City's efforts to prevent Y closure highlighted in council report
The potential closure of the Sault Ste. Marie YMCA is on the agenda for Monday's city council meeting, with director of community services Brent Lamming scheduled to deliver a report on the city's role in trying to mitigate this crisis so far.
According to this report, which was posted online Thursday, YMCA officials approached the city in February with news that local operations may shut down due to ongoing financial hardship and operational issues.
YMCA Canada declared that the Sault Ste. Marie YMCA was in financial crisis in 2021 and the charity currently has approximately $1.5 million in outstanding debt.
After learning of these dire financial circumstances, city staff engaged with interim CEO John Haddock and the local YMCA board of directors to explore options on how to avoid closure.
This involved going over the YMCA's current financial statements and past building assessments, while also finding time to meet with representatives of YMCA Canada and YMCA Ontario to "gain a clearer picture of the operating models" they were working with.
On April 9, city staff participated in a YMCA board meeting and notified members that they are willing to explore options that could secure the continued viability of this local charity.
These contingencies include hiring new leadership, constructing a brand new YMCA building and/or applying for provincial aid through the new $200 million Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund.
While Lamming's report doesn't offer any definitive solutions, he wrote that the Sault YMCA day care programs are expected to continue with a different oversight organization, with the YMCA of Northeastern Ontario (which manages Sudbury, Timmins and North Bay) being the preferred choice of local officials.
"The current situation with the YMCA is evolving and staff continue to engage with the YMCA and community stakeholders to explore options and alternatives," Lammings wrote.
"It is recognized the important role the YMCA plays in the community but also that the YMCA is an independent charitable corporation governed by a Board of Directors that is making the decisions on the organization’s future. The City has indicated that it is willing to explore options to support the YMCA."
Lamming's report will be presented in full during the upcoming city council meeting, which is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Monday.
For those who can't wait for Monday, concerned citizens are hosting a town hall meeting at The Machine Shop Saturday morning from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
This event is being organized by the same Facebook group that staged a rally outside the YMCA's McNabb Street recreation this past Monday, six days after the board revealed that local operations would be shutting down as of May 15.
While the agenda for Saturday's town hall is tentative at this point, "Save Our YMCA" group creator Ali Dennie told The Sault Star they're hoping to use this space to come up with solutions to this crisis and not assign blame.
Dennie told The Sault Star that she's sent out invites to members of the YMCA board and elected officials representing the City of Sault Ste. Marie, Garden River First Nation and Batchewana First Nation.
"We want everyone out to touch base. This affects absolutely everybody in our community, including our First Nations and surrounding Algoma," Dennie said on Thursday.
"So we want to make sure everybody comes out to see what's going on and just get together and see what kind of ideas we might all have."
The YMCA's recreation centre on McNabb originally opened its door in September 1965, although the organization itself has been operating in the Sault since 1900.
The YMCA currently employs approximately 140 staff and has a membership of around 3,300 people, according to Lamming's report.
kdarbyson@postmedia.com
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Kyle Darbyson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Sault Star
