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West Bend accepts community donations, sets aside $56,366.50 insurance reimbursement for Old Settlers Park gazebo
Summary
The Common Council accepted several donations to parks projects totaling more than $148,000 in cash and in‑kind gifts, and authorized placing a $56,366.50 insurance reimbursement into an account for future replacement of the Old Settlers Park gazebo.
The West Bend Common Council on June 2 accepted multiple donations to the Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department and authorized the appropriation of an insurance reimbursement for the Old Settlers Park gazebo.
Parks staff presented a list of gifts that the council approved. They include: $280 from Saint Lawrence Congregation for the Special Olympics program; $5,000 from the group identified as presenting sponsor for the 2025 Dirty Ninja Mud Run for kids; $20,000 from the West Bend Sunrise Rotary Foundation for the Regner Park Aqua Park; $9,000 from an anonymous donor toward Ridge Run Cabin renovations (the anonymous donor’s fourth donation, bringing that donor’s total commitment to $114,000 for that project); a $200 donation from the West Bend Disc Golf Club for Riverside Disc Golf Course improvements; and an in‑kind donation valued at $14,500 from Sprozzi and Carter Construction LLC for renovations at Ridge Run Park.
Mike, speaking for parks staff, said the council also received a reimbursement check of $56,366.50 after an automobile accident in October 2024 that required removal of the gazebo at Old Settlers Park. “Replacement cost for that exact gazebo would be $126,411.11,” Mike said. He told the council the insurance funds would be set aside in an account for future replacement, but the timing of any reconstruction is not yet known.
Council members pressed staff on whether the insurance reimbursement would cover total replacement and on safety measures in the downtown park. Alderman Sparks asked whether any redesign work would include traffic or crowd‑safety improvements; Mike said park redesign and the downtown master plan discussions would consider safety elements such as bollards and reconfiguration and that staff had already moved several planters as an interim measure near the old gazebo site.
Council approved the donations and the insurance appropriation by voice vote with no opposition recorded.
Parks staff also noted restrooms in the downtown remain a topic of community interest but that riverfront locations are constrained by the floodplain. Mike said staff will keep the insurance reimbursement available while continuing master‑plan discussions about Old Settlers Park.
