Recently, Clallam County Park and Recreation District 1, also known as the Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center, passed a resolution to allow the YMCA, leaseholder of SARC’s 34,000-square-foot, multimillion-dollar facility, to sublet 1,500 square feet and use a common area to Olympic Medical Center for $63,000 per year.
What’s remarkable: The YMCA only pays the park and recreation district $20,000 a year for that county asset.
I don’t mean to be a spoilsport, but how much public money and discounted rent should the public supply the YMCA?
The city of Sequim gave the YMCA $90,000. As seen, SARC’s board gave the organization a heavily discounted lease in comparison to the $63,000-per-year sublet to OMC, which takes 44 cents per $1,000 of your property taxes.
Not to mention the million dollars-plus the state and Clallam County Opportunity Fund gave to renovate an air supply system.
Even with public money and the raising of fees, the YMCA still must ask for donations to cover financial shortfalls.
Shortfalls are not only caused by the giving of youth scholarships but by the nature of the facility.
Mr. and Mrs. Community: For 11 years, I’ve been trying to inform you how expensive the operation of a community pool is.
SARC’s board, the YMCA, even God himself needs $1.1 million a year to operate that 34,000-square-foot building with its pool.
My only interest is in saying that that damn pool is not free.
I don’t care how it’s paid for, just that the community knows nothing’s free.
Jan Richardson,
Sequim
EDITOR’S NOTE: Jan Richardson is in his second four-year term as a member of the SARC board of commissioners.