While the detention basins on Kansas Highway 140 are admittedly an eye sore now, city officials said the goal is to make good long-term decisions.

“I would prefer it look bad for one summer and we have a good solution for the next 30 years,” City Administrator Rusty Varnado told the Ellsworth City Council Monday night.

Josh Beckman from Kirkham Michael & Associates, Inc. of Ellsworth said the project is considered to be in a “state’s delay,” which means no additional fee is charged [to the contractor] for the delayed work.

“It can take a little while to figure out what we’re going to do,” he said. “We met with an engineer who specializes in the work. He will give us a couple of proposals on solutions. We should have that information in the next week or two.”

Meanwhile, work on the north basin was completed.

“Will that north basin drain or will it have water?” council member Tyler Renard said.

Beckman said an answer should be apparent soon.

“Before we weren’t sure because it was blocked off,” he said. “Now that it’s open, we’ll give it a little time and see what happens.”

The original intention of the retention basins was to slow the flow of water during major storms, which should decrease the potential of flooding downtown.

“We need to figure out if the bottom of the basin can be included in the current project or if it needs to be a separate project,” Beckman said.

While Varnado said he has received some light-hearted inquiries, such as mud volleyball or mud wrestling, there are serious items to consider for the summer.

“One thing we need to talk about is mosquito spraying,” he said. “There was concern raised about mosquitoes with the water. We want to be sure we have a solution for the summer.”

In other business:

• Beckman said work continues on the runway at the airport. Lighting is being added to the new section, and once complete, the pavement markings will be added.

• The council approved updating the authorization page with the bank to include the current mayor and city clerk.

• The former hospital was discussed. The property owner wishes to sell the land and building to the city. The city is currently exploring options to demolish the structure, citing safety concerns.

“If the city ever did tear it down, you would want to recoup what you could,” city Attorney Patrick Hoffman said of the demolition cost. “I want to know how much it would cost.

Varnado said they should have a cost estimate toward the end of the month.