Friday Night Lights Coming Soon to Wellington

Rebekka Kinney | Candidate for Town Trustee | [email protected]

If you are dreaming of town parades and Friday night lights, the new combined middle and high school is progressing!  Slated to open in the Fall of 2022, the comprehensive campus will serve the Wellington community. Students who are currently in grades 3 through 6 will populate the new school.  Wellington residents have anxiously awaited a school to call their own. The school will be located at the northwest corner of County Road 62E and County Road 9, on the West side of Wellington where you will notice that work has already begun.  Our new school will sit on a 132-acre lot that has been proposed to be subdivided into three lots for the planned combined middle and high school and then as future sites for elementary and middle schools as the town continues to grow. The new school will have a capacity of 1500 students, will be 225,000 square feet, have comprehensive facilities for sports and the arts, and will feature an open-air courtyard, almost the size of a football field.  For more information, including a visualized tour of the campus, visit the Poudre School District’s website and select the ‘Community’ link and then ‘2016 Bond and Mill.’

This last week has had a milestone in the development of the new school.   A recommendation for approval of the subdivision was granted by the town’s Planning Commission on February 3, 2020, with commentary from Brenden Willits, PSD Planning Manager.  The final decision of the subdivision, the final town related approval for the campus, will take place at the Board of Trustees Meeting on February 25, 2020, at the Leeper Center at 6:30 PM.  The Board of Trustees meeting is open to the public.  

On February 4, 2020, the Wellington Chamber of Commerce hosted a Networking and Educational Breakfast with guests Matt Bryant, PSD Executive Director of Operations, Earl Smith, PSD Director of Construction, and Carolyn Reed, PSD Board Director to discuss the progress of the school.  During the session, the school district’s representatives shared information on the new Wellington School, the new Prospect combined middle and high school, the new elementary school in southeast Fort Collins, and the plans for deferred maintenance, all projects within the 2016 Bond and Mill Levy funds.  

During the question and answer portion of the meeting, the attendees shared concerns on road and transportation surrounding the school, specifically the interchange at County Road 9 and Colorado Highway 1.  Although a PSD traffic study indicated that the current intersections surrounding the curve on Hwy 1 were sufficient for the additional expected traffic from the school, residents would disagree. Improvements and changes for this intersection are not included in the current plans.  The Town of Wellington, Colorado Department of Transportation, and developers in the area, including PSD, will need to urgently coordinate any changes to ensure the safety of our students and residents. Additional factors mentioned by residents included agriculture-related traffic and new routes for trash haulers with the planned landfill north of Wellington.  Concerns for pedestrians and increased traffic through Wellington were also mentioned in the meeting.  

Although there are related and valuable concerns from the residents, we remain eagerly excited in anticipation of a new school to join our wonderful and growing community.  Coordination for a town-wide meeting to discuss the progress was confirmed. Please look for an invitation as soon as the logistics are coordinated. The school will be vital for building a strong community and identity in Wellington.  An outstanding piece of the final plat includes a new name for County Road 9. If you have a compelling thought about what the name should be, please send it to the town for consideration. I’m excited to cheer with you alongside our future high schoolers! 

Rebekka Kinney currently serves on the Planning Commission for the Town of Wellington and seeks a position as a member of the Board of Trustees for the town.  Her campaign focuses on wellness for the Wellington community through planned and strategic growth during a time of explosive growth in Wellington. For inquiries about her campaign, please email [email protected]