Township stops search
for new YMCA site
By maura dowgin
Staff Writer
HOLMDEL — The township is stepping out of the hunt for a site where a new YMCA could be built.
Representatives from the Township Committee’s YMCA task force presented its final report to the governing body July 28, detailing the feasibility of building a new YMCA in the municipality.
"There is currently no appropriate township-owned site to house a YMCA," said David Tschaen, a task force member.
The task force, made up of Holmdel residents, has been looking since Jan. 30 for a township-owned property the municipality could donate, loan or lease to the YMCA, Tschaen said.
"At this time it is not prudent to purchase private land for the purpose of the YMCA," Tschaen said.
The task force, he said, was looking for an area where a YMCA could be built and not have a negative impact on traffic or quality of life.
A new YMCA complex would require at least 5 acres of land, have public sewers, be easily accessible from major roads and buffered from residential area, according to a YMCA community-wide survey sent out in October 2002 to gauge residents’ needs for a new YMCA.
The costs of creating and sending the survey to residents was paid for solely by The Community YMCA of Red Bank, Fink said.
The survey was analyzed by Dick Swandby, chief executive officer of Exhibit Surveys Inc., Middletown. Swandby sits on The Community YMCA board.
The survey was mailed to 5,152 households and the YMCA received responses from 1,498 residents, Swandby said. The survey indicated that 49 percent of respondents thought the YMCA would be very beneficial to the town with 47 percent very likely to join a YMCA.
The YMCA is a tax-exempt organization, Mayor Larry Fink said, and would not generate any taxes for the township.
Because of the task force’s findings, the township has pulled out any involvement in a new YMCA. The Community YMCA may now search for land to build the facility on its own, Tschaen said.
The Community YMCA is not expected to continue its search for a township site for a new facility because it does not have the financial resources to purchase the land and construct the complex, said Richard W. Pollock, chief executive officer and president of The Community YMCA.
The October 2002 survey findings indicated people are interested in having an indoor pool, fitness center, aerobics rooms, free weights, indoor track and meeting rooms, Pollock said.
The task force recommended "the township should consider whether there’s another way to facilitate an indoor pool," Tschaen said.
In June, the committee hired recreation consultants, Kinsey Associates, Hackettstown, to determine the recreational needs of the community. The consultants will look into the financial viability and community need for an indoor, all-weather pool, Fink said.
The Community YMCA is willing to work as a consultant to the township in determining the type of pool needed and where it should be built, Pollock said.
The Community YMCA, he added, is also willing to partner with the township in running programs and providing lifeguards at an indoor swimming facility.
YMCAs close to Holmdel are in Freehold or Red Bank, Pollock said.
The Community YMCA is "negotiating an agreement with the township of Old Bridge to build a facility on land owned by Old Bridge," Pollock said.
The Old Bridge facility will be in Peter A. Mannino Park and is scheduled to open in 2005, Pollock said.