SEQUIM — The Sequim YMCA is another step closer to becoming a reality.
Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center commissioners voted 4-1 in support of a lease agreement with the Olympic Peninsula YMCA during a public meeting Wednesday.
The approved agreement outlines the relationship between the YMCA as operator of the anticipated Sequim Y, and the Clallam County Parks and Recreation District 1 — which is the recreation center at 610 N. Fifth Ave. known as SARC — as landlord. The lease spans 15 years with two 10-year extensions.
Commissioner Jan Richardson opposed the lease, especially the introduction to it.
“The recitals are very pompous,” he said. “I would dearly love to see them taken out because they have no standing in the contract.”
Richardson has expressed concern throughout the development of a partnership between SARC and the YMCA.
He questions the economic viability of the YMCA operating SARC and its plan to partly rely on community funding, the use of county and city funds and the lease amount.
The YMCA will “fulfill the mission of the Clallam County Parks and Recreation District 1 and in consideration the Y will pay the SARC board $20,000 a year to cover district expenses,” according to the lease.
The lease amount will allow the Clallam County Parks and Recreation District 1 to continue to “exist as a viable municipal entity and pay those expenses which it has to pay,” said Craig Miller, attorney for Clallam County Parks and Recreation District 1.
YMCA to consider pact
The Olympic Peninsula YMCA 20-member board is up next to consider action on the lease agreement. It will meet Wednesday, March 23.
More than 80 community members, including Sequim High School girls swim team members, packed into the meeting space at the Sequim Civic Center on Wednesday as the SARC board considered the proposed lease.
Of statements made during more than an hour devoted to public comments, all were positive.
‘Missions similar’
“The mission of the Y and the mission of the Clallam County Parks and Recreation District 1 are very, very similar, if not the same,” said Frank Pickering, SARC board chairman.
“We are to provide for the recreation and aquatic needs of the district’s residents — that is our charter.”
The SARC board closed the facility last October because of lack of funds, and therefore the board doesn’t have funds to uphold many of the typical financial responsibilities of a landlord, Miller explained.
Among the unusual financial allocations to the Olympic Peninsula YMCA is the insurance.
YMCA officials plan to insure the building at its full replacement value and provide liability insurance with the same limits that SARC had of $10 million, Miller said.
The effective date of the lease agreement is contingent on YMCA officials’ confirmation that they can meet the insurance needs, Miller said.
‘Good process’
“It’s been a good process (creating the lease agreement),” said Len Borchers, Olympic Peninsula YMCA acting director.
“We’ve taken the slow route, but we hope to get there safely in the end, and a few months more and I think we’re going to be able to deliver something to the community.”
Under the draft lease agreement, the YMCA would assume the outstanding membership fees, which are worth about $103,000.
Former SARC pass holders who paid ahead would have three options: join the YMCA and receive the full amount of credit applied on a monthly basis, not join and request 50 percent upfront or the full amount over 18 months, or, lastly, donate the value back to the YMCA as a charitable contribution.
Advisory board
As at other YMCA facilities in Port Angeles and Port Townsend, officials plan to recruit a local Sequim Y advisory board to help with policies, planning, fundraising and advocacy.
The SARC board would remain intact, operating as the Clallam County Parks and Recreation District 1 board, but would not be involved in the Sequim Y’s day-to-day operations.
Pending grant
If both entities agree on the lease, whether the Sequim Y will open depends on a request from the SARC board for a $731,705 grant from the county’s Opportunity Fund.
The county monies would fund equipment upgrades and replacement necessary for reopening the facility, including a new air handler.
Required by the state Department of Health, the air handler maintains the air quality, humidity and chemicals at a safe balance within the swimming pool area.
“Any new venture, to a certain extent, is a leap of faith, but this is a leap of faith that I’m excited about,” Clallam County Commissioner Mark Ozias told those at Wednesday’s meeting.
Because the Opportunity Fund is tied to jobs and economic development, Ozias said he wanted to highlight the number of jobs that would be created through the Sequim Y.
“I wanted to highlight the 50, 60 or 70 teens that will find a place to have their first job, to learn what it means to develop a work ethic, be responsible and to stick to a schedule,” he said.
“I would argue these are going to be dollars that are well spent,” he said.
The county’s Finance Committee is expected to discuss the SARC grant request Thursday, March 24.
The request will then undergo a public hearing process through the Board of County Commissioners.
Ozias anticipates the grant making it onto the commissioners’ Tuesday, March 29 agenda.
Assuming all needed steps are met, YMCA officials hope to open September 2016 as the Sequim Y.
A copy of the lease agreement approved by the Clallam County Parks and Recreation District 1 is available to the public at the Sequim Civic Center, 152 W. Cedar St.
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Alana Linderoth is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach her at alinderoth@sequimgazette.com.
