Gas City’s YMCA beam signing invited local residents, politicians, construction workers, police officers, Grant County YMCA staff and nonprofit representatives to sign a piece of the building’s skeleton on Sept. 17 from 10 to 12 p.m. Attendees toted Dutch Bros Coffee, babies, and phones for recording. They chatted on the gravel until Mayor Bill Rock Jr. ushered them toward the building’s framework.
Rock and Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwich donned hardhats and climbed a forklift. Small talk and machinery quieted as Rock thanked the YMCA’s partners and detailed the amenities it would offer. Beckwich expressed the YMCA’s significance for Gas City.
“You guys are showing the rest of the state how to do it,” Beckwich said. “And I'm not joking. When I travel the state, and they want to know, ‘Who are some of those communities that are knocking it out of the park?’ I point to you guys.”
After the forklift raised Rock and Beckwich toward the beam, they scrawled Sharpie signatures and invited others to join.
A beam signing is a way to remind citizens why their hometown happenings matter, said Haley Anderson, attendee and executive director of nonprofit Simply Grant.
The event also integrated the YMCA into Gas City’s history and tradition, Rock said.
“100 years from now … our names will still be on that beam,” he said.
Gas City’s expansions invite those beyond the city to visit and explore, Abby Wilkinson, attendee and marketing coordinator for Simply Grant, said.
“What’s good for livability is good for visibility,” Wilkinson said.
It’s not just about showing outsiders the exciting opportunities Gas City holds, but enabling those within the city to flourish. The Gas City YMCA will do this by resourcing local families, said Libby Root, an attendee representing nonprofit Thriving Grant County.
“We have a lot of families who are in need of these types of services,” she said.
Gas City desperately needs childcare, Rock agreed. Regardless of who the YMCA will partner with to provide this, some form of childcare is guaranteed, he said.
The upcoming community center will also offer a gymnasium; workout area; playground equipment and an aquatic center with a pool, slides and an obstacle course.
Construction will hopefully finish by summer 2027, Rock said. Brandt Construction is building the YMCA over an “eyesore” of a fireworks factory whose roof was caving in, he said. Though recent weather challenges delayed the construction crew’s timeline by about a month, they have only grown in determination to finish on schedule.
“I’ve seen them down there on Sundays trying to make up those lost days,” Rock said.
Gas City residents will have three membership options providing either access to the aquatic center, the YMCA or both: whichever best fits their budget.
Current Marion YMCA employees will staff the Gas City YMCA, Rock said. Adam Meyers, CEO of the Grant County YMCA, will run the Gas City YMCA too.
Rock is grateful for Indiana Wesleyan University’s funding, which made the project possible, he said. Gas City also received about 9.6 million dollars from The Lilly Foundation and 2 million from the READI program, Rock said.
Response to the plans to build a YMCA has been primarily positive.
“Usually the naysayers come out and holler the loudest, and I haven’t had any,” Rock said.
Eventually, Gas City will host a YMCA open house so locals can see the building progress.
Through projects like these, Rock envisions a flourishing Gas City. He feels like an oak tree that plants acorns that will only sprout after the tree is gone. He may not see his efforts come to fruition during his lifetime. But in many years, Rock hopes his great-grandchildren will live in a thriving Gas City whose formation he played a part in.
“That’s the legacy I’m trying to do: not for while I’m here, but for the future, for people to have a quality of life that is better than they’ve ever seen before,” Rock said. “And I know those oak trees will pop up after I’m off this world and looking down and smiling.”
