District directed to narrow down fieldhouse options

By Dave Fidlin

Correspondent

Waterford Union High School officials inched one step closer toward firming up details for a proposed revamp of the district’s athletic facilities.

The WUHS School Board on Oct. 26 directed Superintendent Keith Brandstetter to narrow in on two of four proposals for a new field house and fitness center. The district has been working with Abacus Architects and Scherrer Construction in planning the details of the conceptual project.

The greatest variable between the different scenarios is the square footage, width and number of lanes for the new athletic amenities.

One proposal still under consideration, with an estimated cost of $12.26 million, entails constructing a 49,247-square-foot field house and a 200-meter track with six lanes.

The second proposal, clocking in at an estimated $10.76 million, includes plans for a 40,252-square-foot field house and a 160-meter track with six lanes.

Brandstetter will report back to the School Board next month with sharper details concerning the project. Specifics concerning the referendum could be answered next month.

While much of the discussion has focused on the field house, high school officials also have touted the fitness center.

“Presently, WUHS only has a weight room, with no provision for aerobic activities or education,” Scherrer design architect Robert Heimerl wrote in a memo outlining the company’s proposal.

“To promote exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle, the proposed addition will include a 6,884-square-foot fitness center, to be outlined with a full array of aerobic exercise and weight lifting equipment,” Heimerl added. “It will be open to the public, directly accessible through a dedicated entrance off of a parking lot.”

Hoping to still take advantage of low interest rates, WUHS could go to referendum as soon as February, during the primary election. Adoption of a formal resolution will trigger the statutory requirements and determine when specifically the referendum will be held.

Early this month, WUHS held a special board meeting to hear residents’ feedback on the proposed project. While there have been concerns about the cost of the project, there has been widespread support in moving forward.

“As I’ve talked with people, I’ve heard two things,” School Board President Kevin Malchine said. “The first is what it means for taxes. But the second is if we’re going to do this, let’s do it right.”

Brandstetter has frequently noted WUHS’ existing debt service for prior construction will soon drop off the ledger, meaning that particular component of the levy could be supplanted with the spending allocated toward the field house without hitting taxpayers hard.

There is one looming question that falls outside the community, and it has to do with the exact timing of the imminent reconstruction of Highways 83 and 20. WUHS is looking to increase its parking accommodations, though it wants to do so in concert with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s reconstruction of the two thoroughfares.