Wausau parks committee urges finance to keep three pools open, reject $45,000 study on splitting parks management

The City of Wausau Parks and Recreation Committee voted unanimously Oct. 6 to ask the finance committee to keep all three municipal pools open next summer and to recommend that a proposed $45,000 study on whether the city should withdraw from the current county-managed parks arrangement not be funded.

Committee members said the proposed study repeats work the committee concluded last year and would divert scarce funds from existing services. “I can’t support this again because of the fact that this…is wasteful wasteful spending,” Alder Rasmussen said during the meeting.

The recommendation will be forwarded to the finance committee for its third budget session. Chair Larson opened the meeting and Jamie, the parks director, provided an overview of items in the proposed budget that affect parks and forestry.

Why it matters: Committee members said the three pools are high-use amenities built with long-term debt and provide programs for different age groups. Several members said rotating or closing a pool to save roughly $30,000 to $60,000 would be unpopular with residents and would not meaningfully reduce the mill rate. Alderman Rasmussen and others…