Kudos to court for rec center decision
There’s good news for the Greene County Hospital Foundation and for county residents.
A week ago, Greene County Judge Farley Toothman ruled a restriction on a property deed will not prevent the foundation from constructing a recreation center on Oakview Drive in Franklin Township.
The foundation proposed building a 44,500 square-foot public recreation center containing an indoor soccer field, basketball court, fitness center and multipurpose rooms on 7.6 acres of land it will purchase from the Waynesburg Lions Club.
The foundation filed a motion with the court in March seeking a declaratory judgment on an issue regarding a restriction in the deed on the land belonging to the Lions Club. The deed, originally conveyed by Grover C. and Marie C. Powell, prohibits construction of any buildings other than those to be used for “recreational purposes and/or residential purposes.”
But it also states “no business or professions shall be practiced or carried out upon any of the aforesaid tract of land.”
The foundation is constructing a building for recreation, but it stated in its motion that in order to carry out the purpose for which the center is to be used, it may employ certain professions. These may include administrative personnel, athletic trainers, fitness trainers, health educators, coaches and health professionals, the motion said.
The foundation claimed the deed restriction is unenforceable in regard to the foundation’s use of the property for a recreation center.
Sixty-two property owners whose land is included in the Powell tract, and who also have the same restriction regarding business and professions in their deeds, were asked to agree that the foundation’s proposed use of the land would not violate the deed restriction.
Of those, 59 signed documents in favor of the foundation’s plan and eight never responded, according to Toothman’s ruling.
Whether the foundation contracts with a business or professionals for specialized recreational services or provides them with volunteers, “ultimately the facility is still being used for a recreational purpose, which the grantor permitted as a top priority,” Toothman wrote.
Toothman ruled the deed restriction is unenforceable in regard to the proposed recreation center and we find it ludicrous to assume a recreation center can be operated without professionals working there.
We have held this recreation center is a grand idea for Greene County, and we applaud the foundation’s foresight, recognizing such a facility is needed in the county.
The county’s five school districts have gymnasiums and weight rooms, but we would guess those are used primarily by the students of the respective districts.
The public at large is, more or less, shut out from having a place to go to participate in fitness-related activities.
Dave Jones, the foundation’s executive director, said the foundation must wait to see if Toothman’s ruling is appealed before moving ahead with its plans. We hope his project does not get mired in litigation because of some technical language in a deed.
Too often, we hear people bemoan the fact there is nothing to do in Greene County, no place to go to have fun.
Well, if all goes according to plan, and the recreation center becomes a reality, we should no longer be hearing those complaints.
By taking the initiative to go forward with this ambitious project, the foundation is following its purpose and mission. And we are pleased the court recognized that.