The Ellis County Joint Planning Commission will hold its monthly meeting on Wednesday, July 25, 2018. There will also be a Public Hearing.
The meeting and Public Hearing will be held at 7:00 P.M. at the is County Administrative Center in the Commission Chambers, 718 Main Street, Hays.
Please contact the Ellis County Zoning Office at 785-628-9449 for more information.
The complete agenda follows.
ELLIS COUNTY JOINT PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING
July 25th, 2018 at 7:00 p.m.
Ellis County Administrative Center Meeting Room
718 Main Street Lower Level, Hays, Kansas
Agenda is Subject to Change
I. Call to Order
II. Roll Call
III. Approval of May 23rd, 2018 meeting minutes
IV. Public Presentation
V. Staff Report
A. Activity Report
B. Other
VI. Old Business
A. Update on the Comprehensive Plan Proposals
B. Other
VII. New Business
A. Public Hearing for Conditional Use Permit 1810
Kinglsey, LLC (Bed and Breakfast)
B. Public Hearing for Ellis County Revisiting Proposed Change to Subdivision Regulations of eight (8) lots to six (6) lots
C. Public Hearing for Conditional Use Permit 1814
Midwest Energy (Electric Substation)
D. Other
X. Confirm next meeting date: August 22nd, 2018 at Ellis County
Administrative Center Meeting Room, 718 Main Lower Level,
Hays, Kansas at 7:00 p.m.
Kansas company representatives share information with the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine at the USA Pavilion at the AGRO 2018 show in Kyiv, Ukraine, in June. (from left) Suzanne Ryan-Numrich, Kansas Department of Agriculture; Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch; Shirley Acedo, KDA; Alan VanNahmen, Kopper Kutter; Dee McKee, Kopper Kutter; and Mike Bergmeier, Shield Agricultural Equipment.
KDA
MANHATTAN — In June, the Kansas Department of Agriculture participated in a trade mission to Ukraine, where the team attended the AGRO 2018 Expo. AGRO is the leading exhibition for agriculture, services and related topics in Ukraine.
The team representing Kansas on the trade mission included Mike Bergmeier of Shield Agricultural Equipment; Alan VanNahmen of Kopper Kutter, LLC in Cimarron; Harley Adams and Joe Minihan of CTI John Deere; and Suzanne Ryan-Numrich and Shirley Acedo from KDA’s agriculture advocacy, marketing, and outreach team
The trade mission served to identify potential new markets for agricultural machinery which translates to new opportunities for Kansas agribusinesses. “Ukraine has comparable crop production to Kansas, so many of their farm implements are similar to what is used throughout the Midwest,” said Ryan-Numrich, “Because of this, Ukraine is a potentially huge market for Kansas agricultural equipment manufacturers and retailers.”
Over the past five years, Kansas has exported roughly $8 million in agricultural commodities to Ukraine, with the top exports being beef and pork. By exploring new opportunities, Kansas companies can expand their exports, develop new relationships, create new markets and continue to build a partnership between Kansas and Ukraine.
“Traveling to Ukraine was essential to take our business to the next level. Customers were able to see that ShieldAG products were a high-quality, made in the USA product,” said Bergmeier, who expanded his sales because of his participation in the trade mission.
The trade mission was organized by KDA and the U.S. Commercial Service. It was funded through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration using a State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) grant.
KDA strives to encourage and enhance economic growth of the agriculture industry and the Kansas economy by exploring and expanding both domestic and international marketing opportunities. The Kansas Ag Growth Project identified agriculture equipment manufacturing and sales as a key component for state growth. For information on this or other international trade missions, please contact Suzanne Ryan-Numrich at [email protected] or call 785-564-6704.
The city of Hays is changing its office business hours to accommodate the needs of residents beginning Monday, August 6, 2018.
By opening 30 minutes earlier and staying open 30 minutes laterMonday through Thursday, residents will have an opportunity to conduct business before 8 a.m. or after 5 p.m.
To make the customer-service initiative budget-neutral for taxpayers, these facilities will close at 11:30 a.m. on Fridays.
Preparing the draft version of the annual city of Hays budget is nearly a year-round job.
After hearing funding requests from outside agencies, and two reviews of the 2019 draft, city commissioners will take one more look at the proposed budget Thursday during their regular meeting and are expected to set a public hearing date of Aug. 9.
