By ALICIA FEYERHERM
Tiger Media Network
During Thursday’s meeting, the Hays City Commission discussed the demolition of the Rodeway Inn at 3404 Vine Street.
Director of Public Works Jesse Rohr said the building has been deemed a “dangerous structure”. The Kansas Fire Marshal performed several inspections at the property.
“Electrical issues, HVAC issues, water leak issues, along with various structural issues with the property,” Rohr said.
The motel has been closed since fall 2024.
“To date, there’s been little to no known action on the property,” Rohr said.
Rohr presented a resolution allowing for the structures to be demolished. He noted that this does not mandate the City to demolish the building, but gives the City the power to do so.
Mayor Sandy Jacobs said the Commission spoke with a representative of the property owner during the last work session.
“I think we made it clear then and I want to make it clear now, we’re not out here trying to cause any hardship if they’re in the middle of a possible sale,” Jacobs said.
Jacobs referenced a letter of intent the representative provided.
“I don’t think there’s a contract to the best of my knowledge, but a letter of intent is the first step towards that and I think it looks pretty positive,” Jacobs.
City Manager Toby Dougherty said that the City could take action as soon as 10 days after approval of the resolution, but does not plan on moving that quickly.
“As long as there’s progress being made, we’ll let it happen and hopefully the market will take care of itself,” Dougherty said.
According to Dougherty, this was the process the City took when demolishing the Ambassador facility on Vine. The City Commission passed a similar resolution and shortly afterwards, the owner decided to demolish the property.
“It was a couple months before they got started actually I think, but we knew there was someone under contract and then work began,” Dougherty said. “We’re not going to be unreasonable here, but we’re also not going to let them string it off forever.”
Other meeting items included:
- Approval of a Reinvestment Housing Incentive District (RHID) for Phase 4 of the Tallgrass addition
- Award of bid to QMC, Inc. for a stormwater equipment building
The next City Commission meeting will be at 4 p.m. on May 22 at City Hall.