WELLMAN

With the full council present for the first time this year, the City of Wellman accomplished much at their regular meeting on Monday, Feb. 5. Topping the agenda was awarding the contract for construction of the splash pad to The Henley Group LLC, a Muscatine-based contractor, for $132,458.

The city anticipates the splash pad to be completed this summer in North Park.

A residence located within the city suffered a mishap last month when a tree branch fell off the roof and hit a spigot, turning the water on full blast. Because snow hid the spigot, the situation was unknown to the homeowners, and some 12,000 gallons of water gushed out over the course of a week, adding almost $200 to their water/sewer bill.

The council recognized this as “an act of God” and agreed to waive the sewer portion of the bill.

The council approved a 28E agreement with the Washington County Humane Society for $7,000 for the next three years. The city believes this agreement was approved by the council previously, but official documentation could not be found.

A change order in the amount of $10,248 for the library expansion project was approved by the council. Construction work has largely been completed, and the library staff, with the help of volunteers, expects to move back into the building by the end of February.

The council previously approved the purchase of a new gas vehicle for use by public works staff, but as ordered vehicles are not being delivered in a timely way, the council approved spending an additional $6,920 for an in-stock diesel truck.

Following these actions, the council moved into a work session on the FY25 budget.

State property tax reform has changed the way cities can levy taxes, doing away with special levies for things such as library support. Wellman’s library support levy brought in about $13,240 in FY24, City Administrator Kelly Litwiller said, but going forward the city will not have that revenue.

“We never spent every dime that came in off of that, so we have roughly $90,000 sitting in that account,” Litwiller said. The library should be able to get by for a few years by drawing down those funds.

“It’s not going to hurt us at this point, but at some point in time, we’re going to have to start absorbing those extra costs,” she added.

The max levy for the city will increase from $8.10 to $8.37; the total tax rate will be $10.81 in FY25, a roughly 9¢ increase over the previous year.

Although no official action was taken, Litwiller outlined a plan to increase city employee salaries 4% just as neighboring cities plan to do.

The city will continue to support Goodwin Dining Center with $10,000 annually, although Litwiller noted that the senior food service will have to cash in a CD to provide sufficient funds to continue operation. Food costs continue to rise, and to compensate, milk and juice will be eliminated from lunch deliveries beginning March 1.

“It’s a service we have to provide, just how do we make it sustainable?” Litwiller said.

Goodwin Dining will hold a pancake breakfast fundraiser on March 2 from 7-11 a.m., she noted.

In spite of having to navigate a new budget landscape, Litwiller felt positive about the city’s position in FY25.

“I think we’re sitting better than we ever have,” she said.

The Wellman City Council will next meet on Tuesday, Feb. 20 to allow for observance of Presidents Day. The council meets at City Hall at 5:30 p.m.