May 16, 2022 – West Bend, WI – The West Bend Common Council meets tonight, May 16, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. and one of the agenda items will be to consider a proposal to fill in a portion of the Regner Park Pond and make it a 3-foot wading pond.
Mike Staral is head of the West Bend Parks Commission. When questioned what other options they reviewed he said, it was never brought to them for consideration. “We have a meeting two weeks from now,” he said. “We have not had a Parks Commission meeting on it yet.”
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According to the description on the city website:
PURPOSE:Â Â The Park and Recreation Commission shall govern, manage, promote, control, improve, and care for public parks, recreation programs, facilities, and the urban forest of the city.Â
Normally, the Park and Rec Commission reviews items before they go to the common council. “Yes, it was supposed to go to us first and then the council but that didn’t happen,” said Staral.
When questioned about filling in a portion of the Regner Park Pond, Staral said he thinks they (the Park Commission) should “still have a say” in what happens.
“We have not voted or anything on it,” he said. “Supposedly it will be on the Parks Commission agenda for our next meeting in two weeks.”
Staral said the situation on the table is sad. “I grew up right over the hill there. I spent every day down there and it kills me,” he said.
There are three inground pools in the City of West Bend. An inground pool at Badger School, has been covered up by flooring.
The second inground pool is at the high school. “There should be open swim there but we’re thinking the Y will benefit from this,” Staral said.
The other inground pool is at the local YMCA.
Calls have been placed to the West Bend School District to ask about public swimming options.
The City Attorney said that modification will allow the pond to operate as a “swim-at-your-own-risk” facility. Details are below.
Over the weekend neighbors have been chiming in about the history of the park pond, money raised for the remodeled bathhouse, and job openings at the park. A couple bullet points surrounding the park are below followed by some input from neighbors in the community.
- In 2020 the city closed Regner Park Pond for safety, staffing and financial reasons.
- In June 2021 the pond was closed for a couple days following the drowning of an 8-year-old boy from the Milwaukee area.
- A million-dollar-plus renovation project is underway at the Regner Park bathhouse; $1.4 million in donations has come from the community.
- Washington County has swimming at a couple of its parks including Yahr Park. Jamie Ludovic heads up the County Parks Department. She said the lakes are posted, “Swim at your own risk.”
- Mike Staral said the “pond is governed differently than the local lakes.”
Monday’s common council meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in the council chambers at City Hall, 1115 S. Main Street. The meeting is open to the public.
Looking for summer swimming in the West Bend area? Check out Lake Lenwood. Off Hwy 144 on Wallace Lake Road. Clean and close by summer fun! #lakelenwood #swimming #westbendwi
Lake Lenwood is a daily recreational spot. If you don’t want to camp, you can come spend the day on the beach. Fun. Clean. Family friendly. Locally owned.
Affordable canoe, tubes, hydro-bike, kayak and paddle boat rentals. Life jackets included.
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Admission includes parking, swimming, wading, sandy beach, slide, pier with diving board, raft, water basketball, grassy and shaded picnic area with tables and grills, and complete playground with play system.
Click HERE for admission prices and details on camping.
Kreilkamp trucking in Allenton could not find truck drivers with a CDL endorsement to drive their trucks so they made a deal with Moraine Park Technical College to train drivers with Kreilkamp paying the fees and the drivers agreeing to work at the trucking company after they graduated with a good starting salary as far as I heard it’s working. Sometimes to solve problems you have to think outside the box not take the easy way out
If they go through with this I can guarantee that in the next five years there will be a push for the city to finance a aquatic center at a cost of millions and again they will be looking for Lifeguard’s Close the pool for a year and see what happens