Working out well for some

By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
ETE CROSSLEY TAKES A break from his workout at the Austintown Community Fitness Center, removes his hat, and wipes the sweat off his forehead.
He says he enjoys working out at the fitness center because he typically doesn't have to wait in line to use an exercise machine.
"I've been to a lot of gyms where you have to wait," said Crossley, a township resident who works at GM Lordstown.
Behind Crossley, on the other side of the center, Dane Stilgenbauer does bench presses. Stilgenbauer, who works in food distribution, said he appreciates the variety of equipment in the facility that helps him stay in shape.
Stilgenbauer and Crossley are among the 554 members of the fitness center, located next to Fitch High School. The center marked its fifth anniversary in January, and school officials said membership has increased by about 100 in the last year.
"We think people are just starting to find out about it," said Joe Nohra, the school district's assistant athletic director. His responsibilities include coordinating operations at the center, which is maintained by school employees.
The center was built in 1998 using a $500,000 donation from township trustees and $50,000 from the Fitch wrestling and booster clubs. It opened in 1999.
"We are trying to let the community know we have some really nice things here, and we'd like to get them involved," Nohra said.
What's available
The fitness center has treadmills, elliptical step machines, stair climbers, and a variety of Nautilus machines and free weights. It is open to members from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday during the summer. The membership fee is $30 per year for students 21 and younger and township residents who are at least 60; $60 for all other township residents; $120 for township families; and $360 for nonresidents.
Stilgenbauer said he has found the membership fee to be reasonable compared with that of other Mahoning Valley health clubs. Larry Cipriano, who said he comes to the fitness center three or four times each week, added that the facility's hours allow him to work out even when his shifts change at his job in the steel industry.
Nohra noted that the school district recently repaired and upgraded the equipment. The work, like most fitness center operations, was paid for with membership fees, he said. The wrestling and football booster clubs also have helped pay for maintenance in the past.
Nohra also said school officials were considering offering aerobics classes this fall in the facility's wrestling room, and that they may seek a state grant for a part-time program director. Officials also may seek grants to expand the center and add racquetball courts and more locker rooms, Nohra said.
Questions and concerns
Not all township residents, however, have a positive opinion of the fitness center.
Last year, as township trustees were laying off employees and trying to avoid a deficit, some residents questioned trustees' decision to spend $500,000 on the center in 1998.
Trustees used general-fund money for the center with the understanding the cost would eventually be covered using rent collected from the township's Westchester Drive building. Since 1999, about $450,000 in rent from the Westchester building has been put in the general fund to cover the center's cost.
Developer Walter Terlecky donated the Westchester building to the township in 1997, with the stipulation that any rent collected be used to pay for township recreation activities and capital improvements.
Township Clerk Michael Kurish noted that when trustees agreed to pay for the construction of the fitness center, they did not know they would be facing financial difficulties. Many of those difficulties stemmed from decreases in tax revenue in the last few years and an unexpected $460,000 tax refund it had to pay to Phar-Mor in late 2002, Kurish said.
He also noted that residents can argue that any of the trustees' past financial decisions, including their decision to repave roads, contributed to the township's financial problems.
Kurish added that he thinks the center has been "a valuable contribution to the community." Trustee Bo Pritchard agreed, and said facilities like the center can help attract new residents to the township.
Areas for women
Some Fitch students also have questioned the type of facilities offered in the center.
In spring 2002, a group of students from the Fitch girl's track team expressed concern that Fitch lacked locker rooms for women, and noted that there are no women's locker rooms in the fitness center.
The football and wrestling teams each have their own locker rooms in the fitness center.
School officials responded to the concerns by turning a fitness center conference room into a makeshift women's changing room. The changing room has benches, small storage spaces for clothes, a rod for hanging jackets, and a television for the track team to watch tapes of its performances.
Track team member Amber Gallagher called the changing room "a step in the right direction." She said she hopes officials will eventually add a separate locker room to the center for women.
hill@vindy.com