Wellman to reopen skating rink, renews Cox Sanitation contract

By Molly Roberts
Posted 9/23/20

The Wellman skating rink, which has been closed since March, will reopen in October for private parties.

The council voted unanimously to reopen the rink under the condition that temperatures be …

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Wellman to reopen skating rink, renews Cox Sanitation contract

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The Wellman skating rink, which has been closed since March, will reopen in October for private parties.

The council voted unanimously to reopen the rink under the condition that temperatures be taken at the door and only prepackaged food and slushies be served. The council also approved the hiring of five minimum-wage temporary workers to help Teresa Lampe run the private parties and a change in the fee structure for renting out the rink.

Previously, the fee for a private party was $150, plus $1 for each skater. In order to eliminate the need to take tickets, the council approved a flat rate of $200 for two hours, with the option to skate for a third hour for an extra $75. Price for candy was increased to $2.

Councilmember Shannon McCain said limiting the skating rink to only private events will help with contact tracing should someone at a party test positive for COVID-19. For this reason, the council decided not to put an attendee limit on private bookings.

“It’s their party,” McCain said. “If they have 50 people, great. If they have 150, they still know who was at that party. They can control the communication and whatever needs to happen from there.”

In other business, the council approved a five-year contract extension with Cox Sanitation and Recycling, Inc., which currently services the city.

The contract renewal brings fee increases: 13-gallon bags will increase from $10.75 to $11.75 for 10, 30-gallon bags will increase from $16.50-$17.50 for 10, and the monthly fee will increase from $5.50 to $8.50, on top of which the city will continue to charge an extra $1.25, which helps fund spring cleanup and dumpster usage.

Cox Sanitation also offers a flat-rate plan, which would be $16.50 per month, plus the city’s $1.25 surcharge, for the ability to get rid of two 30-gallon bags per week. The council agreed that this plan is not a good choice for Wellman because it would be a steep increase in monthly fees and most residents would not be using their full allotment every week, anyway.

“The first option, purchasing the bags [at the municipal building], Casey’s, and Freeman Foods, gives residents more of an option to regulate their usage,” city administrator Kelly Litwiller said.

Litwiller said she had received requests from citizens to look into Johnson County Refuse, which services Riverside and Washington, but the company is currently at capacity and it not adding cities to their route at this time.

Litwiller said one benefit of using Cox is that communication with the company is excellent.

“The Cox family has done a lot for a lot of communities,” she said. “They would bend over backwards if you asked them. If you needed something tomorrow, they would bring it.”

The city council also approved a request from the YMCA of Washington County to waive the 2020 maintenance fee usually paid to the city. The $2,000 fee usually covers room maintenance, but since the YMCA is currently facing a 47.9% reduction in people coming through the door, the council agreed to waive the fee this year.

Amy Schulte, CEO of the YMCA of Washington County, said the pandemic has kept 60% of fitness class participants from returning to the YMCA.

“The reality of the situation is that memberships are the lowest they’ve been since we’ve had records that go back to 2011,” Schulte said. “We are hoping that as things progress and we get through what our new normal is, we’ll see an increase. We’re still trying to make sure our members know we’re here for them and have options for everyone so that when they’re ready to come back, we’re ready to welcome them back.”