During a work session following the regular meeting of the Wellman City Council Monday night, an unexpected situation regarding the city’s water supply turned into heated debate over whether to continue plans to build a splash pad at North Park.

Water Superintendent Tim Garrett told the council that water usage spiked during the previous three weekends, causing the city’s water system to run continuously at maximum capacity to keep up.  Water needed by the local farm center, Mid-Prairie’s newly irrigated baseball field, and residents filling their pools set off alarms that the water tower was drained.  

“It sounds like it might be the new normal,” Garrett said, suggesting that perhaps plans for a new splash pad should be delayed until the water system is upgraded, which is something the city is working on.

“I would be very upset if we would stop this project at this point.  That would be absolutely ridiculous,” council member Shannon McCain said.

The council debated whether the splash pad could simply be turned off at peak times, thus limiting the stress on the water system.  City Administrator Kelly Litwiller said that turning off the splash pad, which people from outside town might drive in for, would likely result in lots of angry phone calls to the city.

“Should we really be moving forward and doing this if we’re worried about our well situation until we have rural water hooked up?” Litwiller asked.

No action was taken, but the issue will be on the next meeting’s agenda.

Council actions

Upgrading the city’s water system is a priority for the city, and two items approved June 5 will advance that agenda.

The council approved an engineering agreement not to exceed $550,000 with Garden & Assoc, LTD for the Water Distribution System Improvement Project, and agreed to submit an application for services to Wapello Rural Water Assoc., which includes a $3,000 fee. 

The city has also been committed to remedying nuisance properties, and considered whether it should create an assistance program to help people demolish derelict homes.  With an estimate of $5000 to tear down an abandoned house on 3rd Street, the council considered whether the city should contribute up to half of the funds in order to get the job done.  

Litwiller noted that taking legal action against homeowners is also an expense, and helping fund a real solution might be a better use of resources.  The council agreed she should look into how the city might create such a program to take care of problem properties both now and in the future.

The next regular meeting of the Wellman City Council will be Monday, June 19 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.