By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Rural Hays resident Jess Braun wasn’t really worried about her house during Tuesday’s wildfire just east of Hays along Interstate 70.

Fanned by northwest winds with gusts up to 54 mph, the fire that started on the north side of I-70 jumped the road and continued burning under a bridge and south towards Braun’s house just outside the city limits.

Braun was most concerned about the safety of her six pets inside the house.

“They’re family,” she said Wednesday morning.

She had stopped in at the Ellis County Emergency Services building in Hays to thank the Ellis County Rural Fire Department, but discovered the firefighters were still monitoring the scene of Tuesday’s second big wildfire near Catharine.

Braun also brought freshly made scones from her bakery at the Otter Juice Company.

“We just baked these this morning for the firefighters,” she said.

“I want to thank them for keeping the fire from our house, and our pets were all fine,” she told Megan Carver, administrative assistant for Emergency Management and Rural Fire.

Carver was working the phone, helping organize a Local Disaster Emergency Declaration for Ellis County that will be given to the Kansas Division of Emergency Management.

Braun was out of town when she got a phone call about the approaching fire east of 27th and Commerce. Her husband, Curt, who had been at work, tried to drive to the house to collect the animals, but traffic was diverted from the area because of the dangerous blaze and blowing smoke.

Once Jessica Braun was back in Hays, she immediately drove toward her home. Local traffic still was blocked at the intersection, but a Hays police officer recognized Braun and allowed her to go through to her home and remove her three dogs and three cats.

“I was like, let the house burn, just let me get my dog. … (The pets) weren’t stressed at all,” laughed Braun, “just kind of wondering what I was doing at home at that time of day.”

She told Carver the firefighters remained near her house Tuesday evening watching for hotspots and flareups. The field grass around the structure had been plowed earlier to help keep the fire from approaching.

“We didn’t have any damage,” Braun said with a sigh of relief.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

ELLIS COUNTY — The Kansas National Guard deployed two Black Hawk helicopters from Salina earlier Tuesday afternoon to help fight today’s second major wildfire, according to the Kansas Division of Emergency Management.

This fire, originally located near Homestead and Toulon Roads northeast of Hays, has been pushed by gusty northwest winds up to 49 mph and is currently north of Catharine.

Fire officials are asking people to stay away from the area to allow emergency responders to work the scene.

Mindy Juenemann has been watching the large helicopters being piloted down to collect water from a pond near her house on 320th Avenue, Victoria,  and shared her video.

(Video courtesy Mindy Juenemann)

The helicopters are filling attached water scoops in a farm pond near 300th and Golf Course Road, Victoria.

(Video courtesy Ashley Brozek)

Brozek watched the action from her home, and provided this video from her phone, explaining that “one helicopter has landed and the second is in the air” after collecting water to help fight the fire. The second Black Hawk can be seen in the upper left of the video flying to the left.

Reports indicate the water is being dumped on the north end of the fire.

According to Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Tod Hileman, the fire was north of Catharine about five miles as of late Tuesday afternoon.

“Fire departments are set up north of Catharine to try to keep it from getting into town, but if you live in or around Catharine, be prepared,” Hileman wrote on his Facebook page. Hileman said KHP is “going from farm to farm evacuating residents in the fire’s path.”

Courtesy Matt McCune

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

The two water towers in Hays need to be repainted and a local artist hopes to add a historical mural to the biggest tower.

Dennis Schiel showed his vision for the 1-million gallon tower near the Sternberg Museum of Natural History to city commissioners Thursday night.

“That buffalo you see here is three times as big as the one on the FOX building,” Schiel told commissioners. “Wild Bill Hickok, from the knees up, will be 67 feet high.”

Schiel was referring to the historical mural he painted two years ago for the Ellis County/Hays sesquicentennial on the north brick wall of the FOX Pavilion in downtown Hays. A replica of that mural is hanging on the wall of the city commission chambers in city hall. Last year Schiel created a second large mural on the north side of the Hays VFW on Vine Street which depicts 150 years of military history.

The 80-foot-tall water tower mural would also include a train and a farmer.

“For me, this is going to be great,” Schiel said. “Everybody driving on I-70 is going to see my artwork. For the city of Hays, it’s probably going to be just as great.”

He estimates it would cost $260,500 to paint the mural. Schiel plans to apply for a Dane G. Hansen grant as well as solicit other financial donations from the community, which would likely be done under the auspices of the Hays Arts Council. City Attorney John Bird suggested also checking with the Union Pacific Railroad Foundation about grant possibilities.

Schiel wants to do the work in 2019, which would take 12 “dry” months. “It would be completed in 2020, but it may go faster than that.”

He expects the paint job would last at least 20 years.

Vice-Mayor Henry Schwaller questioned how donor names would be included in the work. Schiel suggested a kiosk that would include information about the Hays art community.

“We were talking about that,” Schiel told Schwaller.

