(Photo by Gwen Sour)
Ellisha Seabolt discusses Parkersburg’s First Stigma Reduction at Parkersburg City Council’s meeting on Tuesday night.
PARKERSBURG — Parkersburg City Council confirmed a new 47,000-square-foot recreation center will be built on the site of the City Park pavilion with a supplemental resolution during their regular meeting Tuesday night.
The resolution adds to an ordinance approved in August authorizing the Municipal Building Commission to issue up to $15 million in revenue bonds to fund the construction and equipment of the proposed recreation center and a replacement for Fire Station 3. The city will lease the properties back from the commission, with its payments going to repay the revenue bonds.
The supplemental resolution specified the properties to be transferred to the commission – the pavilion site and a lot in the 700 block of Briant Street which the city recently purchased from the neighboring Seventh Street United Methodist Church for the fire station.
The resolution passed on an 8-1 vote, with Councilman J.R. Carpenter opposed and Councilman Chris Rexroad participating by phone.
Prior to the vote, Carpenter said he did not see a difference between the new resolution and the ordinance council passed, except that the bonds to be issued were not specified in the ordinance.
(Photo by Gwen Sour)
Parkersburg resident Dan Stevens discusses a “glass half-full” mentality toward the new recreation center tol be built in City Park during Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
Bond counsel John Stump addressed the differences between the supplemental resolution and the original ordinance.
“The ordinance provides that before actually proceeding (with) the issuance of bonds, we’re going to come back to City Council for a supplemental resolution,” he said. “Primary reason for that is the ordinance itself authorized (an amount) not to exceed $15 million….”
The ordinance was enacted prior to the city receiving bids for the project, Stump said, and the hope was the amount needed would actually be lower than $15 million. However, that was not the case and the full amount will be needed, he said.
“(I) said that we would be back here with the supplemental resolution once we had active bids in hand because we didn’t know how much the bond issue was going to pay,” said Stump, “Now the supplemental resolution itself does have property restrictions attached … so that does fill out the specific location” for the facilities.
During the public forum portion, several individuals agreed that the location of the recreation center in Parkersburg City Park would be an asset to the community.
(Photo by Art Smith)
A person walks by the pavilion in Parkersburg City Park Tuesday. The pavilion is set to be torn down soon to make way for a 47,000-square-foot recreation center.
“There’s been lots of plans and revisions and the whole project … has been funded in a fiscally sound way,” said Dan Stevens, a Parkersburg resident, “I believe in looking at this project as a glass that is half full. I’m excited about the project and as a citizen, taxpayer and a landowner who loves this city … it’s time to go forward.”
At the park Wednesday, Vincent resident Kim Pepper said her goodbyes to the pavilion.
“I grew up in Florida but we would come visit my grandparents who lived over here,” said Pepper, “It’s sad, but it’s in bad shape … hopefully (the recreation center) will be a good, safe, clean place for kids to do fun activities and stay out of trouble.”
Passage of the resolution clears the way for the nearly 100-year-old facility to be torn down. Mayor Tom Joyce said items that are being kept have been removed from the building, and workers with Jimmie Harper Construction were at the facility Tuesday and Wednesday preparing for the demolition, which is expected to start soon, although a specific date has not been announced.
Also during the public forum, two individuals from Parkersburg’s First Stigma Reduction spoke to bring awareness to harm reduction resources in the Mid-Ohio Valley. Parkersburg’s First Stigma Reduction is a nonprofit organization that aims to “clean up the community” according to Ellisha Seabolt.
“Our mission is to provide stigma-free support and harm reduction services, education and resources to individuals affected by addiction to promote long-term recovery within our community,” she said.
Within the first month of the group’s existence, they held an event called “Save a Life Day” where they distributed Narcan and Fentanyl test trips to the community, Seabolt said. Additionally, they provided 90 meals, along with Narcan kits, to families in need. Parkersburg’s First Stigma Reduction also collaborates with recovery homes and treatment centers to create a support network for those in recovery and were able to refer two individuals to treatment services for substance use issues. Seabolt and Sara Smith said they attended the meeting to highlight a need to receive funding and support from the city to continue their mission of assisting the community. More information on Parkersburg’s First Stigma Reduction is available via email parkersburgstigmareduction@gmail.com or on Facebook.