The city of Wells adopted an easy solution to prevent people from sleeping in the restrooms at City Hall at night. They are now locking them.

“When the police go around in the evening to lock the restrooms in the parks, they are also locking the restrooms at City Hall,” city administrator Tiffany Schrader told council members at their meeting on June 23. “There actually is a gate that would close the hallway where the restrooms are located, but closing that would also cut off access to a telephone located in the hallway and the police did not feel comfortable doing that, so they are just locking the restrooms.”

Schrader also reported that the personnel committee had interviewed four candidates for the position of Public Works supervisor.

“The position had been advertised for several weeks and resulted in the submission of seven applications,” Schrader commented. “Each applicant was evaluated using a Training and Experience Rating form provided by the League of Minnesota Cities. We used this tool to objectively score each candidate on a 100-point scale, based on their qualifications, experience and relevant knowledge.”

Schrader shared the four applicants with the highest scores were selected for interviews and those interviews were conducted by the Personnel Committee last week.

“Following the interview process, the Personnel Committee is recommending the hiring of Kristopher Richardson,” Schrader stated. “The recommendation is based on his extensive experience and strong background in the Public Works field.”

Richardson is currently a Public Works superintendent for Solon, Iowa, which is located near Cedar Rapids.

“He has all of the background experience we are looking for,” Schrader remarked. “He has nine years of experience in Public Works and has his wastewater license.”

The council passed a motion to offer the position to Richardson and also gave Schrader and the Personnel Committee the authority to negotiate a contract with Richardson.

Schrader reported the Personnel Committee had also made progress on hiring part-time Wells Golf Course clubhouse attendants.

“Laura Schultz and Tammy Bullerman are the two who were selected for the position,” Schrader said. “We are still working on determining the hours and the start date for them.”

Schrader’s report also included news that Abdo will be attending the July meeting to share the 2024 audit report with the council.

“The work on the library parking lot has been completed,” Schrader commented. “I also heard from city engineer Ben Rosol that the planning committee has already received over 200 responses to the survey on Thompson Park.”

Council members also held a work session to have a preliminary discussion on the budget for fiscal year 2026. Most of the discussion centered on what capital improvements might be included in the budget.

“I think we need to have something done at City Hall,” council member Crystal Dulas said. “There is still a water problem.”

Mayor David Braun suggested a pitched roof might be the best way to alleviate the situation with the roof leaking.

“Do we continue to put dollars into City Hall or do we look at buying a different building?” Schrader asked.

“Either way, fixing up the current building or buying and moving into a different building – it is going to require bonding,” council member John Herman said.

One of the concerns the council discussed was finding a better home for the Wells Police Department.

One suggestion brought up was to build a new building in the empty lot where Lion’s Park is located along with putting a pitched roof on the current City Hall building.

Other items on the council’s radar that received mention were the shelter at Half Moon Park and the sidewalk fund.

“I will be reaching out to our department heads,” Schrader concluded. “I will ask them to assess their department needs and report those back to me.”