Lake Wales plans to convert decades-old YMCA facility into city-run recreation center

For decades, Lake Wales residents have come to the building at 1001 Burns Ave. to lift weights, swim, take fitness classes and play youth sports.

Until now, the facility has operated under the familiar brand of the YMCA, first as an independent center and more recently under the auspices of the West Central Florida YMCA. When that organization announced plans to depart after October, it appeared that Lake Wales might lose a crucial institution.

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City leaders decided they couldn’t allow that to happen. Since learning of the YMCA’s planned departure in the spring, Lake Wales officials have been forging still evolving plans to operate the facility as a city recreation center.

City Manager James Slaton said the YMCA site has been “a landmark” in Lake Wales for decades. He said the City Commission has given approval to the general plans for converting the roughly 22,300-square-foot facility into a city-run operation.

“The approach the city has taken for so many years is that we provide the facilities and maintain them, and then the different recreation programs are run from all the various great nonprofits that we have in town,” Slaton said. “And that's really been the model the city has followed for at least the 20 years that I've been here.”

He added: “With this change, we're kind of going to be going in a little bit of a different direction. We’re taking more of an active role in recreation.”

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The YMCA of Lake Wales purchased the site in 1979 and constructed the building the next year, according to Polk County property records. The independent organization ran the facility until 2020, when the city bought the 9.5-acre property for $656,000 and arranged for the YMCA of West Central Florida to lease it and offer programs.

That organization operates two YMCA centers and a par-three golf course in Lakeland, along with the Lake Wales facility. Stephanie Lutton, Lake Wales' Parks and Recreation Manager, said leaders of the YMCA of West Central Florida gave the required six-month notice in April that they would terminate the contract on Oct. 31 for financial reasons.

Lake Wales leaders held discussions with YMCA of the USA about returning to an independent arrangement, but that didn’t work out, Lutton said. When talks with private businesses also failed to yield a solution, Slaton and Lutton began making plans for the city to operate the facility, which for now will be called the Lake Wales Family Recreation Center.

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City commissioners have expressed enthusiasm for the idea, Slaton said, and he has inserted money for the project in the pending budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year. He said the estimated cost to run the facility is $850,000 for the first year, which would be partially offset by membership fees.

The City Commission voted Tuesday night to allot about $310,000 over five years to replace fitness equipment in the building after the YMCA of West Central Florida departs.

“In the last four months or so, the city staff has done a lot of research and work in trying to figure out what the best opportunity for the community would be at this location,” Lutton said. “We're working on new and exciting program opportunities that can take place in that facility. And staff is really, really excited to create a true community recreation center for our community.”

Even before learning the YMCA organization would leave, Lake Wales had spent about $200,000 on recent improvements to the facility’s outdoor pool, city spokesman Eric Marshall said. Annual swim lessons are offered at no cost for city residents.

The building contains weight rooms, a stationary bike room, group fitness rooms and a child-care area. Lutton said the building includes space to add programs. Outside, the property has ball fields and a covered basketball court.

While Lake Wales has a population of about 17,000, most of the nearly 1,200 current members live outside the city’s boundaries, Lutton said.

“We're hoping to retain as many of the current members as possible,” Slaton said. “So we'll be doing a membership drive very soon to try to transition the existing members, their accounts, over from the YMCA membership.”

Slaton said Lake Wales plans to keep the fee structure unchanged for at least the first year.

Lutton said she expects the center to have three to five full-time employees and many more part-time positions. Most staffers will be city employees, she said, though the center will probably contract with some fitness instructors.

The city plans to take over operations as soon as the YMCA leaves, but Lutton said there could be a short closure for the replacement of equipment.

“Our staff is excited about it, and we really view this as an opportunity,” Slaton said. “We think we can create programming and provide a facility that's, I'll say, for the entire family. So we will offer programs and activities for every age group.”

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Lake Wales will convert YMCA facility into city-run recreation center