[0:24] All right. I am calling the Thursday, July 9th, 2026 city commission meeting

[0:28] to order. All five commissioners are present.

[0:31] First item in the order of business, consideration of approval of the minutes

[0:34] from the meeting on June 25th. >> Question, changes, comments. None.

[0:38] » Sean thinks they're fabulous, so we're good.

[0:40] » Okay. Marked as fabulous. All right. Next is citizen comments for

[0:45] non-aggenda items. Anyone wishing to speak to the commission now may come up

[0:49] to the podium and state your >> piece.

[1:02] » Anybody? Okay. >> Didn't want to move on without giving

[1:06] you your opportunity. >> You know me. I've got some handouts.

[1:09] » All right. Perfect. >> I'd be disappointed with it if you

[1:11] didn't. >> All right. Well, you guys should have

[1:17] placed bets of whether I would be here this afternoon.

[1:20] » I spent all my money. >> Toby could have won $20 probably. He

[1:26] knows I'm He knows me better than most of you. He knows I'm reliable.

[1:32] » Two pages total, right? >> Just the one.

[1:35] » Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I >> Perfect. Okay. And then if you say your

[1:39] name for the record and then let us let us know.

[1:42] » Close enough to the mic here. Ruben Shutman

[1:47] glasses on.

[1:52] You know, when I've I've corresponded with each of you, I've tried to be more

[1:56] than just someone that complains about a problem. I've tried to be a problem

[2:00] solver and offer solutions with new out- of-the-box ideas, which you have

[2:06] received. But this afternoon, you'll pick up on some of my frustrations. It

[2:11] was a very stressful night for me on July 4th. Uh, something I've learned

[2:15] this past year is that many people do not feel comfortable contacting you

[2:20] about problems they have with fireworks. I don't know what the deal is. They

[2:24] don't think it's going to do any good. You'll listen, but nothing gets done.

[2:28] Nothing will change. Now, these people that won't contact you, they have no

[2:33] problem telling me all their complaints they have with fireworks. But a a little

[2:38] humor here, I guess. I was hoping that one of you would volunteer to crawl up

[2:43] on a ladder to pick all the fireworks trash that landed in my gutters and roof

[2:48] and yard for several nights. There was a lot. And you know, little old ladies

[2:52] shouldn't have to deal with the hassle of fireworks trash on their property

[2:57] deposited there by neighbors. But the city says that's okay. We're fine with

[3:02] other people littering on other people's lawns and we and we've got to pick it

[3:07] up. Uh so basically each one of you that con condones it and says we don't need

[3:13] to take any action with these problems that litter up other people's property.

[3:18] But what if someone came with a bucket of fireworks trash and dumped it all

[3:22] over your property? I believe that would be illegal. Maybe the police would get

[3:27] called. But as long as the fireworks trash and litter lands on someone's

[3:31] property by coming through the air, that's okay. That method of littering is

[3:36] approved. The city says no problem with other people littering on other people's

[3:41] property as long as it flies through the air.

[3:45] And with all these loud explosions every year, night after night, it's finally

[3:49] got so bad. Thank goodness the church, the Episcopal church way out in the

[3:53] country came up with an option for veterans and others who need to get away

[3:58] from all this warlike activity for at least one night of peace and quiet. But

[4:03] what does that say about our community? We have to pack up our veterans in a bus

[4:07] and send them out of town, leave their homes for the evening just to get away

[4:11] from all this noise. It should be the fireworks out miles in

[4:15] the country, not the people. Let the people stay in the quiet surroundings of

[4:19] their home. And many dog owners have serious

[4:23] problems with loud fireworks. And the really big problem with an

[4:27] environmentalist group of people in Hayes, they hate the pollution.

[4:31] You have received proposals that help solve most of the problems that many

[4:36] groups of people have with fireworks problems. And let me be clear, most are

[4:41] not against fireworks. They are against all the problems they cause, which all

[4:46] of you are aware of. And the compromised solution still allows all those clubs

[4:51] and school groups to sell all the fireworks they want and maybe even more

[4:55] if it's planned out and done correctly. You know, Hayes has the reputation

[4:59] across the state of Kansas for creative ways to solve water problems. Why can't

[5:05] Hayes also be on the cutting edge and be the leader with ingenious, fresh, new

[5:10] ideas with the fireworks problems? But first, you do have to realize fireworks

[5:15] do cause problems for a lot of people and those problems are not going away on

[5:20] their own. I would be glad to volunteer to help you solve these problems.

[5:26] Thank you. Thank you Ruben and thanks for the

[5:29] information.

[5:32] Anyone else like to speak currently?

[5:38] Okay, we move on to the consent agenda. Uh

[5:42] only one thing on here currently the mayoral appointment recommendation for

[5:46] the HCVB advisory board. Uh there's an opening for a U hotel representative. We

[5:53] had an application. Um,

[5:57] » sorry, Daisy. Yes. So, Daisy and she uh Oh, sorry.

[6:01] » Go ahead. >> Yeah. She has experience with uh another

[6:04] community she lived in on both their chamber board and uh their CVB advisory

[6:08] committee for hotels. >> Move approval of consent agenda.

