Organization makes plans for the future

The YMCA is looking to expand its facility to include a teen center, more child-care space, a new gymnasium and a six-lane swimming pool.

By: Joseph Harvie
   If you talk to Tom Libassi about the Culver Road YMCA facility he will tell you, "At the YMCA we build strong kids, strong families and strong communities."
   That is the slogan for the national YMCA, and the South Brunswick facility’s goal for the coming years.
   Mr. Libassi, executive director of the South Brunswick Family YMCA; Marilyn Marcin, membership director; Maureen DeBlasio, business manager; and Tony Campisano, chairman of the executive board, say the YMCA is looking to expand its facility in the coming years to include a teen center, more child-care space, a new gymnasium and a six-lane Olympic size swimming pool.
   In addition, Ms. Marcin said, the Y’s goals for the next three to five years are all geared toward making the facility more appealing to families.
   "The goals for the next three to five years go to making this a family center, as opposed to some other Y’s that are adult fitness centers," Ms. Marcin said.
   The YMCA has 532 members, including 354 family members, 70 adult, 59 senior, 15 young adult, 19 teen and 165 youth members.
   Plans at the YMCA call for converting a 12,000-square-foot empty warehouse into a facility that provides space kids to play indoor soccer, T-ball during rainy days and possibly basketball. There also will be a teen center in the renovated space, Ms. Marcin said.
   "There is a group of teens who are part of the Future Business Leaders of America program at the high school who are working on ideas for the teen center," Ms. Marcin said.
   Ms. Marcin said some of the ideas that are being thrown around for the room include a place to relax with chairs and sofas and TVs as well as an indoor climbing wall.
   "Basically, we want it to be a place for teens to come on Friday nights and hang out without their parents worrying about where they are because they’re at the Y," Ms. Marcin said.
   "They are a group we identified as a group in need, just as other people in town see them as a group in need of a place to go, and it is a goal of ours to find a way to serve that need," Mr. Libassi said.
   Mr. Libassi said the YMCA also wants to get an indoor pool built at the location that would be used not only by YMCA members but also by the South Brunswick High School swim team.
   "The pool would be a minimum of 25 yards by 25 meters," Mr. Libassi said. "We have set up an exploratory committee to help with the design and layout of the 6-lane pool."
   The pool area also would include a sauna and a Jacuzzi and a separate locker room. In March, Mr. Libassi approached the Township Council and asked for help forming the exploratory committee and the council agreed to support the pool project. Mr. Libassi said the YMCA would look to Middlesex County for grant money to help with the cost.
   "We’ve also received a lot of support from Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein to get us there to speak with people to see this plan to fruition," Mr. Libassi said.
   Mr. Libassi said the pool would help the YMCA expand its water programs. Right now the pool offers swimming lessons, as well as open the swim time. He said students from the Eden Institute, a Princeton-based elementary school for autistic children, and the Academy Learning Center, a Monroe-based school for children with developmental disabilities, use the 20-foot-by-40-foot pool at the YMCA. He said the larger pool would allow for more opportunities for these students.
   The YMCA is also looking to build a gym onto the back of the facility, Mr. Campisano said. He said that the YMCA is known for having basketball programs and he would like to see those programs in South Brunswick.
   Mr. Libassi said he would like the gym big enough to house one and a half basketball courts.
   "This way we could have a volleyball game going while a basketball game is being played," Mr. Libassi said.
   He said that project would cost about $2 million and there would be a fundraising campaign once the plans get approved by the YMCA board and the township.
   The YMCA is also eyeing an expansion of its Child Care program, Ms. Marcin said.
   "Right now we’re at capacity and there is a waiting list for our Child Care program," Ms. Marcin said. "We are going to add two more classrooms for the program and a pre-K club. We are also exploring the addition of an after school program."
   Mr. Libassi said that since the township school district-run after-school programs are full, the YMCA is looking into adding that service.
   "It would give us a chance to do more work promoting healthy lifestyles," Mr. Libassi said. "It would give kids a chance to do healthy activities outside or inside and not just go home an watch TV or play video games."
   The YMCA has been promoting healthy lifestyles and tackling childhood obesity for 15 years, Mr. Libassi said. He said that in 1992 the nonprofit began Healthy Kids Day, where the YMCA holds an open house for the public to take part in any of the YMCA’s activities.
   The YMCA held its Healthy Kids fair on April 8. The event was sponsored and funded through a grant from Bristol Myers-Squibb for the second consecutive year and drinks were provided by Sunny Delight. The event featured T-ball, swimming and other activities that promoted exercise and healthy eating.
   "The best part of Healthy Kids Day is that grandparents, parents and kids came out together and enjoyed the day," Mr. Libassi said.
   Mr. Libassi said he also wants to continue building relationships with the Board of Education, the township government and with the county vocational schools. Last year, students from the East Brunswick Vo-Tech masonry program built the new YMCA sign at the front of the Culver Road building.
   "I want to find a way to get the graphic artists at Vo-Tech to recommend something for the front of the building to enhance our appearance," Mr. Libassi said. "Like the sign, (getting the graphic artists involved) is a benefit for us and is a great opportunity for the students to get involved."
   Mr. Campisano said the YMCA is also working toward its independence from the Princeton Family YMCA. The South Brunswick Family YMCA is a branch of the Princeton facility, Mr. Campisano said.
   Mr. Libassi said the YMCA’s main goal is to continue to reach out to the community and to assess their needs.
   "If the community reaches out to us with a need, we will look into it and see how we can provide more programs for the community," Mr. Libassi said.