Mayor James Meier is “really pleased” with the budget which maintains the mill levy at 25 mills.
Despite a projected one percent decline in sales tax revenues and a half percent decline in total assessed valuation, a new pay plan for all 181 full-time city employees is included for 2019.
“We’re also still fully funding our reserves, and we’re putting cash aside to pay for big projects,” Meier pointed out. “We’re implementing a new pay plan for our employees to take care of them and increasing the amount to $11,000 (from $9,500) per employee to provide for their health insurance benefits package.
“I think this is a great product.”
The other commissioners echoed Meier’s praise during their work session last week.
Shaun Musil also specifically thanked City Manager Toby Dougherty.
“Toby, you put this to the department heads and tell them how it has to come in. Then you bring it to us. It is what you say it is,” Musil said. “Once it gets to us, it’s where it is.”
“I appreciate your leadership on that.”
“Pretty impressive,” added Sandy Jacobs who participated in the work session via telephone while out of state.
The Capitol Improvement Plan for 2019 includes:
AIRPORT
Replacement of snow removal equipment
PARKS DEPT.
Sidewalk improvements around Rolling Hills Park
Municipal tennis court resurfacing
Restroom at Hickock Park
Play equipment at Rolling Hills Park
STREETS
Improvements along Elm, Ash, and 4th Streets near and north of Lewis Field Stadium
STORMWATER
$75,000 budgeted for stormwater structure replacements
WATER PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION
Waterline improvements on Milner between 5th and 8th Streets
Waterline improvements on 6th Street between Pine and Montgomery ditch
Fire hydrant additions and relocations
WATER RECLAMATION AND REUSE
$400,000 for sewer line repair and replacement
FLEET REPLACEMENT SCHEDULE
2 unmarked police car replacements
Replace mower at Fort Hays Municipal Golf Course
Purchase double-drum asphalt compactor and pickup in Public Works Service Division
Purchase dump truck, 2 pickups and small SUV for Water Resources
A lifelong Hays resident and former county health official said knowledge of how county government makes him uniquely qualified to serve on the Ellis County Commission.
Robert “Butch” Schlyer retired in 2016 after serving as the Ellis County Health Administrator for 23 years and said he always wanted to run for county commissioner and, now that he is retired, he is able to do that.
“The experience I have with the county is one that no other candidate has,” Schlyer said. “There’s no other candidate that has been a department head and sat on the other end of the table while the county commissioners dictate the policies and the budgets.”
Schlyer said that while he was a county employee he had to manage a department so he had employees who worked for him. He also had to hire and fire people and resolve conflicts. All traits he said will help him if elected to the commission.
“I understand the department heads when they try to run their operations, given the issues and difficulties that brings,” he said. “I also understand the community since I’ve been here forever.
“I think I can have a better understanding of that whole picture, its just not a detriment when you know both sides of that whole issue its easier to make decisions based on fair observations and judgements,” Schlyer added.
While working through the 2019 budget process department heads and county staff were forced to make a number of cuts, in an effort to avoid raising the mill levy and Schlyer thinks it could get worse.
“When we look at the outlook for Ellis County, we’re not going to see any big influx of revenues coming in,” Schlyer said. “The only thing we have is the ad valorem tax, the oil tax and it’s just not going to increase.”
Schlyer said that leaves future commissions with two options — raise taxes or cut services.
In departments where the majority of the budget goes to employee salaries, he said tough decisions might have to be made.
“At some point, you are going to either lose personnel, which could impact services, or you’re going to have to provide more money for the services,” Schlyer said. “Its just going to have to come to that. Hard decisions are to come in the future, much harder than they are now.”
The 2019 budget is the third in a row that does not include an increase in the mill levy, despite an increase in spending.
Schlyer said no one wants to see an increase in the mill levy but it may need to be done.
“You always have to look at what services are we providing, what quality of the services are we providing, do we want to compromise that or do we want to provide the money for those services,” Schlyer said. “Your conclusions are going to have to come from that.”
If elected, Schlyer said he does not have an agenda, instead he will be looking at the issues that are raised and make “good decisions based on objective judgement so the county can operate in the quality it has in the past.”
