{"id":88702,"date":"2025-08-29T08:39:37","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T13:39:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=88702"},"modified":"2025-08-29T08:39:53","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T13:39:53","slug":"city-commission-hears-report-for-tallgrass-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=88702","title":{"rendered":"City Commission hears report for Tallgrass development"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BY ALICIA FEYERHERM<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tiger Media Network <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams provided an update on the Tallgrass Development at Thursday\u2019s City Commission meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Heart of America Tallgrass Development was completed in phases. Phase One had 36 lots, Phase Two had 18 lots and Phase Three had 12 lots. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Heart of America developed the lots and then sold the lots to builders. Williams emphasized that the development would not have been possible without Heart of America selling the lots below cost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey (Heart of America) really are the unsung heroes of this development,\u201d Williams said. \u201cNo other private developer ever would have made that kind of decision.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Of the 66 lots, Homes by Cornerstone built 40 homes, Platinum Group built 21 and PWC built 5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery house they built out there sold before it was done,\u201d Williams said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The demographics of the buyers included 27 first-time home buyers, 17 individuals new to Hays, 15 upsize\/downsizers, and investors bought six homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHomeowners add to and stabilize a workforce,\u201d Williams said. \u201cHomeowners tend to stay in a community as opposed to being more likely to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The development was approved as a Rural Housing Incentive District, a program that allows cities to use the new property taxes from a housing project to reimburse developers for streets, water, and other infrastructure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRHIDs are an invaluable tool to try and incent a developer to do this,\u201d Williams said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Williams does acknowledge that the City has to take on some responsibilities, such as police, fire, and EMS services for lots that are not paying city property taxes, but the benefits outweigh those incremental costs. Before development, the lot was only paying $127 in property taxes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commissioner Mason Ruder also noted that the majority of the funds for fire and police are paid through sales taxes rather than property taxes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe benefits and some of the public safety equipment is funded by a levy, but yes, the majority of expenditures are from sales tax,\u201d City Manager Toby Dougherty said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Williams said that some may see RHIDs as a cost to taxpayers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe only way you could ever make the argument that it costs the taxpayers more money than they receive back is to assume it\u2019ll happen anyways,\u201d Williams said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reality is that without these incentives, the development wouldn\u2019t occur. The Tallgrass Development was platted back in 2001.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo it sat for 20 years, ready to go, and nothing happened,\u201d Ruder said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continuation of these incentives is vital to continuing the development of much-needed housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt this point in time, I just can\u2019t see many developers wanting to do something without an RHID,\u201d Williams said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mayor Sandy Jacobs applauded all who worked together to make the Tallgrass development possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere were so many pieces in this and the development that is happening in this community would not have happened in any other way,\u201d Jacobs said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other items from the meeting included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n