Neighborhood group focuses on sidewalks

By MICAH MERTES

Hays Daily News

Nearly a year since its creation, the Historic Hays Neighborhood Revitalization Project has a series of goals on its roster, all with one fundamental aim: revamp the face and feel of south Hays.

Group founder LaVetta Westphal-Rolfs grew up in Hays on the 300 block of West Sixth. Surrounding her were the houses of the chief of police, the school superintendent and her family doctor.

"Now we've got college guys on one side, college girls on the other side and beer-drinking, beer-throwing people on the other side," she said. "And it's changed a lot from the time I grew up. I don't mind college students, and I don't really mind drinking, but it's really changed the whole agenda for the way the neighborhood feels. Aand there's no mix anymore."

Westphal-Rolfs now lives in Topeka but founded HHNRP when she came home to visit her mother and was "depressed" by the state of things.

"It wasn't pleasant, and I just felt so un-empowered," she said. "And I decided to become empowered."

A group of about 20 Hays residents followed suit. But for Tuesday night's monthly meeting, the group (both seasoned members and first-timers) didn't have couches on porches or beer-can-strewn alleys on their minds. Their opponent was bad concrete.

The Sidewalk Replacement Project, the group's pilot effort to rally support and awareness, took up the bulk of the meeting.

At this point, group president Cathy Van Doren said the city of Hays has identified chunks of sidewalk in the city that don't meet safety code.

Since the dime of the sidewalk replacement would fall to the individual property owners, the city has offered a rebate program to the home owners -- $0.90 per square foot, $1.35 on driveway sections.

But even with the rebate, Van Doren estimated, this might only cover a third to a fourth of the cost of replacement.

"We wanted something where we could provide a service for the community," Van Doren said. "The sidewalk replacement seemed like a great opportunity."

The original plan (pre-Tuesday meeting): Through group efforts of HHNRP and Fort Hays State University volunteer group Tigers in Service, help in the destruction of bad sidewalk on the 500 block of Sixth and Seventh streets. Using sledgehammers and wheelbarrows, tear it apart, start anew.

Though nothing had been confirmed, Ellis County officials had shown interest in hauling off the concrete in a few county dump trucks, Van Doren said. Then a contractor would pour the new concrete. The project would try to find the most reasonably priced contractor and the best deal for homeowners, mailing the info to them in early August and getting their approval.

The original deadline: before FHSU Homecoming.

The problem: logistics and safety.

"I don't want college student volunteers in flip flops throwing big blocks of concrete up 8 feet into these dump trucks," Van Doren said. "I don't want anyone to get hurt or crush a foot."

The group discussed trying to bring in professionals for the destruction as well as the pouring, but another obstacle was time.

Given all these considerations, the group unanimously decided to push their pilot project back to an indefinite future date, possibly spring.

Micah Mertes is director of The Stir and a reporter for The Hays Daily News. He can be reached at micah@thestironline.com or (785) 621-4515.

Also at Tuesday's meeting

* The group discussed the creation of a model lease for landlords in the south Hays area, which would highlight several key requirements of renters and, they hope, would minimize such "un-neighborly behavior" as noise pollution and aluminum-canned lawns.

* The catch 22 of the trees. Group member Paul Wildeman discussed the possibility of saving the trees that are the culprits of sidewalk buckling in Hays.

* A name change. Historic Hays Neighborhood Revitalization Project is a bit of a mouthful, so group members proposed a change of moniker. Hays Neighbors appears to be the front-runner.