March 26, 2024
PARKERSBOURG — Petitions are circulating calling for the construction of a $13 million activity and recreation center in City Park in the November election.
“We’re getting signatures,” said Sherry Dugan, who is also expected to be in that poll as a possible Democratic mayoral nominee. “Let’s give other people a choice of where they should go. . . We’re not saying we don’t need a network hub; We just don’t like the location.
City Park, in particular the site of the nearly 100-year-old pavilion, has been the proposed location for the task since the renderings were unveiled through Pickering Associates in March 2023. Some citizens continue to oppose the location of the building in this location, saying it could have an adverse effect on the character of the park and cause traffic and parking problems.
A feasibility study conducted by Pickering rated the park as the most productive of the five sites considered, and has input from the mayor and some members of the Parkersburg City Council. However, Councilmember Chris Rexroad said at a recent budget hearing that he opposed it because of feedback from his constituents and Councilmember J. R. Carpenter said Monday that he was in favor of the petition effort.
“I’m in favor of making an investment (in) this facility. The only question is the location,” Carpenter said. Personally, the city park is owned by other people, tax dollars go to this facility, and I think other people deserve to know if the money goes to the park or not. “
Councilman Zach Stanley said the park is the most logical choice.
“For me, it’s very simple. It’s a replacement for the pavilion. . . for the 21st century,” he said. It doesn’t make sense to me to implement it. “
Mayor Tom Joyce, the lone Republican mayoral candidate, said he believes elected officials do their homework and make the decision, not “throw” it on voters.
“It’s not something I think should be voted on,” he said, adding that there is a referendum on his role and that of the board every four years.
A copy of the petition provided through Felice Jorgeson, who lives near City Park, says the park “is not an appropriate position and deserves for citizens to make a decision. . . Therefore, it is requested that the matter be resolved to the November elections for consideration.
“We need other people to say, yes, we like this concept or we don’t, we don’t like this concept,” Jorge said. “Personally, I think it’s a wonderful concept, but not in City Park. . . I know what’s going on. I see cars that don’t have a place to park in the city park now.
City Attorney Blaine Myers said that since no ordinance designating the facility’s location has been passed, the petition would likely take the form of a survey initiative, asking the council to pass a law stating that the facility would not be in the park. If the council failed to do so, the matter would be submitted to the voters.
To appear on the ballot, the measure would require the signatures of 15 of the city’s registered voters, according to a representative from the Wood County Clerk’s Office. That target number would be 3,836.
Dugan said organizers were targeting another 4,000 people “in case they expel something. “
The deadline for such an initiative to be included in the Nov. 5 survey is Aug. 1, according to the secretary’s office. Petitions must be filed with the city sooner, so that steps can be taken to officially file them.
Dugan said she has copies of the petition at her restaurant, Das Rookhaus, and others interested in obtaining them can also call her at 304-482-4866.
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel. com
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