Schlyer is running against incumbent Commissioner Marcy McClelland in the Aug. 7 primary election. He said he likes McClelland and did not have anything bad to say about her.
McClelland and the county are currently involved in a lawsuit over the final plat of a residential subdivision south of Hays, the Blue Sky Acres.
Schlyer said he believes McClelland “was well within her authority” to vote against the final plat.
“I understand Marcy’s concern, because she had concerns with water, especially for those folks who are already living near that development area,” Schlyer said. “Having said that, when you have a comprehensive plan which layouts the benchmarks one needs for a development and one meets all those benchmarks, if you’re going to deny it, what good is your comprehensive plan?”
He added that he would not be in favor of the county appealing the ruling if the judge were to rule in favor of the owner of the Blue Sky Acres.
Schlyer said he knows that the commissioners have a tough job and he believes he can step right in a do the job.
“I have excellent critical thinking skills. I don’t think they’d be matched by anyone running for the commission at this point in time,” Schlyer said.
Schlyer is one of four people running for Ellis County Commission First District. Schlyer faces incumbent Marcy McClelland in the Aug. 7 primary. The winner will face Democrat Chris Rorabaugh and Independent John Walz in the November general election.
RUSSELL – The Ad Astra Music Festival colors central Kansas with classical music during the month of July.
Bringing over 60 artists from all around the country, Ad Astra is a unique music festival, spanning three weekends in July and integrating emerging young artists, community members, and professional musicians.
The third weekend of performances includes the famous Bach’s St. Matthew Passion on July 28, and Compline by Candlelight on July 29.
Bach’s St. Matthew Passion will take audiences immersively through modern stations of the cross. The Russell Community Choir will sing parts of the work, while visiting artists will perform the bulk of the piece in a style close to what would have been heard in Bach’s time. Contemporary selections highlighting grief will be woven into the 1727 sacred oratorio.
Compline by Candlelight is a foreboding meditation on Psalm 51, Have mercy on me, O God. An octet of unconducted singers lead this 30-minute service, illuminated only by the candlelight of congregants in the Basilica of St. Fidelis, Victoria.
MANHATTAN — Innovative technology is rapidly changing the Kansas agriculture industry, and the Kansas Department of Agriculture has partnered with Northwest Kansas Technical College, the Kansas Water Office and the Kansas Ag Research & Technology Association to host the first Ag Tech Expo on Wednesday, August 29, in Goodland. The Ag Tech Expo is an effort to bring new technology into the hands of all levels of producers and showcase the latest agriculture technology products and services.
The Ag Tech Expo will be held at Northwest Tech from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in conjunction with the Water Tech Farm Field Day. Participants will have the opportunity to hear current updates from the Kansas Water Office and an overview of the technology farm at Northwest Kansas Technical College, as well as talk to producers who have implemented new technologies at different levels in their operation. In the afternoon, activities will be held at the technology farm to allow participants to see some of the technologies in use.
Experts from the agriculture technology industry and students from the precision agriculture technology program at Northwest Tech will be available to answer questions about the technology in use. The day will conclude with a benefit auction hosted by BigIron, with proceeds going to local FFA programs and the precision ag tech program at Northwest Tech.
For more information on this event, visit agriculture.ks.gov/AgTechExpo18 or contact Russell Plaschka, KDA agribusiness development program manager at 785-564-7466 or [email protected].
ELLIS — Developmental Services of Northwestern Kansas is hosting the eighth annual Esther McMurtrie Memorial Golf Tournament at 8 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 3, at the Ellis Golf Club, 301 Spruce, Ellis.
This tournament is a four-person scramble with raffle prizes and giveaways.
Teams are currently full, but hole sponsors are still needed. A hole sponsorship is $300 and includes a sponsorship sign with name on a tee box.
Esther McMurtrie (courtesy DSNWK)
To register, contact Steve Keil at 785-621-5335 or [email protected]. Online registration is also available by clicking the banner on the homepage of www.dsnwk.org.
Like most parents of children with intellectual or developmental disabilities, Esther wanted the best for her daughter. It was Esther’s wish that after she was gone her daughter Jamie would be taken care of in a beautiful home. After Esther’s battle against cancer ended in 2008, Vaughn McMurtrie and his friends created a golf tournament to support the construction of Esther’s Place — the DSNWK group home where Jamie and six others live.
