YMCA of the Coosa Valley to close, sell building; programs will continue

Its building may be closing, but the YMCA of the Coosa Valley isn’t going away.

The agency on Monday, citing “financial and operational perspectives,” issued a statement saying that its facility at 100 Walnut St., where it’s been housed since 1964, is closing effective April 15, and the property will be sold.

However, Executive Director LeRoy Falcon insisted, “We’re just calling a timeout before the two-minute warning,” to come up with a plan moving forward.

That future could include, at some point, a new location. Falcon also foresees potential new relationships with municipalities in Etowah County, stressing the “Coosa Valley” in the agency’s name.

And much of the YMCA’s current programming, including fitness and lifeguard classes and after-school activities and summer camps for kids, will continue at different locations.

The acute problem forcing the sale of the building, however — a decision Falcon said wasn’t made hurriedly or lightly — is cash flow, which he described as “negative” at this point.

“We’re running out of cash, and we had to do something before we were unable to take care of our obligations to the local community,” he said. “It was a timing issue for us.”

Falcon, who has been executive director since 2008, said the YMCA had “gained ground” and was doing well before the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020. Since then, the agency has seen a 60% decline in membership.

Little ground was regained in 2021, as “the virus was still here on and off,” Falcon noted. The numbers improved somewhat last year, he said, but at such a slow rate that it didn’t help the cash flow.

Falcon said he, the YMCA’s board and community leaders have been meeting for a year, looking for a solution and examining local population trends. (The news release mentioned that "Gadsden’s growth has shifted” and this YMCA branch “is reaching fewer individuals and families.”) He also sought help from a consulting firm.

“This was not a decision that was made without time and conversation,” he said, adding that the agency had to “slow down the bleeding” by shedding the operating costs for the building, instead of “(riding) it out until we ran out of money and couldn’t pay our utilities.”

The news release on the closure said the agency “lacks the capital to make needed repairs, maintenance and improvements on an aging facility,” which received a total renovation in 2000.

Falcon said the building has “good bones,” but described it as antiquated, especially the locker rooms and pool area. “If I were building a Y today, it wouldn’t be like this building,” he said.

The YMCA’s current long-term debt is $650,000, Falcon said, and if it were to sell the property for $1 million, that would be a significant nest egg to “reinvest in the community.”

In the short term, he's working on a collaboration with Gadsden City Schools on the after-school programs and summer camps. He said it would be a “tremendous loss” for the summer camps to go away, given that 60% of the participants come from economically challenged households and attend via scholarships.

The Gadsden Country Club has agreed to let the YMCA conduct lifeguard classes, which Falcon said serve “a critical need,” at its pool. He said the annual “Father/Daughter Valentine’s Dance” will continue, and the agency is looking at “mother/son” events moving forward.

Falcon said some people may view this development as a failure, but the YMCA simply “is not where we need to be,” and needs breathing room “while we find out what we want to be when we grow up.”

There are plans for “a final celebration” for members and staff before the closure.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Gadsden YMCA closing, building to be sold