Wellington council approves construction bid to link Worden Park to the city sewer system
by Devin McCue, Sumner Newscow — On Tuesday, the Wellington City Council met to table votes until future meetings.
In actuality, the council approved a major construction project at Worden Park, heard public hearings for two condemnation properties, and voted on a contentious purchase for the Heritage Park that is in development. That will be addressed in a future story.
The most important news to the average Wellington taxpayer was oddly the least discussed at the meeting: an approved $300,000 construction bid for the long-awaited sewer project at Worden Park. Worden Park has operated on a septic system its entire existence, but the three tanks are now decades old and need to be retired.
The Wellington City water department proposed a plan to build sewer lines out to the park years ago, and while the plan was approved, the project has been delayed due to the pandemic and other budgetary concerns. The council voted unanimously on Tuesday to end that waiting and approved the $305,736 bid from Dondlinger & Sons Construction to move forward with the plan.
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There were two condemnation hearings at the meeting, which were more eventful than usual.
•The first reason IA the owners of both properties actually turning up, which is an anomaly. The first owner of 119 S. Jefferson asked for a 30-day extension to leave time for demolition bids to come through. The second owner of 1102 N. Washington wished to wash her hands of the property entirely.
The Council granted the 30-day extension without opposition, but the second public hearing was far more contentious. The owner voiced her frustration that she was even allowed to buy a property that wasn’t up to code and didn’t want to be saddled with the cost of demolishing it.
The City pointed out that she could’ve seen the property before buying it or doing a building inspection, but the arguments didn’t hold. Once the conversation seemed to circle around for several minutes, the Council voted unanimously to table it until mid-July.
Finally, the last notable event on Tuesday’s meeting was a public proclamation congratulating a recent Wellington High School graduate on her accomplishment.
Baylee Newberry won the Kansas State FFA first prize in proficiency in goat management. She will continue onto the national competition later this year and it was nice to see the City continue to issue these proclamations. The Wellington youth always seem to enjoy being acknowledged by the community.
