BY CORIE LYNN
Former Mayor of Hays Shaun Musil opened last Thursday’s Hays City Commission meeting with the reorganization of the Commission. It was then that former Vice Mayor Sandy Jacobs took the role of mayor and former Commissioner Mason Ruder took the role of Vice Mayor.
As this transition of power took place, Musil’s fellow commissioners thanked him for his service to the city.
Jacobs cited the many projects, such as the North Vine Street Corridor Improvement and the ARC Park, that took place during his tenure, but concluded that “that’s nothing compared to the heart and soul this public servant has for the city of Hays and all of its residents.”
Before transitioning into the night’s business, the Commission presented Musil with a plaque.
Choking up and taking a moment to hug his wife, Musil then took the time to thank the family that stood by him through his time as mayor as well as local healthcare workers and his fellow commissioners.
“As you all know,” he said, “it takes a team up here. We don’t all agree all the time or disagree, but it takes a team.”
The commissioners revisited this transition of power during their closing comments, once again thanking Musil for his time but looking forward to working with Jacobs.
Jacobs ended the meeting with her own word of thanks.
“Thank you for affording me the honor of representing this great community and all my friends and neighbors,” she said.
The night’s business included a request from Hays Regional Airport Director Jamie Salter, who attended the commission asking for the mayor’s letter of recommendation for SkyWest as the airport’s carrier.
During this time, Salter informed the commissioners of the nature of the contract with the carrier. She also acknowledged that the airport has received a decline in traffic since the onset of the pandemic but that this is a pattern seen across the travel industry.
The commissioner approved the mayor’s letter of recommendation for SkyWest.
City of Hays Project Manager John Braun then gave an update on the North Vine Street Project.
According to Braun, the hourglass roundabout is complete and fully functional.
The next phase of the project allows the contractor to work on the west side of Vine St. during the winter months, which includes an extension of 37th St. as well as traffic control to allow for the extension of Skyline Rd. to 41st St.
“By the middle of March,” Braun said, “if the winter weather allows, we anticipate the contractor will move Vine St. traffic all over to the east side, head-to-head and northbound lanes, and start building the west side of all three roundabouts at the same time.”
Then answering questions from the commissioners, he explained that there has only been one accident in the new roundabout, pedestrian crosswalks have been added to the roundabout, and the project as a whole is 40% complete.
With no further business, the meeting adjourned.