By Kim McDarison 

Whitewater city officials have announced plans to conduct a joint negotiating meeting with the Whitewater Unified School District  (WUSD) to determine a new operating and lease agreement for the Whitewater Aquatic and Fitness Center (WAFC). 

A meeting of the Whitewater Aquatic and Fitness Center Subcommittee, which has representation from both the city and the school district, and is the body through which discussions will be initiated, will be held Thursday, March 2, from 6 to 8 p.m., at the Whitewater Municipal Building, 312 W. Whitewater St., Whitewater.  

Those interested in learning about the Aquatic Center and negotiations underway for a future contract are encouraged to attend. 

According to Whitewater City Manager John Weidl, the WAFC has been operating without a contract for two years. 

According to information released Wednesday by city officials, in 2016, in conjunction with the school district, the Whitewater Parks and Recreation Board, a committee of the city’s Common Council, took over operations of the Aquatic and Fitness Center. The facility is attached to the Whitewater High School, 580 S. Elizabeth St., which is owned and operated by the Whitewater Unified School District. A leasing and operational agreement between the two entities — the city and the school district — forged in 2016 has since expired, the release stated. 

“To determine the direction and future operation of the facility,” the release continued, “a new agreement will be discussed.” 

“To continue the operation of the WAFC, the city of Whitewater will be working with the WUSD school board to outline an operating and lease agreement. Our goal is to keep the public and membership informed of this process and negotiations,” Weidl was quoted as saying in the release.  

Early WAFC history

According to information released by the city, in 2001, a “Cooperation Agreement” was made between the city of Whitewater, the Whitewater Unified School District, and a nonprofit organization called “Setting Whitewater in Motion” or SWIM, Inc.  

The document stated that the cooperating parties agreed that the community “found a need for an aquatic facility to provide recreational opportunities to the general public, serve the needs of the aquatic organizations within the community, and support the school district’s program needs for its students.” 

Further, the document stated, the parties “have jointly undertaken studies to determine the feasibility of constructing an aquatic facility on a site on the grounds of the Whitewater High School.” 

The document noted that funds were pledged by private individuals and entities for the construction and operation of the facility. 

Under the agreement, the school district would make available a portion of the school site for the facility and pay for the construction of a locker room for school use. The city would manage the construction of the project and contribute $2 million, on a matching funds basis, toward the construction, and an additional $150,000, which would first be used toward project construction, with any residual funds allocated to an endowment fund for the project. 

SWIM would contribute $3.5 million raised through private donations toward the construction project, according to the agreement. 

The agreement stated that “all parties will create a non-profit entity to undertake the operation and management of the completed aquatic facility in accordance with a ‘lease and operation agreement,’ to be entered into by the parties, all as set forth is this agreement.” 

Additionally, the agreement noted, the parties would build an eight-lane, twenty-five-yard competitive pool, a 2,625-square-foot leisure pool, and a 130- to 150-foot long slide, along with the required fixtures, mechanical systems and related improvements, and a school-use locker room which would be maintained and controlled by the school district. 

The document further stated that the cost of the locker room, which would be used by district students and staff, was $177,627, with those costs borne solely by the school district, along with its maintenance and control. 

The agreement noted that the school district would hold the title to the development and would lease the development to the operating entity for “a nominal rent in accordance with the lease and operation agreement.” The agreement indicated that the “lease of the development shall be specifically conditioned upon operation of the project as a public facility, servicing the general public recreational needs, and school district programming needs …,” noting that the initial lease and operation agreement was set for a term of 20 years, with an option to renew for two additional 20-year terms. 

Terms called for the school district to make an annual financial commitment to the operation of the facility of $75,000.  

In June of 2001, in keeping with the cooperation agreement, Articles of Incorporation and by-laws for Whitewater Aquatic Center, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, were filed with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions. 

The corporation formed for the purpose of “developing, managing, operating and maintaining an indoor multi-purpose aquatic facility as a public facility serving the general public recreational needs of the city of Whitewater … and its recreational programs and the programmatic needs of the Whitewater Unified School District.” 