[6:12] » Second. >> Second.

[6:14] » Motion by Commissioner Jacobs. Second by Commissioner Cunningham. Questions,

[6:17] comments on this one? Now, I'll call for a vote. All in favor,

[6:21] please say I. I >> I opposed

[6:24] » passes 5 vote on new business 2026 sanitary sewer point repairs and lining

[6:29] project award of bid. Jeff. >> Good afternoon commissioners. Jeff

[6:33] Chrisman I'm the director of water resources.

[6:36] The capital improvement plan uh for 2026 includes a sewer sanitary sewer repairs

[6:42] and lighting project and this is consistent with similar work that we've

[6:45] done over the past five six years. Uh the general area for this year's project

[6:50] is between Hall and Vine, south of 33rd Street. It's the area that's outlined in

[6:55] green, goes all the way down to about 4th Street, encompasses all that area.

[7:00] Uh this visual was included in your packet. um staff developed um this

[7:06] year's project anticipating completion of 1943 linear feet of sanitary sewer

[7:12] lining which is from manhole to manhole and 20 internal uh point repair pro or

[7:17] repairs at multiple locations within the city of Hayes originally using 2024

[7:22] project line item pricing we bid out 1943 linear feet of manhole to manhole

[7:28] and 20 individual patches on this visual uh the lining from manhole to manhole is

[7:33] the red lines and so those are four locations and that encompasses that 1943

[7:38] [clears throat] linear feet. Um, so in green also in on

[7:44] the on the visual, those are the locations of the 20 patches. And as I

[7:48] mentioned last week at the work session, you may have one of those lines like in

[7:52] the western part of Hayes along hall there that might have five or six

[7:56] patches within that stretch, but all 20 original patches were within those green

[8:02] locations. After we opened bids and we went back to Mayor Specialty Services,

[8:06] the uh parent low bidder, we asked them to bid out some additional patches. uh

[8:10] to to get some more work done. For reference, those locations we added to

[8:16] those yellow spots on the map. Again, uh those 35 additional spots, there's not

[8:21] 35 individual lines there. There are a few locations where there's multiple

[8:25] patches within those lines. So, what you see there, if you approve it tonight, we

[8:30] will get 19 uh 43 linear feet of lining and 55 total patches.

[8:36] The city has made significant progress in maintaining and repairing our

[8:40] sanitary sewer system. Uh this visual only shows what's been completed since

[8:44] 2020. Um in 2018, we started a project to line and patch a sanitary sewer

[8:49] system. And since then, we've performed over $1.5 million worth of repairs.

[8:54] Initially, the way we started it was we knew we had all we had this big list

[8:59] that we wanted to accomplish and we start taking off the hardest stuff first

[9:03] and we would do one year of lining. Then the next year we would do patching and

[9:07] then lining and then patching. And then we kind of morphed into where we're at

[9:11] now. We're doing a combination of both. All the repairs that we've made and we

[9:16] want to re continue to make are based off that sewer line cleaning and

[9:20] inspection project that we do every year where we do 20% of the town. We get the

[9:25] video data. We get the still shots. We get all the reports that show us where

[9:29] those problems are. Then we add them to a future uh repair project. due to our

[9:35] progress that we've been made, it's becoming more and more difficult for us

[9:38] to uh find out find enough locations to meet that budget of $350,000.

[9:43] And I put in here, what a problem to have. Um in the future, um as I

[9:47] mentioned last week, what we're planning to do is probably 2028, we would combine

[9:52] both projects. The sewer line cleaning um project that we spend $150 $175,000 a

[9:58] year and that $350,000 project, combine them. won't be the total budget of both,

[10:04] but be able to do cleaning and um CCTV, which is the inspection, and then also

[10:09] do a lot of those repairs as we're going through that project. So, that's what we

[10:14] would plan on in the future. There are different types of repairs that we've

[10:18] used in the city of Hayes. Um trenchulous patches or internal point

[10:22] repairs, the lining from manhole to manhole, and then open cut repairs.

[10:27] Earlier on when we realized that we had some big problem areas, those would have

[10:32] to be dug up and they were such those lines were such that you had to actually

[10:35] have those um physically cut open, get down to them and they would have to put

[10:40] in new pipe and make that connection. But we've taken care of those issues. So

[10:44] now we're just doing the internal patches and the lining from manhole to

[10:48] manhole. This is what it looks like with the patch project. Um they would take

[10:53] this is called a packer unit and that's the side view of the of the sewer line.

[10:58] The packer is the the the um patch is put on the outside of the packer. It

[11:03] goes to where the problem area is. That packer expands. All the while sewer is

[11:08] flowing right through it. We don't have to shut down service and for a certain

[11:12] amount of time that patch will cure. I always use the term of band-aid, but

[11:17] it's much better than a band-aid um on a sewer line. Same type of material as we

[11:23] do when we do the lining. Um but it cures in place and then they remove that

[11:27] and they move to the next location. All this is found from previous um

[11:32] inspection reports. We know exactly where the problem is and then they come

[11:36] in when they do this project and they actually pre-clean the line. they know

[11:39] exactly where the problem is and so they go in and put in the patch while they're

[11:43] while they're there. Uh sewer lining is a is an impressive pro um product for

[11:49] us. It's trenchulous, quick, cost effective. There's different types of

[11:53] lining. We've used different types of liners in our projects before. Um it

[11:57] could be uh polyester vinyl, epoxy resin, or a like material and it's

[12:02] pulled from one manhole to another and then it's inflated with steam or water.

