YMCA of Central Ohio presents community-center model; JRD to seek feasibility and market study

Gary Lynn, chief operating officer of the YMCA of Central Ohio, and Tony Collins, chief executive officer of the YMCA of Central Ohio, told the Eastern Delaware County Joint Recreation District board that a YMCA-operated community center could serve families, youth and seniors in the Sunbury–Big Walnut area and offered steps to assess feasibility.

The presentation, delivered during the board’s public meeting, explained the YMCA’s regional footprint and programs and recommended a two-part feasibility approach: a community appetite assessment and a market study. Gary Lynn said a feasibility and market study could be completed before October if the board starts work in June and estimated the cost at $25,000 to $30,000.

The study would measure community support and household demand for membership and programs; the YMCA representatives emphasized that the results would inform facility size and amenity choices. “The market study allows us to understand how many individuals in this market area would also pay to be members of that facility or paid to do the programs in that facility,” Lynn said.

The Y described its regional capacity and prior partnership models. Collins said the YMCA of Central Ohio operates 13 community centers and about 80 licensed childcare sites and works with school districts and health systems in collaborative facility models. He cited examples where local governments covered capital costs and the Y operated the facility with member and program revenues, including partnerships in Liberty Township, Reynoldsburg, Whitehall and the City of Delaware.

Collins described a typical multi-step process the Y follows: visioning with public engagement and focus groups, planning and site selection, design and construction, then operation under a formal partner agreement and local advisory committees. Lynn added that design and construction typically run 10–12 months for design and 12–14 months for construction; he described the window from public support to opening as roughly a two‑year process for many projects.

Board members asked about programming scope and affordability. Collins said each center’s program mix is driven by community input and by what the facility must do to operate sustainably. The Y also said it raises philanthropic dollars for financial assistance; Lynn said the YMCA raised $1,300,000 regionally last year to subsidize participation for individuals and families.

The board did not vote to hire a consultant at the meeting. Instead members agreed to develop a draft set of qualifications and selection criteria and to return those to the board for review at a subsequent meeting. Chair comments and board discussion indicated the district plans to pursue a feasibility and market study next, and that the procurement policy adopted at the same meeting would set the purchasing thresholds the district will use for that work.

Next steps recorded in the meeting: staff and board members will draft qualifications and a procurement approach for a feasibility/market study, circulate that draft for board comment and return a recommended procurement path at the next meeting.