FERRIDAY — A look at it today might belie the fact that less than a year ago, the Florida Avenue gym had holes in the floors and ceilings, exposed wires, broken windows, boarded-up doors and no running water.

But the gym had all those problems, and more, until Recreation Director McKinley Bates took it upon himself to make sure the town didn’t lose a $35,000 grant that was designated to fix those problems.

The town had received the grant in August 2007, but had never been able to get a contractor to bid low enough to take the contract.

After the change in mayoral administrations in July 2008, Bates found out the town only had four months to spend the money or lose it.

City officials were able to convince the state to remit the grant, and Mayor Glen McGlothin opened the bid, but it was Bates who got things done, the mayor said.

“We provided the grant and provided the avenue for him to do it, and he got it done,” McGlothin said. “We helped, but he did the work — it’s (Bates) who deserves all the praise.”

Getting the work done meant getting four inmate laborers from the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office and working hard for 14 weeks, doing a lot more than just applying several coats of paint.

“We worked for 14 weeks from 7:45 a.m. to 4 p.m., and we overhauled the entire building,” Bates said.

That overhaul included replacing all of the plumbing, which didn’t work anyway.

“We spent two weeks alone in both bathrooms,” Bates said. “We took our time there because it was a big hazard in those bathrooms.”

That meant fixing leaks in the ceiling, replacing the sinks and toilets, and installing ceiling fans in the back wing of the building.

But beyond the bathrooms, the crew cleaned up two bottom floor areas that Bates could only describe as “like a dungeon.”

One of those served and continues to serve as a weight room, but now as a better lit and air-conditioned weight room.

The other basement was unused and completely closed off — the windows and doors were boarded, and there was no electricity to the wing.

All of those deficiencies were corrected — the crew ran electricity to the wing, installed windows and steel doors and air-conditioning — and Bates said that wing could be utilized for classes or some other community use in the future.

Other work included re-stripping the gym floor, the converting an old storm shelter under the stage into an equipment storage area and installing two sinks and a washbasin in the concession stand.

In all, the crews installed 17 new windows and replaced most of the lighting.

The entire cost for the project came to less than the grant at $31,000.

The town’s investment is protected by security cages around all of the air-conditioning units and windows, and Bates said some of the left over money was going to be spent installing eight security cameras around the building.

Now that it’s open to the public, Bates said he’s been getting calls about using the facility — which has been re-dubbed “Ferriday arena” — for concerts, family reunions and even wedding receptions.

It will also be used for what is planned to be a year-round recreation program, he said.

“(The gym) used to be dark and hideous,” Bates said. “Now, it looks bigger. It’s like a big, deep breath of fresh air.”

Looking around the gym, Alderman Johnnie Brown said it is a miracle compared to what it used to be.

“It’s good to have the kids in a safe, supervised environment,” Brown said. “The recreation program helps keep them active and safe, especially with the onset of summer.”

The town maintains the gym, owned by the Concordia Parish School Board, on a 100-year lease.