Candidate Forum

Thanks again to the Women of Wellington for hosting this weeks candidate forum. It is extremely vital that we know where our candidates stand on the issues, and an open forum is an excellent means of meeting the candidates. Thanks again for their time and effort in making the forum possible, and also to Studio 55 for broadcasting the forum for those who couldn't attend. The Women of Wellington are truly community minded!

AARA Funds

KDOT has made the decision to fund the Hillside Street Bridge project with the AARA Funds. I am awaiting a report from the City Manager as to the rationale behind the decision. Fair Street has 33% more traffic, was 33% less money than the Hillside Street Bridge, and is in much more dire shape than Hillside. Once a reply is received, I will post it here.

Rockfest?

The debate over Rockfest heats up. A concert promoter has asked the City permission to use a portion of Wellington Lake to host four rock concerts over the course of this next summer. The main focus of debate is on the sale of alcohol at these concerts. Pending public opinion, I have agreed to drafting a contract with this promoter. It can be an excellent tourist attraction to bring visitors to Wellington and Wellington business. Wellington currently allows the sale of beer at the Wellington Golf Club, allows a beer garden at the Wheat Festival, annually approves beer licenses to businesses who sell beer, and allows two supper clubs and three liquor stores to operate in the city. Still, the main focus of this event is on the fact that they will be selling alcohol to concert goers. What is your opinion? Your input is vital, as always. Email me, or call me with your opinion.

Councilmember Antonich to host meeting

2nd Ward Counncil Member Cindy Antonich has announced she will host a 2nd Ward meeting on March 30, 6:30p.m. at Wellington's Steakhouse, Banquet Room A. For more information, she can be contacted at 326-6861.

City to submit three street projects to KDOT

A part of President Obama's stimulus package included money's designated for highway and road infrastructure improvements. The State of Kansas received over $300 million dollars in stimulus funding, the majority of which will go towards State and Federal Highway projects. $8 million dollars however, will be distributed to cities and counties in the KDOT District 5 area (south-central Kansas) for use on local streets and roads. Wellington must compete with city and county governments in 18 counties in District 5, a tough bid for a chunk of the $8 million.
Wellington will submit three projects for considerations; the Fair Street improvement project, the Hillside Street bridge project, and the Vandenburg Avenue project.
Vandenburg is the least likely to be awarded. The total cost of the project is estimated at $2 million which is 25% of the total funds to be distributed among the `18 county area, and selections will be based on how to stretch the funds as far as possible to benefit everyone. The Fair Street project,estimated at $300,000 is the Council's highest priority, and the Hillside Street bridge replacement project at $400,000 will also be submitted. The Hillside Street bridge crosses the Rock Island Slough just west of TECT-Midwest Division.
Deadline for application for stimulus funding is March 20.
For more information on Kansas share of the federal money can be found at http://www.ksdot.org/EconomicStimulus.asp.

WWTP Bid Accepted

The bid on the Waste Water Treatment Plant was accepted by the City Council at the March 3 meeting. The cost of the project dropped further after City Staff eliminated a paved roadway leading to the site and instead, will make arrangements for City Street Crews to built the road instead of the contractor. The total cost of the WWTP construction is $8,720,000, roughly one-third less than the engineers estimate.

Local Email Problems

I've heard reports that there are problems with some email providers being bombarded by hackers and spammers, and that some of my constitutents may not be able to email me at the email listed in the "Contact" section of my webpage. If you have difficulty with "undeliverable" messages or if I do not respond to an email you have sent, please feel free to send an email to my alternate email account at old_smoke_eater@yahoo.com. It is displayed in a special comment section on my homepage.

Bids on WWTP lower than anticipated

Bids have been opened on construction of Wellington's new Waste Water Treatment Plant, and have come in at over $3 million lower than the engineers estimate. Budgeted through a revolving loan program of KDHE, engineers for the WWTP project projected a cost of $12 million for construction of the new facility. The $8.9 million bid is very welcomed relief in today's economy.
Construction of a new WWTP is necessary because the current facility is at its maximum processing capacity (1.25 million gallons of sewage each day) as well as being non-compliant with KDHE regulations which take effect next year. The new treatment plant will meet those KDHE guidelines as well as increasing its capacity by about 40%.
The bids are anticipated being approved at tonights (March 3) regular Council Meeting.