WSAC Receives Big Financial Boost From State

Dave Anderson

Appropriation for the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center


 

On Wednesday, July 5, 2023, Governor Evers signed the 2023-2025 State of Wisconsin budget which included a grant for the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center in the amount of $920,000.

 

(2) WALTER SCHROEDER AQUATIC CENTER IN THE VILLAGE OF BROWN DEER. From the appropriation under s. 20.505 (1) (fp), the department of administration shall award a grant to the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center in the village of Brown Deer.

                

The grant is to fund the three most important capital needs of the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center (WSAC):

 

  1. Repairs to the space (interior and exterior) above the 10 M platform and replacement of the final southern ⅓ of the roof.  (the northern ⅔ rds was completed in the fall of 2020) (summers 2023 & 2024)

 

  1. Replacement of the athlete seating bleachers on the east side of the pool (last done in 2000) (late 2023 or March 2024)

 

  1. Renovation of both the men’s and women’s locker rooms. (End of summer 2024)

     

At this time, the process for receiving the funds is not known but the target for the completion of the projects is noted above.  The amount of funding is close to the estimate to complete the projects.

 

History of the Grant

 

By the fall of 2018, WSAC, Ltd had tried unsuccessfully to gain financing for repairs to the high exterior wall that is now covered with blue siding.  During that period, David Anderson and Eric Knight happened to have a conversation at a meet at WSAC.  Eric had swum on Schroeder as a kid, is a part time coach with Badger Aquatic Club in Madison and he and his father work in the state tourism advocacy / lobbying space (Knight Public Affairs).  Dave explained the problem of the exterior wall and it rang a bell about funding from the state for a ski jump in La Crosse.

 

Wisconsin Swimming had funded the Knight Public Affairs until recently to advocate for pools and club programs and so this concept of gaining state funding fit within their charge.

 

Over the next years, Dave and Eric worked together on several possible ways to find state funding.  Then Rep. Dan Knodl (he is now a Senator) had visited WSAC and began to work on behalf of the facility.  In early 2020, Dave went to Madison to testify at an Assembly committee and later he returned with athlete Ziyad Saleem to testify before a Senate committee in early March and then the legislature never met with the onset of the pandemic.

 

We tried again through various American Rescue Plan avenues and got close in 2021-22 to receiving funding under the Tourism Capital Recovery Program in the Governor’s Badger Bounceback program but in the end we were denied.

 

In 2023, the Governor had a large funding piece in his proposed budget around support for tourism.  It was removed from the budget but Sen. Knodl worked to have relevant specific appropriation language included in the State budget which passed through the Joint Finance Committee, the Senate and finally the Assembly. 

 

Brown Deer’s Village Manager, Tyler Burkart, helped to invite area legislators to tour the facility during the final stages of the budget process and Rep. Deb Andraca did come and she pledged her support for the funding.  Other legislators and community leaders were engaged and asked to be supportive of the appropriations.

 

Perhaps the best of all stories is of Schroeder swimmer, Governor Silas Toppe.  Silas will be a Senior at Homestead HS and was nominated by his school to participate in Badger Boys State.  Silas ran for Governor and won after several rounds of voting.  Silas met Governor Evers at the convention at UW - Eau Claire and even spoke about swimming.  Governor Toppe sent Governor Evers a letter encouraging Gov Evers to not use his veto pen and to support the WSAC-specific language.

 

The WSAC is unique in that we are not affiliated or supported by a local municipality, educational institution, or larger nonprofit organization.  For this reason, fundraising & support will be needed into the future to ensure our continued operation.  We are very fortunate and appreciative of the hard work, dedication, and donations of our supporters and community.

Many people along the way have helped secure the funding which WSAC was granted.  In the end, this appropriation will significantly help to secure WSAC’s future for additional generations of competitive aquatic participants!