By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., made a quick stop in Hays Monday night to visit the Grove housing addition and community center.
Marshall, who had also been in Logan visiting a school/senior living development, said he was interested in learning more about housing developments and needs in Hays.
Marshall met with a Hays Post reporter and Doug Williams, executive director of Grow Hays, who took him on a brief tour of the Robert and Pat Schmidt Community Center. The center is scheduled to be completed this summer.
The community center will house a child care, the Hays Senior Center and multi-purpose rooms for community use. The Grove housing addition will include 54 single-level homes and additional smaller villa homes that are being marketed toward seniors.
Williams said he hopes 10 homes will be completed by next spring, with the complete build-out taking about four years.
"Congratulations," Marshall said to Williams on Hays' housing developments. "We have been across 15 communities Friday and today, and everywhere we go, housing, housing, housing."
Williams said it takes a lot of players to make these housing additions happen—the city, the county and independent builders.
"They have not been used to building at scale," he said. "They're used to building one or two [houses] a year, and we're asking them to do 10 to 15 a year. It puts a strain on subcontractors, plumbers and electricians. The infrastructure we need to build things is lacking.
"We struggle with that, but we're ramping up."
The Hays Post asked the senator about several economic issues during the meeting with Marshall. Marshall has been a supporter of the Trump administration and followed the administration's line of rhetoric in his answers.
R9 Ranch Funds
The city of Hays had hoped to apply for $50 million in FEMA funds to support the R9 Ranch water project. An executive order has put a pause on those funds, Collin Bielser, deputy city manager, said on the Morning Blend radio show on Monday.
Marshall said he was very familiar with the R9 water project.
"We're trying to reach out to the White House to get an answer about what's going on with that," he said. "The bigger challenge is that we have seen so much waste and fraud coming out of all the grants that we had to say, 'Look, we don't know where they all are going,' so they paused all of them.
"I think this is a good project, and we'll get it back," he said. "I think they are just trying to take good care of taxpayer dollars."
Tariffs
The Post asked the Marshall if he was concerned President Trump's tariffs could drive up the cost of raw materials for housing projects such as the Grove in Hays.
"I don't think the cost could go anywhere near it has in the last four or five years," Marshall said.
"I think the things that we're doing to bring the prices down is the regulatory environment. When I talk to builders, and I have been talking to them all across the state, I ask them the No. 1 cost that's driving up the cost of building homes.
"They talk about the rules and regulations, the regulatory environment— that it takes two or four years to get a permit. You get a green space like this, and you have to get the EPA to look at it and all the different government agencies, and it was taking years."
Marshall said the building industry also relies on imported lumber.
"I think we need to look at ourselves. I want to plant 20 trees for every one that is cut down," he said.
He also discussed transformers, which had serious supply-chain issues during and after COVID. Lags in orders for transformers significantly delay building projects, including those in Hays.
Minerals are needed to rehab those transformers, and they have had to be imported, Marshall said.
"I think the bigger picture at the federal government that we need to be focused on is rolling back regulations, so we can start mining again. We haven't had a major mine open up in 10 years," he said.
Inflation
He said he thought the impact of tariffs on buildings would be minimal and very short-lived.
Instead of tariffs causing further inflation, Marshall said he thought tariffs would stabilize prices.
"I think we will see inflation in that 3% range," Marshall said. "I'm not going to promise that it'll be back to 2%, but my hope is to get it in the 3% range and to see a 3% [Gross Domestic Product] growth as well.
"So I think by rolling back regulations and setting American energy free, we're going to get control of inflation and create more jobs."
In a letter backing that legislation, David French, the National Retail Federation's executive vice president, government relations, said, "One estimate indicates these tariffs could lead to a $2,100 tax increase per household.
"The increased tariffs are not sustainable for small businesses that have to pay the tax. Many are concerned about their ability to stay in business as a result."
Department of Education
The Post also asked Marshall about the President's executive order to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education, given that Hays is home to Fort Hays State University.
Although the president laid off half of the department's staff, the administration has acknowledged it needs congressional approval to eliminate the department.
The department oversees $1.6 trillion in student loans owed by 45 million Americans.
Opponents of the move have expressed concerns the transfer of oversight of those loans to the Small Business Administration, which has also been gutted, will lead to issues for borrowers and taxpayers.
Cuts in D.C. have also affected $22 million in unspent COVID funds earmarked for education.
Gov. Laura Kelly said Tuesday a request was submitted to the U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to reinstate those funds.
Marshall said, "I think by downsizing the Department of Education at the federal level, there will be more monies available to help people at a university like Fort Hays.
"We want those dollars to be spent on people who are facing the students instead of this huge overhead that has been created in Washington. I think things can be done much more efficiently, including the Department of Education."