[12:06] it's given a certain amount of time to um to cure. Once complete problems such

[12:11] as infiltration, leakage, and deteriorating infrastructure is

[12:14] repaired, the sewer can remain in service during this project just like it

[12:19] would be um with the patches. And once in place, the contractor then will

[12:24] they'll cut the ends of it at each manhole. They'll take their equipment in

[12:27] there. They'll go to where the tap is for the business or or for the resident

[12:32] and then that cuts open that tap and then it reestablishes. And like I

[12:36] mentioned last week, the contractors that do this process, they put out door

[12:41] knockers, they talk to comm, you know, they talk to the area residents

[12:45] basically asking them to not use your, you know, your facilities or don't flush

[12:49] something for, you know, the next three hours, those type things. And that way

[12:54] they can get that work done. Jeff, what's the longest they ever have to ask

[12:57] them to not? Is three hours normal? >> Three hours is typical. Yeah. Um it I've

[13:04] seen some of them go up to five hours, but they try to actually do these at

[13:08] times when most people are at work. You know, you're never going to get nobody

[13:12] on the on the block. But you do have some time. You know, running a little

[13:18] bit of water in a sink, flushing the toilet is probably going to be okay. But

[13:22] a prolonged issue would fill up the the private line and we wouldn't want that.

[13:26] » Thank you. >> You bet. This is a video that um from

[13:30] 13th and Hall from a previous year. And that's just the liner being

[13:35] installed um down into the manhole. Somebody's down at the other manhole

[13:40] waiting for it to actually come out. Um and then once it's complete, they will

[13:45] uh blow it up with steam or water and then they'll reestablish those tabs. So,

[13:49] it's pretty slick process, pretty safe process. Um, this product that mayor is

[13:54] recommending, we've used before. It comes in on spools. They put the spools

[13:58] into a steam trailer and the spools are hard hardened because it's wrapped

[14:02] around spools and then it softens and then they're able to actually pull it

[14:06] through and uh fix fix the problem. And as I mentioned too last week, the liner

[14:12] itself is very very thin. It's no more than a quarter inch. And so, you think

[14:16] about an 8 inch sewer pipe. Um, it's not squeezing down that sewer pipe very

[14:22] much, just by an extra quarter of an inch on the inside of it, but it's like

[14:26] a brand new pipe. This is kind of what it looks like on the lining. The left

[14:29] side, you can see that there's damaged pipe, there's soil, there's cracks all

[14:34] over the place. I mean, it's not going to look perfectly smooth like it does on

[14:37] the right looks a lot better and it's it's keeping all the soil out and um

[14:43] protecting the integrity of that line, but it does show on the side. It does

[14:47] see some you see some of the things, but all in all, you have basically a brand

[14:51] new line that's put through there. Uh after the question last week, um I

[14:56] can't remember which commissioner asked it. I apologize, but I was asked about

[15:00] what type of material and how much do we have in the ground? Uh VCP uh vitrifi

[15:05] vitrified clay pipe. I can never say that right. I apologize. That's about

[15:09] 93% of what we have in our system. And so everything in brown on that map,

[15:14] which is a little bit easier to see than all the other colors, that is what is

[15:18] used has been used. And if you look down there at the far southern part of the

[15:22] city of Hayes, oldest part of Hayes, I kind of went over and I looked at some

[15:26] of I looked on GIS, look some of the houses, you know, houses were built in

[15:30] 1940 on this block. So you could kind of estimate that probably the sewer went in

[15:34] about that time. That kind of pipe can get you about 100 100 plus years. Um, so

[15:40] it it is good pipe, but it it is breakable just like anything is. Um, we

[15:46] had went away a few quite a few years ago to only doing PVC. So if you look at

[15:51] the blue spots in town, all the blue is PVC sewer line. So that makes up, and I

[15:57] know it's hard for you to see that PVC is about 19.81%.

[16:01] So um, hold on, back up. PVC is 19 81 miles, not percent. VCP is 93 miles.

[16:12] I apologize. There's some other things. Force man. If you look along the bypass,

[16:17] that's our force man. The reason there's a force man there, it's a different type

[16:20] of pipe. It actually is pushing from one um lift station around the bypass to get

[16:25] it up and over a hill so we can actually gravity into um the the sewer plant. We

[16:31] have some private lines. Um, Prairie Acres is private. You can kind of barely

[16:36] see it, but where the the Big Creek um the mall is, that's all private sewer in

[16:41] there. So, that's in red. So, there's some different types of lines that we

[16:45] don't necessarily clean because they're private or we have force main, but for

[16:49] the most part, most of our line is VCP that's in the ground, 93 miles. And as

[16:54] we are switching out any projects, we change over to um into PVC. So hopefully

[17:01] that helps a little bit with last week's question.

