Council approves grant to childcare program

By John Butters
Posted 3/1/23

The city of Wellman will contribute between $5,000 and $7,500 towards a YMCA-sponsored summer camp for school-aged children, planned for June and July this year.

Council members approved the …

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Council approves grant to childcare program

Posted

The city of Wellman will contribute between $5,000 and $7,500 towards a YMCA-sponsored summer camp for school-aged children, planned for June and July this year.

Council members approved the amount after discussing North Washington County’s need for childcare during the summer months. The city will partner with the Washington County YMCA and the cities of Kalona and Riverside to offer Kindergarten through 5th grade students a series of supervised activities.  

The program anticipates enrolling between 30 and 40 students Monday through Friday at the East Elementary school in Kalona. The community contributions are being used to lower the program’s overall cost to the parents.

In other business, the council approved a $5,970 contact with Thrapp Electric to replace a light pole on Circle Drive and $7,000 for Gingerich Well & Pump Service to fill and plug an abandoned city water well. 

The city has scheduled a public hearing for 5:30 p.m., March 6 at the Parkside Activity Center on a $5.1 million upgrade to its water system. The project includes replacement and upsizing 13,500 feet of water main for $3.5 million and a backup water source for $1.5 million. Options include drilling a new well and connecting to the Wapello Rural Water Association.

Potential funding for the project could come from a combination of city-issued bonds, a local option sales tax, the State Revolving Fund and an increase in water rates.

A flyer posted on Wellman’s Facebook Page noted that the city’s water system was put online in 1896 and that some of the original infrastructure remains, causing water main breaks and ongoing leaks. The water main breaks and leaks increase the city’s operational costs to treat and replace water and result in a larger number of boil and bottled water notices. The breaks also damage the city’s streets resulting in costly repairs.

At the March 6 meeting, the city will also hold a second public hearing on the 2023-24 tax levy.  The council was unable to pass a resolution to approve the max levy on Feb. 21 because two council members were absent, thus preventing a super majority vote as required.