Village Manager Jim Barnes told the council the annual visioning session exists to align council direction with the coming year’s budget and longer‑range capital improvement planning.

“The primary reason for our, trying to get together at this point is to hear from council where they see us going over the next year,” Barnes said, asking council to provide guidance that staff will use while drafting the fiscal 2026 budget.

Why it matters: the session tied near‑term budget timing to projects conceived in earlier visioning work. Officials said some items on the list are now moving into delivery or near completion, while others will need funding, permitting or additional council direction before construction.

Key projects and status
- Wellington Athletics Project: A public‑private partnership that began from a visioning discussion about upgrading South Shore Park. The athletics facility was originally proposed for South Shore but is now sited at Village Park Complex and is expected to be completed before the end of 2025, staff said.
- South Shore Park: Council was told the older, baseball‑oriented South Shore site will be reconfigured to a new open‑play facility with a comfort station, a multipurpose open field (dawn‑to‑dusk), two diamond fields and a reconditioned lighted basketball court; fields will be unlit while courts will remain available at night.
- Town Center: Work begun in 2008–2011 has continued in phases. Village staff said the remaining major element is the aquatics facility at Village Park (timed to finish with the Wellington Athletics Project). The pool deck at Town Center is slated for removal and conversion to green gathering space, with staff studying the feasibility of a public fountain similar to those downtown in West Palm Beach.

Policy and smaller projects
- Code and landscaping: Staff reminded council the thoroughfare fence/hedge amortization schedule remains in place and encouraged property owners to bring fences and hedges into compliance ahead of the deadline. Council and staff flagged the need to revisit flex zoning in the industrial area around Pearson Road and Fairlane Farms because the zones have evolved into office use rather than the light industrial manufacturing originally intended.

What council asked for next
Council members asked staff to refine cost estimates and timelines for projects that appear in the fiscal 2026 budget and to bring back any charter or code language changes needed to implement changes discussed at the session.