Montgomery Whitewater Funding Removed from State Education Budget

Money for Montgomery Whitewater has been removed from the proposed state education budget that is working its way through the Alabama Senate.

Gov. Kay Ivey had proposed giving the Montgomery County Commission $25 million from the education budget to help fund Montgomery Whitewater, which is due to open this summer. The project is over budget.

While the education budget has a $2.7 billion surplus, some had raised questions about spending education dollars on a non-education project.

WAKA 8 has talked to Sen. Kirk Hatcher (D-Montgomery), who is a member of the Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee. He says he and fellow Sen. Will Barfoot (R-Pike Road) are working on a resolution to the issue.

Montgomery Whitewater is a 120-acre outdoor recreation complex that will offer paddling, canoeing, zip lines, ropes courses and several other attractions.  It is under construction just off Maxwell Boulevard between Interstate 65 and Maxwell Air Force Base.