WAUPUN — The new Waupun Community Center is on the verge of completion and will open on Monday, October 21.
The new “intergenerational” facility at 520 McKinley St. will serve as the new location of the Waupun Senior Center, headquarters for the Waupun Recreation Department, and serve as the new space for REACH Waupun and the Waupun Food Pantry.
The facility will also have regularly scheduled sport times in the gym which will be available to rent out for private events.
“The time has come to move and transition into our new building!” wrote Recreation Program Director Rachel Kaminski in the October issue of the Senior Center newsletter. “A lot of time, work, and patience has led us to this point. When we are officially moved in, there will be period of time for us all to get familiar and comfortable with the new place. Some adjustments may have to be made. We will have lots of space with more rooms, so if something is not working we have the ability to be flexible and try a different set up. Not to mention, we can do more activities and offer more services!”
In the newsletter was the code of conduct at the new Community Center, along with a page describing “what to expect” at the new facility. This included descriptions of each of the rooms, future activities, rentals, and needs for volunteers and more staff.
Once the staff are settled into the new building, the rooms available for rent will include the multipurpose room, dining room, kitchen, and gymnasium. Rentals will not begin until Q1 2025 at the earliest. The gym will be open to the public in November and will host scheduled pickleball and other sport events.
Last month the Waupun City Council debated whether alcohol should be allowed for private events hosted at the new Community Center, following the recommendation from the Park & Recreation Board to ban it from the facility outright. The Council requested that the Board reconsider their position at their next meeting held September 30, which they voted 4-2 to send a new recommendation to the Council allowing the consumption of alcohol during private events, but not allowing the sale of it. If passed, the new policy would require permission to bring alcohol into the building.
The Recreation Department has begun packing in preparation for the move, which will take place the week of October 14 through 18. The last day of full operation at the current Senior Center will be Friday, October 11. Official move out day is October 18, when services completely cease at the old building.
The building, located at 301 E. Main St., has been listed for sale since June. There were a number of parties who expressed interest in purchasing the building but no buyer has been identified as of last week. The City decided to republish the listing and continue searching for a buyer.
The November 5 election will also be held at the new Community Center for city residents. Typically, the election is held in the City Hall Auditorium, but has been moved due to damage to the elevator system during an electrical storm, making the upstairs inaccessible for ADA standards.
The Senior Center and Recreation Department will be located on the west side of the building while the Food Pantry and REACH Waupun will be located on the east side.
The official ribbon cutting ceremony for the new building will be held on Tuesday, December 3, just under 15 months after breaking ground in September 2023.
Updated 10/4/2024 5:24PM — Clarified the decision made by the Park & Recreation Board regarding the alcohol issue.
