Wellington trustees hear broad community support for parks priorities; consultants present a conceptual ~60,000‑sq‑ft community center

Wellington Town trustees and the PROS advisory board spent their joint work session reviewing community engagement results and a community‑center feasibility concept that consultants say could be sized to Wellington’s needs.

The session opened with Parks and Recreation Director Billy Cooksey and project lead Jason Gink of Barry Dunn describing the outreach: "During the engagement phase, we had more than 60,000 touch points with residents, stakeholders, and user groups," Cooksey said, and consultants summarized that the engagement and analysis point to high community interest in a community center, aquatics, multi‑use courts, trails and permanent event infrastructure.

Why it matters: trustees and volunteers said those priorities matter for quality of life and the local economy — residents who leave town to use facilities elsewhere also spend money outside Wellington. Board members repeatedly flagged equity and connectivity, noting that physical barriers (I‑25 and a limited underpass) reduce access from the east side and create an…