Weddings, basketball leagues, instructional classes, and even roller derby; the Martins Ferry Rec Center has been a versatile facility through the years, hosting a number of different events.
Mayor John Davies and the city council members are looking to increase the center’s offerings and transform it into a community hub, not just for Martins Ferry, but for residents of the Ohio Valley at large.
That was made evident this week when city government opted to take over operation of the rec center from the Martins Ferry Park District, a separate entity. The district will still be in charge of staffing and running the pool. But the city is handling indoor rec-center operations going forward.
It’s also sinking some money into the facility off the bat to get the ball rolling.
“We’re in there now, upgrading, doing some painting, remove the old tile floor, cleaning the basketball court,” Davies said. “Our goal is to utilize the building for all citizens, young, elderly, and everyone in between. The park district has limited funds and they really couldn’t staff it the way it needed to be.
“It was costing the city about $35,000-$590,000 per year for the utilities. In order for us to generate that type of revenue, we’ll take back the building, rent it out for all different kinds of events, and that money will go back into the fund.
“My goal is to increase our general fund, that’s the financial goal of it.”
Once the upgrades are complete, Davies said the city will likely need to hire a director for the facility. But more importantly, he’s foreseeing a point where not only will the income generated cover the utility costs, but also add a little extra into the city’s general fund.
Again, that’s the financial angle of the plan. It’s not the only angle.
“The overall goal is we want to give the citizens more options, more things to do in town,” Davies said. “We want to increase the programs for the kids, offer training sessions, hosting adult leagues, and we’re looking at putting a golf simulator inside so people can practice golf.
“We can even host roller skating, teen dances—the main goal is to utilize the building to the fullest of its potential.”
Community Helping Out
Davies noted that eventually, the city will devise a monthly amount to charge that will allow members to access all the facility offers. One big addition is a big upgrade to the weight room. Martins Ferry High School donated its old weight equipment from the field house at the football field, free of charge, to the park district.
The current weight room will receive a full cleaning, with new weight mats installed to provide the necessary durable flooring. The room, potentially rooms, will receive a fresh coat of paint. The design of the upgraded weight facility is still up in the air.
“It’s a building in progress. We’re not sure yet what the end result is going to be, but we’re thinking about putting in a women’s weight room too,” Davies said. “There are two big areas, both a women’s and men’s locker room, so if we have enough interest, we can have two separate weight rooms.
“It depends on interest, but it seems to be promising right now s we have a lot of phone calls.”
The possibility of lengthier hours for the weight room, as well as the facility, is a possibility. The city will be installing cameras in all portions of the facility—save the restrooms obviously—that can be viewed up at the police station and dispatch office.
Davies mentioned the possibility of having a camera and buzzer system, so that city employees working in the police dispatch officer could view identification or a membership card after hours and buzz the members into the facility.
“We could buzz people in and out. We’ll have cameras, so if something goes wrong, we’ll have cameras and be able to see what happened and help out.”
The weight room could be a big boost for the community, as the county’s largest city doesn’t have a facility like the ones in St. Clairsville and Wheeling, nearby.
But the donated weights aren’t the only helping hand the city’s received. Unified Bank previously donated $25,000 for the baseball field at the city park to help build a new batting facility and the bank also said it would donate another $25,000 to help with a matching grant the city is looking to obtain.
“Unified has really stepped up, and other groups like the Lions Club and other civic groups are coming forward to help out,” Davies said. “We have great community partners. They are all on board in helping to do anything to make Martins Ferry a better place.”
Davies also noted he city workers are on board as well. City employees, when workload permits, have been down at the rec center, working on remodeling and painting and pitching in where needed.
“No one complains that this isn’t in my job description,” Davies said. “They know it’s for the community and they jump on board and have it.”
Give the People What They Want
Davies is a fairly open guy and makes himself available to citizens in ways most mayors don’t. For instance, he’s posted his personal cell on city social media sites in order for city residents to get in contact him with any ideas.
Those citizens do get in contact and discuss a number of ideas. And the mayor listens.
“I asked the people what they wanted in there, and we received a number of different ideas from cornhole to basketball, whiffle ball, etc.,” the mayor said.
The high school also donated a batting cage, which will be utilized inside the rec center. The city is looking at obtaining another one so that there will be two.
Roller skating is also an option. The main hurdle at the moment, after obtaining a number of different sized skates to rent out, is where to house them in the rec center in order for use. Given the recent closure of the skate facility in Moundsville, it’s left a void for roller skating possibilities in the valley.
Could Martins Ferry become a hub for that recreational activity? It’s a possibility.
It goes in line with the city’s overall plan of upgrading and expanding opportunities for its citizens.
At the city park, the money from Unified will be utilized to build the batting facility in the spot where the current basketball court is. The plan is to remove the basketball court for the batting facility.
Fear not basketball fans, however. When the court is removed, a new one will be built on the other side of the rec center on property the city owns and isn’t currently utilizing. While barely out of the exploratory stages, the city is still looking at the splash park for near the pool as well.
“We’re starting to get some backing and funding for that,” Davies admitted. “We’re going to do big things n that park here in the next couple of years. It’s just a matter of being opportunistic and capitalizing on all these opportunities.”
