Winfield City Council approves new 1,200 gallon well

By SALLY Y. HAYES

Mt. Pleasant News

WINFIELD ? A 1,200 gallon well will be placed southeast of the year-old football field this fall. The Winfield City Council approved the placement of the well at its Monday evening regular session meeting.

Winfield-Mt. Union School Superintendent Pat Coen said, ?As you know we?ve put in a new football field. One thing we hadn?t calculated, last year we used $15,000 worth of water watering the football field. That?s pretty excessive.

?So, what I?m asking is your permission to put a well on school property so that we can discontinue using the city water,? he continued.

While the school would no longer need to use city water to irrigate the field, it would not be completely disconnected from the city water line. Coen said that should the need arise the city would be able to fill a tanker truck for the fire department from the well.

The well would ultimately save W-MU money in water usage. Coen estimated that the complete cost of the storage tank and installation would be approximately $20,000.

?Basically what we?re looking at? the price of the well and the tank we?d recoup it in two years. Again, this is being a steward of the tax dollar, trying to do the right thing for the people that pay their taxes,? said Coen.

Coen said the water in the tank would be used strictly for irrigation. He said that over 8,000 gallons of water a day are used to water the football field. The well will be placed below the frost line.

Council member Ryan Rees said, ?In my personal opinion, make sure you have a big enough well when you put it in.?

The council unanimously voted to approve the well.

Following discussion of the well, Kurt Garretson, candidate for Henry County Supervisor, introduced himself to the council. ?I?m from rural Salem and there is not a rural person on the board as of right now. So, I?d like to really represent the rural parts of the county,? said Garretson. ?What I wanted to do today was see what was most important to Winfield.?

?Our relationship with Henry County Health Center is key, we?ve had challenges there, challenges with the county on some of that, EMS and fire department, those are the things that come to my mind as most concerning,? said Mayor Chris Finnell.

?We?re a small community and we?re working hard to stay alive,? said Finnell. ?The Chamber though, I?ve got to say, Kylie Miller has been very responsive in anything I?ve ever called and asked him for, so I do appreciate all of his work and all that they?ve done.?

?Getting economic development in small towns is really hard, so locally that?s something we?re taking our steps towards,? said council member Ryan Kinneberg.

?I?m not sure where our online school is at, but I know that it?s been worked on and we could be the online education center of southeast Iowa, maybe Iowa, right here in Winfield,? added Finnell.

?If you want to see something done, feel free to contact me. If I don?t make it as a Democratic (candidate) I?ll still be accessible and still want to help Henry County,? Garretson concluded. ?If anybody is doing sustainable agriculture send them my way and I will do as much as I can to help them find funding and try to make Henry County a better place.?

In other business:

? Mayor Finnell applauded this year?s Crook Creek Days celebration, he stated, ?

? Mike Thomas, Tom Miller and Patti Gerling were appointed to the Winfield Library Board to fill three vacancies.

? Representatives of the Methodist Church and Open Bible Church were given information about the city?s 50-50 sidewalk purchase program.

? The council decided to further look at the city?s dangerous animal code and the employee handbook.

? The council approved a preventative maintenance agreement with Digital Office Solutions.

The next regular session meeting of the Winfield City Council will be held Monday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. in City Hall.