By Chris OrletRecord Managing EditorThe city of Warrenton and the Warren County R-III School District have hammered out an agreement that will allow each to use the others’ facilities on a limited basis — at no charge.The Warrenton Board of Aldermen unanimously voted to enter into a cooperative facility-use agreement with the school district at its Nov. 19 meetings. The board of education also passed the agreement at its November meeting.Superintendent Dr. Jim Chandler said the idea arose because both the district and the city were looking for ways to expand youth programs.“We decided to come together to see if there were ways we could help each other, since we were both looking to expand what we were doing,” he said.The city will use Black Hawk Elementary gym and Warrior Ridge gym for basketball and volleyball leagues.And the school district will use Morgan Park swimming pool, Khoury Park baseball field and the athletic complex baseball field for outdoor sports games and summer school swimming courses.The agreement was a high priority for Warrenton’s new Parks and Recreation Department Director Dottie Phillips and her staff.Since taking over the park director duties, Phillips has been trying to address the need for additional recreation activities for all ages. However, she said, the city lacked adequate indoor facilities to offer the services.“A well-rounded recreation department will offer a variety of programs for all ages and abilities, to include athletics and fitness,  arts and crafts, and special interest programming such as scrapbooking, and a variety of other programs to meet the needs of individuals who may not be interested in the athletic or fitness side of things,” she said.Phillips said Warrenton High School’s new activities director, Bobby Spoonster, and the new superintendent of schools were eager to discuss the possibility of a joint-use agreement.“This agreement fulfills unmet needs of the school district too, including use of the swimming pool for summer school and use of athletic fields,” Phillips said.Residents will begin to see the benefits of the agreement in early 2014 with the kickoff of the Junior Warriors Basketball League and the Junior Warriors Volleyball League. The basketball league is for boys and girls in first through sixth grade, with games played on Saturdays.Registration runs through Jan.10 with practices beginning the middle of January and league play beginning Feb. 8.The Junior Warriors Volleyball League is for youth 8-13 years of age, with games played on Saturdays. Registration runs through March 21 and games will begin on April 5.Phillips said the leagues provide children with the opportunity to learn a game in a fun and structured environment.“And as they progress through the leagues and then feed into the school district program, you can expect to see a better skill set because they are learning the game at such a young age,” she said. “It is our hope that as they enter into the school programs the coaches will see the benefit of the earlier exposure to an organized program.”The agreement grants each entity a non-exclusive license to cooperatively schedule facilities. The agreement is for one year and can be renewed for one year terms for a maximum of three years. Either entity can end the agreement with 30 days notice.Phillips said the city is looking for additional locations where it can offer recreation services, including adult volleyball and basketball leagues, arts and crafts classes and fitness classes. Organizations willing to allow their space for such classes can contact Phillips at 636-456-3535.School District, City to Share Facilities