YMCA Could Come to Shutting Down Vs. Moving Out CEO Says

Cracked ceilings and floors, fountains that don't work and a pool that leaks nearly 1,000 gallons of water a week. Those are just a few reasons administrators say the Champaign County YMCA needs a new home. “I don't think that we can continue to operate this building at the cost that it takes to operate it,” says CEO Wade Hampton. He says board members have been “band-aiding” the McKinley family building for years trying to keep it up-and-running. He says soon it will come down to moving out vs. shutting down. “Bottom line if you walked in here with a pot of money it's going to cost you more money to fix this building. For example just to bring this building into current code is going to cost you four million dollars.” So Hampton is prepping the paperwork to sell this old building. The YMCA will start accepting bids from buyers in a little more than a week. He and others are hoping someone will buy so they can move on. But some members don't want to see this site go. “I haven't heard any positive comments about it, not from any of the members that have been here for a long time,” says 12-year member Joan Gorsuch. They like the location and the tradition—one that's been here for 70 years. “If they'd done proper maintenance maybe that wouldn't have happened,” Gorsuch says. Hampton agrees board members could have poured more money into this building, but he says they chose members and programs over bricks and mortar. “You could argue that that was the wrong move and somebody else could argue that was true to its mission,” he says. A proposal to sell the building is expected to go out April 1st. Then buyers have 90 days to make a bid. Hampton says the YMCA won't make the move until they sell the old facility. So there's no time-line for starting construction at the new site near Staley and Windsor.