Bob Foos
The W Club, the athletic/community building under construction in King Jack Park may become the biggest local story of 2025.
Webb City officials told a big crowd of Webb City Area Chamber of Commerce members Thursday at Granny Shaffer’s Restaurant that they’re looking forward to when the W Club is completed this spring.
In March 2024, City Council members approved the request from their fellow member, Jack Dawson, to allow the Dawson Heritage Foundation to build the structure.
The public works department provided the base for the building and will be putting in the parking lot. And the council agreed to operate and maintain the facility.
City Administrator Carl Francis said the city will be hiring a full-time employee to run the facility, along with its public programs and promote its use for regional weekend athletic tournaments.
It was also mentioned that the Barks and Recreation (dog park) in King Jack Park is now open but not all of the attractions have been added yet. It is located west of the soccer fields.
Wastewater and water supply matters may not be as noticable to the public, but Francis estimated 90% of his work involves those two essential services.
He said the main water objective is to “use our own wells” so additional water doesn’t have to be purchased from the neighboring system in Joplin, Missouri American Water. An old well, located beneath the large water tower, was drilled deeper and brought back into production in 2024.
Decreasing the amount of zinc entering the water system with stormwater is a continuing issue. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources closely monitors the amount of zinc that flows with effluent from the wastewater treatment plant into Center Creek.
It is hoped that a half-hour video documenting the how the Cardinal Valley Habitat is being restored with compost created at the treatment plant can be produced this year to spread word of the project’s success.
Francis noted Webb City has contributed to the project to “bring to light what is happening in Webb City.” Essentially, he said it is converting a liability (zinc tainted sludge) into something beneficial to nature.
Federal funding was used by the council in 2024 for both the water and street departments. It allowed a record amount of street paving.
Regarding public safety, Fire Chief Andrew Roughton noted the importance of Webb City first-responder radios being connected to the countywide communication system last year. “I feel a lot safer with better communication,” he said.
Tailoring his speech to the business crowd, Mayor Lynn Ragsdale said “it’s government’s job to serve business. When you do well that helps us do well.”
Retail growth in 2024 was highlighted by several new businesses, including Tee Time, Whataburger and 7Brew.
Although use-tax receipts increase year after year, reflecting greater spending online, Ragsdale pointed out the vast majority of the city’s revenue still comes from sales tax collected at local businesses.
The Webb City Sentinel isn’t a newspaper – but it used to be, serving Webb City, Missouri, in print from 1879-2020. This “newspaper” seeks to carry on that tradition as a nonprofit corporation.
© All Rights Reserved 2025
DIY website design by Bob Foos