The organization’s by-laws stated that its board of directors would be comprised of two directors appointed by the city, two directors appointed by the school district, and five directors appointed by SWIM. 

2016 contract

According to information supplied by the city, in 2016, the school district and the city entered into a new lease agreement which continued to stipulate that the aquatic facility would be used by the general public and the district. Additionally, it noted: “The lease and operating agreement provides for the use of the aquatic facility by the general public. The aquatic facility is primarily intended to serve the recreational and programmatic needs of the general public, but the school district also wishes to use the aquatic facility for curricular, special education and extracurricular purposes.” 

In 2016, the parties agreed that the city would rent the aquatic facility to the school district for its requested purposes at a cost of $7,500 annually, with payment due “on or about July 1.” 

Scheduling assets within the facility to allow the district to meet its needs would become the obligation of the city’s Parks and Recreation Board. 

As stated within the document, meeting the district’s needs would require its use broadly of the lap and leisure pools, and fitness center throughout the year, and more specifically, for health and physical education courses, and related curricular actives and practice, along with individual instruction for students with disabilities, and training and competition for co-curricular competitive swim teams representing the district. 

To meet the general public’s recreational needs, the document outlined public use of the lap pool, fitness center, and leisure pool for youth and adult swimming lessons, along with parent-child recreational programs, health and recreational programs for senior citizens, and other general recreational uses. 

To facilitate fair use of the facility between the parties, the document stipulated that the school district by April 30 of each year, would provide the Park and Recreation Board with a proposed schedule of the district’s programming needs for a period between Aug. 1 through July 31 of the following year. Likewise, a proposed schedule for public use of the facility would be provided by the city. The parties agreed to meet to resolve scheduling conflicts within 30 days of receipt of the district’s proposed schedule or June 1 of that year, whichever was later. 

Within the 2016 agreement, language continued to identify the district as the sole user of the locker room, and made it solely responsible for its maintenance and upkeep, including any mechanical systems used to maintain it, regardless of where within the facility those assets were located. The district is also identified as the entity solely responsible for all costs associated with utilities, such as sewer, water, and devices to heat water, electricity and HVAC utilities that support the locker room. 

The terms of the 2016 agreement were put in place for five years, commencing July 1, 2016 and ending June 30, 2021. 

2021 contract

According to information released by the city, a lease and operation agreement, which is entered into the record unsigned, was drafted with a proposed effect date of June 28, 2021. 

Offering some history, the document noted that the Whitewater Aquatic Center, Inc., operated the aquatic center through its lease and operating agreement from Dec. 15, 2001 to Dec. 14, 2016, and, the document stated, “the city and the school district have agreed that the Park and Recreation Board of the City of Whitewater assumed the responsibility for the operation and management of the aquatic facility.” 

The document further noted that the school district would have the right to appoint two members to the city’s park board. 

The terms of the  2021 agreement were proposed for a five-year period, beginning July 1, 2021, with an expiration date of June 30, 2026. 

The language stipulated that the parties could extend the new contract “only by mutual written agreement of the city and school district.” 

The contract noted that, as terms of the new agreement, “the city shall pay to the school district annual rent of one dollar, payable in advance on the commencement date on each annual anniversary of the commencement date.” 

Additionally, the contract stated: “the park board will have the sole and exclusive control over and right to schedule, allocate and lease space within the leased premises. It is anticipated that, in connection with the operation of the aquatic facility, the city may enter into (a) sublease/use agreements with various individuals and user groups, and (b) contractual arrangements with concessionaires, management companies and other service providers. The school district consents to such use agreements and service contracts, all of which, however, shall be expressly subject and subordinate to the terms of this agreement.” 

The city’s park board also would become solely responsible for staffing the aquatic facility, with the exception of the district’s locker room. 

