WORTHINGTON -- Worthington City Council members could make a decision next week regarding its potential participation in the new Worthington Area YMCA project.
During a special council meeting Tuesday morning, representatives from RJM Construction, Black Creek, Wis., and BKV Group, Minneapolis, were present to discuss other YMCA projects and collaborations involved in them.
"We asked the YMCA to bring down the construction manager (RJM) and their architect (BKV) because we're trying to find out if we could have a city-owned aquatics center that would be adjacent to the YMCA," Mayor Alan Oberloh said following the meeting. "They gave us some examples of places that had done the same type of projects."
The council has expressed an interest in paying for a new aquatics center that would have an outdoor pool element, as the current outdoor pool is nearing the end of its use. But if the city is going to spend more money for such a facility, it may want some say on its location.
"The city council is saying, 'Hey, if you want us to be a bigger player in this, we should have some say in the site,'" said Oberloh, who recalled that the city has already agreed on a $1.7 million pool contract at a new Y -- "the only agreement the city has with the YMCA."
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Oberloh noted that the Worthington Area YMCA is "fairly unanimous" about a new Y and aquatics facility being located on the campus of Minnesota West Community and Technical College.
"I've always been a proponent of a downtown Y. ... That's just me, and it's no reflection on the opinion of council," he said, explaining that he sees the former Campbell Soup Co. property as a location for such a facility.
"With the outdoor component (for the pool), we've been asking for that from day one," Oberloh added later. "Since construction costs have continued to rise, the YMCA has come to us and asked us to be a bigger player in getting this done. We're all in support of getting a new YMCA done; it's how we get to that point that we're wrestling with."
Andy Johnson, the Worthington Area YMCA's executive director, hopes for additional city participation -- at the college site.
"They (the city) are asking if there's a way to actually own that (aquatics) facility and the Y to manage it, which is something we talked about years ago," Johnson said. "If we're going to manage it for them, it needs to be in the same location.
"We are committed to the college site, and there are so many wonderful things that are going to come out of that," Johnson added. "We have several programs collaborating with the college, with Sanford. ... We're going to be able to enlist work-study kids at the college at the Y that will save us operational dollars, we're close to senior housing, we're in direct traffic patterns for school buses, we're close to the lake for cyclists and runners, there are outdoor fields on site -- and the development costs are going to be less."
Development costs, Johnson said, would be "a minimum quarter million more" at the Campbell's site. That location also isn't nearly as aesthetically pleasing, he said.
"Do you want an outdoor component next to the railroad tracks, or do you want it near trees and birds?" he asked.
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Council members scheduled a special meeting for 6:30 a.m. April 30 to further discuss the project. All agree a decision on the matter is needed quickly.
"Now that it's back on our plate, we're going to get a hold of it and get it settled," Alderman Bob Petrich said near the conclusion of Tuesday's meeting.