[17:03] » Yes, >> that uh you said some like 1940s, early

[17:07] 50s. So that's able to be lined if we need to.

[17:10] » Yeah, it can be lined. And that's 8 inch. And some of those some of those

[17:14] we've seen where we've lined. Let me Well, I hope I'm right. Let me look real

[17:18] quick. So you see the red red lines down by

[17:23] campus. Hey, I got one of these things.

[17:28] » Am I doing this right? Oh boy. So that one was line.

[17:32] » Okay. >> And that's down by campus. So that was

[17:34] probably >> line that was from 1940 1950.

[17:37] » That's awesome. >> Because what is the cost per mile to

[17:40] switch from BCP to uh PBC? >> Uh I'll have to get back with you on

[17:45] that. Off the top of my head. >> I wish I had I should have the bid

[17:50] document. Well, I could look here. >> More than the linear foot line.

[17:54] » Yes. Yes. Absolutely. Um okay. So that was on the material. So

[18:00] we solicited proposals for multiple contractors as we always do with all of

[18:03] our projects. Like I mentioned in developing our estimate for 2026, we

[18:07] used 24 pricing. When the bids were open, pricing was much more favorable

[18:12] than we anticipated. A large portion of the savings for our 2026 bids was that

[18:17] mayor's proposed liner is not as expensive as what was used by CC Steel

[18:22] in 2024. Very adequate, very commonly used. It's one that we've used before,

[18:28] but that difference equated to about $132,000

[18:32] less than we anticipated when we were putting the project together. And so

[18:37] that's where we had quite a bit of savings. And like I said, both

[18:40] materials, all the types of materials we've used for all of our projects, none

[18:45] of it's failed. Everything when they go through and they do the next cleaning

[18:48] project and they go right through one of those lines to do cleaning and

[18:52] inspection, they're clean. Nothing's failed. Nothing's having a problem. It's

[18:56] like a brand new pipe. So, we've had seen we have seen great success um with

[19:00] that. Um I mentioned this last week, too. We do not have a um C, excuse me,

[19:06] we don't have a mayor um contractor rating sheet for this project. Back in

[19:11] 2022, we we just for some reason we didn't have one in there, but mayor

[19:15] we've worked with um significantly on the manhole rehab project. They use

[19:20] similar type of material when they're doing our manholes. uh similar type of

[19:24] crew, similar project manager. I'm very confident that mayor uh will do a good

[19:29] job for us because they have in the past and we'll work on making sure that if

[19:34] this is approved, we don't miss another contractor rating sheet.

[19:37] » Do we have a a contractor rating sheet on them from any of the other projects

[19:41] I've done? >> 20. Um I have six years I have six years

[19:44] of contractor rating sheets for manhole rehab.

[19:47] » Okay. >> So,

[19:48] » thank you. >> Um work has been great. Um easy to work

[19:52] with. If you do award it tonight, it would start September 1st and it would

[19:56] go through December 31st would be the last date. Um, and I put in there the

[20:01] original bids in bold, but the the base plus the the additional patches 254,640

[20:08] is what we're asking you to approve today. So, for financial consideration,

[20:13] we budgeted 350,000. We're recommending the project cost as I

[20:17] mentioned and that is a remaining balance of 95,360

[20:22] from what we budgeted mentioned again that in future years we'll be looking at

[20:26] doing some combination of a project that way we can kind of get it so I wouldn't

[20:31] come in front of you more than once it I would be once for both projects so these

[20:37] are your options to approve it to direct us to another option or to do nothing

[20:42] and this is the action I would request and I would stand for your additional

[20:45] questions. >> I'll move we authorize the city manager

[20:48] to enter into an agreement with my mayor specialty services to complete the 2026

[20:53] sanitary sewer point repairs and lining project for $254,640

[20:59] to be funded from the water reclamation capital.

[21:03] » I second motion by Commissioner Mucil, second by Commissioner Bing. Questions

[21:07] or comments for Jeff? >> Is there any I'm trying to find it. I

[21:10] don't see. Is there any manholes being redone this time?

[21:15] » Yeah, I'm working on the project right now to come back to you.

[21:18] » That's a separate project from this. Okay.

[21:20] » Yeah, we we haven't brought that to you just yet. Okay.

[21:22] » But that will be coming. >> So,

[21:24] » but Jeeoff, I appreciate you consistently doing this. To me, this is

[21:28] just important as is the water lines and street maintenance, stuff like that.

[21:33] It's just something we have to do to keep on top of. So, I appreciate very

[21:36] much what you're doing with this. >> Sometimes it's hard because you don't

[21:39] see it. Yeah, exactly. >> You know,

[21:41] » you use it. >> Yep.

[21:43] » We have a city in the state that's struggling right now with water issues

[21:47] and pipes and all the stuff that isn't done. Uh not a pretty situation. I'm

[21:53] certainly glad we don't have to deal with anything like that because projects

[21:56] like this. It's appreciated.

