For more than a year, the parties interested in what happens to the old Florida Street gym in Ferriday have been battling over its future.

Monday night, they finally sat down to talk to each other.

While nothing has been resolved yet, at least the aldermen, recreation board and YMCA steering committee members are talking to each other.

The town spent almost $100,000 last year to renovate the gym, under the assumption that the YMCA of Central Louisiana would take over.

But a legal battle ensued when the recreation board didn’t put up its share of the money. Last summer, the board was ordered to pay up.

More grant money was secured, but nothing actually happened.

It appears now that all sides are interested in a compromise. We anxiously await the results of their collaboration.

Recreation facility troubles are not unique to the Town of Ferriday, but it’s worth noting, longtime residents have said, that the town once had recreation facilities that were the envy of other Louisiana towns.

Now, young people in Ferriday have few places to go for recreation.

We have always been pleased to see a YMCA might be moving into the old gym. The battles that have held up the project over the past year or so have been frustrating, but we’re glad to see that the people involved are finally making some progress.

After all, what really matters are the children who will benefit from the facility.