Morris Twp. celebrates new community center
Morris Township residents will again have a space for meetings, banquets, weddings and other community functions — and in a spot they know well.
The township hosted a ribbon cutting at the newly built community center Sept. 27, coinciding with the annual 5K run.
“We should get our occupancy permit next week, so we’ll be ready to go and start using it full time again,” township Supervisor Roger Creech said Thursday.
The new center is built on the footprint of the old one, a former school building dating back to the early 20th century, Creech said. After mine subsidence issues nearly split the building apart, the township closed the center, tearing it down last year, he said.
Until it became too unsafe a few years ago, the center had been used as a certified Red Cross cooling and warming shelter. And it had been more: a fitness center, community center, police headquarters, school training room, Head Start classroom and food bank.
When the old building was torn down, the township shut the fitness center down and stored the equipment. The Greene Washington Regional Police Department temporarily relocated to Morris Township in Washington County, which it also serves.
The township received a coal company settlement pre-COVID that was to be put toward a new center, Creech said. But construction costs ballooned after the pandemic, particularly for steel.
Act 13 revenue from natural gas made up most of the difference, combining with the settlement money to cover 95% of the $2.5 million cost. Township funds were used for the rest.
Some of the people touring the center on Sept. 27 had already taken in 5 kilometers worth of sights. Tammy Yukon began the BattleAxe 5K four years ago with her husband and cousin as a fundraiser for the township fire department.
When they learned about the new center, Yukon said, they had an idea: Why not do the ribbon-cutting on the same day?
The run includes a 5K trail run and a 5K obstacle run on the same course, along with a 1-mile race for children. About 100 people signed up in all, and most runners were back in time to catch the noon ribbon-cutting.
The fire department also cooked a chicken roast dinner at the community center.
“Oh my goodness, the smiles on everyone’s faces that day,” Yukon said. “It’s just a really, really neat community event. It turned out really well.”
Yukon’s looking forward to the center opening back up.
“It’s really beautiful,” she said. “They did a nice job on it.”
Unlike the old building, the new center is wheelchair-accessible, with another new wheelchair ramp leading to the pavilion in back.
Feedback from the ribbon-cutting was 100% positive, Creech said. With occupancy right around the corner, township residents are already excited about returning to the center.
“We’ve already got a lot of people wanting to use it,” he said. “We’re already booking people now to go back into it again.”