Sunday, Feb. 05, 2012

YMCA wants to build in Garner

Committee will consider options, town leaders appear split.

The YMCA of the Triangle wants to build a facility in Garner, and a committee is being formed to consider the options.

But already, town leaders seem to disagree on the role Garner should play in building a YMCA in town. Some say the town should join forces with the Y, while others argue that Garner should build its own community center.

The debate is nothing new in this town, where officials have pondered a community center for years and the YMCA has long owned about 13 acres off of Aversboro Road.

In the early 1990s, the town formed a committee to consider Garner's needs for a community center and YMCA.

"It's 2012, and we don't have either one of them," Councilman Gra Singleton said. "It's time to quit bickering and get some things done."

Doug McMillan, chief executive of the YMCA of the Triangle, urged the town council on Wednesday to help form a committee tasked with laying out plans.

Among the questions that will likely be considered is what the town will do with $2.5 million Garner has set aside for a community center.

ConAgra Foods gave the town the money as a parting gift when it left town last spring following a deadly June 2009 blast at its plant on Jones Sausage Road.

That money could help pay for a YMCA in town. Or the town could partner with the organization without that money, instead helping with a fundraising effort, McMillan said.

In return, Garner could use the Y's facility for sports leagues and other programs at a discounted price or for free.

Some town leaders said they might need to define what a community center is as they consider how to use the ConAgra money.

"The Y is certainly a community center," McMillan said.

But town council member Kathy Behringer said she thinks the donated money should go to a town-owned community center. As Garner's population continues to swell, she said, town residents would likely sustain both facilities.

"I can envision a place for a Y and a community center," Behringer said. "I don't think that's stretching too much. I think that's looking to the future."

Some residents who attended the Wednesday meeting agreed, saying they believed the money from ConAgra should help build a community center that would be available for everyone.

"I think we need something that's going to be free for the people of Garner," said Karel Standish.

YMCA facilities, which typically feature gyms, swimming pools and meeting space, charge for memberships.

But the organization sets its fees based on the makeup of a facility's neighborhood, said Bruce Ham, senior vice president for the YMCA of the Triangle.

Typically, Ham said, members pay about $28 to $35 per month. But those fees can be lowered for people who can't afford them. Up to 20 percent of members at local YMCA facilities pay on a sliding scale, he said.

It's unclear if a town-owned community center would be free. Singleton said the town would likely have to hire staff to run the place.

"Not everything can be for free," Singleton said, adding that he would be in favor of partnering with the YMCA for now and then consider building a community center later.

The site of a YMCA in Garner also could be up for debate.

The land off of Aversboro Road, near White Deer Park, is ideal because it is convenient to Timber Drive, McMillan said.

"We own that land, so that's a real bonus," Ham added.

But the town has been trying to rejuvenate the downtown area. A plan that town leaders adopted in 2010 calls for an anchor development, such as a community center, YMCA or library. The town is buying land along Montague Street to make way for future growth. For now, though, a committee of residents and YMCA and town leaders is expected to look at possibilities. A YMCA facility typically costs $4 million to $5 million, Ham said. That price would go up if more gymnasium space or other amenities were included.

The YMCA already operates after-school and summer programs throughout town that serve more than 1,000 children. The program has a $1 million annual budget.

The Triangle group has partnered with towns in the past. In Durham, McMillan said, the group and the city joined forces to renovate a run-down YMCA and convert some of the space to a Montessori middle school. He said he hopes a committee will come up with plans for Garner.

"I just think by talking together, a bigger vision might be presented," McMillan said.