[22:01] » I like the maintenance and keeping up on things. I've said that multiple times. I

[22:05] like that you've got a structured format that's showing uh improvement. so much

[22:09] improvement so that you're hunting for more projects to add to it. Um it sounds

[22:14] like you're you're on the right path there. My thought for the commission is

[22:18] is if we're coming in under budget $100,000

[22:24] instead of keep putting the money back into this. Maybe that's $100,000 we

[22:29] could use to save the citizens a little bit down the road. We've still got a

[22:33] good program. We're still getting ahead of the curve with what you're doing and

[22:36] I love that. they should be commended for that, but instead of just continuing

[22:41] to use more of that money, why not rebudget it and save somewhere else in

[22:45] the budget? >> That's my thoughts.

[22:49] » And I mentioned last week, commissioner, that we do have in the future,

[22:54] [laughter and clears throat] you know, we need to be looking at our force mains

[22:56] and we will we just spent quite a bit of money to upgrade that Highway 40 lift

[23:01] station that was approved a couple years ago. you know, we are going to have some

[23:05] other maintenance coming up for some lift stations. So, it is all part of the

[23:09] maintenance of it and there's always going to be some repairs to the sewer

[23:13] line system, but we've made some significant progress that will help us

[23:17] in the future. So, >> keep budgeting for those big plans.

[23:20] » Yep. I just appreciate that while we were

[23:25] looking at doing those 20 repairs with it coming in so much under budget that

[23:30] you went ahead and looked how many more we could take care of this year instead

[23:33] of waiting when potentially they cost more. So thank you

[23:38] » Jeff. The question I had for you um is you know comparing what we what CCCL had

[23:44] in 2024 and these ones we had the reinstate service connection was quite a

[23:52] bit higher. I mean it was back when we did it with CC Steel now they're both

[23:56] very much cheaper which I appreciate. Yeah. Um, do you know why that

[23:59] » CC Steel had a change in leadership as far as their

[24:05] » their project manager moved to a different company. Um, we've worked with

[24:10] him many times before. Um, I think there might have been some estimating issues

[24:15] with with what that was [clears throat] what was going on there. They've had

[24:18] some changes in who's doing their their bidding. So, and you know, CC Steel,

[24:23] it's quite a ways for them to actually come down here. It's like three states

[24:27] away, >> right?

[24:28] » So, >> no, thank you for that. Yeah, and it's

[24:32] it's something that I think we kind of talked about last week, too. You know,

[24:35] the important of importance of preventative maintenance before it

[24:39] becomes too much of a problem that you do have to go in and do complete

[24:43] trenches, replace entire lines, and then it gets really expensive. Service gets

[24:47] cut um while you're waiting to get that done

[24:50] » and you're tearing up street. >> Exactly. Gets really expensive really

[24:53] fast. So, be able to do this one under budget um and looking forward to, hey,

[24:58] we can attack something else before it rises in cost because nothing ever goes

[25:03] down. Um I appreciate you looking into that and being proactive with it. Um

[25:08] with uh Commissioner Valing's question, the water reclamation capital can we can

[25:15] shift money wherever we want, can we? [snorts]

[25:17] » Well, that's what I'm I wanted to verify. So, so yeah, when you when you

[25:22] collect uh when you levy a rate or collect a rate from users, um part of

[25:27] that's used for operations, part of it's used for water production, um part of it

[25:31] is transferred to reserves to be used for capital projects like this,

[25:34] » right? Um, so, um, I think what Jeff was was was saying to Commissioner Wilson's

[25:41] question was, um, we kind of have capital needs that are in excess of our

[25:47] capital dollars, you know, so if we are able to lower our estimate on this

[25:51] because we're maybe catching up with the maintenance. And keep in mind, we didn't

[25:55] budget any money for sewer maintenance until about eight years ago, right?

[25:58] » Um, and so we had to play a lot of catchup, including like digging up Main

[26:01] Street to replace it, you know, things like that. Um, but if we're catching up,

[26:06] he's got lots of other things he could reallocate that to, you know, to to make

[26:10] sure that we're keeping those things covered.

[26:12] » Okay. >> There.

[26:13] » So, the revenue is not outpacing projects.

[26:16] » What's that? >> Revenue is not outpacing projects.

[26:18] » We And we've got other projects like some other demo at the at the wastewater

[26:23] treatment plant that we've got planned in the future. You'll see on CIP for the

[26:27] future. >> Um, so there is some different things

[26:30] that we we need to be prepared for. >> Okay. But u now I would say

[26:34] » tracing is going to be something that we're not going to see

[26:37] » from a solveny standpoint. We're more solvent in waste water than water.

[26:41] » Right. >> Right.

[26:43] » When you look at the buffer and the comfort zone um we're way more

[26:48] comfortable in wastewater than we are than we are with with water.

[26:52] » And it's a little bit different funding, but we also are paying back for our

[26:56] wastewater treatment plant upgrade, too. >> We're making an SRF payment every every

[27:00] year. Toby, to be clear, the money in, you

[27:04] know, in wastewater, let's say we save another 100,000 next year.

[27:09] » We can't take that money and put it in general fund.

