The Wells City Council passed a resolution at their meeting on Monday, April 10, ordering the abatement of hazardous property and public nuisance located at 203 First Ave. SE.

“I did hear back from Mr. Grant (the owner of the property),” city attorney Pamela Whitmore told the council. “He had been given a deadline of last Friday to present a plan of how he was going to restore the house, but has not done so yet.”

She explained passing the resolution did not mean the owner could not still be given a chance to rehabilitate the property.

“I recommend passing the resolution because doing so will give me the ability to at least start the process in the event the owner does not take action,” Whitmore said.

City engineer Ben Rosol was at the meeting and reminded council members the detour between Mapleton and Wells because of the work on Highway 22 is set to begin on April 17.

“The construction is set to be completed by late July, weather permitting,” he added.

Rosol also talked to the council about updating the city’s stormwater master plan.

“The latest master plan is from 2008 and is no longer up to date with current rainfall information,” he noted. “This plan is important for storm pipe design, pond design and analyzing flooding events. For example, some of the pond locations which were identified in the 2008 study are no longer applicable.”

Because of the cost of updating the plan, Rosol suggested the process be separated into two separate tasks.

“Task One would take place now and be used for upcoming projects,” he explained. “It would cost around $25,000 to update the existing conditions’ hydraulic model update.”

Rosol suggested applying for funding to complete Task Two.

“I think the city would score well in our efforts to obtain funding if we can show in the application that we have already completed some steps in the analysis,” Rosol offered.

During his report to the council, city administrator Connor LaPointe told members about a problem with the roof of City Hall.

“We had the roof inspected last year and had been planning on replacing it in 2026,” he explained. “Now it appears we should do a complete roof replacement as soon as possible. The preliminary estimation is the cost could be between $70,000 and $80,000. We should be receiving an updated report on the roof this week.”

The council also took time to regretfully accept the resignation of deputy clerk/finance specialist Jennifer Lindholm, who has been employed by the city since 1996.

“I am truly grateful for all your support and I deeply appreciate all of the valuable experience I have gained while working here,” Lindhom shared with council members.

Lindholm also offered her assistance during the transition period of bringing in a new employee.

Council members also took action to reinstate the Local Board of Appeal and Equalization powers to the city of Wells by passing resolution 2013-18.

“With the way the timing works out, the city would not be reinstated as the Local Board of Appeal and Equalization until 2025,” LaPointe said. “The city lost its right to do this because people who had been certified to be on the local board did not keep up their certification.

The next regular meeting of the Wells City Council will be on April 24, at the Wells Community Center.

The council also:

• Accepted the retirement of Mark Lacher from the Wells Police Department.

• Passed a resolution accepting donations in the amount of $4,750 for baseball field lights at Thompson Park.