Published: March 25, 2008 06:53 pm            

City, county officials proposing purchase of YMCA

Somerset — City and county officials are proposing a joint purchase of the local YMCA to save the facility from its financial woes.

YMCA director David Cothron told Somerset City Council members and the Pulaski Fiscal Court last month that the Y could be “in danger of closing” if the two entities didn’t agree to give the Y a financial boost of about $3 million over the next 15 years.

The funds are needed to pay off the debt incurred when the YMCA was built nearly a decade ago. The project was supposed to have been funded by pledged money, however, some of the local businesses and organizations didn’t follow through with their pledges, leaving the Y to finance more than half of the building project on its own.

Cothron asked the city and the county to put up $100,000 each per year for the next 15 years. The City of Somerset already paid a lump sum of $1 million when construction of the Y began. County government also promised to put up $1 million. The county has been fulfilling its donation $50,000 at a time. Cothron proposed that the county government come up with an additional $50,000 per year on top of the $50,000 it has been giving. The City of Somerset would have needed to come up with the full $100,000 per year.

According to the proposal drawn up by Somerset Mayor Eddie Girdler and County Judge-executive Barty Bullock, there could be an “issue” with the governmental entities donating money to an agency such as the YMCA. So instead, Girdler and Bullock are proposing that the city and county purchase the land and buildings for the amount still owed on the bonds — which is approximately $2.5 million.

“Rather than donating or giving funds, the local governments would be investing (in) or purchasing assets,” the proposal reads.

Girdler and Bullock say purchasing the Y would “protect the previous investments of local governments, public agencies, (and) private contributors for the public project. This would preserve the $6 - $7.5 million in assets for our community.”

The proposal says either the Kentucky Association of Counties or Kentucky League of Cities would issue a bond for the purchase totaling $2.75 million, “with $2.5 million paying off the existing bonds and $250,000 placed in restricted escrow only to be used for capital needs (building maintenance and upgrades) for the near future.”

The city and county would each have one voting member on the YMCA’s board of directors, and they would enter into an agreement with the existing board “so that we have continuity of service and good public relations,” the proposal says.

The proposal further suggests that the name of the local Y be changed from the Blakely Family YMCA to “something like ‘Somerset/Pulaski County YMCA and Recreational Center.’” The Y, when it was built at its current location off Ky. 39, was named after the Alton Blakely family — which owns several vehicle dealerships in town. At the time, the Blakelys were touted as major contributors to the funding pool for construction of the facility.

The proposal has not yet been approved by councilors or magistrates, although a decision is expected to be made by both entities within a few weeks.

Cothron has told city and county officials that the Y doesn’t have enough money to pay its April capital payment. He said approaching the governmental agencies for assistance was a last resort after several attempts at fundraising had failed.

        

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