[27:11] » Uh, no, >> that has to stay

[27:13] » it it stays within it stays in wastewater.

[27:16] » What you could do is you could push off rate increases,

[27:19] » right? Right. >> The more money you save, you don't

[27:21] spend, you push off necessary rate increases.

[27:23] » Okay. >> Yep.

[27:24] » It's just because of the funding source. >> Yeah.

[27:27] » Okay. >> Okay. Does that make sense? Yeah.

[27:31] » Okay. >> Good question. I didn't know the answer

[27:34] that. >> Okay. Any other questions or comments on

[27:38] sanitary sewer point? >> Okay. I'll call for the vote. All in

[27:42] favor, please say I. >> I.

[27:44] » Opposed. >> Passes 5-0. Thanks, Jeff.

[27:49] » Resolution authorizing the offering for sale of general obligation securities.

[27:54] The sale resolution. Kim. >> Good afternoon, commissioners. Kim Rup,

[27:58] director of finance. Just a real quick res resolution for you

[28:02] today. This is uh the next step in the process of doing a bond issue in the

[28:06] fall. This particular bond issue will take care of the infrastructure for tall

[28:12] grass phase 4 as well as the exit 161. Uh we have to ask for the maximum in

[28:18] these documents. Um because we particularly the exit 161 we did issue

[28:23] temporary notes of 4 million. So we have to ask for that. The uh sizing of that

[28:29] bond will come in August. Likely the exit 161 will be more around the 1.3 1.4

[28:35] million because we did get the the grow haze uh economic grant uh that we were

[28:41] able to apply towards that. So to provide an orderly plan of finance

[28:46] for the city, staff recommends that the city issue general obligation bonds to

[28:50] fund the tall grass phase 4 infrastructure and permanently finance

[28:53] the exit 161 fin uh infrastructure. State law and capital market structures

[28:59] require that city staff and the city's adviserss take various actions prior to

[29:04] city offering any of its general obligation bonds or temporary notes for

[29:08] sale. Uh those actions may include publication requirements, offering

[29:12] documents drafting, and other preparations to receive bids on the

[29:16] securities for sale. Approval of the sale resolution that we have before you

[29:20] will authorize all necessary actions to offer for sale the city's general

[29:24] obligation bonds for the purpose stated. If the sale resolution is approved, the

[29:29] city will prepare to solicit and receive bids for the sale of those securities.

[29:33] the bids will be presented to the to you uh for approval in its meeting in August

[29:38] uh where the commission can accept the best bid or reject all of those. So

[29:43] pretty straightforward not much to it. Um options would be to approve that

[29:47] resolution, decline or provide us with other direction and we would ask for

[29:52] approval. I move approval of resolution number

[29:55] 2026-011 authorizing the offering for sale of the

[29:59] city's general obligation bonds andor temporary notes.

[30:03] » I second it. >> Motion by Commissioner Jacobs, second by

[30:05] Commissioner Biceing. Question or comments for Kim.

[30:09] » It's nice to get the money back from Gro Hayes on get the money from the grant. I

[30:12] think we should make that clear. I took it from 4 million to 1.3. That's a big

[30:16] deal. We've kind of gone, you know, over it every time we go through it, but I'm

[30:19] going to keep talking about it. >> Big deal. those grants

[30:22] » correct >> helping us out. agree.

[30:25] » And then just verification this is not an increase in we have dedicated funding

[30:30] sources for these set up already >> at this point we are able so the the uh

[30:35] exit 161 is the portion that the city is responsible for the [clears throat]

[30:39] other the tall grass that's going to be RHID funded um ultimately if the RHID

[30:45] revenue doesn't meet that need then we would have to possibly um levy for it

[30:50] but at this time uh projections show that won't occur.

[30:53] So the exit 161 does include uh in 2027. So we're doing the bond in 26. Payments

[31:01] start in 27. 27's budget that we've uh put before you has this included in it.

[31:06] » Yes. >> Perfect.

[31:08] » Okay. Any question? >> And the amount for that levy actually is

[31:11] going down from what it was the previous year.

[31:13] » Yeah. The proposed levy for the bond and interest is lower. Yeah.

[31:16] » Than last year. >> The levy rate is correct.

[31:18] » Correct. >> Yes.

[31:18] » Okay. >> Okay. Anything else? Okay, call for a

[31:23] vote on that. All in favor, please say I.

[31:25] » I. >> Opposed? Passes 5.

[31:28] » Thank you. >> Thanks, Kim.

[31:31] » All right, commission inquiries and comments. Commissioner B.

[31:37] I really wish Ruben would have stuck around. I uh

[31:43] talk to him, I guess, a little bit, but uh hopefully he watches this or listens

[31:47] to it later. Um,

[31:52] it's frustrating when our neighbors aren't good neighbors and they make a

[31:56] mess and it ends up in our yards. U, I've experienced it. I didn't like it.

