At their most recent meeting, the Wellman City Council spent a large amount of time on three items involving the city’s YMCA. The first item was to approve the continuation of the YMCA’s lease of the Parkside building they’re currently housed in. City Clerk Beth Van Winkle said nothing changed with the lease itself, and the city signed for three years with an option for two more years to continue using Parkside for the YMCA.

The next item they discussed was the transition of the Wellman Ball Program to be integrated into the YMCA’s recreational services. The Wellman Ball Association was a volunteer group that ran the youth baseball, softball, and tee-ball programs in the city for the last 43 years. For simplicity’s sake, the association has decided to turn the program over to the YMCA to combine with their recreation programs that include flag football, soccer, basketball, and volleyball. In order to get the program started, the YMCA was requesting $5,000 which was covered by the association and the city.

The final YMCA-related item at the council meeting was regarding a grant application for YMCA improvements. Van Winkle said the YMCA was given the opportunity to apply for a grant from the Iowa YMCA Association to purchase gym dividers and security cameras for the facility. They are requesting $13,438 in grant money towards the $20,000 project, and the city and YMCA have agreed to split the difference to pay for the rest. If the grant is declined, Van Winkle said they will likely attempt to get a grant from the Washington County Riverboat Foundation in the spring.