“With it being right across from the Sternberg Museum, I think people will drive into that spot. I think eventually we have to think about making a kiosk right there to say this is what Hays has for the arts. We have all these (limestone) statues from Pete Felten, these murals, the arts council. We have all this stuff going on. This would be a perfect place for a kiosk and that might be where the donor names would go, rather than on the mural.”

“I like that idea a lot,” Schwaller said. Commissioner Sandy Jacobs agreed.

All the commissioners supported the idea, but Chris Dinkel had some reservations. “I like the canvas and the concept,” said  Dinkel, “but I’m not sure about the content.”

Dinkel said he “loves” Schiel’s other murals, especially the downtown mural which really “fits who we are downtown and the marketing for it. The same is true for the VFW.”

“With the water tower, I get the draw of the history side, but I’m not sure this really does anything for the brand of Hays,” Dinkel said. “I’m not saying I don’t like it, but this would make us look like a ‘Boot Hill’ type of town, and we don’t really have anything to follow up with that like Dodge City would or Abilene would.

“I think there’s a lot more Hays has to offer than just bison and Hickok, Cody and Custer,” said Dinkel.

Schiel countered with his historical research about Hays.

“Those three people were involved with Hays. The buffalo was great big in Hays, that’s why they all came here, and the railroad was part of that. This is the history I want to represent.” As he traveled around the state, Schiel said he learned Hays has the top “two or three cowboy history in Kansas.”

Commissioner Shaun Musil has Schiel’s downtown mural on his Facebook page.

“I love your work but I kind of disagree with the train,” Musil said. “I’ve never seen Hays do anything to promote the railroad since I’ve been here the past 20 years.”

“Well, Union Pacific did tear our train depot down in the dead of the night,” Bird recalled with a chuckle. “It was not a good thing.”

Mayor James Meier believes the 40 & 8 World War II boxcar in Hays is “also pretty historically significant. I don’t know if you could incorporate that or not,” he said to Schiel. “I’m not an artist,” Meier conceded. “I’ll leave that up to you. It’s just a suggestion.”

“We can’t lose our history,” Jacobs said adamantly. “We may not be Boot Hill, but we have all the historical markers downtown and people who really know a lot about it giving tours.

“I appreciate Commissioner Dinkel’s concerns,” Jacobs added,” but I like this mural.” Schwaller agreed.

Melissa Dixon, director of the Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau, was in the audience but did not make any comments.

Jeff Crispin, director of water resources, told commissioners repainting of both two water towers is scheduled for 2019 in the Capital Improvement Plan, but can be moved up to 2018 to accommodate Schiel’s schedule.  “City staff has no problem moving the projects up as adequate monies exist in the reserve funds to pay for them,” Crispin advised.

The north water tower at 55th Street along Highway 183 was constructed in 1994 and holds 500,000 gallons. This will be the first time it is repainted, a cost estimated at $100,000.

The Sternberg tower was last recoated in 1997 and now has flaking lead paint which is an environmental concern. Lead remediation is much more costly. The cost estimate for the east tower is $550,000.

“When they sandblast the tower to remove the paint, they basically have to enclose the tower,” explained Crispin. “Usually there’s some sort of structure inside. It’s contained. They take care of the lead and dispose of it properly. We won’t have to deal with the lead again.”

Fort Hays State University has provided a letter of support to update its logo portion of the tower at the university’s expense as part of the project. The “All America City” logo, added after Hays won that designation in 1996, would be removed.

More information about repainting the water towers will be presented at a future city commission meeting.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

No “mini-roundabout” will be installed at the intersection of 27th Street and Canterbury Drive in Hays.

Hays city commissioners considered the idea during their work session Thursday night but, after a presentation by Projects Manager John Braun, followed by considerable discussion, they decided not to move forward with such a project.

The possibility of traffic roundabouts in other areas however, has not been quashed.

“This roundabout idea is not new. We’ve had a lot of talks about roundabouts as a solution to traffic on north Vine Street,” Mayor James Meier reminded fellow commissioners. The idea was suggested to Meier by a member of the public.

City staff investigated the feasibility of converting the existing four-way stop at 27th and Canterbury into a temporary roundabout, following the restriping of Canterbury to three lanes from four lanes later this year. Braun estimated the cost at less than $5,000.

“Nothing would have to be changed with the pavement to make this function,” Braun explained. “The center circle could simply be painted or a temporary mountable island could be constructed or reused rubber mats from speed humps that we have in inventory that were removed from various places around town.”

He estimated it would take about 40 of the rubber segments, which are 2.5 inches high, to make a 40-foot diameter circle and provide an “uncomfortable, but very safe surface to drive over if a large truck did so.”

The east Hays intersection carries periodic heavy traffic, especially when classes let out at Hays High School at 13th and Canterbury and during shift changes at HaysMed in the 2200 block of Canterbury.

