New Prospects in Proposed Platte Valley Aquatic Center

MAY 9, 2025 |

Photo – Drawing of proposed aquatic center – Courtesy Nick Haderlie

In Saratoga, a proposed Platte Valley Aquatic Center project appears to have some new life.

In 2022, local attorney Nick Haderlie presented a plan to construct a large-scale, indoor, water sports facility in town. Haderlie commissioned a design and feasibility study for the proposed Platte Valley Aquatic Center, which showed that the facility was expected to cost between $12.5 and $16 million.

At the time, Haderlie told the Town Council that he was confident he could raise the money for the lower priced, $12.5 million, design. The attorney asked the governing body to consider a 50-year lease for town-owned land on West Elm Street, between the Saratoga Public Library and the middle high school. If the project were to fall through, ownership of the land and any buildings constructed in the meantime would revert to the town.

Running a large aquatic center is not cheap. Haderlie estimated that the facility would cost roughly $750,000 a year to operate.

The attorney suggested having the town use Saratoga’s entire recreation budget to underwrite a non-profit organization formed specifically to underwrite and manage the aquatic center.

Members of the governing body expressed concerns over the proposed lease agreement. During the December 6^th, 2022, Saratoga Town Council meeting, Councilman Jon Nelson wondered if the town was moving too fast by signing a legally binding agreement without knowing if or how the project would be fully funded.

At the time, with a new town council coming on board, the governing body decided to let the future town government decide the matter. However, the proposed Platte Valley Aquatic Center was not readdressed by the new council, and the project appeared to have been forgotten.

Nick Haderlie wasn’t finished with the project.

During the March 4^th Saratoga Town Council meeting, Councilman Bub Barkhurst, the governing body’s liaison to the Recreation Commission, announced that representatives from Brush Creek Ranch had reached out to Bruce and Beth White, the ranch’s current owners, about funding the project.

A representative from Brush Creek Ranch, present at the meeting, informed the governing body that Beth White supported the project and that she was working to arrange a future meeting between Haderlie and White.

During the May 6^th Saratoga Town Council meeting, Planning Commission Chairwoman McCall Burau asked for an update on the project.

Councilman Barkhurst said the matter hasn’t been discussed by the Recreation Commission since February. The councilman said he believed that Haderlie and representatives from Brush Creek Ranch were still in talks about funding the facility.

Former council member Kathy Beck referred to a lease agreement the governing body chose not to adopt in 2022. Beck explained that Haderlie is unlikely to secure funding without a signed contract.

Beck explained the original lease agreement safeguarded the town in case Haderlie was unable to secure funding for the project. If the necessary money wasn’t raised within a set timeframe, the contract would be canceled.

Mayor Chuck Davis said he was not given a lease agreement to review when he took office in 2023. Mayor Davis offered to have Town Attorney Kylie Waldrip examine the original contract, but said he was unwilling to sign the lease agreement until Haderlie secured funding for the project.

Planning Commission Chairwoman McCall Burau stated that Haderlie told the Recreation Board he felt the previous Town Council was asking him to secure all necessary funding for the aquatic center before signing the lease agreement. Burau said with a signed contract in hand, Haderlie would be more likely to find financial support for the project.

Mayor Davis offered to read the original lease agreement and, if the governing body agrees, send it to Town Attorney Waldrip for review.