OGDEN -- The city has extended a three-year contract to the Ogden-Weber Community Action Partnership for continued management of the Marshall White Community Center.
John Patterson, the city's chief administrative officer, and George Garwood, chairman of OWCAP's board of trustees, signed the management agreement Monday during a ceremony at the center, 222 28th St., in conjunction with Black History Month.
OWCAP, which has been managing the Marshall White Community Center for the city on an interim basis since June, has made the facility more vibrant and popular with residents, Patterson told dozens of spectators. "It's just enlivened this facility."
It was hoped that OWCAP would lease the center from the city and assume all operating costs for the facility, but it has been unable to secure federal grant funding to do so, Patterson said.
Under the new management agreement, the city will continue to reimburse OWCAP up to $30,000 a month for expenses to operate the center.
During any quarter in which expenses are less than $90,000, the total savings will be split evenly between the city and OWCAP, according to the agreement. Likewise, cost overages during that period will be equally shared by OWCAP and the city.
OWCAP recently used about $8,000 obtained through cost savings to purchase exercise equipment for the center.
All revenue generated by the center will be used for expenses associated with running the facility, the management agreement states. The city will continue to be responsible for all major repairs and expenses that exceed $1,000.
OWCAP promises to transfer to the city a $75,000 RAMP grant from Weber County to be used toward the construction of outside restrooms at the center.
RAMP funds come from a tax established by Weber County voters in 2004 that allows the county to impose a local sales tax of one-tenth of 1 percent, which is 1 cent on a $10 sale, to improve recreation, arts, museums and parks.
Donald Carpenter, agency administrator for OWCAP, said his organization plans to keep an indoor pool, which has long been the centerpiece of the community center, operational.
"It will absolutely be open," he told the Standard-Examiner.
Last year, the city council included a policy in the municipality's fiscal 2010 budget requiring the city to maintain the center's pool. City Council Chairwoman Caitlin K. Gochnour said Monday she is pleased that OWCAP intends to comply with that policy.
The Marshall White Community Center opened in 1968. It is named after Marshall N. White, an Ogden Police Department detective who was killed in the line of duty in 1963.
His portrait, which will hang in the center, was unveiled during Monday's ceremony.
Winston White, the son of Marshall White, said during the ceremony that the community center has a storied history and bright future.
"It's not a new beginning," he said. "It's a continuation."
Related link: This article is a topic of discussion at Weber County Forum.
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