Published: December 17, 2009 09:05 pm      

YMCA not paying its utility bills

Somerset — Early this year, Somerset city councilors struggled with a decision to help the financially flailing local YMCA. Following a vote in which Mayor Eddie Girdler was faced with breaking a tie, the city agreed to purchase the YMCA property and lease it back to the Y — provided that facility operators keep current on their payments.

YMCA board members learned this week that, while the facility is current on its lease payments, city utility bills reaching back to the last several months have not been paid.

The news was not welcome for several city councilors — some of whom had been placed on the Y’s board to help monitor the facility’s progress. However, YMCA Director David Cothron claims that Mayor Girdler is aware of the situation, and has even allowed the facility to skip payments.

Councilor and YMCA board member Tim Rutherford alerted fellow council members to the potential problem during a meeting earlier this week.

“They are up to date on their (lease) payments, but they don’t pay their utility bills,” Rutherford said.

“They haven’t paid any utility bills since June.”

Rutherford said the YMCA’s gas, water and sewer charges average around $7,000 per month — meaning some $35,000 hasn’t been paid.

“We need to look into this and see what’s going on,” he said, adding that he hoped Cothron would make an appearance at an upcoming city council meeting to explain the situation.

“They’re paying us our payment, but they’re just not making it,” he said.

“There’s going to have to be some decisions made. Taxpayers should not be out one dime for this. (The YMCA) had no debt, and now ... the taxpayers are still footing the bill for utilities, from what I can gather. ... It’s a serious issue, and we all need to be on board with this and know what’s going on. ... It’s going to have to be addressed in a manner that might not be pleasing to some, but we’ve got to do what’s right by the taxpayers.”

Councilor Donna Hunley, who also serves on the YMCA board, noted that the Y’s outdoor pool is one of it’s biggest expenses.

“Until they decide to close that pool, their income is not going to be sufficient to cover (their costs),” Hunley said.

The Commonwealth Journal contacted Cothron following this week’s council meeting. Cothron readily admitted that the YMCA hasn’t been paying its utility bills, but he didn’t place the blame on the outdoor pool or poor financial management.

Cothron said Mayor Girdler actually told him not to pay the Y’s utility bills while the city worked to lay new water lines in an effort to stop a severe water leak problem at the property.

The leak, which apparently began around July, caused the Y’s water bills to be “astronomical,” Cothron said.

“The mayor said the city would not charge us for water we didn’t use,” he said. Girdler told Cothron not to pay the bill until a later date.

“He said to just wait until they got the new water line laid,” Cothron said.

The new line was installed in mid-November. Cothron said he has not had a chance to discuss the bill with Girdler since then.

“I’ve been telling the board all this for two or three months, but some of them want to continue to make this an issue,” Cothron said.

“The mayor and I have been working on it. ... We’ll pay what our fair share is. We’re not going to try to short-change the city.”

Cothron’s estimates of how much the Y owes the city didn’t match Rutherford’s figures.

“Our utility bills are normally between $2,000 and $2,500 a month, so we would probably owe between $8,000 and $10,000 for that period if we had not had these incidents (of leaks),” he said. Cothron also indicated that the Y stopped paying the bills in August — not June.

“We’ve had positive cash flow in the last month or two,” Cothron said, adding that approximately 150 individuals had joined the Y during October and November.

“I don’t foresee any issues with making payments on anything.”