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Newcomer bets on future of Hayes Center
HAYES CENTER, Nebraska -- A relative new-comer believes so much in the merits of Hayes Center, Nebraska, that he's expanding and enhancing the rental inventory of the community, hoping to attract families who will invest in his community and increase enrollment at the public school.
Gus Lieske's parents moved to Hayes County in the early 1970s to farm. Gus came out seven or eight years ago, he said, to take over the farm. But his interests have expanded beyond his farming operations. He has 11 rentals now, with plans for more in the community of 214 people.
"I'm hoping that by the end of the summer, I'll have at least three to five more, for a total of 16, 17 properties," Gus said recently, standing in drifting snow and buffeted by a cold, cold south wind.
He continued, "I'm thinking ... I'm gambling, betting" that nice, affordable rental housing will lure new residents, who in turn will bring children to the schools, make investments in the community, and maybe, accept employment and business opportunities that exist.
Gus said. "If the school and the town survive, it'll work out for both in the long run."
The school has job opportunities in non-certified positions, he said, and it would be nice if someone opened a family-friendly restaurant. So opportunities exist there for owner/operators and employees.
And, Gus said, McCook and North Platte aren't that far away, and it's a good highway either direction. Gus said he rents one of his properties to a gentleman who drives back and forth to North Platte daily. Get a car that's fuel-friendly, he said, and the drive isn't so bad.
Gus makes his rentals attractive, with nice finishes and touches that encourage renters to take care of them. "I want them to make it a home, and want to stay," he said.
Gus has brought in three factory-built homes (with city lots for three more), purchased an abandoned house, bought a row of mobile homes and transformed a two-story house into a duplex.
He added a deck on the back of the modular located half-a-block south of the high school gym. He gutted the abandoned house to the studs, insulated and added new siding, windows, roof, electrical, furnace and air conditioning.
He gutted and renovated a three bedroom/two bath mobile home. He's renovated inside and added porches and decks to two other mobile homes.
The duplex used to be "just a big ol' house," Gus said, and he turned it into a duplex that can also work for an extended family/mother-in-law suite. The two-story side is three bedrooms/two baths, the single story addition on the west is two bedrooms/one bath.
When he can, Gus uses local construction and carpenter skill, although he has to go out-of-town for electrical and concrete.
Gus tries to keep rental prices reasonable. The latest factory-built home is three-bedroom/two-bath with 13-hundred square feet, $625 a month, with water and sewer included. "That's not a bad price," Gus said.
Gus says he has no trouble keeping his rentals occupied.
Gus believes in Hayes Center. Why else would he invest his money and time in rentals to attract residents?
"Hayes Center is a nice, small community," he believes. "It's got a grocery store, a bank, a post office, a newspaper. And the people are so friendly."
And the school ... Gus is a great supporter of the Hayes Center schools, pointing out its quality education, wide variety of extra-curricular activities, good facilities and a staff equal to any and better than many.
"There's no crime, no loud noises," Gus said. "It's a good place to live and raise a family."
And he's got the homes in which parents can do just that.
Contact Gus at guslieske@aol.com