by James Jordan, Sumner Newscow — Trash filled yards have gotten the attention of the city council in Wellington. After members of the landlords association spoke at the council meeting Tuesday evening, council members agreed something needs to be done and Mayor Shelley Hansel said people should help their neighbors and hold them accountable.

“It is our community and the bar is way too low,” Hansel said, and added that there needs to be more pride of ownership in the community.

The problem is people leaving things like refrigerators, furnitures, or excessive garbage in the front yard.

Landlords say at times they have trouble renting properties because a neighbor yard is in such bad shape, and that affects selling houses as well.

Council member Kelly Green, also a member of the landlords association, said it does hurt their pocketbooks, but she said she wanted to look at the larger picture.

“They are not here whining about it hurting their pocketbook,” Green said. “We are not just losing a renter, but we could be losing other citizens. It does hurt our economy.”

Landlords association member Kenneth Moore asked the council what could be done to make people clean up their yards.

“Landlords have invested a lot in the community,” he said. “It is to where it is hard to sell or rent to people when the neighboring yard is trashed. There is nothing we can do to stop that. I want to now what we can do.”

Cathy Sheets, who leases and sells property, said it is also becoming a health issue.

She said she would like to see more ordinances.

The city is in the middle of applying for a Community Building Development Grant that could help with housing. A part of that is doing an assessment of housing. City officials and a group of volunteers are looking at every house in the city – which would include the yard, and giving it a grade.

Sheets said that is something headed in the right direction, and suggested the city put more teeth into its rules.

Tim Fairbanks said he has been in Wellington for 30 years, and he said it is very different now than it was then.

He said it is hard to rent property, and values go down, because neighbors let their yards get so trashy.

Fairbanks said local ordinances don’t encourage people to invest in property and fix up houses that might otherwise be torn down.

Hansel said she is not sure when the bar of what is acceptable was lowered in Wellington, but she agreed that it has gone downhill in recent years.

“We have got to find a way to clean things up,” she said.

City manager Roy Eckert said the housing assessment is going on and he has been involved with that some.

“I was shocked at what we saw,” Eckert said. “It is a real eye opener. There are broken windows, broken foundations, it is a wakeup call.”

City officials have been discussing the problem lately and plan to keep doing so.

There is a work session set for next Tuesday that will involve the grant the city is applying for. The city manager from Lyons will be here to talk about the program and how it has helped there.  It is set for 5 p.m. But the time may change.

It was also said in the meeting that the city will come and pick up large items, such as couches, for an additional fee if people call.

Another issue is that some people have been throwing out mattresses that are infested with bedbugs.

••••••

Board appointments made:

The following city board appointments were made:

2016 Board appointments

Airport advisory board – Ty Sober and Tony Stringer.

Zoning Appeals – Allison Redford and Delmer Zerr.

Combined Trade Board – David Herlocker, Tim Fairbanks and Kenny Moore.

Healthcare Authority – Tammy McCue and Fred Hinman.

Housing Authority – Paula Mortimer.

Library Board – Jane Stayton and Sheila King.

Memorial Auditorium board – Jerry Fike and Jarrod Kline.

Park Board – Sandra McNevin.

Planning Commission – Marvin White and Gerald Gilkey.

••••••

Good news

The city got some good news, and approved receiving $475,000 in federal money for roads. This is money the federal government gives to states to spread to smaller cities for street projects.  Streets director Jeremy Jones suggested taking a deal with the state to convert that money into state dollars, which would give the city more flexibility.

••••••

In other business, the council approved:

•The sale of two lots at Settlers Creek, numbers 806 and 810. These are next to lot 814 which was bought earlier. Less than half of the area on the two lots are usable for building, so they were sold at a low price. Special assessments have to be paid and the lots will go back on the tax rolls.

•The purchase of $5 million in revenue bonds for utility work. Financial advisor John Hass told the council they would save $200,000 over the life of the bonds because of favorable interest rates.

•An update to South Central Kansas Solid Waste Authority plan.

•An agreement for a road construction project on south U.S. 81 from Botkin to Harvey Streets. The total cost is $1.3 million. The state will be paying for most of the project, with the city’s share at $277,000.

•Buying chemicals for the water treatment plant. The city plans to start buying them in bulk yearly with the total cost estimated at $119,000.

•An agreement with Kriz-Davis of Des Moines, Iowa, for underground wire installation at the electric distribution plant, and substation, at a cost of $88,000.

•An agreement with Piping and Equipment of Wichita to install a gas line at the steam plant for electricity production at a cost of $28,900.

•The purchase of a 50-foot digger derrick and line body truck for electrical distribution at a cost of $289,069. The truck is used to install power poles and other heavy lifting.  This is something that has been in the budget since 2012 and that has been planned for.  Another ordinance approved the financing of the truck, and the low bid went to U.S. Bank Corp with an interest rate of 1.79 percent. Local banks also bid but their interest rates were higher.

Follow us on Twitter.