Monongahela plans to sell armory
MONONGAHELA – Monongahela Council plans to sell the former armory building at 396 Second St. to house a full-time youth center.
Mayor Bob Kepics said at Wednesday’s council meeting that he is in agreement with the idea of the armory becoming a full-time youth center with three conditions: that the Monongahela food pantry continue to be housed at the site, that the property be appraised, and that the property must be kept a youth center. Kepics said once the property is appraised, council will seek bids for it.
Pastor Brent Furlong of GoTime Ministries said he has many fond memories of the youth center at the old armory in the 1970s and ’80s.
“It was a place for many firsts: my first basketball loss, my first victory and even my first kiss. I remember going there and people telling me, Brent, you can be something.”
Furlong has ministries throughout the Mon Valley, including a weekly basketball get-together at the armory, but he wants to see more than a weekly basketball game. Furlong would like to see a full-time youth center at the armory.
“We need some place for the youth. They have no place to go and nothing to do,” he said. Furlong envisions a youth center with job training, computer access, tutoring and a recreation center. Furlong said the building needs to be updated and members of his congregation have been keeping the boiler operating and patching the roof.
In other news, a community skate park may be more than a pipe dream in Monongahela. At last month’s council meeting, resident Chad DeSantis asked council why the project wasn’t constructed. DeSantis added that there was money earmarked for that project, along with the Monongahela Aquatorium improvement project. Councilman Ken Kulak promised answers and he delivered at Wednesday’s meeting.
Kulak said he and former councilwoman Claudia Williams worked together on the project.
“The money was earmarked, the plans in place,” he said. The skate park was to be constructed adjacent to the aquatorium, which sits along the Monongahela River next to railroad tracks. Kulak said that because of the size of the park, the city had to obtain permission for a crossing on the railroad property.
“The railroad denied us access and we could not construct the park at the site,” he explained.
Tyler Ryan, 16, told council that a skate park would alleviate many of the problems with the young people riding on the sidewalks and in various business parking lots. He added that Furlong is correct that the young people in the community have no place to go.
“There are many people in the community that want a skate park,” Ryan said.
Kulak said that Community Development Block Grant funds can no longer earmarked for recreation. Kulak added in the past when this same issue came up, he and former councilwoman Williams set up a meeting to make plans for the park but community members did not attend. “You need to advocate and put your money where your mouth is, figuratively,” he said.
Councilman Daryl Miller, recreation committee chairman, said he will make plans to meet with community members that want to make a skate park a reality. “I have several sites in mind and many ideas,” he said.
DeSantis also asked council for an update on an internet swapping area. He said an area with signage and two parking places could be designated as a safe area for people to exchange items on the internet or for child custody exchanges. Monongahela Police Chief Brian Tempest said that can already done in the municipal parking lot, which has surveillance.
Kepics reminded residents that the new contract with the city waste collector, Bigs Sanitation, includes electrical waste pickup as well as used paint cans. The electronic waste must be put in a separate pile from the household waste and a separate waste truck will pick up the items.