Closing the YMCA in Niles discussed

By Jordan Cohen

Repair costs are estimated at a minimum of $10,000.

NILES — The financially strapped Trumbull County YMCA plans to close the 30-year old Eastwood Branch, Youngstown-Warren Road, on Oct. 1, according to minutes of a board of trustees meeting obtained by The Vindicator.

Board Chairman Bill Beinecke, however, would neither confirm nor deny the planned shutdown.

“The board’s executive committee is entertaining all options on what is the best thing to do to keep the Trumbull Y viable so we can service the community,” Beinecke said. He declined to comment on other options under review.

The facility’s swimming pool has been closed for nearly two months because of broken pumps, and repair costs are viewed as prohibitive.

“We originally thought that it was a pump and motor issue, but it’s an older system and the exact equipment is no longer available,” said Wendy Marvin, YMCA interim director. “Repairs with new equipment would necessitate a rebuild of the entire plumbing system.”

Beinecke estimated repair costs at “a minimum of $10,000.”

According to the minutes, however, Eastwood’s fate was sealed during a board meeting July 14. Minutes from the meeting state that Marvin “reviewed the financial analysis should the YMCA [operate] out of one facility” and was given “authority to use her own discretion in decisions needed in closing the Eastwood Branch.”

The motion to close Eastwood because of “changing market dynamics” was approved unanimously, according to the minutes.

Another factor behind the board decision is competition from the new city of Niles Wellness Center under construction near Waddell Park and scheduled to open in November.

The $4 million, 70,000-square-foot facility, which will have exercise equipment similar to that at Eastwood, will be free to all Niles residents.

“That is a major concern for us because Niles residents won’t have to pay to use the center and it’s in close proximity to Eastwood,” Beinecke said.

The Eastwood Branch, which sits on 11 acres on the U.S. Route 422 strip, has three full-time employees. Information about their status was not immediately available.

Members of the Trumbull County YMCA are permitted to use either Eastwood or the Warren branch on High Street. According to membership figures provided by Marvin, the Y has nearly 1,170 fully paid memberships of which more than 240 registered at Eastwood. She estimated that 100 people used the Eastwood facility on a daily basis.

In addition, the Howland High School swimming team trained at Eastwood and will have to find another site.

“Our finances are at a point where we have to closely scrutinize our funds,” Beinecke said. “We are looking at having an extensive fund-raising drive at the end of the year, much more than we’ve had in the past. We obviously have some challenges we need to address.”