Baldwin City looks much different from when Bill Winegar started in 1991 as the city’s public works director. As he prepared to leave city employment as of March 17, Winegar took stock of the improvements during his 26 years in his job.

Obviously, the city has a new look with the new neighborhoods that have sprung up on its north side. Tying the new subdivisions to the older parts of Baldwin City is Sixth Street, which has been completely reconstructed through two projects undertaken under Winegar’s stewardship.

“All of Sixth Street has been rebuilt with the assistance of Douglas County,” Winegar said. “The county has been very cooperative and agreeable to work with.”

Another significant change is the look of downtown Baldwin City, which got a $1.8 million makeover in 2008 that included new sidewalks, waterlines and lighting. A partial list of other accomplishments during Winegar’s tenure includes two new water towers, a new swimming pool, a new wastewater plant, several sewer interceptors and the relocation of the city’s waterline from Lawrence out of the Baker Wetlands in conjunction with the South Lawrence Trafficway project. The city also has significantly increased its commitment to overlay streets and now spends about $175,000 annually on that effort.

One project Winegar won’t see to completion is the building of a new public works building in the city’s Orange Street yard. The facility would replace the city’s current cramped and structurally challenged public works office at 609 High St. and the overflowing yard to the south. That project took a slight detour Monday when neighbors filed a successful petition protesting a conditional use permit needed to build the facility, but it appears there is enough support on the Baldwin City Council to move that proposal forward. Councilwoman Christi Darnell, who voted against measures related to the new facility in the past because of timing concerns, said she would support the permit’s approval out of respect for Winegar’s opinion that it would not be disruptive to neighbors and that it was needed.

Winegar said he aimed to wear out a couple of fishing poles in retirement and travel. His replacement with the city, Kenny Oshel, said Winegar still had some work on his plate in his final week in helping Oshel prepare public works’ 2018 budget and its capital improvement project recommendations for next year.

Oshel has been with the city since June 2016. He came to Baldwin City from Edgerton, where he was the public works supervisor.

The Mobile Food Pantry will visit Eudora from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. or until food runs out Wednesday at the Eudora United Methodist Church, 2084 North 1300 Road. For more information, call the church at 785-842-3200.

The Eudora Chamber of Commerce will have its monthly meeting from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday at the Twin Oaks Golf Club, 1326 East 1900 Road. Janene Rothwell of PBJ Studios will speak at the meeting on “Destination Bootcamp,” a destination marketing workshop she attended last fall in Colorado.

The Eudora Fire Department is accepting applications for volunteer firefighters until March 20.