By JESSICA BUHLER
Tiger Media Network
On Monday, Hays City Commission candidates Reese Barrick, Sandy Jacobs, David Koshiol, Shaun Musil, and David Vilaysing spoke at an open forum to persuade voters in November’s election. The candidates are vying for two four-year terms and one two-year term.
The candidates gave opening statements.
“It’s important for everybody to get a chance to know all of us as people and as candidates beyond just what’s on a campaign sign or a ballot,” Barrick said.
“Leadership is about listening, working together, and doing what’s right for the people we serve,” Jacobs said.
“I believe that I’m qualified to be on this board because the blue collar, the working class, deserve a voice on this commission as well,” Koshiol said.
“I hope to leave this community to where my kids, even if they move away for a time, if they want to come back, can do so forever,” Musil said.
“My mission/vision for my company are one and the same, and that’s to leave this world better than I found it,” Vilaysing said.
In recent times, there has been an increase in political violence. The candidates discussed the city commission’s role in addressing political violence.
“We have to lead by example,” Vilaysing said. “If we can’t lead by example and be able to manage conflict when it arises, then we have no business being up here in those seats.”
Barrick agreed.
“I agree that at the city commission level, we are an example, we have to set up the model for discussion and disagreement and the ability to work with each other,” he said.
Jacobs said education is key when it comes to this issue.
“Young people, especially, understand that we have a police force that’s out there to help us and to educate us. I think education is the key to so much, and I think that it’s no different for political violence,” she said. “We can’t hide our heads. It happens. We want to make sure that all of our citizens, particularly our younger people, are educated on why it shouldn’t happen.”
Koshiol said the commissioners’ roles include enough outside of focusing on this issue.
“No. I believe the city commission has enough on its plate. And you focus on keeping the city running,” he said. “All the rest will be taken care of by outside organizations.”
The R9 water project is a project to establish a sustainable water supply for Hays and Russell to help alleviate the cities’ water supply issues. The project will be pumping from the R9 ranch they bought for fair market value. Currently, the project is being held up in deliberation, and all the candidates agree that it needs to move forward.
“We’re the only county in the state of Kansas that doesn’t have a sustainable water source,” Jacobs said.
The candidates had differing solutions on the question of how to keep Fort Hays State graduates in Hays.
Koshiol said building affordable housing would be a way to keep graduates in the community. Musil spoke about having quality schools and events that young adults want to attend in the community. Vilaysing spoke about developinig the Hays Work Focre Development Council.
“It would be a collaboration of somebody from the city commission, local businesses, administrators from the high school, and administrators from Fort Hays State University, where they all get together and they discuss what they can provide for the students of Hays,” Vilaysing said.
The candidates also expressed their viewpoints regarding economic development. For Koshiol, that includes focusing on a larger portion of the community.
“I think we need to start focusing on the bulk of our community who keep the city running, who run the cashiers, who look after the children while their parents were flipping burgers, everybody through there,” Koshiol said. “I think we need to build more affordable housing and make sure that there is that they’re able to be here so that they can work here before we can focus on bringing more jobs to the area.”
Barrick mentioned education and water as important factors to consider for attracting new businesses.
“We have a university and we just built the new school. You have to have water. We’re very close to getting a water supply that can support businesses because they] aren’t going to a place that they don’t see it being a sustainable place to bring a bunch of workers in,” he said. “And so then you have to have housing, you have to have the places where people to live, and so a business can see, ‘hey, there’s places I can bring workers in.’”
The Hays City Commission Election will take place on November 4.