Wellington City Council accepts bid for waterline replacement along Plum Street
Sumner Newscow report — The Wellington City Council met on Tuesday to make major funding decisions affecting the next few years.
The biggest one on the agenda was the final bid to construct the anticipated waterline replacement project along Plum Street, which came in at $1,026,286. That figure won’t fall to Wellington coffers, thankfully, with the bulk of the cost coming from a Community Development Block Grant with the State and a loan from KDHE.
Prices for services and materials have risen across the board for City governments in recent years, and this bid is no different. It’s between $50,000 – $100,000 higher than budgeted initially so the City will be on the hook for some of that. However, the Council unanimously passed a resolution for the City to negotiate a higher loan with KDHE before the March 1 deadline to start the process before CDBG can reduce the awarded amount.
Plum Street isn’t the only waterline with construction in its future. The Council also passed a resolution to commission Professional Engineering Consultants, P.A. to design a new waterline up Ridge Road to 20th Street for the Wordon Park water tower.
As it stands, water from that tower must travel all around town before reaching its destination. Still, this waterline can sharply reduce that journey and improve the water quality for consumers. Professional Engineering Consultants will be paid $51,200 for the job, and that fee will come out of the budgeted amount for the entire project.
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Blue Cross Blue Shield has been the City’s health insurance provider for many years, and their annual renewal negotiation kicked off recently. This year, the insurance provider is asking for a 12.3 percent increase, or $47.15 increase per person, across the board.
The City is worried that passing along that cost to employees will cause even higher turnover than usual. Hence, they hired an agency to help renegotiate terms with BCBS and look to other providers like United. In the meantime, the City asked the Council for an additional $60,000 from the $230,000 Health Insurance Contingency Fund to cover the cost increase for employees until a solution can be found.
The Council unanimously agreed.
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The last funding decision was the annual Travel and Tourism Grant awards the City gives to applicable organizations. They awarded the $10,000 grant as follows:
| Grant Requestees | Award Amount |
| Chisolm Trail Museum | $2,200 |
| NDGA National Glass Museum | $2,200 |
| Sumner County Historical & Genealogical Society | $2,200 |
| Wellington Recreation Commission | $2,000 |
| Wellington Heat | $1,400 |
| Total | $10,000 |
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The only other binding actions of the evening concerned two bylaw changes to the Land Bank. One change necessitated an ordinance, while the other needed a resolution. The council approved both unanimously.
Finally, the City Manager asked that citizens volunteer for public service by joining boards this year. There are vacancies on the Combined Trades Board, Library Board, Park Board, and Planning Commission, so if any of those fields pique your interest, please consider signing up today.
