"I could've been that person out there killing your daughter or your son. I could've been that person out there selling drugs to your daughter or your son."

Gary McElroy did not mince words describing the role a community center played in the direction of his life as a youngster years ago.
Wednesday, he and about a dozen others went before Warren City Council in support of the Focus Community Resource Center.

The project got shelved a few years ago after the city couldn't raise enough money.
That's when Valley developer Terrill Vidale offered up his Focus building on Niles Road SE.
The property also has land next to it that can be built on.
Council had to vote on whether to allocate its remaining $1.5 million of ARP money to the Port Authority, set aside to establish the community center on Vidale's property.

But sixth ward councilwoman Honeya Price raised concerns, given Vidale's longtime friendship with first ward councilman Todd Johnson.
Johnson is also the pastor of Second Baptist Church.

"For me, it was wrong," Price said. "You have a pastor once again with a church in the Focus building, and also you have ACTION that have meetings there, that he's the president of."

Johnson told 21 News on the phone after the meeting that anytime his church leases space, it's done through the church treasurer and board of trustees, not him personally, adding that this would be no different.

Now, council is set to meet after the new year to revisit the community center proposal - which Price argued was not thorough enough.

"You just don't say two weeks, we're going to do this and try to pass something through...so this time we're all going to sit together, they're going to hopefully have a better proposal, we're all going to have our input," said Price, who stressed that she was never against the project itself.

In the end, council voted unanimously to send that ARP money to the Port Authority.
Council also passed its 2025 budget at Wednesday night's meeting.
Councilman Greg Greathouse tells 21 News the $35 million spending plan is a balanced one.