“You can get backups quite a distance, especially waiting on left-hand turns,” City Manager Toby Dougherty said.

Meier, a pharmacist at HaysMed, experiences the traffic backups firsthand.

“I do see some problems there, not major, that a roundabout might potentially solve. But more importantly, if we’re really serious about moving forward with roundabouts on Vine, I think this is a way to test if that’s really a good idea,” Meier said. “This could be done really inexpensively before we go and spend $7.6 million on something that may or may not fix our problem.

“I also don’t think we should be deaf to the people who are critical of roundabouts. They may not agree with me, but this really is for those people who oppose roundabouts. This is our opportunity to show it’s either going to solve our traffic problem or not, and we can do it for less than $5,000.”

Traffic accidents are minimal at the intersection, according to Braun.

Although Meier said he wasn’t “sold” on the issue, he’s “not inclined to spend millions of dollars on something we’ve not done before.”

Commissioner Sandy Jacobs is a proponent of roundabouts, saying she thought of the proposal as a “test model and not a permanent solution.”

She is more concerned about Vine Street, specifically at 32nd and 33rd streets. “I think we have a serious problem there that needs to be corrected in some fashion.”

“There are roundabouts all across the country and they’re very successful. It is an educational process,” Jacobs acknowledged. “I think the Hays High students can probably handle a roundabout at 27th and Canterbury.”

“I’m opposed to it,” Vice Mayor Henry Schwaller said. “I think it’s a really bad way to test this because, again, it’s not an intersection that has conflict. If it works, how will we know it’s going to work in another place?”

Schwaller said he is “more optimistic about Vine Street.”

Commissioner Shaun Musil agreed. “I’m absolutely all in on Vine Street. I think it’s a good idea. People who hate roundabouts are going to continue to hate roundabouts whether we put them in or not.”

Some residents also have expressed dislike for three-lane streets.

“I think we’re messing enough already with their heads with the street realignment to three lanes (on Canterbury),” Musil added. “What’s the point?”

“Let’s put extra salt in the wound,” quipped Schwaller.

“I wonder if wouldn’t be a really good solution for an intersection that does back up,” said Commissioner Chris Dinkel. “It’s not necessarily solving a safety issue because there aren’t conflicts or accidents. But when you do have choke point, that’s where roundabouts really help. You’re not having to completely stop traffic. There can be smooth slow movement through the intersection. I think it actually has the opportunity to be pretty beneficial in that spot.”

“If there’s a better solution at another intersection, I’m fine with that,” Meier said, “but I’m not inclined to spend millions of dollars on something we’ve not done before.”

After a short silence, Jacobs spoke up.

“I’m probably inclined to spend millions of dollars at 32nd and Vine, if that’s what it’s going to take,” she said.

“Yeah,” Schwaller quickly agreed. “It’s the most dangerous intersection in town. It was designed incorrectly 45 years ago.”

“I think we have some solutions there,” he continued, “and they’re not really roundabouts. They’re just ‘calming devices.’ They’re not round.”

Commissioners laughed at Schwaller’s description, with Jacobs adding “that’s a good way to put it.”

There was more discussion about the proposed mini-roundabout and what would keep people from just driving over the rubber mats that would be used instead of a more substantial concrete obstruction. Musil thought “it would look cheap.” Meier talked about valuable data that might be derived from how well the roundabout worked for drivers.

Finally, Schwaller suggested “let’s just do the lane conversion on Canterbury. That could some of the problems just by itself.”

“Well, I’m not hearing a consensus to move forward with this proposal,” Meier concluded. “Next item.”

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Since Canterbury Drive between 13th and 27th Streets will be restriped later this year for three lanes instead of four, it may be an opportunity to install the first traffic roundabout in the city of Hays.

Mayor James Meier asked for the discussion at tonight’s city commission work session.

The “mini-roundabout” would be temporary, according to City Manager Toby Dougherty, depending on how well it works and how well it’s received by the driving public.

“We would just remove the four stop signs. There would be a movable obstruction placed in the middle of the intersection that would divert traffic around it. There would a little bit of signage going into the roundabout so people would know where to go,” Dougherty explained. He said there little paint would be needed.

Dougherty thinks the intersection would function better as a roundabout.

“It’s a four-way stop that carries periodic heavy traffic. Most of the time when you go through the intersection, you may or may not meet another car you have to wait on. But there are times when school’s getting out, when the hospital employees are getting off shift, or when you have a lot of eastbound traffic on 27th heading out of town, where you can get backups quite a distance, especially waiting on left hand turns.

“If you have the constantly moving vehicles in a roundabout, that traffic should clear out of there a lot quicker and create less of a backup.”

High Plains Baptist Church and its affiliated school sits on the northeast side of the intersection. The Hays Medical Center campus is a couple blocks south of the intersection on Canterbury.

Meier is a pharmacist who works at the hospital.

The complete March 1 city commission work session is available here.