by Carrie Moritz, Gazette
At Monday night’s city council meeting, Marcia Gnadt of the Jesse James Players stepped up during public comment for an impassioned plea- it is beyond time for Garretson to build a community center.
With the loss of the Jesse James Opera House and the Senior Citizens Center early last year due to a roof leak and subsequent mold infestation, the acting troupe, which has been in service to the community since the 80’s and has over 60 active members, no longer has a place to perform or practice. Per Gnadt, they have been blessed enough to find temporary practice space at Zion Lutheran Church, but unless another entity agrees to host space for up to two weeks, they have no place to perform. Currently, the Legion is unable to accommodate that request.
The senior citizens of this community no longer have a place to gather for a noon meal and afternoon fellowship. The Meals on Wheels program ended a few years ago due to a lack of funding, but without the Senior Center, there is no way for that program to get back off the ground if funding is re-invested.
The children of the community have no place to go during the winter months to run off some steam, have positive time with friends, or host non-school-sanctioned activities. The school has been unwilling in the past to host open gym for the public, with a policy of school use first, citing an over-full schedule.
City Hall is too small, the windows are rotten and in severe need of replacement, and there’s no way for that building to grow. The City administration is also in need of increasing its number of office staff, but has no way to provide working space. There is also nothing available for contractors or others in need of temporary meeting or working space.
The Legion is the only facility available for wedding parties, dances, and other community functions. If it’s already in use, those looking for a space have to go to other towns, which means the community loses out on revenue, fellowship, and other opportunities.
These arguments, and more, were brought up during Monday’s meeting, and the council agreed that the need for a new community center is vast and past due. The council believed forming a committee would be the best way to move forward, but disagreed on whether that committee should be made up of council members only or a mix of council and community members. However, due to two councilors not being in attendance, they agreed to table a request for proposals until February’s meeting.
Council member Jodi Gloe noted, however, that the council doesn’t “want to rush it, but it needs to happen sooner rather than later.”
The last time a new community center was explored, it was voted down due to cost and scale. However, the community cannot afford to put off building a new center any longer. It’s up to all of us to ensure this project moves forward, and serves the community for its needs. It’s important that it does not outpace the community in scale (one of the aims of the last proposal was an indoor pool), but will be available to serve as many members of Garretson as it can for a long time in the future.
It’s past time for this project to happen. The community is growing, Palisades Park is growing, and no movement forward will only work to the detriment of the town.
