What is true purpose of Resiliency Center?

(Letter to the Editor - Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)
It has been a very frigid start to 2025 here in the Mid-Ohio Valley. With temperatures often dipping into single digits, many in the community are concerned about the people here experiencing homelessness, or people who have homes that are insufficiently heated. Our local shelters are doing their best, and many churches and other local organizations have also stepped up to the plate. But there are still many people out there who are at serious risk due to this dangerous weather. Which leads many to wonder: What did millions of taxpayer dollars of taxpayer funds go towards funding the Wood County Resiliency Center for if not this?
If you travel back in time to when the Resiliency Center was first being proposed, it certainly sounds like it might fit the bill as a place that could be used as an emergency shelter or warming center. Wood County Commission President Blair Couch told the News and Sentinel on Oct. 29, 2021 that the center was for large scale events that could not normally be handled at the Health Department offices.
“We tried to make it as flexible to accommodate any disaster/emergency event that we could anticipate,” the architect of the project added. News stories about the project’s progress in 2022 and 2023 also focused on the Resiliency Center’s being able to help in various kinds of disasters and emergencies.
But other ideas also started to creep in. A Dec. 15, 2023, story in the News and Sentinel reported that construction was well under way. At that time, Commissioner Couch noted that the facility would address emergency shortcomings the county had. Couch also told the reporter that the Resiliency Center could be rented out for conferences and weddings, a curious idea for a center originally pitched for improving the county’s resiliency in emergencies.
Soon, the pretense began to be dropped altogether. Stories dated December 4 and December 13th, 2024 about the Resiliency Center’s impending opening do not contain any mention from county officials about it being used for emergencies. Instead, the discussion is entirely focused on event rates, creating a list of preferred caterers, and the type of license needed for alcohol to be served at the Resiliency Center. The shift in focus from emergencies to events was so dramatic, it is surprising they even bothered to continue calling it a resiliency center.
It is clear we, the taxpayers, were sold a bill of goods about the Resiliency Center. It was funded with taxpayer money meant to help communities recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. But its primary purpose appears to be as a conference and event center, with a secondary purpose of being used during emergencies. Though clearly not all emergencies, as it has not been opened to assist people facing freezing temperatures this week. Perhaps the building could have been ready earlier if its mission had not expanded to being able to host weddings and conferences. Officials might say that certain approvals or equipment are needed before it could operate as a warming center or emergency shelter. That may be true, but perhaps the Resiliency Center would be better prepared if the same level of attention was given to making it ready to assist in an emergency that was given to creating a list of caterers for the facility. Perhaps it could save lives this weekend if the focus of its director had been on attaining the necessary licenses to temporarily provide shelter rather than researching the necessary licenses for event holders to serve alcohol.
Although those in our community struggling to stay warm cannot do so at the Resiliency Center, perhaps they can at least be comforted by the fact that, per the center’s director, it is already booked for at least 15 meetings and events this year.
Neal Wilson
Williamstown