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MUNCY BORO
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Map of Muncy |
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The
Eastern Lycoming YMCA
A few facts need to be corrected concerning a recent letter to the
editor concerning the new YMCA we are planning to build in the eastern
part of Lycoming County near the Lycoming Mall. The Eastern Lycoming
YMCA was never the plan of Mike Waldron or anyone from the Williamsport
YMCA.
While our State Representative, Brett Feese, did work hard in Harrisburg
to obtain state grant funding, this project is not a result of his
personal preference, but is simply a reflection of Brett responding to
the need for a recreation facility for the residents of his district.
The project was advertised as an approximately 45,000 square foot
facility that would be built in the vicinity of the Lycoming Mall and
would include a multi-purpose gym, indoor pool, wellness center, child
care and a community room. A year and half later, after organizing a
board, raising money, finding the best site, conducting a marketing
study and doing the necessary background planning, we now plan to build
an approximately 45,000 square-foot facility with those same features on
a site just west of the mall.
The marketing study we had conducted showed that only 1 percent of those
interested in using a recreation facility in the eastern area of the
County are already Y members. The Williamsport Y's membership roster
shows that only 500 of the 5,000 or so Williamsport Y members live in
this area of the county.
The marketing study that was conducted concerning the demand for
recreational opportunities in eastern Lycoming County confirmed that the
30,000-plus people who live in the eastern area of the county want and
will use a recreation facility that is close in proximity and convenient
to their homes.
While the exact cost to build the new YMCA facility is not yet known,
the fact simply is that if the price is $7 million, we will have to
raise some more money because, to date, we have not raised that much
money.
The bottom line is this - those of us who live out here in the
communities in the eastern part of the County feel that a facility in
this area is necessary for us and our families and that it will improve
our quality of life. We also feel that we, our children and parents
should have and are entitled to access to the same type opportunities
that those of you who live in the Williamsport area have had for years
in the Williamsport YMCA.
We do not plan to nor do we want to "compete" with the Williamsport Y.
We plan to work hand-in-hand with the Williamsport Y to build programs
at both facilities and make the overall system stronger.
Three years from now, this County, the largest geographically in the
Commonwealth, will have more Y members than ever before using the three
Y facilities spread across it from east to west. Is this a bad idea?
What do you think?
Garth D. Everett
President
Board of Directors
Eastern Lycoming YMCA
Muncy |
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