Wright City is going ahead with the purchase of 62 acres of land along Westwoods Road for a future park.The city agreed in January to purchase the land for almost $1.2 million, but only if it successfully sold the city’s public water and sewer systems.“We know that there is more need than we can fill right now — for parks, and for ballfields, and for soccer fields, and for all those kinds of things that we would like to have for our citizens,” Mayor Dan Rowden said at the time.In April, voters approved selling the utilities to Public Water Supply District No. 2 for $10.5 million, and the sale was finalized in July.Now the city will use the money from selling its utilities to complete the purchase of the parkland. The Wright City Board of Aldermen voted 3-0 on Sept. 27 to approve the purchase, with Ward 2 Alderman Nathan Rohr absent.The purchase price for the new park is $19,000 per acre.The acquisition of the park, and its location on the north side of Interstate 70, is a sign of recent growth in Wright City as new families are moving to the city. The other two public parks within the Wright City boundaries are both south of the interstate.The new parkland is near several relatively new neighborhoods, as well as three Wright City schools. The park is also near the future site of a new Wright City Hall on Westwoods Road, which has slowly been under renovation for more than a year. The city hall property also will eventually include baseball fields.Before any development begins at the new park, the Wright City Park Board plans to host community meetings to get input from residents about how the land should be used. No dates have yet been set for those public meetings.

This map shows the location of potential park land Wright City has an agreement to purchase if the city sells its sewer and water systems.