Plans for an indoor tennis facility in Oak Harbor appear to have stalled.

The Oak Harbor School District and the Whidbey Island Tennis Association can’t come up with a lease that satisfies state regulations.

WITA officials want to build an indoor tennis facility and had hoped to build it on the old tennis courts located on school district property behind the Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce off Highway 20.

Superintendent Rick Schulte said the school district can’t declare the property WITA wants to use as surplus. That declaration is needed before the school district can lease land to an outside entity.

The property is needed for the school district to keep an agreement with the state that allowed construction of North Whidbey Middle School. The school district also accepted matching money from the state based on that agreement. Schulte said the school district can’t go back on an agreement that was worked out in good faith.

The tennis association has been working for years to build an indoor tennis facility. Volunteers have raised more than $1 million to pay for construction.

However, finding a place for the courts has proved to be a daunting task.

In recent years, WITA members have approached the city, the North Whidbey Park and Recreation District and the Oak Harbor School District about the indoor tennis building. However, WITA hasn’t been able to get a lease with any of these governmental entities.

Fred Henninger, president of the Whidbey Island Tennis Association, was critical of Schulte’s decision regarding the lease.

“He’s the only one not working to get this thing done,” Henninger said. He also showed a letter, dated in 2001, signed by Schulte, highlighting the school district’s support of the proposal.

Henninger noted that the Chamber of Commerce currently has a building on school district property and he wanted to know why the similar deal can’t be worked out for WITA.

Schulte said the chamber has had a building on the property long before North Whidbey Middle School was built.

As for the tennis facility, he said the school district can’t surplus the land that would allow for the lease.

WITA members have had trouble fund-raising because they don’t have land for a building.

“We haven’t got a site for it,” Henninger said. He added it will take less than $2 million to pay for construction.

Without a lease, however, WITA members have had trouble finding additional donations.

Once they have a lease, Henninger said another fund-raising drive would take place to pay for the remainder of the building.

With the failure of finding a lease with three different public entities, Schulte recommended WITA find other land, either through purchase or donation, and build the indoor tennis facility privately.

Henninger said the IRS prohibits an organization such as WITA from owning and operating a building and the association needs public support for construction to take place.

He said WITA members hope to speak at an upcoming school board meeting to plead their case for the indoor tennis facility.