By Kim McDarison

The Whitewater Unified School District Board of Education on Monday approved a six-year lease and operational agreement for the Whitewater Aquatic and Fitness Center.

The agreement, which received unanimous approval from board of eduction members, was approved by the Whitewater Common Council during a joint meeting of both the council and school board held Monday, Aug. 21.

The council also approved the measure unanimously.

As part of the motion to approve, Board of Education President Larry Kachel read the following:

• The district will provide an operational contribution in 2024 of $178,000 indexed to inflation at 3% annually for the full six-year contract.

• The district will provide a capital contribution in 2024 of $100,000 per year for the first three years of the agreement. In the fourth year of the agreement, the $100,000 contribution will be indexed to inflation at 3% annually, and will continue with the index included in contractual years five and six.

• The city of Whitewater will provide the remainder of the operational contribution in 2024 estimated at $258,767, and will contribute the required operational contribution needed to fill the gap in funding, or deficit, and will be responsible for any operational overages, or surplus, for the remainder of the six-year agreement.

• The city of Whitewater will provide a capital contribution of $100,000 per year for the first three years of the agreement. Beginning with year four of the contract, the $100,000 contribution will be indexed for inflation at 3%, and will continue with an indexed contribution in contractual years five and six.

Not addressed was the deficit which the city has already accumulated on its books which, according to city officials, is projected to reach $221,938 by Dec. 31, 2023.

The agreement, which has been approved by both entities — the school district and the city — once signed, will begin in 2024.

A joint meeting of the two entities is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. 

Not included within the motion approved by the board and read Monday by Kachel, but included as part of the discussion held between the two groups and within the city’s motion to approve last Monday, were the following:

• The entities agreed that any profits realized by the aquatic center annually will be put in a separate fund, with the opportunity to split the profits in accordance with the percentage of operational dollars each entity contributes.

• The agreement, as approved by the city council, includes a stipulation that a new committee will be created to oversee aquatic center operations, with that body composed of members from each entity, the board and the council, and members of the community who have some expertise in the aquatic services industry. With the creation of the new committee, the city’s Park and Recreation Board will no longer have oversight and recommending responsibilities associated with the aquatic center. 

Also discussed last Monday, but not included in either entity’s motion, were the following:

• A request by the district to keep the funds contributed towards capital improvements by both entities in a segregated fund which would be managed by the district.

• There also was some debate over how much authority the new oversight committee might have. Council members suggested the group would have an advisory role and report to both entities.

• Also left undetermined was the structure of payments for a remaining balance associated with prior operational debt accrued on the city’s books, which, city officials have said, was traditionally split by the two entities.

An earlier story about aquatic center contractual negotiations and the city’s approval of the six-year contract is here: https://whitewaterwise.com/city-approves-aquatic-center-proposed-lease-operational-agreement-school-district-to-vote-on-monday/.