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YMCA says it has secured nearly $14.8 million in private funds; council will vote next week on $7 million city contribution
Summary
The YMCA of Saint Joseph presented plans for a 35,000-square-foot aquatics center and said it has secured private fundraising that brings total project support to roughly $14.8 million; the City Council put a $7 million funding agreement on first reading and scheduled a second reading and vote next week, while public commenters urged codified transit and raised concerns about using park-tax dollars.
The YMCA of Saint Joseph told the City Council on Monday that it has met the city's fundraising requirement for a proposed aquatics center and has secured additional private support the CEO described as bringing the total to roughly $14.8 million.
"We have met the city's requirement in regards to securing the additional funds to make that a total of 14,000,000," Tammy Killen, CEO of the YMCA of Saint Joseph, said during a presentation. She later described that total as "that's at 14,800,000.0," and listed private donors and underwriting that she said would support construction and programming.
The proposal calls for a 35,000-square-foot facility featuring a 50-meter pool with a floating bulkhead for competitive events, a 20-yard wellness pool for teaching and rehabilitation, family and gender-specific locker rooms, spectator seating and multiple program spaces. Blake Roth, board president of the Saint Joseph YMCA, said the center would provide water-safety training, competitive swimming opportunities and rehabilitation programming.
The clerk read an ordinance for first reading (item 25) authorizing a funding agreement with the Young Men's Christian Association of Saint Joseph that, as read into the record, would provide $7,000,000 in construction funding and $270,000 in ongoing annual operational support for a 20-year term. Council members were told the item would have its second reading and a vote next week.
Killen addressed ownership and oversight questions: "This is going to be a public facility," she said, adding that the YMCA would own and operate the center but that the organization expects to enter into contracts and memoranda of understanding to hold partners accountable. She also cited an annual revenue source she said would provide $420,000 for ongoing maintenance and said the YMCA budgets for a commercial aquatic service for routine upkeep.
Public commenters raised access, accountability and ballot-language concerns. Sarah Hochschwander urged the council to "insist that this is codified in your agreement" if free bus transportation is part of the project's public benefits, saying a route deviation was not sufficient and warning the city was "excluding 3 fourths of the city in this decision." Donna Lichtty read aloud the 2021 ballot language and argued the park-tax measure referenced "park facilities," not the YMCA, and urged the council to reconsider allocating the tax revenue to the nonprofit.
The presentation included a list of local partner organizations and private donors and a pledge to offer day passes, financial aid and discounted resident pricing for city residents. Killen said lifeguard training and student programs would be available and that programming decisions were a priority in planning.
Next steps: the council completed the first reading of the ordinance and scheduled a second reading and vote for the following week.