[32:03] But like a good neighbor, I've talked to my neighbors and we work together as a

[32:08] community to clean up and to pick up and to be good neighbors. Um, if Ruben's

[32:16] getting up there in age, you need some help,

[32:19] you know, my number's out there, give me a call. I didn't get his email. Uh, he

[32:25] said he sent everybody. So, uh,

[32:30] » I just checked as soon as he said he sent us an email. I didn't see it. So,

[32:35] I hope in the future he gives me a call. I'd be more than happy to come out there

[32:39] July 5th, help him pick up trash. I might even talk to some of the veteran

[32:45] organizations and some of the Boy Scout groups or something. See if we can't get

[32:49] something put together and organized to help out the elderly

[32:52] after the 4th of July. >> This is a community event. We need to

[32:56] work together as a community. That's what makes the Fourth of July so great.

[33:01] And yeah, we only celebrate it once a year,

[33:05] but it's what makes us special as a country. There's holidays that get an

[33:11] entire month, you know. we get one day, why not let the folks

[33:17] have a couple of days to set off some fireworks and celebrate it the way it

[33:21] was intended? I think John Adams said it something along the lines of the 4th of

[33:26] July should be celebrated with pump and circumstance and he didn't use

[33:30] fireworks, but he he said something of that nature

[33:35] of the harbor. [laughter]

[33:40] You >> know, that's what that's our culture.

[33:43] That's America. >> So, Ruben, if you're listening, give me

[33:48] a call. I'll help clean up those fireworks next year. Um,

[33:52] as far as the budget goes, I've been digging through that, trying to find

[33:56] some creative ways maybe we can save. Um, I hope the fellow commissioners are

[34:01] doing the same. I might reach out to a few of you and talk about some ideas I

[34:05] got. Um, there's plenty of ways for us to save some funding.

[34:11] I know it's not going to make some people happy, but people want

[34:16] reductions. They don't want the budget to stay the flat. They don't want

[34:20] revenue neutral. They want to be taxed less. So, that's my thoughts is let's

[34:27] give them what they want. Let's find some ways to tax them a little less.

[34:32] » Awesome. Thank you, Sandy. I appreciate the comments on neighbors because we

[34:36] happen to be out of town for the weekend and anybody that wants to be really

[34:39] upset, we were at our grand our daughter's and son-in-law's farm. He's a

[34:44] retired military, retired colonel. Every year he gets a bigger roll of

[34:48] firecrackers. This year it had 6,000 fire and he likes it all. Just likes

[34:55] that puppy. Rolls it out there and puts it around. Just likes it. Most miserable

[34:59] thing, but we give him the honor of doing it himself. But when we got back,

[35:03] interestingly, neighbors on the to the south, the street south of us came over

[35:07] and with their little boy and they said, "We think you have some bottle rockets

[35:11] in your backyard that came from us. We didn't want to go in your backyard when

[35:14] you're gone." So, we opened. Sure enough, there were three bottle rockets

[35:18] back there. And they came over to get them out. So, I thought that was very

[35:21] nice. So, we do need to be good neighbors. I really don't have anything

[35:25] else. >> Okay.

[35:30] asked the same thing this week and I wish like you said Mr. Shookman would

[35:34] have stayed. Um I was actually um messaged from some of his neighbors and

[35:39] they've all lived there forever and said they're very neighborly. They're all

[35:43] friendly and they you know have a good time together and they they feel

[35:47] concerned. You know, Ruben's out there taking photos of them and they feel

[35:50] uncomfortable. And back to what you said, you know, maybe just go talk to

[35:54] your neighbors, you know, and I have neighbors to the south that

[35:58] yeah, they shoot off more fireworks than I would ever shoot off, but you know,

[36:02] you get up the next morning, it's usually cleaned up. And um you know, I

[36:06] had some in my backyard. I cleaned it up and it took me probably less than five

[36:11] minutes and stuff. And I I don't know. I mean, the only way you're going to solve

[36:15] this, we either don't have them or we have them. There's no there's nobody

[36:19] there's no way to make everybody happy. And I will tell you, if we don't have

[36:22] them, there's going to be I would say more than 50% of this town is gonna be

[36:26] really pissed off at us. And I'm just not

[36:29] » they're gonna be upset. >> No, that's good. That's a good word,

[36:32] too. But, um, I I'm not at the point to where I I would not be against, uh,

[36:38] maybe changing how many days we have it, but I don't know. I don't think it's

[36:42] going to make him any happier personally, but I I appreciate his

[36:46] comments. I appreciate what he gave us. He's done this for the last few years.

[36:49] And I mean, he's not wrong on anything he says, but I also think if you just

[36:53] talk to your neighbors directly instead of sneaking around, taking photos, maybe

[36:57] they would uh maybe they get along a little bit better in my opinion.

[37:02] That's all you have. >> Okay. Thank you, Commissioner Kan.

[37:07] » Um, so again, I wanted to make some comments on fireworks. I happen to

[37:11] receive several emails over the week that we're commending the city of Hayes

[37:18] in allowing fireworks and um kind of that commodity that it provided the

[37:24] neighborhoods or organizations that gathered. It was a very big year, the

[37:28] 250th. Um I wanted to just kind of read an excerpt out of one of the emails I

[37:34] received. I did receive several. They all were very positive and thankful. Um,

[37:42] this one just highlights basically what most commissioners have already stated,

[37:46] but this little excerpt says, "I understand that not everyone enjoys

[37:49] fireworks and that balancing the interest of an entire community is not

[37:53] an easy task. While there will always be a small number of people who come with

[37:57] complaints, know that the most Hayes residents are truly grateful for the

[38:01] decision on fireworks. We hope that those voices are not overshadowed.

