By RYAN CHRISTNER

rchristner@dailynews.net

Listening to the last of several budget presentations from outside agencies, Hays city commissioners were addressed Thursday by Access Transportation.

Repeating the information given to county commissioners last week, Transportation Manager Ron Straight spent the majority of his time before city leaders discussing the benefits of implementing a fixed-route service.

With annual operational costs projected at approximately $216,000, of which the city would be responsible for about half, Straight said Access ridership could increase from nearly 68,000 passengers in 2008 to more than 90,000 in just the first year.

Stabilized long-term estimates, based on changes observed after a fixed-route system was put into effect in Hutchinson, suggest passenger numbers eventually could reach as high as 160,000.

Three years ago, a committee was set up by the city and county to determine the future direction of pubic transportation.

Straight then enlisted the help of graduate students from the University of Kansas' Transportation Center to perform a route study to aid in that process.

After receiving the final KU report in June 2008, the committee has recommended a fixed-route system be used in Ellis County.

By using such a system, Straight said he could see economic and health-related benefits. Wielding statistics from the Federal Transit Administration, Straight said families in auto-dependent communities spend 25 percent of their income on transportation annually, compared to 19 percent in "transit-rich" communities and 9 percent in areas with a fixed-route system.

Public transit also helps reduce the level of carbon emissions released into the air, he added.

Through his presentation, Straight recommended a 16-hour fixed-route service be used as a complement to its current para-transit schedule.

The ideal situation, he said, would be to have pickup points spaced every quarter-mile throughout the city of Hays.

"Depending on which part of town you live in, that's either two blocks or one block," Straight said.

While commissioners seemed supportive of the proposed initiative, some suggested current economic conditions made it difficult to give their full support.

"I know it's something I believe we need to do in the future," Barbara Wasinger said. "But I just think right now is probably not the best time to start asking."

Other agenda items included:

* The review of a commercial insurance renewal through Insurance Planning Inc.

Despite a general increase in premiums, many of the items in the renewal remained unchanged from years past. However, recommended modifications were made in the form of increased technological safety.

Director of Finance Kim Rupp said the city performs a lot of banking and handling of credit card information online and city staff often travel with laptop computers carrying sensitive data, and thus was in support of the increases to computer fraud and public entity cyber liability coverage.

* Rezoning of lots at 108 and 110 W. 16th from rural to commercial land.

* The scheduling of a public hearing on special assessments for two improvement districts within the city.

The improvements consist of the installation of sanitary sewer lines along General Hays Road, north of 48th Street, in the North Hays Addition and the installation of water lines, sanitary sewer lines and storm sewers, as well as the grading, paving, curbing and guttering, of Vista Drive.

It was requested the commission discuss the matter during its next regular meeting Thursday, with a proposed date of July 23 for the public hearing.