W Club grand opening set for July 28

Webb City officially accepted ownership on Monday of The W Club, a new community recreation center.

Handing over the key was 4th Ward council member Jim Dawson, representing the Dawson Heritage Foundation.

Dawson received council support in March 2024 before proceding with his plan to build the facility in King Jack Park.

Mayor Lynn Ragsdale accepted the key to the building. He announced that the public grand opening will be held at 4:30 p.m. Monday, July 28. The council will stay on site for its second regular meeting of the month.

“You’re going to be impressed, if you haven’t been there,” said Ragsdale.

City Administrator Carl Francis stressed that the city will go slow as scheduling for the facility begins. For one thing, he said, “We’re going to keep it (operational costs) as cheap as we can.

Activities will depend on staffing. For sure, he said the center will be open to the community for exercise in the mornings. A priority will be given to recreational basketball and volleyball leagues.

RV park proposal denied

Kevin Crane and Jason Keller presented their plan to use 5.5 acres of city property on East Street for an RV park.

The site is between the laundromat and mattress factory.

However, the idea of selling the property to them died in closed session for lack of a motion.

Francis said there have been several entities wanting to put an RV park in the city, but he said odds are against them being approved.

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In other action, the council:

• Learned that Natasha Gossett’s first day as finance director will be July 21. Tracy Craig, the current finance director, will stay on at least until her retirement begins on Aug. 1.
• Approved the rezoning of 618 N. Hall Street from single-family to duplex.
• Allowed the police department to accept a $9,567 Local Law Enforcement Block Grant from the Missouri Department of Public Safety. Police Chief Don Melton applied for the grant in order to purchase 12 gas masks. No match from the city is required.