“When it originally started, it was to raise money to build Esther’s Place. Now that it’s built, the money raised from the tournament will be going toward other eight group homes in Ellis County,” said Sami Montgomery, event organizer for DSNWK. “The remodels and other things that need done will be what the money goes toward.”
TOPEKA – Kansans are encouraged to attend the upcoming Western Kansas “Voting for the Future: Dinner & Dialogue” forums, a free dinner and program organized by the Kansas Rural Center. The forums will take place on Tuesday, August 14th, at the newly renovated Heaton Building located at 107 S. State Street in Norton and August 15th at the Senior Center located at 221 S Main Street in Cimarron.
State and local experts will provide Kansans with information on federal and state level food and farm policy and action within the broader context of state budget and revenue issues.Along with others, Scott Sproul, Executive Director of the Northwest Kansas Economic Innovation Center will help share at the Norton forum local and regional level efforts to strengthen community access to food, resources for farmers, and other critical efforts.In Cimarron, Kendal Carswell with the Kearny County Hospital and Lona Duvall with Finney County Economic Development are a few of those working locally to address regional challenges like food access and engaging the immigrant and migrant communities and will be on hand to share their efforts.
The forums will also provide the opportunity for round table dialogue to reach deeper into food and farm system issues, learn about the questions important to ask candidates this summer and fall, how to mobilize your community to vote, and other common interest topics critical to an election year.
“Being informed is critical to the choices we make. KRC wants Kansans to be informed and equipped to make the best decisions possible on food and farming, health and education, and other issues this election year. Taking time to listen and to share with others about your community needs and public policy decisions is important. These dinner and dialogue opportunities offer you a great chance to do just that. These are your town hall meetings – they are not candidate forums, so local citizens have a chance to discuss with each other what they need and want, and what to ask candidates about,” says Mary Fund, Executive Director of the Kansas Rural Center.
The forums will be the first two in KRC’s “Voting for the Future: Dinner & Dialogue” series of four across the state. Each forum will be a little different but each will offer the opportunity to learn more about how to amplify your voice during this important election year.
Other upcoming “Voting for the Future: Dinner & Dialogue” forums will be held in Girard, Tuesday, August 28 and Concordia, Thursday, August 30.
These forums are part of KRC’s “Community Food Solutions for a Healthier Kansas” initiative and Integrated Voter Engagement project, which aims to improve economy, community, environment, and health in Kansas by strengthening civic engagement and public policy support that better incorporates Kansas farms and communities into the state’s healthy food supply chain.
The mission of KRC, founded in 1979, is to promote the long-term health of the land and its people through community-based research, education, and advocacy that advances an economically viable, ecologically sound, and socially just food and farming system in Kansas. For more information, visit kansasruralcenter.org.
Native Kansan Karen Madorin is a local writer and retired teacher who loves sharing stories about places, people, critters, plants, food, and history of the High Plains.
One of the best parts of traveling to the mountains in the summer is the chance to enjoy hummingbirds. I sit for hours watching feisty little creatures that whir as they fly, zipping to and from feeders dangling from every possible eave.
In years past, motivated by iridescent, long billed birds we enjoyed during our mountain retreats, we came home to hang our own feeder. We usually did this in late July or early August, and all we got for our trouble was a wasp or ant invasion. As a result, I cleaned out the feeders and buried them in the camping box, thinking I would use them only in the Rockies.
A few autumns ago, I attended an auction in McCracken, and as I drove through that little hamlet, I noticed hummingbird feeders hanging in several yards. When I ran into folks I knew, I asked about the syrup filled bottles, and one lady explained that hummingbirds pass through western Kansas during their fall southward migration. I should’ve raced directly home to fill my own feeders, but my brain was on overload, and I forgot.
Like many people, I remember stuff when I can’t use it, and each October I think I should’ve put the feeder out mid-August to tempt early arrivals. This year, we got a gentle reminder. My husband and youngest daughter walked out the back door as a ruby-throated hummingbird sampled petunias blooming on the patio.
