Whitewater’s Parks and Recreation Board met on Jan. 21 to outline the City of Whitewater Parks and Recreation Strategic Plan. This plan is the template for aligning resources, improving operations and advancing key investments within Whitewater’s Parks and Recreation system through 2031.
The City of Whitewater put an emphasis on this being a “community-driven” process. They surveyed members of the community, talked with the Parks and Recreation staff and reviewed state-wide practices. The feedback that the city received resulted in five key initiatives.
The first strategic initiative is aimed at providing safe, accessible, and high quality experiences for anyone that wants to use the parks or facilities within Whitewater. The city’s goal is to not only maintain the current parks and facilities, but to enhance and modernize them.
The second initiative involves community engagement, communications and partnerships, which is aimed at increasing awareness, inclusivity and participation within the community of Whitewater, especially as it continues to become more diverse. The city will be partnering with community organizations, UW-Whitewater and the Whitewater Unified School District (WUSD) to extend this community outreach.
Building off of the community engagement, the City of Whitewater also wants to offer “diverse, inclusive, high-quality programs that reflect the needs and interests of residents.” Some new programs that are in development include arts and culture, fitness and wellness, nature-based recreation, senior programs and services and multicultural events.
In order to deliver on the first three initiatives, the City of Whitewater will be strengthening internal operations with the Organizational Excellence and Staff Development initiative. This plan should ensure staff efficiency and service quality, which ideally, will lead to long-term departmental success.
Finally, to ensure the improvement of the Parks and Recreation system, whether that’s improving the facilities, community experience or strengthening internal operations, there needs to be sustained investments. The city will be utilizing grants, sponsorships and partnerships to fulfill the need for external funding. To establish responsible asset management, the city will be putting in place a long-range plan that supports effective resource management.
Through the 2026-31 Strategic Plan, the City of Whitewater hopes to provide a safe, inclusive and well-maintained Parks and Recreation system. A system that strengthens the community, supports life-long learning and wellness and celebrates the identity of Whitewater.
The process for improving some of the facilities around Whitewater has already begun. At the Jan. 20 Common Council meeting, Jodi Sweeney of the Sweeney Group gave a presentation outlining her study on the Whitewater Aquatic and Fitness Center.
Sweeney interviewed and surveyed over 50 people throughout the community to gather their overall opinions on the building. She wanted to determine if the center was held in high regard, if it was in good condition and if there was some work that needed to be done to improve the center.
“The results were, quite frankly, quite wonderful,” Sweeney said. “People are incredibly enthusiastic about the fitness center.”
Throughout her research, Sweeney discovered that the center is seen as a “differentiator,” making Whitewater unique from other towns in the area. However, the Fitness Center is in need of renovations and marketing to raise awareness about what it provides. Sweeney says that there is a private donor who is interested in funding a full marketing campaign to do just that.
“We’d like to work with health facilities and senior living facilities to increase membership,” Sweeney said. “We’d also like to do more outreach to our neighboring communities that the facilities are available.”
Before the renovation and marketing campaigns can move forward, Sweeney said that there needs to be detailed plans about what the renovations look like and how the costs will be met. But there is one component Sweeney feels is more important than the rest: a commitment from the city itself.
“I’m recommending a $1.5 million campaign could be successful for this project,” Sweeney said.
The Common Council ruled for a committee to start working on the details for what this campaign would look like. The official vote on approving funding for the Whitewater Aquatic and Fitness Center is expected to occur at a future meeting.
The next Parks and Recreations Board meeting is currently scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 5:30 p.m.
