Letter to the Editor: Careful planning on multi-use building
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When I was a member of the City Council, we started working on improvements to our parks.
It started with a splash pad idea and grew into a plan to renovate the adjacent pool area. That plan also had its critics, but the City and the Council persevered. In the end, the community got a state-of-the-art splash pad and a very nice pool area for a fraction of the cost of what some area cities are now paying for municipal aquatic areas.
In May 2018, Pickering Associates presented a master plan for the City Park and Southwood Park to the city council and the public. A multi-use building for the City Park was one of the highlights of the presentation.
The premise that this is a hurried idea with little planning or opportunity for input is simply not accurate. In 2018 members of the administration visited Cambridge, Ohio, and toured their multi-use building for ideas and they reached out to other cities for info about their similar facilities.
Some are trying to turn the proposed multi-use building into something it was never intended to be. This facility is for the children, adults and seniors of our city. And while I'm sure that businesses and organizations could schedule use of the facility, the focus of this facility should be for the citizens.
It's been troublesome to see so many questionable locations being suggested. These suggestions seem to be based upon the wants of a few private businesses and quasi-government non profit organizations, rather than the actual needs of citizens. This should not be sold as a development tool, or as a conduit of financial gain for a few area movers and shakers.
Building capacity is estimated to be 1,000 people. 1,000 people regularly visit many of the festivals and events held at the City Park for an afternoon or evening. Plus given the excellent location, I believe that many nearby residents will simply just walk to the facility.
We can all agree that safer parks are better parks, and the new police substation in the design will be a great feature.
Parkersburg has a chance to show a commitment to improving the quality of life of our town. People and companies from outside the area will see this, and hopefully it can play a part in helping to regrow our population base. Let's not drop the ball.
Jeff Fox
Parkersburg