After I returned from North Dakota, where hummers visit throughout summer, my family eagerly recounted this exciting visit. With that kind of inspiration, I raced to the basement and dug the hummingbird feeder out of the camping box. Then I concocted a sugar solution of ¼ sugar and ¾ water and boiled it. After it cooled, I poured it into the bottle decorated with little red, fake flower sippers to attract those hovering visitors. My husband placed it so we could watch hummers as we worked or ate in the kitchen.
For several days, we never saw a hummingbird or heard whirring wings as it jetted from branch to branch. I thought I’d missed the one and only hummer to visit our neighborhood. But, the solution in the feeder kept dropping, and I knew evaporation couldn’t account for every missing ounce.
Finally, I heard the hoped for words. “Karen, you have a hummer!” I crept quietly to the kitchen window just as the tiny bird flashed away. Darn! A few hours later persistence paid off, and I caught the little guy sipping delicately from our red plastic blooms.
As a youngster, I hated to flip the calendar to August. But, now, as the earth rotates into that 33 degree tilt that tints late summer and early fall days with a golden hue, I anticipate migrating hummers. Once the sun shifts from its summer to autumnal position, my ears automatically listen for whirring wings playing one of summer’s final songs. I catch myself watching late blooming flowers obsessively, hoping to capture the season’s last magical moments.
Native Kansan Karen Madorin is a local writer and retired teacher who loves sharing stories about places, people, critters, plants, food, and history of the High Plains.
The Certified Public Accounting firm of Brungardt Hower Ward Elliott & Pfeifer, L.C. announced the promotions of Jamie Dreher and Whitney Brown to Partner.
Both CPA’s practice in the firm’s Hays office and are also credentialed in business valuation as Certified Valuation Analysts. Both are members of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Kansas Society of Certified Public Accountants and the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts. Each of them has extensive experience in tax planning and compliance for individuals, businesses, and trusts. Their areas of industry practice include oil and gas, agribusiness, not-for-profit organizations, medical practices and estate and gift taxation.
Dreher is a 2003 graduate of Fort Hays State University and a native of Baileyville, Kansas. Jamie’s community involvement includes coaching various youth sports and teaching faith formation classes in her parish, St. Nicholas of Myra Catholic Church.She served eleven years as an Ambassador for the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce. She and her husband, Dustin, have four children.
Brown is a 2003 graduate of Fort Hays State University and is originally from Hoxie, Kansas. Whitney is a member of the Hays First United Methodist Church and the Hays Sunrise Rotary Club. He currently serves as an Ambassador for the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce and is a past member of the Hays Area Young Professionals group. He also coaches youth sports for the Hays Recreation Commission. He and his wife, Meghan, have three children.
Dreher
Brungardt Hower, with offices in Hays, Garden City, and Johnson, serves clients throughout Central and Western Kansas. The firm offers tax planning, tax preparation, audit and attest services, bookkeeping, payroll filings, sales tax filings, financial statement preparation, new business and management consulting, estate and gift tax consulting and preparation, and business valuation services.Brungardt Hower’s client base includes financial institutions, not-for-profit organizations, agriculture, oil and gas, real estate, construction, restaurants, retail, medical practices, professional service practices, and employee benefit plans.Brungardt Hower has served the area for over 60 years. Additional firm information is available at www.bhcpa.com.
Today A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 87. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tonight Mostly cloudy, with a low around 66. North northeast wind 6 to 9 mph.
Tuesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 89. Northeast wind around 7 mph becoming east southeast in the afternoon.
Tuesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 66. East southeast wind 5 to 8 mph.
Wednesday A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92.
Wednesday Night Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 66. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.
ThursdayA 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 82.
THOMAS COUNTY — Five people were injured in an accident just before 6p.m. Sunday in Thomas County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2006 Suzuki SLT driven by Rebecca Sexton, 66, Canton, OH., was northbound on U.S. 83 just north of the Interstate 70 Oakley exit.
The driver did not see a Kenworth semi driven by Jared Lewis, Mount Juliet, 39, TN, coming from behind. The Suzuki made a U-Turn and ran into the side of the semi.
Sexton and passengers Alexandria Sexton, 22; Derek Sexton, 15; Anabel Sexton, 6; Audreanna Sexton, 15; all of Canton, OH., were transported to the Logan County Hospital.
Lewis and a 14-year-old in the Suzuki were not injured. All were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
ELLIS CO.
