The Montgomery City Council voted on Tuesday to approve an amended agreement with the Montgomery County Community Cooperative District (MCCCD) after it requested $500,000 to continue funding the Montgomery Whitewater waterpark.
The amended agreement, which the council narrowly approved after four members abstained or voted no, gives the MCCCD $500,000 for the next three years, starting with this year. It is also the third amendment offered in the agreement between the council and the MCCCD.
Two weeks ago, the council delayed voting on the one-time request for $500,000, after several on the city balked at the years-long tension between he shared financial burden between the Montgomery City Council and the Montgomery County Commission.
According to board chairman Cornelius "C.C." Calhoun, the money requested is part of the City's initial agreement with the county from 2019.
"The county was asking for $250,000 per year from the City to help, so what happened in the meantime in the last three years, the county did not invoice the City of Montgomery the $250,000 a year,” Clahoun said at the last meeting. “So, we gave $250,000 this year to the county to assist with Whitewater. And they're in need of the other $500,000. So, the ordinance that we passed said that we would only do $250,000 per year, and now they're asking for the additional that they didn't bill for."
The new agreement appears to double the initial agreement, with the City consenting to give the MCCCD $500,000 annually. The resolution passed with no discussion by a vote of 5-1, with three abstentions.
The park has been the source of tension between the city council and county commission due to its continued demand for more money while failing to turn a profit.
The funding issues began before the park ever opened. The project eventually carried a $90 million price tag, up from initial estimates.
The MCCCD took out bonds, accepted donated land and $10 million from the City, accepted county funding, and a donation from the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.
In December 2024, at a county commission meeting, commission chairman Doug Singelton claimed that while the City is enjoying the benefits of the waterpark, it is not equally shouldering the financial burden.
City council members have pointed to their own perceived inequities with the entire project, frequently pointing to the vastly larger resources available to the county.
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