The writing has long been on the wall for the Fourth Street Jamestown Area YMCA building.
Now, that writing has become a flashing neon sign that a new building is needed.
The YMCA is a hub for summer meals — 55,422 of them in 2021 –for some 700 children at 18 separate locations and more than 48,000 out-of-school meals provided to children at seven locations. Another 9,000 children take part in child care and day camps through the YMCA.
A proposed $26 million, 68,000-square-foot, two-story YMCA building has been proposed for Harrison Street to include two pools, a basketball court, track, daycare center, playground, locker rooms, a fitness area and a studio for activities like yoga. The new building isn’t the only change, though.
The new building would be managed by the Greater Buffalo YMCA with an intent to merge the organizations over time, a move that Tom Benson, Jamestown Area YMCA new facility project manager, said will force additional cooperation and shared services as well as bring long-term viability to the Jamestown YMCA. Locally the YMCA is working to partner with the Winifred Crawford Dibert Boys and Girls Club to allow those with Boys and Girls Club memberships to use the YMCA facility. Existing YMCA buildings in Lakewood and on Second Street Jamestown would have new uses. The Lakewood YMCA would be rented to those who want to play tennis or pickleball while the Eastside YMCA would be a full-time kitchen making lunches for children.
It sounds great.
The downside is the seeming lack of options the YMCA has brought to funders, including the Jamestown City Council. Benson and the YMCA are asking the City Council for $2 million in federal stimulus funding and $5 million from area foundations. Additional funding is being requested from the Ralph Wilson Foundation while a series of tax credits and a bank mortgage may help fill out the rest of the project budget. All of that needs to be done by next fall, or there may no longer be a YMCA in Jamestown.
That’s a lousy position to be put in both as a City Council and as foundations when evaluating a project. Funders are being asked to trust the YMCA board has done its due diligence looking at all available options before deciding the new building is the best path forward. And if the choice is indeed either pay for the new building or don’t have a local YMCA, the choice should be to pay for the new building.
Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox
