 Hall, was 3.45 inches.

The National Weather Service in Dodge City has issued a Flood Watch for Hays until 1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9.

There was some minor street flooding Sunday, according to the Hays Police Department.

Lightning struck an oil tank battery in Russell County Sunday morning south of 4 Corners Road on 190th Street Road.

According to Russell County Emergency Management, the fire was allowed to burn itself out and there were no injuries.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

You can start putting that unwanted junk out now for the 18th annual Hays alley cleanup which will start Mon., Oct. 22.

“This is a great opportunity to clean out your shed, attic, garage, basement or whatever else you might have,” says Marvin Honas, solid waste superintendent.

The free program is available to Hays residential refuse customers and will begin with curbside customers.

“We don’t want that stuff sitting along the streets any longer than necessary,” Honas explained.

Once the curbside collections are made, the four crews will move on to the alleys. Each site stop will be limited to 20 minutes. There is no set schedule.

Residents should sort their items into four piles:

1. Tree limbs and Brush–No longer than 12 feet in length or 6 inches in diameter

2. Construction and Demolition Debris–Lumber, drywall, bricks, sinks, tubs, wires, fencing, etc. (Please pull or bend over nails and place small quantities of concrete, bricks, and plaster in containers)

3. White Goods/Metals–Guttering, siding, washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, metal swing sets, etc.

4. Municipal Waste (All other items)–Furniture, carpet, TVs, foam, etc.

Items that will not be collected are tires, batteries, household hazardous waste, or medical waste. Tires should be disposed of at the Ellis County Landfill, and hazardous waste and batteries should be disposed of at the Ellis County Hazardous Waste Facility. Medical waste can be taken to the Ellis County Health Department.

According to Honas, the white goods will be recycled after they’re taken to the Ellis County Waste Transfer Station.

“The transfer station brings in another company that crushes this stuff and bales it  and then it is recycled.”

The trees and limbs will also have a second life.

“We do chip all the trees that we collect. The chips are taken down to the Parks Department, (1546 Highway 40 Bypass),  which uses them for their tree farm. A lot of landscapers do use the wood chips and citizens are also welcome to take them, free of charge.”

Last year’s alley cleanup yielded 850,000 pounds of junk. “We usually range between 750 and 850 thousand pounds,” Honas said, “although the first year we did this after not offering it for some time, we picked up 1.5 million pounds. It’s leveled out since then.”

Honas also noted the alley cleanup will not affect the regular collection of refuse and recyclables.

For more details, contact the Hays Solid Waste Department at 785-628-7350 or check the city’s website.