Editorial: Community center grand opening has huge turnout

On Monday afternoon, June 24, under a blazing sun, Van Buren Township welcomed crowds of people to its ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house for its new $16.98 million community center.
The air-conditioned community center was kept closed from the crowd at the beginning. The blocked doors were just beyond the bright-blue ribbon and the gathering of elected and appointed officials as people, some in wheelchairs and some on walkers, waited patiently on the hard-surface entryway in the hot sun. The announced 4 p.m. ribbon cutting came at about 4:30 after speeches by several officials. Then the people crowded into the cooled building.
Supervisor Kevin McNamara said the dirt started being dug for this 21,763-square-foot addition to the township hall just as soon as the Wayne County Commission voted yes on Van Buren Township’s ARPA grant. That was in September 2022. There were other grants and lots of changes from the beginning. The building was first expected to be done in December of 2023 but the date for completion moved forward as changes continued.
The DDA paid for the Black Box Theatre and the Civic Fund gave the project all its money before disbanding.
Clerk Leon Wright said he has been working with the Recreation Commission for years on this and now it is open. Too bad it doesn’t have a pool.