On the rainy evening of Sept. 21 City Manager John Weidl spoke on this month’s updates which included information on the lakes, Whitewater Aquatic and Fitness Center (WAFC), and the fire department. 

The discussion on the lakes has been brought up due to their upcoming plans to move forward with the dredging plan that has been created for 2026. This would mean that the lakes would have removal of the lower levels of sediments and debris from the bottom; cleaning the waterways.

“A lakes management district would help solidify a plan to maintain what’s going on with the lakes moving forward,” said Weidl, on the action plan created for the issue.

“The meeting created some goals, we talked about a balanced ecosystem, maintaining fish and wildlife, high water quality, and a cost-efficient management plan,” recalled Weidlon from the meeting in August. Overall, the goal for this meeting was to show the public what was in the works to protect the wildlife of Whitewater, while protecting the lakes. 

Along with the discussion of the lakes around this community, another issue that has been brought up in the discussion was the WAFC, and their marketing and baseline plans.

“The community engagement has increased, and the city council/school district are working to put together a committee,” said Weidl about the new ideas that were brought up.

Increased engagement is also thanks to an uptick in lifeguard numbers, as well as more cleaning weekends which keep people safe. This increase in lifeguards has been a help due to less closures of the WAFC, meaning more engagement, which is the main goal. The WAFC is also coming upon their six year agreement with the community. Overall, engagement has been increasing rapidly over the past few months, and it is important for the public to know this information. 

The final discussion that Weidl brought up was the Fire Department of Whitewater, with the community requiring six calls minimum each day, and have acquired roughly 1800 calls in 2023. The fire department has begun to cover over 101 square miles in surrounding communities, and have decreased their call and response time down to 1 minute and 24 seconds. The fire department has begun getting recognition that they deserve as they have been putting in double time throughout the entire summer to complete their training and will continue to work hard this fall with the increase in calls due to fire related hazards. 

Upcoming events include the LatinX job fair, Oct. 26, and the Whitewater Pride event Oct. 21. For more information on the upcoming meetings and agendas, visit the Whitewater government website, common council is hosted twice a month, and the city manager is available at the Municipal Building in downtown Whitewater. The next city manager meeting is scheduled for Nov. 1.