[38:06] We took the opportunity to drive around Hayes this week and were greatly and

[38:11] genuinely impressed at how well the community cared for the city after the

[38:15] holiday. There were a few pieces of debris that might have been missed here

[38:19] or there, but in large, most of it had been picked up and residents had cleaned

[38:23] after themselves by taking pride in keeping Hayes beautiful. It's

[38:28] encouraging to see our community not only enjoy the holiday, but also take

[38:31] responsibility for preserving the city we all call home. Um, so I just wanted

[38:36] to share those comments. I thought that it was very well written and I know that

[38:42] not everybody picks up after themselves, but I think the majority as a whole, we

[38:47] do a good job. I know our culde-sac personally was a little quieter this

[38:51] year. Not as many fireworks, but still um we have a lot of teenagers in our

[38:57] neighborhood now. They're all growing and they did a good job of gathering up

[39:01] the bulk. And then um I will say the adults gathered midday the next day and

[39:06] did a really good clean sweep of everything. So, um I hope the majority

[39:11] of people did get to enjoy the holiday. That's all I have.

[39:14] » Hey, mayor. Can I say one more thing? >> Something that Ruben said that kind of

[39:18] concerned me is saying that people are scared to talk to us or afraid we won't

[39:22] listen. Couldn't be further from the truth. None of us would not respond to

[39:26] somebody. You may not agree or we may not agree with you, but all of us if you

[39:30] email us, we always respond. You call, we call back. So, I hope nobody's ever

[39:35] scared to contact any of us. Agreed.

[39:40] » Okay. Um, yeah, I I thought it was a I thought it was a great Fourth of July.

[39:45] Parade was really really uh wonderful. Really well attended. Uh, heard a lot of

[39:49] good things about Wild Westfest. Three amazing bands. Um, and yeah, the you

[39:54] know, the night of the fireworks uh something that we did is I we made my

[40:00] kids their cousins. Um if they noticed any

[40:06] trash on the ground, they picked it up. Um we had our bucket, we put all the

[40:10] trash in, made sure it was disposed of properly. Um but we told them if you get

[40:13] anything out, you make a mess, you notice a mess, pick it up. Um and they

[40:18] did. Um, after everything was done, after all the time uh had expired for

[40:22] shooting him off, I walked around kind of up and down my street um on both

[40:27] sides with a flashlight and went and pick stuff out of people's yards for him

[40:30] because, you know, it's one thing unless you got to do. Um, but it's just the the

[40:35] neighborly thing to do. I don't think you're going to be able to legislate uh

[40:38] being a neighbor. Um, you're you're going to have to

[40:41] » kind of like being a parent. >> Yeah. You can't legislate parenting and

[40:44] you can't legislate being a neighbor. You've got to actually communicate with

[40:48] one another and uh understand that uh your actions can affect people and the

[40:54] best way to do that is communicate with them and come up to a solution together.

[40:57] Um and then I' I'd also heard the uh the event that happened at the the church

[41:03] north of town for the veterans. I believe the women who lead the

[41:06] organization uh help cover the cost for that. Um they had actually people from

[41:12] the event in Hutchinson at the salt mine uh was actually full. So they had people

[41:18] from Hutchinson come out to that event. >> Um

[41:21] » which I think is a lot of fun. >> That's cool.

[41:23] » Wow. >> Um

[41:24] » number that I don't know. I can find a number out, but I know that they're

[41:28] looking at maybe trying to expand it even more next year um to accept people

[41:33] from outside the community as well who want to participate. So I think that's

[41:36] » build the salt mine. Yeah, [clears throat] the salt mine was full.

[41:39] » I mean that it'd be a cool place to celebrate. I mean there's a lot of cool

[41:42] things down there. >> Um but yeah, I mean offering that's how

[41:47] things get h how things happen. Community came together and provided

[41:50] that option for you. >> Um

[41:52] » I know there's a few different organizations looking at doing something

[41:54] for pets too. Um so it's community coming together. We're not going to

[41:58] legislate our way out of that. Um I think other than that I don't have

[42:03] anything else really to talk about and we have an executive session I

[42:08] believe. I would request the city commission

[42:12] enter into an executive session um to include the city commission, city

[42:17] attorney, city manager, deputy city manager, assistant city manager

[42:22] um for a period not to exceed 20 minutes to discuss uh confidential data relating

[42:28] to financial affairs or trade secrets or corporations, partnerships, trust, and

[42:32] individual proprietorships. >> So moved.

[42:36] » Second. Motion by Commissioner Jacobs, second by Commissioner Cunningham.

[42:39] Questions or comments? Call for a vote. All in favor, please say I.

[42:43] » I. Opposed. passes. 5 session

Hays City Commission Meeting July 9th, 2026

Transcript