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WEIRTON -- An outdoor fitness facility may be added to series of planned upgrades to one Weirton park.
Weirton Council, during its meeting last week, unanimously approved a resolution "to adopt and allocate funds for an Outdoor Fitness Court as part of the 2026 National Fitness Campaign" to be located at Marland Heights Park.
"It's a non-profit wellness campaign," Parks Director Coty Shingle explained while addressing the resolution at Thursday's meeting of the Weirton Board of Parks and Recreation.
According to the resolution approved by council, the city has submitted an application for a grant to the National Fitness Campaign as part of an effort to install such fitness courts in more than 1,000 municipalities and schools across the country.
If approved, the city would receive a $30,000 grant and, in turn, be responsible for providing a $145,000 local match.
Shingle noted the National Fitness Campaign was part of the previous development of a trail at Starvaggi Memorial Park, and the Park Board had been approached for another project between 2020 and 2022.
At the time, though, a lack of funds and disagreements between the Park Board and Weirton Council put any potential project at a standstill.
Shingle explained the plan developed by city officials would install the fitness court at Marland Heights Park, where the Park Board already has a series of improvements in the works.
"The plan is to find a place to put it at Marland Heights Park," Shingle said.
Board President Iris Himmelrick reported a local entrepreneur previously expressed interest in bringing a similar project to the park when it was overseen by the Marland Heights Civic Association, of which Himmelrick had been a part.
She offered to look through some of her own records to see if she had the information from that time.
As to the ongoing projects already taking place at Marland Heights Park, the restroom facility has been completed, and Shingle indicated the roofs of the three existing park shelters are set for repair or replacement in the coming weeks.
In addition completion and paving of the governor's drive and sealing asphalt will be the targets for the Park Board, while the Weirton Pickleball Association has undertaken a project to renovate the park's existing tennis courts, converting them to also include permanent pickleball courts.