WAUPUN — The Waupun City Council discussed concerns about the Policy & Procedures proposal for the upcoming Waupun Community Center at the meeting last week Tuesday.
Construction on the new “Intergenerational” Community Center facility broke ground last September and is expected to be complete in the next month. In preparation for this, the Waupun Recreation Department, who are tasked with staffing the new building, drafted a policy document for those using the facility.
According to Mayor of Waupun Rohn Bishop, he received some questions over the current draft of the policy regarding a specific point—the policy would disallow alcohol in the new facility. This would mean that organizations interested in renting the gym or dining spaces would need to find another location if they want alcohol at their events.
Two particular organizations already expressed interest in renting out the spaces, the local Learn to Hunt organization for their annual Turkey Banquet fundraiser, and the Waupun Rotary Club to use the space for their annual Beerfest, which is currently held at Go-Dutch Solutions. Due to this concern, Learn to Hunt had to switch their plans to The Rock Golf Club as their event is scheduled for March.
In bringing up the topic, Mayor Bishop pointed out that all other city properties—including city parks, baseball diamonds, City Hall Auditorium, and the current Waupun Community Center (since renamed to Waupun Ice Arena)—all allow alcohol sales. The only property that doesn’t is the current Senior and Recreation Center at 301 E Main St.
According to Alderwoman Kambria Ledesma, the Recreation Committee decided that their mission is to promote wellness and healthy living—which in their view excludes the consumption of alcohol. They had originally considered only banning hard liquor, or placing other restrictions on how it could be distributed, but ultimately decided it did not fit their mission as a whole.
“The Park & Rec Board went over this ad nauseum,” Ledesma said. “We tried to find a way to craft a policy that would allow alcohol but also protect the facility, protect the people hired to manage the city. We thought of only banning liquor, only allowing beer or wine, but at the end of the day the minute that we allow alcohol into the building is the minute that we increase our risk.”
The committee voted unanimously on passing this policy recommendation to send it to the City Council for approval.
It’s no secret in Waupun that the consumption of alcohol is a large part of local culture. Many annual events revolve entirely around it, including the Downtown Wine Walk, the “Shops and Hops” Beer Walk, Celebrate Waupun, the Rotary Club Beerfest, Waupun Volksfest, and more. Mayor Bishop also pointed out that the only “dry” event Waupun has had in recent memory was Klompenfest, an annual celebration of Waupun’s Dutch heritage, but it lost interest in part due to the lack of alcohol during the events.
But even beyond these annual promoted events, many other private events that typically have alcohol may not want to rent one of the spaces at the new facility, such as bridal showers, graduation parties, and more.
Alderman Pete Kazcamrski asked Police Chief Jeremy Rasch to comment on whether there has ever been any alcohol-related problems at events in town, which he said there really hasn’t. City Attorney Dan Vande Zande was also asked whether allowing alcohol into the building would cause concern with their insurance provider, which he said they would probably prefer they didn’t.
Director of Public Works Jeff Daane also pointed out that the biggest difference between this building and other city properties is that the majority of this building is carpeted, and the gym has an expensive coating that requires special cleaning.
Alderman Jason Westphal recommended that instead of banning alcohol entirely, they require a waiver for private events that want to bring in alcohol and disalllow alcohol in the building when not during a specific event.
Alderman Dan Siebers suggested that the City release a survey on the issue for community feedback before any decision. He also suggested that the City get direct feedback from their building sponsors.
“The goal here is that we all work together,” Siebers said. “The role of the mayor is frontline, and the Council has to understand where you’re getting that push from in the community. And I don’t want to minimize this—but look at the whole chicken policy, and the Community Garden. They didn’t look like a lot of work, but they mattered. They mattered to a lot of people. So we’ll get there on this as well.”
City Administrator Kathy Schlieve said that the City was looking to pass the policy that night, so that the Recreation Department had something to work with when they move in and open the new Community Center. As of the meeting, the facility had only four weeks to get operational and needed the policy booklet as soon as possible.
Alderman Siebers made the motion to pass the policy as-is, with the expectation that the Recreation Committee and the City Council will revisit the no-alcohol policy as discussed. Ledesma seconded the motion, stating that she is the clerk of the Recreation Committee, and clarified that several members of the committee are not anti-alcohol but some are. Siebers added on to say that the Committee are all great people and put in a lot of work. The motion passed unanimously.
The Recreation Committee will next meet on September 30.
The City of Waupun is still working out the rental fees and the spaces won’t be available for rent until Q1 of 2025 at the earliest as staff become acclimated to the new facility. The current Senior Center building is planned to be sold after operations have been moved to the new building.
Also moving into the new building are the Waupun Food Pantry and REACH Waupun, which will have doors on the east side of the building.