Looking at finances, the 2021 contract noted that the aquatic facility would have a separate budget, and will “maintain a separate operating account from the city and the Whitewater Parks and Recreation Department. The parties will split all aquatic facility expenses equally to the extend that they are not covered by revenues generated by the park board,” the document stated. 

The document proposed a contribution of $153,000 made by the city to cover aquatic facility costs in 2021, and a contribution of $178,000 in 2022, and each of the remaining years covered by the contract. 

The district’s contribution in 2021 was set at $145,000, and at $170,500 for each remaining year of the agreement. The amounts could be subject to change on an annual bases with mutual agreement by the parities, the document stated. 

Under a heading of “Lack of Funding,” the document stipulated that either party could terminate the agreement at any time upon giving the other party 90 days’ notice. The clause could be triggered, the agreement noted, if the district “is unable to fund its obligations under Section 5.01.F through its Fund 80 community service budget,” and the city could exercise the clause would it discover it was incurring “loses of substantial sources of funds — for example shared revenue — such that it is no longer practical for the city to continue to fund its obligations under this agreement.” 

Additionally, under such sets of circumstances, the document continued, “the city and the district would be equally responsible for refunding prorated membership fees if the facility closes.” 

A potential inception point for Thursday’s negotiations 

According to information released by the city, in January, the Whitewater Unified School District held a “special board meeting.” A document released by the city indicates “positions” and “summary/details,” associated with the meeting. 

According to the document associated with the January meeting, the district holds the position that the previous lease agreements note that “maintenance and repair obligations are the responsibility of the city.” 

The document states: “It is the position of the school board that the repairs, maintenance and replacements have not been made in accordance with the agreement and need to be made in order to move forward with negotiations/creation of a new agreement. Additionally, negotiations should include a presented budget, including a fund plan for long-term maintenance.” 

In order to make necessary repairs, the district offers consideration of a referendum brought before the taxpaying public in the fall of 2023. 

The document further notes that “prior debt,” in the amount of $413,429, “is not the responsibility of the school district.” 

The school district further recommended that the management of equipment, such as HVAC, at the aquatic center, “due to a lack of maintenance/repairs,” should be performed by district personnel. 

A document, prepared by members of the city’s staff in December of last year, noted that the aquatic center opened in 2001 and was operated by a board. In 2003, Mercy Healthcare took over the operation of the facility. In 2009, the Whitewater Aquatic Center (WAC) Board, assumed its operations. 

In 2016, the 15-year operational agreement expired and the city’s Parks and Recreation Board took over the operations of the facility “under a new agreement with the school district.” 

According to the document produced by city staff, the WAC facility operated at a deficit of more than $400,000 between 2016 and 2021, with those expenses paid by the city. Within the document, the city contends that the school district is responsible for half of the deficit, and has made no payment to-date. 

In 2021, the document added, the city drafted and approved the 2021 lease agreement with some changes. 

“The school board never passed a revised agreement that included the changes requested by the city council,” the document noted. 

An agenda and background information supplied by the city in advance of Thursday’s meeting is here: https://www.whitewater-wi.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03022023-1660?packet=true. 

About the Aquatic and Fitness Center

According to information released Wednesday by the city, “for individuals, families, students, seniors, and commuters in Whitewater and beyond, the WAFC provides an affordable, convenient recreational fitness environment with a variety of amenities including: fitness center, aquatic center, group classes, locker rooms, and concessions.”  

Whitewater Parks and Recreation Director Eric Boettcher noted within Wednesday’s release that the community has continued to offer support for the facility. 

Since COVID-19, he said, “we have focused on rebuilding membership and creating new ways to access our facility. We are currently in the process of implementing 24/7 access for the fitness center.”  

In addition, the release noted that “from January 2022 to January 2023, the WAFC increased total membership revenue from $16,789.99 to  $24,719.00, day pass revenue from $5,887.07 to $8,963.69, and total active memberships from 1,488 to 2,176. In 2023, the WAFC aims to add another 300 new members and increase revenue by $20,000.00.”