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HomeNewsCouncil votes to support YMCA

Council votes to support YMCA

The YMCA is getting some help from the City of North Bay. 

Council has voted to approve over $173,000 to help offset the financial impacts the pandemic has had on the YMCA. 

The Y came to council in October requesting the money to mitigate the losses suffered while the facility was closed from March until September, in addition to covering up to $20,000 worth of snow removal from the shared parking lot with Memorial Gardens. 

Deputy Mayor Tanya Vrebosch pointed out that the pool and the land for the YMCA are both owned by the city but operated and managed by the non-profit. She pointed out that other communities are looking at $200,000 bills to support community pools, which don’t include the other amenities the Y offers such as childcare. 

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Councillor King wanted to stress the fact that by assisting one non-profit organization in the city, it will open the door for more requests from the charitable sector. 

“Where does this end? Are we starting a precedent? Who else will come and ask for support?” he questioned. 

Councillor Scott Robertson says he wanted to support the Y for the same reason he wanted to support the Jack Garland Airport in the summer, saying that it’s an asset owned by the ratepayers which could end up costing the city more if it permanently shuts down. 

“If the YMCA shuts down permanently, what happens when we want to restart the pool? What would it cost to get that going?”  Robertson wondered. 

Councillor Bill Vrebosch said “to lose this thing would be unbelievable,” adding the YMCA has shown strong fundraising efforts in the past. 

The My Y is Resilient campaign is approaching its target of $250,000 which will help keep the North Bay facility open until March of 2021. 

Tanya Vrebosch noted that in the discussions she’s had with the Y, they would not come back to the city for financial support in 2021 if they are still in trouble, speaking to the facility’s confidence in its fundraising abilities. 

The funding will come from the provincial government’s COVID-19 relief funding handed out in August, which saw North Bay receive $2.9 million for pandemic relief projects. 

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