by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — The Wellington Housing Authority board appears to be in limbo again. Alois Hutchison has submitted her resignation from the board effective Feb. 15, Wellington City Clerk Shane Shields announced Tuesday at the city council meeting.

Hutchison has been serving as the interim chairman of the WHA board that oversees the Wheat Capital Manor, an independent living center. She took over as chairman after J.P. Buellesfeld resigned in December. Paula Mortimer filled the vacancy of Buellesfeld in January.

Hutchison is a resident of the Manor. Shields said according to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development a representative who lives at the residence, may be on the board, but the city rule requires it. The council, though, is in charge of making the appointment.

Shields asked whether the council should advertise the position and accept applications — in this case only accepting those from live-in residents — or go with the recommendation of those living there and appoint whomever they so choose.

“It seems to me that they should elect the person to fill the vacancy,” said Jan Korte, Wellington City Council member. “Given the circumstances down there, they should be given the opportunity to hold an election.”

The council voted unanimously to take the recommendation of the WHA and/or the Manor residence and provide the council with a name to appoint.

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Cemetery fees 

By a 6-1 vote, the council voted to raise the fees of the Prairie Lawn Cemetery for the first time since 1993 and some as far back as 1982.

“The cost of maintaining the grounds has grown significantly since that time and we feel an increase is needed to relieve some of that burden on the tax roll,” said Jeremy Jones, Wellington Director of Public Works.

He said the proposed fee schedule was created based on a combination of inflation and a survey of other cemeteries in the area.

“This would bring our fees to the upper-middle to top end of the area fee scale for municipal cemeteries,” he said.

The new cemetery fee schedule will include the sale of lots as of March 1 at $300 for a resident or $500 for a non-resident and $75 for baby land.

Council member Jim Valentine was the only member to vote against the ordinance saying it is not the right time to raise the rates.

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Table rubberized floor 

The council tabled a proposal to purchase a rubber multi-purpose floor for the Wellington Armory which received a $51,500 bid from 4-State Maintenance Supply of Coffeyville.

Wellington City Manager Roy Eckert said he learned earlier in the day that the project which was to be co-funded by the Wellington Recreation Commission. But in the agreement, it did not stipulate when the the WRC was to make payments for the project.

It was his understanding that the city would pay for half and the WRC would pay the other half. But there is no documentation whether the WRC would play it up front or if it would come incrementally in future months.

“I have a real problem with that because do we make this purchase with the city paying in full?” Eckert asked rhetorically. “We can’t just make a payment for half of it now. I’d like to have more information on what the WRC plans to do.”

The armory, which is a multi-purpose building near Donut Bay, is used for various sporting activities as well as community events. The floor, though, is considered worn down, slick, and deemed unsafe.

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City approves state project

The council voted to authorize an agreement with the state of Kansas to resurface U.S. 81 South of Harvey Ave. to the south city limits in Wellington.

This project has been approved by KDOT already, and with the agreement the it is tentatively scheduled to begin in July, 2017. However, Eckert warned that road construction projects, such as mill and overlays, are being pushed back at least a year, and some may not take place at all because of the state budget cuts.

“I was at a conference in Topeka and we were told after adjustments, there could be $697 million in lost revenue this year alone,” Eckert said. “Some of the state highway projects scheduled in 2016 could be pushed back to 2017 or even longer.”

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In other business: 

•Council member B.J. Tracy said there are several bills in the Kansas legislature that may have an effect on municipalities including concealed carry laws and how a municipality proceeds through the condemnation of housing. He also said proposed election laws may make it necessary to revisit the new city council structured ordinance.

•A work session has been scheduled for Monday to discuss items such as the rubberized floor. Wetta said he has a representative from the Santa Fe Railroad, who wishes to address the council and discuss future considerations of the railroad and how it may affect employment in Wellington.

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