By TONY GUERRERO
Hays Post
The Ellis County Commission will hear an informational session about infrastructure costs for new housing during its meeting at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Reinvestment Housing Incentive Districts, a Kansas Department of Commerce program, have been used in nearby cities but could be used for the first time in rural Ellis County.
Dominic Eck of Gillmore & Bell will provide an overview of the process if it were to proceed.
2026 budget direction
Darin Myers, county administrator, will meet with commissioners to begin the 2026 budget process. Commissioners will be asked to provide direction on financial objectives, mill levy targets, staffing and project priorities.
Budget requests from departments and agencies are due in May.
Monthly departmental reports
Commissioners will also review the monthly reports submitted by various departments, such as calls for emergency services and on-scene time for incident responses.
Myers will discuss several reports, including those from Ellis County Communications, Environmental Services, EMS and the Sheriff's Office.
Opioid funds for travel expenses
Ellis County Sheriff Scott Braun will ask commissioners to approve the use of about $800 from the Opioid Settlement Fund to cover the travel costs of a retired narcotics detective.
The detective will teach a class for local law enforcement on fentanyl and opioid overdose death investigations.
Ellis County Commission scholarships
The county commission will consider approving 15 scholarship recipients for the upcoming fall semester. These scholarships assist local high school seniors planning to attend Fort Hays Tech North Central, Fort Hays State University or Hays Academy of Hair Design.
$10,000 has been set aside in the 2025 Ellis County budget for this project.
Asphalt maintenance materials
The commission will be asked to authorize the purchase of asphalt emulsion oils from Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions to support the 2025 Asphalt Maintenance Plan.
The total cost of the materials is $882,837.
Other business
The Ellis County Joint Planning Commission chairman and the Environmental Services director will ask the commission to take action on a permit to authorize equipment sales, storage and rental on county property.
Myers will also discuss the potential sale of a brush truck to another governmental agency.
The 2024 County Engineer's annual report will summarize the previous year's projects and timesheets. It will then be submitted to KDOT for inclusion in the Kansas local infrastructure planning.