By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Midnight Ranch is a new, spacious venue off Buckeye Road in northern Ellis County.
The venue is seven miles north of Hays at the corner of U.S. 183 and Buckeye Road and is owned by Leann Zimmerman and her husband.
The venue opened Sept. 23 and has already hosted a couple of weddings. A state convention has booked the venue for June.
Zimmerman said she chose the location because of the easy access via the highway with no need to use dirt roads. Zimmerman said she thinks the Midnight Ranch fills a niche other facilities in the area do not.
"There just wasn't anything big enough," she said, "and anything that was country. And [I] just felt it was a need."
The venue is a facility that almost wasn't.
Leann Zimmerman applied for a conditional-use permit to build a venue in the same site on which the Midnight Ranch now stands.
That permit was recommended for approval by the Ellis County Joint Planning and Commission.
However, neighbors and some people who did not live in the area expressed concerns about the venue. Zimmerman was denied a conditional-use permit by the county commission after a heated hearing.
Among the issues neighbors raised before the county commission were the possibility of increased impaired drivers and extra traffic in the area, the increased fire risk, the building’s lack of a fire suppression system and the effect it would have on the water supply. They also claimed there are already enough event centers in Ellis County.
"The reason the [commission] was against it was because of all of the opposition from the people who lived in the vicinity," Butch Schlyer, Ellis County commissioner, said. ... "They didn't want disruption of their lifestyle in the country and that's why the [commission] was against that issue."
The Zimmermans applied for an agriculture tourism designation through the Kansas Department of Commerce and that was granted on July 19, 2021.
Under the agritourism certification, the Zimmermans were not required to file for a conditional-use permit for their venue.
The Ellis County Commission denied the C2T Ranch a conditional-use permit, as well. Leann Zimmerman spoke against the campground project at its conditional-use hearing.
Zimmermans agritourism application said other activities planned for the site included a pumpkin patch, ATV trails and pond fishing. However, Leann Zimmerman said in her interview with Hays Post she had no other plans beyond the event center at this time.
"It's just a way around an elected official and do whatever they please," Ellis County Commissioner Neal Younger said of the agritourism certification.
Younger said he still has concerns about traffic. He said he is concerned about congestion at Buckeye Road and U.S. 183 and the possibility of an accident as people enter the highway from Buckeye Road.
Schlyer said the neighbors are going to have to tolerate the situation.
"If it's state law, that's just the way it is," he said. "The local board of commissioners has little to say about it."
Schlyer said he had heard no feedback from the neighbors in Buckeye Township since the venue was built. Schlyer, who at the time of the Zimmerman's initial application with the commission called the project a nuisance, said he wished the Zimmermans well with their investment.
Zimmerman said she did not think the issues with the commission were resolved with her certification as an agritourism business. When the Zimmerman applied for the zoning certificate from the county, the application listed residential use.
"This is my home," Zimmerman said.
Zimmerman said she has not had any complaints from neighbors from construction to this point.
Allen Schmidt, Buckeye township treasurer, spoke against the original Buckeye Barn proposal. He said neighbors are still upset about the project.
"I don't really have any issue with want they're doing as long as it is in the legal constraints of the county and the state," Schmidt said on Tuesday.
Schmidt and other Buckeye Township residents expressed frustration that the Zimmermans fenced off part of the former Buckeye School playground equipment. The barbed wire fence is so close to a second set of swings, it has rendered them unsafe for children to play on, Schmidt said.
The township maintains and rents the former school, which is just east of the Midnight Ranch, for small events such as 4-H programs and family gatherings.
Schmidt said township officials approached Zimmerman about purchasing that small piece of ground on which the playground equipment stands but has received no responses from the Zimmermans.
Zimmerman said the portion of the playground that was fenced is on her property and was fenced off because of potential liability.
Amenities
The 12,000-square-foot venue will accommodate 520 people or more in its grand hall, which is an open metal building designed in a county-chic style. This includes space for a dance area or other activities if desired.
There are two sleeping quarters with multiple beds that were designed to serve as bride and groom quarters and dressing areas for weddings. The bridal suite has a walk-in closet, private bathroom with shower and makeup bar along one wall.
The venue has both indoor and outdoor sound systems. The outdoor sound system can be tuned to different music than the indoor system. The systems can be used for live entertainment or tuned to the radio if the event organizers don't want to provide a DJ or band.
The large kitchen, which is equipped with two stoves, two refrigerators and a commerical ice machine, allows for catering or onsite food prep. There is a lounge area with seating off of the kitchen, which Zimmerman said can be set up to accommodate a rehearsal dinner.
Alcohol is allowed at the venue but bar service is not provided by Zimmerman.
There's a covered concrete patio off of the grand room. A lawn to the east of that patio is being developed into an outdoor wedding space. Zimmerman said the landscaping has gone slower than expected this summer because of the drought, but outdoor weddings are planned next spring.
Zimmerman can provide tables and chairs, as well as linens for the events and weddings.
"It's so the bridge and groom can choose whatever they want. They can cater it here. They can cook it here. They can make it three weeks in advance and freeze it and bring it here and put it in their roaster. It is just made so it's a lot easier," she said.
Other wedding accessories are also available, including a punch bowl and card box.
"It's one-stop shopping," Zimmerman said. "They have so much on their mind, they cannot panic. ... It's all out here. You just need to do it how you need to do it."
If you are interested in booking an event, you can call 785-650-235.