BY CORIE LYNN
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Ahead of their break for Thanksgiving, the Hays City Commissioners met for a work session on Thursday.
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During this time, Hays Director of Public Works Jesse Rohr presented the 2021 Street Maintenance Program.
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\u201cEach year,\u201d Rohr said, \u201cstaff evaluates the condition of city streets, and we develop a maintenance program.\u201d
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He then gave the commissioners an update on the 2020 program, which had a budget of $1,676,978.
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Projects included from this past year included seal coating, chip seals and polypatch on the streets throughout Hays. Though these projects are still in progress, the Rohr anticipates there being roughly $115,000 that will rollover to the 2021 budget.
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Without this anticipated rollover, the 2021 Street Maintenance Program budget will be just under $1 million.
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The projects planned for this year include asphalt seal coating, curb and brick repair on the 200 blocks of East and West 16th St, concrete patching and panel repair, the removal and replacement of pavement markings on Vine St, mill and overlay reconstruction on Fort St, sidewalk projects and crack sealing.
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Bids for these projects will be brought before the commission after the New Year.
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As Rohr concluded his report, Mayor Shaun Musil voiced his support for the program, explaining that it is good for city residents as well as expected by them.
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\u201cAs we grow, if we don\u2019t continue to put money into this [maintenance], we\u2019ll get behind again,\u201d Musil said.
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The second and final item of business for the evening came from Hays City Manager Toby Dougherty.
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He spoke at the work session to update the commissioners on Executive Order 2068, issued by Gov. Laura Kelly the previous day.
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As he explained, this order is a state-wide mask mandate, similar to the one issued the previous June. Hays, however, is exempt from this order as the city is functioning under its own mask mandate.
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This exemption will continue as long as Ellis Co. does not issue a more stringent mask resolution to comply with state order.
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\u201cThe way the order works,\u201d said John Bird, City of Hays Attorney, \u201c if the County doesn\u2019t do anything, then the order just comes into effect in Ellis County.\u201d
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Unlike the Hays mask mandate, the state-wide order does not have a fee or penalty.
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With the end of the discussion on the new order, Musil acknowledged that there has been plenty of debate on whether or not they actually work.
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\u201cI would encourage people to contact Hays High School or TMP because they\u2019ve got a lot of stats that prove they do work if worn properly,\u201d he said.
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Before adjourning, the commissioners gave their final comments of the evening, wishing all a happy Thanksgiving and giving a reminder to maintain health and safety practices during the holiday.
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\u201cLimit your gatherings, if possible,\u201d Musil said. \u201cWe do have a tremendous amount of things to be grateful for even though this is a crazy time.\u201d
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