The Bakke Recreation & Wellbeing Center scheduled to open on April 24

By Natasha Hicks STAFF WRITER

The University of WisconsinMadison announced the newly constructed Bakke Recreation & Wellbeing Center will open on April 24 on the site of the old Natatorium.

The new center will include features such as dedicated space for wellbeing services, like a teaching kitchen and spaces dedicated to supporting mental health, a 25-yard recreational pool, eight basketball courts, an ice rink, a climbing and bouldering wall, sports stimulators, multipurpose studios, an indoor jogging track and a rooftop fitness area, according to Sarah Barnes, associate director of marketing and communications at University Recreation & Wellbeing.

While many of these features are similar to those of the Nicholas Recreation Center, the climbing and bouldering wall, 4,300 square feet dedicated to wellbeing services and rooftop fitness area, will be unique to the Bakke.

“I’m excited for the open area on the roof. None of the other rec centers have that option,” UW-Madison freshman Laura Bush said.

Like the Nicholas Recreation Center, the Bakke will contain sports courts, group fitness classes and cardio and strength equipment. The biggest difference between the two fitness centers is location, as the Bakke is in the Lakeshore neighborhood of campus next to the Lakeshore Path and Lake Mendota.

Students who live in Lakeshore expressed excitement for the Bakke to open because of the close proximity to where they live.

“It will be nice for those living in Lakeshore to have a gym close to us that has the variety of workout options the Nick does,” UW-Madison freshman Jordan Gross said.

Bush echoed this sentiment, explaining, “I am excited for it to open; it is going to be very nice to have a quality gym in Lakeshore. However, I would have liked if we could have had it open [earlier].”

On the other hand, sophomore Aaron Lebakken is most excited for there to be “less people at the Nick.”

With the opening of the Bakke, two other RecWell facilities will close: the Shell on April 19 and the Holt Fitness Center on April 2, according to Rec Well’s latest update. Though the buildings will stay, the Shell will return to UW Athletics’ domain and the upper floor of the Frank Holt Center will return to University Housing.

While many students are excited for the Bakke, some students shared they are upset about losing the Shell as a RecWell Facility.

“I am going to miss the Shell because the Shell is grunge,” UW-Madison freshman Erik Peterson said. “I love it.”

Bush said she will also miss the Shell and Holt Fitness Center, noting they are great facilities for beginners in working out.

“Those spaces are both typically not too busy and a nice place for beginners,” Bush said. “Without these, it might be scarier for newer students to feel comfortable.”

The biggest concern expressed by some students is a loss of access to the Shell’s indoor track. Though the Bakke will have a three-lane indoor track, it will not be a full-size 200-meter track like the one at the Shell.

“I loved running on the indoor track,” freshman Caleb Ekezie said.

Lebakken echoed this sentiment — “I think it’s absolutely ridiculous that a university like us will not have a full-size indoor track. How does that make sense?”

While the Shell was designed for athletic competitions and is home to men and women’s track and field, the new facility is designed for recreational use, according to Barnes.

“The track located at Bakke is an indoor running/jogging track for recreational use only, similar to the on the fourth floor at the Nick,” Barnes explained. “The one at the Shell is a 200-meter track for athletic competition.” and stock clerks across the district, according to Larson. He said the district allocates for 217 employees in those departments.

Though some students expressed they will miss the Shell, they remain excited about the Bakke’s new features and proximity to the Lakeshore neighborhood.

“I’m just looking forward to having a good quality gym in Lakeshore,” Gross said.

“People are starting to get burnt out, hurt, feeling under-appreciated because no matter how much time you put in, the work is not going to be done,” he said. “We’re just short too many people.”

Larson said many school board members have been reluctant to consider motions to give maintenance workers a pay increase.

“It’s almost like they’ve been advised not to bring it up,” he said. “The board won’t even discuss it.”

“I’ll be real with you — people are feeling it,” custodian Matthew Ayala said during the board meeting. “We’re there for you, we got your back and we are hoping you guys got ours.”

District spokesperson Tim LeMonds said this group represented the lowest paid groups with starting salaries about $2 per hour less than custodians.

“We provided education assistants and food service workers a $5-per-hour increase to align their starting pay to that of the starting pay of custodial sta ,” LeMonds said in an email. “The starting rate for a building custodian is now almost identical to the starting rate for educational assistant and food service units.”

Outgoing Superintendent Dr. Carlton Jenkins said the district can only a ord to give raises where they are needed most, as the district has not received enough funding from the state. LeMonds said the district is trying to assist sta within budget constraints.

“The district continues to look for ways to appropriately value our custodial sta as we continue to navigate the very significant budgetary constraints that all school districts in Wisconsin are currently facing,” LeMonds added.

In an interview with The Daily Cardinal, maintenance worker Robert Larson emphasized that he and his colleagues are not limited to the role of a custodian. Various responsibilities include snow removal, tree removal, lawn care, playground installation and handling internal deliveries for the school. Operating responsibilities include plumbing, heating and electrical work.

There are currently 195 maintenance workers, custodians, equipment operators, grounds clerks

Larson criticized the school board for wavering on the issue.

“You’re making million-dollar decisions and you have no idea what you’re voting for,” Larson emphasized.

School board member Nicki Vander Meulen said she supports the workers’ push for a pay increase.

“It’s a stagnant issue,” Vander Meulen said. “I’m seeing classrooms aren’t as clean. I’m hearing from custodians themselves.”

Vander Meulen said that if the school is unable to clear snow or ice, they are unable to operate, which results in school closures. She said she was told shortly after approving the raises for other employees the board would then focus on custodians, but “no talks have happened since that vote.”

“It’s very frustrating because these are people,” she said. “These are our workers, and we’re paying under what other places are paying. People aren’t getting what they need to get.”

Larson said he believes the school board could have provided employees a “little bit [of] a smaller raise and included us in it.”

“We’re the only group that worked all the way through the pandemic,” he said. “We were there every day.”

A maintenance crew raise would mean MMSD could compete with other districts, attract quality workers and ensure a positive impact on students, according to Meulen.

“Without a doubt, we cannot be competitive without it,” Vander Meulen noted.

Vander Meulen said the raise would allow maintenance workers to get paid more fairly for their work.

“Anytime we leave anyone out, it’s not progressive,” Vander Meulen said. “Everyone deserves to be paid for their work and be prepared to pay the living wage, and right now we’re not doing that.”