UNITY – A gym membership is not often considered one of life’s necessities, but it may be vital for a healthy life.

Unity Barn Raisers, a

nonprofit group dedicated to promoting downtown and rural vitality, and health and wellness in this western Waldo County town, plans to open its own gym this week.

“That wasn’t something we set out to do,” Tess Woods, a town selectman and associate director of the Barn Raisers said Saturday. But when the town’s gym closed, the board of directors felt it was enough of a loss to warrant action.

“We tried to pawn it off onto other businesses,” she said, but there were no takers.

Residents Dennis and Sharon Picard had run the gym as “basically a labor of love” for five years, barely breaking even, according to Woods.

The Barn Raisers is buying free weights, weight machines, treadmills, stationary bicycles, stair machines and the like from the defunct gym and installing them in the second floor of the Unity Community Center on School Street.

The large, white-walled room previously housed offices for the Barn Raisers, Coastal Enterprise Inc.’s Maine Farms Project and Friends of Unity’s Wetlands. Those organizations will move into a former bank on Depot Street.

John Piotti, who serves as volunteer executive director of the Barn Raisers – when he’s not wearing his Maine Farms Project or state legislator hats – applied for a state Department of Economic and Community Development grant, to pay for memberships, not the equipment.

The Barn Raisers landed the $50,000 grant that will pay for three-year memberships for 50 low- and moderate-income residents. Studies have shown that tobacco use and poor nutrition are often factors for these socioeconomic groups. “It’s going to allow us to work with folks to make life-changing differences,” Woods said.

The new gym – located in the heart of the downtown – fulfills the Barn Raisers’ mission of promoting health among local residents, but also will serve as a community meeting place.

“You’re getting people out, you’re getting them active,” Woods said.

Before residents become members, they must get a physician’s approval.

The grant will also pay for fitness trainer Lisa Reynolds to assess members’ needs at the outset, and then every three months. Nutritional counseling will also be provided.

If the members are not using the gym regularly, the membership will be canceled and offered to another eligible applicant.

In the second and third year of membership, residents will be asked to pay a $5 monthly fee, Woods said.

Membership is available to children and adults, though parental supervision is required. Access to the gym will be available any time of any day through a key code system.

Residents who do not meet the low- or moderate-income guidelines can join the gym for $90 for a three-month membership; $300 for an annual membership; and $500 for a family membership, covering all the occupants of a household.

Those interested in the free memberships can contact an area physician who will likely have an application, or call the Unity Barn Raisers at 948-9005.