Talks will begin between the City and the YMCA over the Y
possibly providing teachers for three sorts of classes to be
offered at the proposed Indoor Recreation Center, the City Council
has decided, though Councilman Steve Tate and Councilwoman Hedy
Chang voted no.
Talks will begin between the City and the YMCA over the Y possibly providing teachers for three sorts of classes to be offered at the proposed Indoor Recreation Center, the City Council has decided, though Councilman Steve Tate and Councilwoman Hedy Chang voted no.
City Manager Ed Tewes emphasized several times that the Y would not be designing the center’s programming – what kinds of classes or how many would be offered – but would only provide staff for classes the city’s Recreation Department established under the guidance of consultants Sports Management Group.
“The Y would provide individuals … to deliver aquatics, aerobics and fitness,” Tewes said. “The type, schedules and price of the classes would all be determined by the city,” he said. “We are talking about staffing, not programming.”
Representatives from the Y would, however, be invited to sit in on design planning sessions so the city could take advantage of the Y’s years of experience in providing recreational classes to the community.
“The Y’s information is very important,” said Councilman Larry Carr. He was a proponent, during the 2002 discussions, of the YMCA operating the facility.
The fact that using Y staffers will likely cost more – an estimated $20,000 – caused Tate and Chang to rebel and vote against considering Y staffers for city classes.
Mayor Dennis Kennedy commented that the numbers were just estimates and subject to negotiation. Tate said he was unsure of that.
“You said the Y has come a long way from the (original) model,” Tate said. “I have no information on what that is.”
The consulting firm, Sports Management Group, provides analysis for the city’s proposed public facilities, allowing the Council to see the balance between offerings and revenue. A break-even center is the goal, though council concedes, not always achievable. SMG’s current estimates are based on the larger center; it has since been scaled back and the firm will perform new estimates.
“It should take them two months to update their analysis,” Recreation Manager Julie Spier said. “Sports Management Group is poised and ready to do the study,” she told the council.
SMG is waiting, Spier said, to see which design elements are in and which are out. A popular climbing wall was recently removed from the plans though the indoor pool remains. Including the pool when the city is building the Aquatic Center on Condit Road was seen as duplication by some residents and a welcome addition by others.
“Understanding the relationship between those two facilities is highly complementary,” said Councilman Greg Sellers.
During the 2002 discussion of what would be included in the IRC, YMCA representatives said they would have no part of a center without an indoor pool, considering the pool to be a moneymaker. At this Sept. 3 meeting, council was also concerned with operating expenses for other city recreational facilities.
“These classes will cut into the summer operation of the Aquatic Center,” said Chang.
“We still have a fighting chance to break even,” said Tewes.
Ever since the city received projections that the aquatic center might need to be subsidized, the idea of year-round operation – to boost revenues – have been bandied about.
He did say that the cost of using YMCA staff would be higher but might have other benefits.
“If it were known to the community that the Y was providing classes, there might be more tolerance for higher cost,” said Melissa Dile, assistant to the city manager. “If you add more lessons, you have more revenue.”
“The bottom line can’t be the only thing we look at,” Sellers said. Kennedy agreed.
“It’s not critical that we break even on every project at the expense of providing these services,” Kennedy said.
Tate said breaking even was necessary.
“If you spend more on recreation services,” he said, “you could be taking away from safety services; I can’t support this on a negative basis. $20,000 is just an estimate – it could be a lot worse.”
Kennedy said the Y had made some preliminary recommendations under which the shortfall would drop from $20,000 to $7,600.
The council decided in 2002 to operate the center itself instead of turning it over to the Y to run. The Mt. Madonna YMCA on Crest Avenue has offered recreation to the city since the early 1990s when, because of a serious financial crisis, the city close down its own recreation programs. The Recreation Department returned to life in 1998 and, led by Spier, is thriving.
“I have a problem approving something based on the best information we have right now,” Tate said. “It’s my strong feeling that we have a council commitment to look at all operations and projects and find a way to make them work.” Every project beyond the community and cultural center, he said, should be self-sufficient.
“I can’t approve going in a direction where we would lose money,” Tate said. “ I‘m concerned about aquatics center; this is just adding to it.”
Results of the discussions between the city and the YMCA will be returned to a future council agenda.
