CRANBERRY TWP — Butler County’s great growth in the past 30 years has been echoed by the Butler YMCA

It has seen significant renovations and additions at its main downtown Butler branch, but the growth required leadership to add physical facilities.

Services were offered in Zelienople in 1974. For years, staff members would travel from Butler to the southwest corner of the county to do fitness testing for businesses and industries. Staff members noticed, though, that participation would drop each year.

“There was nowhere for them to improve their health,” said Dave Hilliard, president and CEO of the YMCA.

The organization’s leaders also saw this, and in 1993 formed a board of directors and sought to provide a physical space for residents in the southern corner of the county. The board raised $45,000 of start-up capital and leased a 2,500-square-foot storefront on Route 19 just outside of Zelienople.

“That grew tremendously in a short period of time,” Hilliard said, adding the branch gained 1,000 members almost immediately.

Despite the addition of 2,500 square feet in 1997, branch membership was growing more rapidly than YMCA officials could accommodate. It also put restrictions on the ways in which people worked out.

“The center was upstairs, so it was frowned upon to drop weights because we had tenants downstairs,” said Carrie Ohorodnyk, executive director of the Rose E. Schneider Family YMCA.

In 2003, the organization acquired 20 acres on Route 19 in Cranberry Township, and began seeking financing the following year.

Ground was broken for the 80,0000-square-foot, $13.5-million facility in 2005, and in November 2006, the Rose E. Schneider Family YMCA officially opened. The facility was named for the wife of Harold Schneider, who donated the land.

With the opening of the facility, the Butler Health System agreed to lease 12,000 square feet to house physicians and an outpatient imaging center. According to Ohorodnyk, this allowed officials to bring two health aspects together in one location for the first time. The concept and facility were an immediate success.

“When we built the building, I don’t think we knew the type of outpouring and membership we would get,” she said.

Thousands of new members joined the facility, which offers a large cardio wellness and strength center, three basketball courts and an aquatics center, among other amenities. Renovations in 2014 and 2015 added upgraded family locker rooms, an indoor playground and a half-mile walking trail. This has helped the facility gain 10,000 members.

While the facility has stayed current with workout trends, adding an adult jungle gym, box jumps, an AstroTurf sled area and an Olympic weight-lifting area, Ohorodnyk said the focus is always on making members feel comfortable.

“It can be scary, and 47 percent of people have never worked out or haven’t in the last six months,” she said. “You don’t have to be the best of the best, you just have to be moving every day. ... We’re trying to help guide folks incrementally.”

Ohorodnyk said the organization is always looking for ways to help, including offering free access to those affected by tragedy, fires or other disasters.

“We’re there when someone in the community needs an outlet,” she said.

That idea of being involved in the community also extends farther north, where the Butler YMCA operates YMCA CampArmco Park, which it acquired in 2005 through a donation.

The park was built more than 80 years ago by Armco Steel, which operated it for company employees.

John Gibson, a 30-year YMCA member who also serves on the organization’s boards of directors and trustees, said he remembers going to the park as a child with his grandfather.

“I’ve seen it evolve over my lifetime,” he said. “Today, it is nicer than it’s ever been.”

The YMCA took over operation of the park in 2007, and has since made several improvements, including a playground, a pool house and an added deck to the community hall. Fishing decks and a kayak launch have been added to take advantage of the nearby Slippery Rock Creek.

The park is open to the public throughout the year.

The organization moved its summer camp to the park, allowing anywhere from 75 to 115 youths to take advantage of the amenities.

“It’s a phenomenal place in the community to gather people together,” said Francine Mills, Butler YMCA executive director.

Mills said the goal is to give members a place to disconnect from their hectic lives and enjoy simpler things.

“We want to bring the community together and bring families together to be able to slow down and enjoy each other’s company,” she said. “We want to try to bring that back.”