By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays City Commission on Thursday heard a request from A&A Coors for a resolution authorizing industrial revenue bonds for a new warehouse in Hays.
The business, 823 E. Eighth St., plans to construct a new 43,000-square-foot commercial warehouse and distribution facility in the industrial park at Ninth and Commerce Parkway.
The developer estimates the facility to be about a $7 million project, Jarrod Kuckleman, assistant city manager, said.
The business serves 22 counties across northwest Kansas, Corey Leiker, sales manager, said. It has been operating in Hays since 1969.
The company recently added three new employees, and with the expansion, may add more, Leiker said.
Leiker said Coors has been expanding its product lines with new flavor profiles, as well as its sales of non-alcoholic beverages, including Red Bull.
The business has a recycling center on-site, and Leiker said the company is considering options to continue its commitment to recycling.
The developer is requesting industrial revenue bonds, also known as IRBs, be issued to benefit the project. Using the bonds will allow the developer to obtain a sales tax exemption for all purchases related to the project's construction and a real property tax abatement for up to 10 years.
Kuckleman said the sales tax exemption will be worth about $38,812, and the property tax exemption will be worth about $260,000 over the 10 years of the abatement.
Before granting the request, the city must have a public hearing on the bonds. That hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
The payment obligations are solely the responsibility of the developer and would not increase local taxes, Kuckleman said.
Mayor Sandy Jacobs said, "The investment that has been made in this community by the Aubel family is not lost on us. This $7 million facility, I could tell you, could go anywhere. There are lots of communities that would like to have this project, and we are very grateful that you chose to keep it here."
Street markings
Jesse Rohr, director of public works, is recommending spending $101,000 with C-Hawk Construction of Eudora for pavement markings.
The city requested bids for the marking project when it let the bids for the annual street maintenance projects, but received none.
When the city issued a request for bids again, the low bid was from C-Hawk. Rohr said the bid of $54,691 for work on Hall and 13th Street was so much lower than the $110,000 budgeted, the city reached out to the company to see if it could do additional work this summer.
The city requested additional markings for the Vine Street roundabouts. Rohr said the roundabouts' markings, which have not been remarked since they were installed in 2020, have deteriorated significantly due to high traffic and repeated salt treatments.
Rohr said the additional marking project was added for a total cost of $101,420, which was still less than the amount budgeted for the original projects.
Water department parking lot
The commission heard a report on a bid for water resource department parking lot and access improvements. City staff solicited bids for concrete paving of the parking lot and entrance area at the Water Treatment Plant and Water Resources Maintenance Facility.
The project was budgeted for $130,000. A single bid was received for $136,483 from Morgan Brothers Construction. Despite being slightly over budget, the city staff is recommending approval of the bid.
The cost will be split between the water treatment and water resource maintenance capital funds.
The commission also heard a report from Fort Hays Tech/North Central on the Big Creek Technical Training facility.