More naming rights will be discussed during city meeting
Published on -9/8/2010, 10:50 AM
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By KALEY CONNER
With one large community donation already pledged for construction of the Hays sports complex, more naming rights are expected to be awarded Thursday. The Hays City Commission will meet for a regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. at city hall.
The city has received two proposals for the naming of two softball/baseball quadrants and the soccer complex. Eagle Communications has proposed contributing $150,000 in cash and in-kind services, and Nex-Tech Wireless has offered $160,000 in cash. Both offers would be paid during the next decade.
While three areas of the sports complex are available for naming, neither business has yet indicated a preference, according to information from city hall. The entity with the largest donation will get first choice.
Another large donation of $500,000 was announced Tuesday morning for the naming of the overall facility. That donation was pledged by Hays residents Don and Chris Bickle, and Bob and Pat Schmidt.
Also on Thursday, commissioners will discuss how the additional funds should be used. Some money already has been used to provide lighting for a second baseball/softball quadrant.
The city's current contract with Wichita-based Eby Construction is in the amount of about $8.25 million. Total revenue resulting from a four-year, 0.5-percent sales tax and community donations is estimated at $8.66 million, leaving commissioners with about $400,000 in excess funds, Assistant City Manager Paul Briseno said.
"The commission can decide and give us direction as far as what they'd like to spend that money on," Briseno said.
No more than $8 million in sales tax funds can be used for construction.
Additional amenities that could be secured include paving the remaining 25-percent of the parking lot, four additional scoreboards, playground equipment, batting cages and shade structures for bleachers. Commissioners also could choose to have all eight soccer fields constructed immediately, rather than having city staff construct three of them at a later date.
All of those amenities were identified in a master plan developed by a grassroots community group but could not be obtained within the city's $8 million price limit.
Other agenda items include:
* Mayoral appointments to the Fort Hays Municipal Golf Course Advisory Board and the Hays Beautification Committee.
* A presentation of the Big Read program.
* An overview of the 2010 fireworks season, presented by Hays Fire Chief Gary Brown and Hays Police Chief Jim Braun.
* Updates to the police department's public offense code and standard traffic ordinance.
