Niles park board reviews lease for wellness center

NILES — The city’s park board has agreed with a proposal to assume supervisory control of the Wellness Center in Waddell Park should a tenant lease the money-losing facility.

“It needs to run better than it is today,” Atty. Douglas Neuman, former Niles law director, told the board this afternoon.

The center is financed by the city’s general fund. Its annual operating losses played a role in the state auditor’s declaration of fiscal emergency more than two years ago.

“[The center] lost more than $1 million dollars in the last eight years, and we can’t keep funding it with income-tax money,” said Neuman who was hired by the city to draft the lease.

“I’m looking forward to helping out,” said Paul Hake, the most recent appointment to the three-member board. Hake and David Wilkerson, a board member and former councilman, attended the meeting. A third member, Robert Mannella, did not.

The lease, which is expected to be approved by city council at its Wednesday meeting, authorizes the board to conduct regular inspections and maintain grounds and landscaping. There would no longer be city employees on the center’s payroll.

For the complete story, read Tuesday's Vindicator and Vindy.com